Remembering Aaron Swartz
As I’ve written already, I’m very upset about the death of Aaron Swartz. I have been able to think of almost nothing else since I heard the news. I did not know Aaron, but I’ve followed his work since the very beginning and I know and respect many others who have worked with him, and I’ve supported many of the same causes he represented.
I was working on a post about some things this has me thinking about. I won’t have those thoughts ready to share until tomorrow, but I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve been reading over the last few days. I do these kinds of posts once in a while so I have a place to find this stuff when I want to share it with someone.
Several people I admire and respect a great deal have written from their hearts about the issues this raises for them.
Brad Feld posted his thoughts about the importance of a monthly cadence with close friends.
Micah Baldwin shared his thoughts on “chasing the gleam” which I already linked to, but deserves to be shared again.
David Brunton’s post was very powerful. I don’t usually quote from the very end of someone else’s post, and I resisted the urge to do so in this case ( though I came close ). It’s not very long – you should read the entire post.
Now, we have lost Aaron. The actions that resulted in his incarceration were somewhere between a juvenile prank and justifiable civil disobedience. Yet it remains that he spent the past two years hounded by the government that I work for and vote for. I suppose he is a martyr to these causes, but we needed him more as a prophet. David Brunton
Cory Doctorow, who knew Aaron very well, shared his thoughts barely an hour after he learned the news.
Because whatever problems Aaron was facing, killing himself didn’t solve them. Whatever problems Aaron was facing, they will go unsolved forever. If he was lonely, he will never again be embraced by his friends. If he was despairing of the fight, he will never again rally his comrades with brilliant strategies and leadership. If he was sorrowing, he will never again be lifted from it. Cory Doctorow
This was a longer piece, but very much worth the time to read. He gives those of use who only knew of Aaron an excellent look at who he really was – good and bad.
Matt Stoller wrote a fantastic post for Naked Capitalism entitled Aaron Swartz’s Politics. I will have more to say about this piece tomorrow, but I mention it here for several reasons. One, it gives us a broader insight into some of the things Aaron was working on and things which concerned him. Second, I found a lot of the other posts I’ve mentioned linked to on this page.
I also read several posts written by Aaron himself. Lean into the pain and How to get a job like mine were especially powerful.
I have read his writings before, but some of this was new to me and it confirmed in my mind what a unique person he was – and how there were certainly signs that he struggled. When we read the struggles of others, sometimes we assume they are coping as well, or better, than we – and so we dont’ always do what we can to reach out to them. I’m going to make a conscious effort to change that.
So, what about remembering Aaron and his work? Dave Winer, who also wrote a great piece confirming that Aaron was curious (something Aaron had said of himself), suggests we retire his number. Someone set up a github repository for memories of Aaron. Someone else has shared a tool for liberating JSTOR papers in honor of Aaron.
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