Saturday, January 12, 2013

Aaron Swartz is dead

Aaron Swartz is dead. He was pushed to the edge to take his life or face an unfair sentence in jail for 35 years. The US government, the FBI, MIT & JSTOR have contributed varyingly to his death. This is the price one must pay to be a citizen of a dictatorial regime like in the USA.

Whenever you subscribe to a feed (most likely RSS) or ever raise your voice against unfairness, please spare a minute to think of Aaron Swartz. He was a brilliant & good man who was killed for no reason other than the power the American government holds to victimise anyone they choose to. Few people out there are suspecting/concluding that it is due to depression. Frankly, if I were pushed against a wall with the threat of everything being taken away from me in the most painful manner, then that suicide, if I ever committed it, would not be a result of depression!

If you wish to know more about the case which pushed him over the ledge, read this: http://inagardencalledlife.blogspot.com/2012/12/barbaric-american-judicial-system.html

Cory Doctorow's personal account of Aaron is very moving. Do read it here: http://boingboing.net/2013/01/12/rip-aaron-swartz.html

Quinn's personal account with him is captured in all tenderness here: http://www.quinnnorton.com/said/?p=644