[liberationtech] Remember Aaron Swartz

[Greg]

I will echo all of Shava’s remarks re suicide, not to rebuke anyone but merely to say that as judgemental of a person I might be, I wouldn’t dream of negatively judging Swartz for his choice to take his life. More here [1].

Regarding “Russian propaganda”. Let’s not complain about that. Let’s embrace it! We who pay for the spread of American propaganda worldwide should rejoice that we are given the privilege of seeing what only a teaspoon of what America has done to other countries tastes like. Imagine if we were given the whole bottle!

- Greg

[1] https://medium.com/@taoeffect/nice-post-except-i-disagree-with-the-end-54d26308a5ed <https://medium.com/@taoeffect/nice-post-except-i-disagree-with-the-end-54d26308a5ed>

> On Nov 11, 2019, at 2:07 PM, Shava Nerad <shava23 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Attitudes regarding suicide vary by culture, not just by being NT or not.  The idea that suicide is "not sane" is not consistent in cultures or subcultures, but the idea that it is insane tends to be neurotically dogmatic (and often inheritance of religious dogma).
> 
> For example, murder is considered altruistic by many in the context of war.  Oddly, many of the same people don't see self-"murder" as ever being for altruistic or honorable reasons.
> 
> I believe, having been Aaron's friend, he had a method to his "madness" (and I expressed this on the old list shortly after his death).
> 
> A little respect, all around, for differences. And a bit less speculation and gossip would serve us well as a community.
> 
> SN
> 
> On Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 12:07 AM Rand Strauss <Rand at peoplecount.org <mailto:Rand at peoplecount.org>> wrote:
> Catherine,
> 
> > "neurologically atypical," which is meant as a badge of pride 
> 
> It’s no more a "badge of pride" than black pride, LGBTQ pride, or the pride of being a successful woman in a world that, even 50 years ago, was predominantly built for men with rules that kept it that way. It’s the pride of suddenly learning that one is okay, rather than being some kind of slave, pariah, insane-person or second-class citizen who must be held back from success.
> 
> I mentioned it because such people are often much less able to understand themselves and others and society. Probably he had more than normal tunnel vision about his guerrilla tactics and civil disobedience, and had similarly more than normal tunnel vision about the appropriateness of suicide.  Probably he had less than normal understanding of how society would react, and less than normal understanding of his own emotional reactions to punishment.  These are real cognitive differences that tend to make such people more fragile, not proud.
> 
> 
> 
> How would SOPA or CISPA have stopped the Russians from submitting propaganda to Facebook and Twitter? 
> -r
> 
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