It’s Sunday, and I’m still thinking of the incredible burst of talent and passion and purpose that was the life of Aaron Swartz. On Friday in NYC, under the pressure of an intense lawsuit against him at the hands of the U.S. Attorney’s office that bordered on harassment, Aaron took his own life. He was many things: boy genius, freedom fighter, waker of the sleeping Internet giant. If you knew him–I can’t say I did, but I did shake his hand when he dropped by the Change.org office in San Francisco early in 2011–you probably admired him and his work. And if you didn’t know him, you still probably admired his work. Aaron was one of the chief architects of the Internet uprising against SOPA/PIPA that reminded netizens everywhere that they still had the power to dictate their own terms for electronic communications.
Here’s a speech Aaron gave about the history of the SOPA/PIPA fight which nearly made me cry this morning. And Cory Doctorow and Lawrence Lessig both have shared moving tributes to Aaron that are worth your time. Most of all, keep on fighting the good fight for digital freedom. I can’t think of a better way to remember Aaron Swartz.
http://youtu.be/Fgh2dFngFsg
RIP anyone, anywhere, who died fighting for justice, love, humanity.
a pox upon every individual and entity who actively fights against these things knowingly and who will never consider changing despite the benefits otherwise.
but i suppose there is a yin for each yang…
#bollyn #jimstone