

Somebody is to Blame for This - bussetta
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/09/somebody-is-to-blame-for-this.html

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gsibble
Tragedy is tragic, indeed. It's an important lesson we all learn and this is a
great expression of it.

Why a family decided to take their tragedy to a courtroom to force it upon
others makes me upset though. And what this has to do with technology or
startups is definitely beyond me. This should be on the fron page of Reddit,
but HN? Why?

~~~
kevingadd
It is likely the family had little choice in the matter. Death is expensive in
the United States (and other countries, I'm sure), so sometimes the only way
to avoid having your loss compounded with complete bankruptcy is to go to
court and find someone to blame.

~~~
gsibble
Or settle out of court before it ever reaches trial. Trial means they were
offered settlements and rejected them.

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ak39
Whew, heartbreaking.

But like that great Indian liberator once quipped: "Life is dhukka". Let us
liberate ourselves from the clinginess of existence.

I am not one to advocate open and public emotional outpourings, although I
contradict this view when I write poems which I then send to my closest
friends ... I'm ok with this contradiction, I'm not neurotic. ;-) However, one
can see why it is totally legitimate for Anthony Griffith to do so. He is in
his own words a clown. And his entire point was that a clown can sometimes ...
should sometimes ... make you cry.

I tip my hat to this brave man. I would have a beer with this man any time!

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zaroth
How can you tell that story and not conclude with the result of the trial?

It's so well written, despite all the terror of the words, you can still
almost imagine Jeff as one of 12, arguing against 'verdict for the plaintiff'.

~~~
relix
Because it wasn't the point of the story, even though everybody was expecting
it. I imagine Jeff left it out to focus on the message he's trying to send.

~~~
meric
"The unbearable grief demands that someone must be to blame for this
unimaginably terrible thing that is happening to you, this deeply, profoundly
unfair tragedy. But there's nobody"

This might be a hint?

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verroq
People buy into the idea that the world is just, that everything happens for a
reason (just-world fallacy). But sometimes bad things happen, for no reason,
sometimes asshats win.

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morganpyne
I watched the Anthony Griffiths movie he referred to a while ago and it is
heartbreaking. I'm normally a very reserved person who's partner is convinced
my tear ducts dried up from lack of use years ago, but watching Anthony tell
his story is like a punch in the guts. I didn't enjoy watching it, but I'm
glad I did. It sure puts things in perspective.

~~~
digitalengineer
Please consider yourself lucky you experienced this through a film. Last week
I got to experience it in front of my eyes and afterwards again when telling
my 6 y/old little girl her grandmother died. Your own grief is hard, your
kid's grief is unbearable.

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junto
The linked video of Anthony Griffith talking about his daughter dying of
cancer whilst trying to support his family through the business of making
people laugh is quite possibly the most heart wrenching thing I have ever seen
in my life.

It reminds of the clown. That disturbing painted fake smile. No wonder they
still freak me out.

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bryanlarsen
My 7 days of sequestration with 11 other people and a bailiff arguing a
difficult case were the worst 7 days of my life, and my case wasn't as heart
wrenching as Jeff's. First world problem, but it's not an experience I would
wish on any one.

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jofo25
I was just stunned by the first comment by Matt

"Only thing I can write is "I should have heeded to your warning"".

How can someone have such bad taste.

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vacri
A slightly strange conclusion. You don't need to blame somebody or something
to grieve. I understand the point of blame in the court case, but the author
is talking about 'somebody _must_ be to blame [for this loss in the prime of
life]'. Blaming someone can make grieving easier, but that doesn't mean that
there _has_ to be blame.

