

Aaron Swartz documentary under development - talles
http://www.aaronswartzthedocumentary.com

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kevando
Do documentaries like this bother anyone else? I'm only surmising from the
trailer, but it seems to take this very serious event and over dramatize it
into something like the bogus Gasland documentary. I already know about this
tragedy, so maybe this movie's not for me.

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dlsx
No because I believe Aaron would be upset if there weren't people fighting to
right the wrongs of his death or murder.

This wasn't a clear cut case of suicide. He was practically murdered by the
state. What would you do if you were facing those charges, and anyone that
tried to help you being bullied to march forward with their agenda.

An agenda that the corrupt politicians in Washington are pushing. An agenda to
close and wall the internet so more free people can be brought to "justice"
for their crimes against corporations.

~~~
MarkTee
> What would you do if you were facing those charges?

Are you asserting that suicide is the most reasonable option in a situation
like this?

I've noticed this sentiment a lot lately (you hear it all the time in
discussions about youths who commit suicide after having been bullied
excessively); as if outside forces are overwhelmingly responsible for when a
person takes their own life, and any personal culpability that that person
might have had is thrown out the window.

I'm not saying that the events that contribute towards a suicide should be
ignored, but it's important to remember that suicide, by definition, is always
a personal choice. We should be doing more to assist, or even empower, those
who feel as if they have to make that choice.

Instead of doing the easy thing and blaming a scapegoat (to say that "[Aaron]
was practically murdered by the state" is ludicrous, and not at all
productive), why don't we look at the root of the problem - what _really_
caused Swartz to do what he did (i.e., a poor state of mental health,
something that currently affects millions of Americans) - and work towards
preventing it from happening to others?

~~~
olefoo
Suicide is a symptom of acute mental illness. Framing it in terms of personal
responsibility is often cruelly ignorant because it ignores much about the
actual experiences of the person involved.

Would you blame a diabetic who loses his foot because he was unaware that he'd
contracted an infection? Would you give a lecture on personal responsibility
to the mother of a child whose first asthma attack ever was fatal? If someone
dies of an infection contracted because someone else threw them in a septic
tank; is it their fault for swimming in sewage?

In Aaron's case, we don't know exactly what was going through his head when he
killed himself; but we do know he was being put under extreme pressure by
prosecutors who were less interested in justice than in punishing him for
imagined slights, especially the PACER affair.

~~~
sanoli
Thank you for pointing this out. People shouldn't be 'blamed' for taking their
lives. However, I always feel this uneasiness around people when, like you
said, the fact that suicide is a symptom of mental illness is brought up. It's
as if people associate having mental illness with being some sort of 'good
person club' outcast, or having some character flaw.

~~~
MarkTee
Technically, mental illness _is_ a character flaw ("a limitation,
imperfection, problem, phobia, or deficiency present in a character who may be
otherwise very functional"[0]).

[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_flaw](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_flaw)

~~~
sanoli
No, it's not. it's an illness. Your quote is about 'character flaw' as a
literary critique concept. I was going to say in my post (the grandparent)
that it could be argued, though not technically. Technically, it's _not_ a
character flaw.

~~~
MarkTee
Fair enough; I wasn't aware that there was a difference. I've always thought
that a person's "character" is "the aggregate of features and traits that form
the individual nature of some person or thing"[0], but it looks like the most
common usage only refers to concern moral/ethical characteristics.

To be clear, I'm not singling out people with _mental_ illnesses; as a person
with a physical illness, I would have considered it to be one of my "character
flaws".

[0]:
[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/character](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/character)

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talles
Kickstarter: [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/26788492/aaron-swartz-
do...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/26788492/aaron-swartz-documentary-
the-internets-own-boy-0)

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mattl
Kickstarter ended month's ago, the movie is now in production. I haven't heard
much in the way of updates though.

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rhgraysonii
It's great to see things like this about Aaron continue to spring up. He truly
was a great guy and his contributions and efforts seem as if they won't ever
be forgotten. Regardless of your opinion on what he did with JSTOR, the guy
truly, truly cared and believed in what he was doing and I feel anyone can
respect that. It's hard to believe it has been almost a year now. RIP.

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gum_ina_package
I've very excited to see this, hopefully it will help Aaron's Law to pass too.

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schenecstasy
Cool they are doing a creative commons open license on the footage. I'll have
to do a re-edit and change the cringeworthy title.

~~~
badwetter
Fix your link too.

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donteatbark
In this situation, is there a notion of a "rightholder?" Someone (e.g. his
family) who can sell the right to make the film?

~~~
michaelfeathers
You don't need permission to make documentaries about people.

