I don’t have much to say. I’ve been in a depressed haze ever since I heard this morning. Aaron Swartz, age 26, dead by apparent suicide.
As the co-founder of Reddit and one of the original programmers of RSS (at age 14!) he has improved my life in so many ways. Ironically, I didn’t know Aaron from either of these, but rather I knew (of) him because of his work at Demand Progress, NOI, and through my associations around money in politics with Lawrence Lessig. Aaron had worked extensively with Lessig developing Creative Commons and organizations Rootstrikers/ ChangeCongress. Lessig released one of the most heartfelt and raw eulogies for Aaron on his tumblr earlier today, blaming an out of control prosecution who had threatened to put Aaron behind bars for downloading a database of academic research for the purpose of posting it online. Aaron’s family makes the same case.
As an activist, Aaron and the folks at Demand Progress were the vanguard (and Reddit the megaphone) that helped stop SOPA/PIPA, a battle we covered frequently here at BSR.
Words fail me. I have no way to express the anger, sorrow, and grief I feel. So instead, I will simply post the official statement released by Aaron’s family and partner:
Official Statement from the Family and Partner of Aaron Swartz
Our beloved brother, son, friend, and partner Aaron Swartz hanged himself on Friday in his Brooklyn apartment. We are in shock, and have not yet come to terms with his passing.
Aaron’s insatiable curiosity, creativity, and brilliance; his reflexive empathy and capacity for selfless, boundless love; his refusal to accept injustice as inevitable—these gifts made the world, and our lives, far brighter. We’re grateful for our time with him, to those who loved him and stood with him, and to all of those who continue his work for a better world.
Aaron’s commitment to social justice was profound, and defined his life. He was instrumental to the defeat of an Internet censorship bill; he fought for a more democratic, open, and accountable political system; and he helped to create, build, and preserve a dizzying range of scholarly projects that extended the scope and accessibility of human knowledge. He used his prodigious skills as a programmer and technologist not to enrich himself but to make the Internet and the world a fairer, better place. His deeply humane writing touched minds and hearts across generations and continents. He earned the friendship of thousands and the respect and support of millions more.
Aaron’s death is not simply a personal tragedy. It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach. Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office and at MIT contributed to his death. The US Attorney’s office pursued an exceptionally harsh array of charges, carrying potentially over 30 years in prison, to punish an alleged crime that had no victims. Meanwhile, unlike JSTOR, MIT refused to stand up for Aaron and its own community’s most cherished principles.
Today, we grieve for the extraordinary and irreplaceable man that we have lost.
One of Lawrence Lessig’s favorite quotes comes from Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 1: “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.”
Aaron, you were a rootstriker. We already miss you.