Responding to a Tragedy
15/01/13 05:02
Anger is a part of grief. Back in 1969, when Elisabeth Kubler-Ross published the landmark book, On Death and Dying, the connection between anger and grief was less well-known, but Kubler-Ross’ five stage model became the standard for professionals who help others to deal with their grief. And the understanding that anger is a natural response to loss became commonly accepted.
Less understood is the dynamic of blame. When death comes suddenly or prematurely there is often an urge to fix blame as a part of the reaction of anger. Sometimes, such as in the case of a murder, there is a clear object of the blame. Often it is much more difficult to understand all of the dynamics that led up to the loss. Blame is often misdirected by grieving individuals and families.
It is not particularly surprising to me that the family of Internet activist Aaron Swartz issued a statement that criticized prosecutors for seeking “an exceptionally harsh array of charges (for) an alleged crime that had no victims.” They went on to claim that decisions made by prosecutors and officials of MIT “contributed to his death.”
I don’t blame them for being angry. Their burden of grief is overwhelming. Aaron was an exceptionally bright young man. Losing him at the young age of 26 must have come as a terrible blow for his family. He had shown such promise. He was technically brilliant, politically astute, and had a deep sense of justice. He was a crusader. He was a prodigy. His work on the social-news site Reddit and RSS, the technology that allows websites to send updates to subscribers were demonstrations of his brilliance. Some of us won’t achieve such significant breakthroughs in a lifetime.
Aaron Swartz was a bit of a folk hero among Internet activists. Anonymous, the loosely defined collective of so-called “hactivists” who oppose attempts to limit Internet freedoms responded to news of his death with a flurry of online activities. Anonymous claimed credit late Sunday for defacing several MIT websites. Tech, the campus newspaper, reported that users of MIT’s network lost access to most sites for nearly three hours Sunday night. Someone, claiming to represent Anonymous posted an online statement calling the government’s prosecution of Swartz “a grotesque miscarriage of justice.”
The charges faced by Swartz were serious. Prosecutors allege that he stole millions of online documents – mostly scholarly papers – from MIT through the university’s computer network. The federal charges that he faced could have resulted in decades of imprisonment if he were convicted. The seriousness of the alleged crimes depends, in part, on your point of view. Members of Anonymous saw it as a harmless stunt. Authorities at MIT saw it as a serious threat to academic security and freedom. Prosecutors saw it as theft of valuable assets.
And now Aaron is dead. His body was found hanged in his apartment on Friday. The Internet is filled with blame going back and forth. Some blame the officials at MIT for bringing the charges. Some blame prosecutors for pursuing harsh charges.
Aaron Swartz died of a disease. It has a name: Depression. It can be treated. When left untreated it can have fatal results. And, as is the case in every suicide, the family and friends are left with an uninsurable question: “Why?” You can’t avoid asking the question. You might even come up with a partial answer. But the truth is that the reasons for Aaron’s actions were lost along with his brilliant mind at the point of his death. No one will every know for sure all of the details of the tragic events that accelerated into a tragic death.
I wasn’t involved. I never met Aaron. I never attended MIT. I don’t know the professors. I don’t know the prosecutors. I don’t know the technical details of the law. I don’t know how the computer network works or what danger the copying of documents might have posed. So it is easy for me to sit back from a distance and look at this death by suicide as I have looked at hundreds of such deaths over the years. It is a tragedy that might have been prevented. And it is an invitation for all of us to get involved where we can to prevent future deaths by suicide.
Life doesn’t have a rewind button. We don’t have the capacity to erase the tragic reality of the death of this brilliant young man. We can’t stop the family from experiencing pain.
We do know, however, that trained intervention works. Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is an internationally recognized standard for suicide prevention. ASIST-trained individuals prevent suicides every day. Over 80% of the persons who suffer from severe and chronic depression are effectively treated. We can only speculate what might have happened had Aaron’s attorneys, who were well aware of his depression, had been ASIST-trained. I’m pretty sure that everyone who worked with him now would agree that a two-day investment in training would have been worth it.
We expect all of our firefighters, police officers and ambulance workers to be trained in the lifesaving skill of CPR. We work hard to educate the general public about CPR. 911 dispatchers are trained to give instructions for CPR over the phone. How many lives could we save if we expanded ASIST training? How many tragedies could be prevented if it were as common as CPR?
None of my speculation is of any help to the grieving family. Perhaps expressing their anger in the form of blame will help them to deal with the weight of the tragedy. They will never get over their loss. With proper support they can survive.
Here is a number I share every opportunity I get: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255). It is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It is a source of support and help. Real live persons answer the phones 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can always find help by calling that number.
The statistics teach us that everyone who was close to Aaron has an increased risk of dying by suicide. It isn’t too late to work to save lives.
Preventing death by suicide would be a fitting tribute and a meaningful memorial for Aaron Swartz. I hope we can find the resources as a nation for such a memorial.
Less understood is the dynamic of blame. When death comes suddenly or prematurely there is often an urge to fix blame as a part of the reaction of anger. Sometimes, such as in the case of a murder, there is a clear object of the blame. Often it is much more difficult to understand all of the dynamics that led up to the loss. Blame is often misdirected by grieving individuals and families.
It is not particularly surprising to me that the family of Internet activist Aaron Swartz issued a statement that criticized prosecutors for seeking “an exceptionally harsh array of charges (for) an alleged crime that had no victims.” They went on to claim that decisions made by prosecutors and officials of MIT “contributed to his death.”
I don’t blame them for being angry. Their burden of grief is overwhelming. Aaron was an exceptionally bright young man. Losing him at the young age of 26 must have come as a terrible blow for his family. He had shown such promise. He was technically brilliant, politically astute, and had a deep sense of justice. He was a crusader. He was a prodigy. His work on the social-news site Reddit and RSS, the technology that allows websites to send updates to subscribers were demonstrations of his brilliance. Some of us won’t achieve such significant breakthroughs in a lifetime.
Aaron Swartz was a bit of a folk hero among Internet activists. Anonymous, the loosely defined collective of so-called “hactivists” who oppose attempts to limit Internet freedoms responded to news of his death with a flurry of online activities. Anonymous claimed credit late Sunday for defacing several MIT websites. Tech, the campus newspaper, reported that users of MIT’s network lost access to most sites for nearly three hours Sunday night. Someone, claiming to represent Anonymous posted an online statement calling the government’s prosecution of Swartz “a grotesque miscarriage of justice.”
The charges faced by Swartz were serious. Prosecutors allege that he stole millions of online documents – mostly scholarly papers – from MIT through the university’s computer network. The federal charges that he faced could have resulted in decades of imprisonment if he were convicted. The seriousness of the alleged crimes depends, in part, on your point of view. Members of Anonymous saw it as a harmless stunt. Authorities at MIT saw it as a serious threat to academic security and freedom. Prosecutors saw it as theft of valuable assets.
Aaron Swartz died of a disease. It has a name: Depression. It can be treated. When left untreated it can have fatal results. And, as is the case in every suicide, the family and friends are left with an uninsurable question: “Why?” You can’t avoid asking the question. You might even come up with a partial answer. But the truth is that the reasons for Aaron’s actions were lost along with his brilliant mind at the point of his death. No one will every know for sure all of the details of the tragic events that accelerated into a tragic death.
I wasn’t involved. I never met Aaron. I never attended MIT. I don’t know the professors. I don’t know the prosecutors. I don’t know the technical details of the law. I don’t know how the computer network works or what danger the copying of documents might have posed. So it is easy for me to sit back from a distance and look at this death by suicide as I have looked at hundreds of such deaths over the years. It is a tragedy that might have been prevented. And it is an invitation for all of us to get involved where we can to prevent future deaths by suicide.
Life doesn’t have a rewind button. We don’t have the capacity to erase the tragic reality of the death of this brilliant young man. We can’t stop the family from experiencing pain.
We do know, however, that trained intervention works. Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is an internationally recognized standard for suicide prevention. ASIST-trained individuals prevent suicides every day. Over 80% of the persons who suffer from severe and chronic depression are effectively treated. We can only speculate what might have happened had Aaron’s attorneys, who were well aware of his depression, had been ASIST-trained. I’m pretty sure that everyone who worked with him now would agree that a two-day investment in training would have been worth it.
We expect all of our firefighters, police officers and ambulance workers to be trained in the lifesaving skill of CPR. We work hard to educate the general public about CPR. 911 dispatchers are trained to give instructions for CPR over the phone. How many lives could we save if we expanded ASIST training? How many tragedies could be prevented if it were as common as CPR?
None of my speculation is of any help to the grieving family. Perhaps expressing their anger in the form of blame will help them to deal with the weight of the tragedy. They will never get over their loss. With proper support they can survive.
Here is a number I share every opportunity I get: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255). It is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It is a source of support and help. Real live persons answer the phones 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can always find help by calling that number.
The statistics teach us that everyone who was close to Aaron has an increased risk of dying by suicide. It isn’t too late to work to save lives.
Preventing death by suicide would be a fitting tribute and a meaningful memorial for Aaron Swartz. I hope we can find the resources as a nation for such a memorial.