Aaron Swartz's memorial service

Here's a note from Aaron Swartz's family, with details about his memorial service in Chicago next week, and the charity they've nominated for donations in Aaron's name:

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.

Aaron's funeral will be held on Tuesday, January 15 at Central Avenue Synagogue, 874 Central Avenue, Highland Park, Illinois 60035. Further details, including the specific time, will be posted at http://rememberaaronsw.com, along with announcements about memorial services to be held in other cities in coming weeks.

Remembrances of Aaron, as well as donations in his memory, can be submitted at http://rememberaaronsw.com

Remember Aaron Swartz (Thanks, Henry.)

• [Just_Ok]

  A.S. was, A.S. is.

• [dspl]

  May the goodness of Aaron Swartz be born in the hearts and souls of all of us.

• [Constance]

  What a loss. We need more people like him.

• [Jake0748]

  Another win for the bad guys, I guess.  FTW.  :(

• [John Vance]

  Beautifully written and unmistakably damning.

• [dspl]

  petition to fire assistant US Attorney Steve Haymann for his overzealous prosecution of Aaron Swartz:  
  http://wh.gov/Ex1n

• [Brian Donohue]

  I think people like this man need more than outrage on their behalf; they need professional support while they’re alive. Here’s an idea: http://briandonohue.org/?p=1306

• [AlecMuffett]

  For all fellow bloggers writing about Aaron, I’ve found this document to be very helpful in framing the discussion in past.  I’ll just leave this here:
  http://www.samaritans.org/media-centre/media-guidelines-reporting-suicide

• [Cowicide]

  Aaron’s death is not simply a personal tragedy

  To me it feels like a national tragedy.

  • [Marina Jordá]

    To me it feels like an international tragedy.

• [Raymond Chuang]

  We should all make a donation to the Electronic Frontier Foundation in memory of  Aaron Swartz’s pretty amazing life.

• [william ambrosia]

  Another step up for the forces of disorder with the loss of this brilliant, spirited and passionate voice for American civil liberties and the counter force to disorder. A.S. your passion, values and spirit will live on .