Steve Jobs died during the week, as everyone knows. For a whole day and a half there were status updates on so many people's facebook accounts, mostly speaking messages of mourning, some however, not quite so upset. There was one in particular that caused a great deal of chatter on facebook, it got quite heated for a while there.
All these status updates really got me thinking.
What is it about such things that get people so riled up?
Now I'm not suggesting that it isn't sad that Steve Jobs died, for his family, or his friends.
But why would this effect people who've never met him, who don't actually know the first thing about him? As I wrote on facebook the other day, the only thing I know about Steve Jobs is that he helped make computers that I like to use, I've never met him and so his death is not going to have an impact on my life.
Now, if there is anyone reading this blog, please don't assume that I am writing this because I am trying to be insensitive, I am not.
As I said above, of course it is sad for the people that knew him personally. He was responsible for some great innovations in the computer industry. I use a Macbook, I like apple products!!
All I am asking for here is a little bit of perspective.
People die everyday.
People who are no doubt very intelligent, who no doubt give a great deal to their communities and their families, people who are no doubt as worthy of notice and acknowledgement as any other famous person who dies.
No doubt many hundreds of Mac employees have died totally unnoticed by the world at large.
Like for example:
What about the workers from the Foxconn factory in China, where Iproducts are made? Suffering from such severe stress and overwork that some of them have taken their own lives?* I don't remember this receiving such airplay and I certainly don't remember half my newsfeed being taken up with notes of mourning.
So, perspective?
*http://micgadget.com/3793/the-real-truth-behind-foxconns-suicide-cluster/
People mourn when anyone who has touched their life in some way or another dies..
ReplyDeleteWere you upset at the death of Amy Winehouse? Heath Ledger? Kurt Cobain?
I would honestly say that Steve Jobs has left a far greater legacy than any of them. He has changed the face of personal computing many times over. People use his products, have watched his talks, followed his story online for many a year.
You'll note that many of the most verbal people are geeks. They're the one who have kept up to date with him, followed his story, waited every year with excitement to find out about the new products.
It's resonated so loudly because he is so known in the online/computer space.. So it goes through online media fast.
And frankly, the guy is/was a genius, always pushing and striving for changing things.. he is a visionary, and it's a sad day when we lose someone who fights for their dreams.
- Alison
Al - Thank you for your comment.
ReplyDeleteI actually don't disagree with you, I am not saying it's not a sad day and I do understand that when a person is well known for bringing good things to the world dies it makes people sad. A better example for me was Robert Jordan, I was sad.
Like I said the purpose of the post was not to be insensitive, and I certainly was not trying to tell people not to be sad.
But whenever something like this happens and someone famous (for whatever reason) dies, I always think the same thing, there are literally thousands of people who die daily and they go unnoticed by the world. Now I know it's kind of hard to mourn for someone you know nothing about, I am not saying that. But what worries me, and will always worry me, is how easy it is for people not to think about them, not to consider them, not to realise that in some circumstances there are many things in our lives that contribute in some way to their deaths.
I do hope that my post has not offended you, it certainly wasn't meant to.