“It was two-years ago this week that the Mac world lost a prolific Macintosh advocate, and I lost a friend. Rodney Lain, popular writer for Mac sites AppleLinks, The Mac Observer, MacAddict, and our own MyMac.com, died on June 16th, 2002,” Tim Robertson writes for MyMac.com.
“A controversial writer from the start, Rodney loved nothing more than to stir the hornets
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I’m sorry about your son ABQ Peter – I really am. And I don’t mean my words to sound insensitive.
I don’t think any belief in an afterlife has much to do with it. My point is – of course there’s despair, blackness and a very real feeling of internal rage. But all of us (except babies) have words to communicate those states to those who love them (fathers, wives etc) and that is the beginning of finding the ONLY way out of the dark maze.
It may help you to believe there was some sort of ‘bravery’ in what your son chose to do – but I think bravery belongs to those who have their lives taken from them by situations they have no conscious capacity to influence – not those who willfully (and often spitefully) decide they can’t get along with what the world asks of them – and asks of all of us (there is a huge amount of secret loathing involved in this too) and chicken out.
I understand you may see things another way – perhaps I just think differently.
I didn’t say bravery, only not cowardice. I have come to the conclusion that there are no words in whatever language you speak to express how the person who thinks of suicide feels or how the people left feel. From my experience I am glad that those words don’t exist. Rodney wasn’t brave, neither was my son. Rodney had some neat insights into what was going on and I miss him, that is all.
The ugly world that Rodney and ABQ Peter’s son bravely stepped out of is alive and flourishing.
In this forum.
My original post might have been… I believe – if it’s not obvious – that Rodney’s point regarding the “Mac being the ‘Repressed Minority’ of the computer world”, was to point out how the ‘majority’ can effect the minority in very unnecessarily, hurtful ways.
–
Regarding suicide. It’s been said. ‘Long-term solution to short-term troubles’. As for cowardice. I think many people could see those that do it as running away from problems. Maybe the people that do this, think that they’re the problem – leaving behind a ‘better’ life for those they leave. (Kurt’s ‘apparent’ suicide note might be an example of this thinking) (But then, I only play doctor on Sunday mornings!;-)
Anyway, suicide’s such a waste. ‘Everyone’ (including all the devil’s advocates) has something to add to the human condition. At least that’s what I keep trying to convince my mother-in-law
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–
[apologies to everyone]
That wasn’t so hard, was it? I do it all the time, after fobbing up. It’s the only thing that actually liberates future guilt, and engenders lasting friendship between people. (Only when I do it, I actually mean it.
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And for the record, I know how important it is to you – so, I’ll LET you win. Now, I think you’ve got a few dozen pages of your Words & Phrases-of-the-Day Calendar to memorize.
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Good day to you sir.
Words, like bullets, can leave permanent scars.
You can build a thousand bridges ….
I liked Rodney (iBrotha) in his many incarnations, but as a father, son, husband, etc. I find the act of suicide a painfully chickenshit way out. I have (and am living) lived through my own depression and bad times, and while most people in this position may “think” about it, I’d never do it.
I’m mixed on this. I don’t join in on some of the other insanely immature posts, but I’m not quite ready to make him out to be an idol or victim either.
SB
You are right ABQ Peter. I was responding to your ‘a lot of nerve’ comment which I took to mean the same as bravery.
Well it’s been a useful experience sharing a few thoughtful words with you – even though (and maybe, because) we see things from a different place.
A pity the likes of Less is More and jklkljkjl dont seem to think at all, they prefer to rely on tired old cliches.
Good night, Twenty Benson. See you around. Thanks for the conversation.
Strange! People can be human rights advocates, advocate for literacy, animal rights advocates, nature advocates…
Why is there a need for a Mac advocate? It’s a piece of machinery.
Are Mac users and the hardware itself suffering at the hands of others?
A great Mac Advocate… strange!
Strange! People can be human rights advocates, advocate for literacy, animal rights advocates, nature advocates…
Why is there a need for a Mac advocate? It’s a piece of machinery.
Are Mac users and the hardware itself suffering at the hands of others?
A great Mac Advocate… strange!
With that said… Rest In Peace!
With that said… Rest In Peace!
Words, like bullets, can leave permanent scars.
My mom used to say, “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you.” She was right. Insults are only taken.
One of my friends was bipolar, and killed himself after his wife left him. We don’t know what Rodney was going through. I remember being rather surprised when I heard the news about him, I always found his columns interesting. What can you say?
I have some racist redneck relatives in the South, something I’ve always considered an illness, and wish the hell they would move out of the South and get a perspective, as I’ve been able to do. Some of them even think “the South will rise again”! I’ve given up on them.
Words, like bullets, can leave permanent scars. [ jklkljkjl ]
I think he/she meant scars on the person who spoke them, and not the target of the words. It’s obvious to me … must be a slow brain day.
Some of you are seriously misguided– suicide is neither cowardly nor brave– self-preservation is the natural state of the mind, and when a mental disorder such as depression makes you suicidal, your brain is not functioning correctly. It runs on chemical interactions, and these chemicals can get out of balance. I had what I considered serious depression for many years, but I never considered suicide – I could never imagine doing that to my mother who had already lost a son. Then a few years ago, life events threw me into such a deep depression, my rational thought was disabled. The pain of living was so great, suicide seemed a logical and even desireable path. Thank God my brother stepped in, and I started a new path of counseling and medication and all is much better. Too bad Rodney didn’t get proper help at the proper time.
ToeKnee,
Very interesting, your self-preservation theory. I think I understand how this would be the preservation of your ‘self’, not necessarily ‘yourself’.
Anyway, I read this one time after a particularly shitty period I was having, and without seeming glib, here goes…Depression is mearly anger without enthusiasm.
> I get bored reading the articles this man wrote – although it’s easy to see he enjoyed using his words. Which makes it all the more puzzling why he found lots of words to waste on something as trivial as computers at the same time as being lost for them when he really needed not to be – ie, when he was consumed with wretchedness about himself. [Twenty Benson]
There’s a lot of words being bandied about here by those trying to recover from callous remarks casually squirted.
> A pity the likes of Less is More and jklkljkjl dont seem to think at all, they prefer to rely on tired old cliches.
Then let me join them:
<quote>
Walk a mile in my shoes
Walk a mile in my shoes
And before you abuse
Criticise and accuse
Walk a mile in my shoes
</quote>
Ha!
ToeKnee plays the ‘chemical’ card…
‘see, my unhappiness is due to my body functions not being right – so there’s no need for me to talk to you about what’s on my mind’
nonsense!
Troll plays the ‘pity’ card…
‘I’m so hard done by (sulk). If only you were me you’d realise – and I wouldn’t need to talk to you what’s on my mind’.
“Thank God my brother stepped in…” Thank your BROTHER for stepping in, not God (He might be part of the problem!).
“…and I started a new path of counseling” No need to be fancy – you started using WORDS to save yourself.
MacBuddy
“…Depression is mearly anger without enthusiasm”
that’s more like it! Let’s change ‘depression’ for ‘unhappiness’ and ‘anger’ for ‘fit of rage’
TB-
seems like you got it all figured out. Making simplistic assumptions for life’s complex problems will only get you so far, though.
I once thought as you do, especially when my nephew who had everything going for him killed himself eight years ago. But I eventually found out that ‘talk’ only goes so far, and tweaking the chemicals slightly can make the difference between life and death. It was a hard pill for me to swallow (pun intended).
Good luck to you– I hope you don’t lose someone close while waiting for them to ‘talk.’
Hmm, well I don’t need to state the obvious about the effectiveness of chemicals in your situation do I ToeKnee?
“simplistic assumptions for life’s complex problems…” Sounds like you bought your nephew’s line on ‘complex problems’ and – sadly for him – he succeeded in getting you to collude in what was really just his own ‘tangled internal mess’. Sometimes – against enormous pressure – it’s vital to hold on to the ‘simplistic’.
It’s a shame Rodney (apparently) never met anyone to stand up to all his self pity and not get suckered into his bizarre (and complex) choice of diversionary objects – God, his blackness and Apple computers – all of which, he felt, had failed to receive their deserved recognition of greatness from the world.
heh, like I said, good luck, TB. Sounds like you’re going to need it.