Aaron Swartz is me

https://free.aaronsw.com/

I am a geek, a nerd, a hacker. One of those average, everyday, people who have a healthy obsession in making computers work for humans. I have loved computers since my early teens. I love computers a lot.

I love people -- the common, every-day people who surround me. The barista at the coffee-shop who greets me by calling my name; the young woman with the headphones, oblivious to her surroundings; the homeless man whose "have a blessed day" I return with a "you, too". I love people much more than I love computers.

I know that there is data locked inside computers. Data can be mined to yield information. Information can lead to knowledge. Knowledge can lead to wisdom. And wisdom is what makes us human. Therefore, it's my relentless quest to free the data that's locked inside computers.

In my quest to free data sequestered inside computers, I know that locks must be unlocked. However, I'm no thief: I'm a gifted locksmith. I know that some locks are necessary. The locks that protect the data related to people's personal and private effects are sacrosanct. I know I could unlock them, if I wanted to. However, I would never do that: I love people more than I love computers.

I unlock the locks that are unnecessarily put on data the public has a right to access. The data public have already paid for. Like a physical padlock on a public park, I believe it's illegal. I know there are people who disagree with me: who believe that any lock must be respected. But what about the locks that were placed on the shackles around people's feet in olden times?

I have inspirations. Thoreau, Gandhi, King, Corrie. People who knew that not all locks are legal. Some boundaries ought to be breached. Some locks must be unlocked. I know these people paid a price -- often the highest price -- for their actions. Civil disobedience is often met with a highly uncivilized response.

I know that those with unchecked power will claim that I'm a miscreant, a thief, a destroyer of public good and a creator of mayhem. They perceive any unlocking of any data as a danger to their unchecked power. I know that the people I love will see me for what I am: a passionate hacker who loves the computers and wants to unlock the data inside them so that the people -- who I love more -- can make use of it.

I see the high-profile threats. I hear the bombastic language of those who wield power not for the benefit of others but for their own indulgence. It does scare me, for I'm human. I try to remain stoic because I have done no wrong. I only picked the locks that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

I am scared. But I know I'm right. The people I love, the people who love me and love computers and the large amounts of data locked therein -- waiting to be freed for the good of everyone -- know I'm right. That brings me hope.

I'm hopeful. This burden that hangs over me will be lifted. I'll be free, unfettered, unshackled -- like the data I helped free inside the computers I love for the benefit of the people I love more.

https://free.aaronsw.com/