R.I.P. Steve Jobs

[Deagonx]

In case you haven't already heard. Steve Jobs died of cancer today.

[ArtDrake]

I cried.

A lot.

[Idozen Cair]

Same here.

:'(

[CraigStern]

It's sad news. He had an immense, positive impact on the development and spread of technology. He will be missed.

[Idozen Cair]

But there was a gazillion more times of tweets mourning Steve Jobs than mourning for Michael Jackson.

[rogerhandrics]

R.I.P Steve jobs the industry visionary..

[Tastidian]

The only reason I post here and now is in his honor. I feel sad I wast'n able to post here for I remember enjoying this forum for sometime than simply got too busy.

[SmartyPants]

Can someone explain to me why people idolized Steve Jobs?  He did take part in the development of technology like the ipad and iphone, but why does that mean he deserved to be treated like rockstar Jesus?  If you actually read about how Jobs treats people, then you will see that he can be a real jerk.  I would understand why people would admire Bill Gates due to all of his charity, but Steve Jobs has almost no record of philanthropy despite the billions of dollars he has earned.

[ArtDrake]

He's not rockstar Jesus, he's a great American innovator. Yes, Apple used/uses less-than-ethical labor practices overseas, but that doesn't lessen the accomplishment of creating the technology we use today. Lay off -- this is the Rest In Peace thread. You want to create a "To Darned Heck With You, You Dastardly Jobs Fellow" thread and whale on a dead man, go right ahead -- berating the deceased is out of place in this particular lieu.

[SmartyPants]

I know he isn't rockstar Jesus, and that is why I'm questioning why people treat him like rockstar Jesus.    Its not like Jobs invented penicillin or the polio vaccine. Is the only reason people love Jobs is that he helped develop the technology that makes it more convenient to watch adorable cat videos?

While I find it inappropriate to say "To Darned Heck With You, You Dastardly Jobs Fellow", I also don't understand why people pretend that after a celebrity dies that they lived completely virtuous lives.  For example, why did everyone forget that Michael Jackson was a child molester, and Keith Ledger was a drug addict?

[ArtDrake]

Okay, we didn't forget those things. People still make the "How is Michel Jackson like an Xbox 360?" joke, and Heath Ledger (at least get his name right?) actually died as a direct result of said drugs, so it's not likely we're going to forget about that any time soon.

People that have actual beefs with the departed have kept those beefs right on going -- I really don't see anything out of the ordinary apart from traditional respect for the dead, which stems from religious beliefs that the dead have ongoing influence in our lives [gratuitous link!], but developed into a notion independent of religion and more to be a question of culture. Furthermore, it comes of the commonly held notion that one should not speak ill of others when they cannot defend themselves -- the dead are nothing if not defenseless.

If you want to make sweeping generalizations based on your personal experience, that's fine, but you'll most likely be mistaken.

[SmartyPants]

You are the one who keeps focusing on the negative.  I was expecting someone to explain why people would love Steve Jobs, because I just don't see why people always make a big deal about him.  I made a simple point that there is no charitable or virtuous reason to love Jobs, and then you run with it and imply that Jobs deserves a topic called "To Darned Heck With You, You Dastardly Jobs Fellow".

If you really wanted to honor Job's memory, then you would actually attempt to explain the good Jobs has done during his lifetime instead of attacking me and talking about religion.

[ArtDrake]

I have explained a couple of the positive attributes about Jobs. I have judiciously contrasted these with some negatives. I have suggested an alternate venue for calling him a "real jerk" if you'd forgotten that you'd done that.

I even went so far as to explain why it is the norm to honor the dead with little regard to the details of their life, something which I inferred that you needed an explanation for, given your exaggeration of this very point -- "I also don't understand why people pretend that after a celebrity dies that they lived completely virtuous lives" -- do not presume that I am trying to derail the conversation.

But on your simple insistence, I shall become even more pertinent than I was before: you already seem to have found all the facts you want to find on the life of Steve Jobs, so this entire exchange is pointless and done.

[CraigStern]

Guys: let's not turn this into a series of recriminations, please. Keep it civil.

[SmartyPants]

Due to the lack explanations of why so many people idolize Jobs, I am starting to assume that the media has turned Jobs into a celebrity.  Like I don't understand why people love Jobs, I also don't understand the fasciation with the personal life of celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, George Clooney, Clint Eastwood, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian, and Obama.