You are mourning the wrong way
When a celebrity passes away, there is public mourning. In the case of a visionary who has had such a long-lasting and important impact as Steve Jobs, this mourning is even more widespread and deeply felt. * However, there is a tone to some of this mourning that strikes me as extremely distasteful, self-serving and insensitive.
Upon Steve Jobs passing, one hash-tag that was continuously trending was #iSad. On Twitter and across Facebook, there were a number of ad hoc obituaries of this type:
RIP Steve Jobs. 3 Apples changed the world, 1st one seduced Eve, 2nd fell on Newton and the 3rd was offered to the world half bitten by Steve Jobs. He surely left a mark on our desks, hands and ears. *
iCame, iSaw, iConquered - iMade iPod, iPhone, iPad, iOS, iMac, iTunes; iCancer, iRetired, iDead. #stevejobs #ripSteveJobs
If it’s where Steve Jobs has gone, he’ll probably revolutionise heaven. Expect the new iPray to be out by Christmas. *
iBought iPod, iTouch, iPad, & iPhone. Now iBroke, iHomeless. *
In honor of Steve Jobs’s passing, I might actually read the Terms & Conditions before I click agree next time. *
A man has died; an immeasurably valuable human life has been extinguished suddenly and prematurely; we have been reminded that even at this time in humanity’s development no amount of money can buy a cure for or reprieve from cancer.
During such a time, all that a large swathe of the world’s population can do is use it as an opportunity to revel in their own cleverness. The lack of anything profound to say becomes an excuse for puerile, muddle-headed composition. The proliferation of such inanities becomes the impetus for a contest to outdo cleverness and get the highest number of retweets.
Everything along the vein of #iSad is an affront to the idea that we should honour the dead. This is sad and appalling.
