Thursday, October 6, 2011

RIP Steve Jobs; Now Stop Crying


First of all, let me just say RIP Steve Jobs. He was a truly visionary thinker and possible genius who made all of our lives more enjoyable through his technological advancements and he died way too young. My heart goes out to his family. That being said, can we maybe cool it a bit with the overly dramatic, weepy reactions? The man has been gone for a few hours and already the Internet and TV is crowded with people tearfully recounting the first time they got ipods and making comparisons to the day that JFK or Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. These folks are even admitting this is like losing a religious figure. Where were you when you first heard that Steve Jobs died? Did you somehow go on with your miserable life, even now having the knowledge that nothing will ever be the same? Did you crawl up into a ball and await the coming apocalypse that this tragedy will bring? Jobs did great things, but creating a really cool mp3 player and cell phone is not the same thing as working for the rights of an entire race of people or being the first American president to be assassinated in a century.

Jobs' status as the leader of a technological revolution seems to have some people confused into thinking that he was an actual leader of something, when he was really just a guy who was very good at what he did. What he did was create user friendly, really cool technology for the masses. Let's not over react here though. He never cured a disease or (as far as I know) worked against social injustices. He made it so we could play Angry Birds wherever we wanted and listen to the new Jay-z album wherever we please without carrying around those clunky CD cases. It wasn't like we were oppressed before though. He made our lives more comfortable, but not in the face of evil forces who were against him or us (except maybe PC users) nor did he change anyone's life in a spiritual way . He made most of our lives a little more enjoyable. For that we owe him big time, but let's please save the teary memorials.

2 comments:

  1. At least I'm better at living longer...SUCKER!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. From Maddox

    Everyone hyperventilating, repeat after me: I am not defined by the products I buy. My computer is not a part of my identity. My computer is a tool. And like all tools, it's only useful if I make it useful. A brand is not a lifestyle. I don't owe gratitude to a billionaire I helped create. Steve Jobs was a business man who charged exhorbitantly for his products. He didn't do us any favors. He didn't make us. We made him.

    ReplyDelete