Neil Alan Smith, 48, was a dishwasher at a Crab Shack in St. Petersburg, Florida. When he was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver, the St. Petersburg Times reported the story. An online commenter to the story responded:
The newspaper editors were deeply offended at this gross dismissal of the value of a human life, and responded by publishing a full obituary for Mr. Smith. He was a private man, but noted among a small circle of friends for working hard and sharing with those in need:
Every life matters.
Link via Geekosystem | Photo: Tampa Bay Online
A man who is working as a dishwasher at the Crab Shack at the age of 48 is surely better off dead.
The newspaper editors were deeply offended at this gross dismissal of the value of a human life, and responded by publishing a full obituary for Mr. Smith. He was a private man, but noted among a small circle of friends for working hard and sharing with those in need:
"He set his boundaries," said Peggy Rogers, 56, his roommate of six years. "He didn't pry into your business, so you just kind of respected that and you didn't do that to him."
He told friends he had been married and divorced, had managed a gas station in New Hampshire before moving to Florida in 1999. He got a concession stand job at Derby Lane, then started working at the Crab Shack.
He lived in a mobile home near the restaurant and paid rent to the owner, Bonnie Schaeffer-Mott. Once, when she feared the power company would shut off the electricity, she asked Mr. Smith for help.
He gave her more than what she had asked to borrow and insisted she take it. "I'll never forget that," said Schaeffer-Mott, 51.
Every life matters.
Link via Geekosystem | Photo: Tampa Bay Online
If you have something rude or unkind to say to someone else, be a grown up and say it to the person face. Otherwise, it just shows how much of a coward you really are.
This story makes me sad. :(
It's great what the St. Petersburg Times did. Kudos!
Yes, the nastiest of logorrhea spews from the smug commenter. We're better off ignoring most. Troll syndrome is a growing problem.
I stand corrected; the neatness is that a newspaper actually a toss about what people say. I'm truly surprised as trolls are just part of the signal-to-noise ratio and I'd expect most geeks to ignore it as such.
When I die, my final instructions will include "NO OBITUARY. ANYWHERE."
but if people were to do this sort of thing every time somebody on the internet said something tactless, there would be nothing but internet-response-articles in every newspaper in the world
it's just something people gotta deal with
Maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing... at least then the internet wouldn't be as bad as the evening news when it comes to reporting on things going on around us.
We need to make it so the nasty and cruel are the ones who have to "deal".
Evil flourishes when good men do nothing. Cruelty is evil.
When reality hits them in the ass, and it always does,
they find Jesus. Before they'd wash dishes at 48 they'd shoot themselves. Good.
It's not like he cares anymore what people are saying.
This poor guy had one hell of a commute. So sad
Ya'll may disagree with vonskippy, but be polite about it.
I've never understood why it is considered better to say something rude or mean to someone's face rather than just keeping your mouth shut.
Not everything we think and feel HAS to be expressed. If you hate someone, why would you feel the need to say it to their face? What possible good would come of it? Just keep it to yourself and avoid the person as much as possible.
This reaction is precisely what the troll wanted to do. Congratulations for feeding it.
And lay off von skippy for expressing his opinion. You live in a world where success for a man is measured by his profession and his income, and we all buy into it to some degree. If you claim not to, then you're deceiving yourself.
I'm not sure what reaction you're referring to, but I prefer to think that troll changed their ways after reading that obit and realizing how cruel they had been.
But, internet bastards are just a fact of life.
Let's see, who cared about this guy before somebody made the callous comment? Not you. You never heard of him. The story is about the troll, and the troll was successful. The trolling became the story. That's what trolls live for.
If you think that whoever posted the nasty comment rethought their view of life and repented their ways, then you've got a little too much pollyanna in your outlook.
Ironic statement: "I'd like to see the St Pete's Times track this troll down and see what he's doing with his life. My guess is not much"
Thanks for illustrating my other point so beautifully. People don't think much of this poor dishwasher - they're only reacting to the mean comment. Deep down, most people have no respect for those who are "unsuccessful" in life, according to society's standards. People would just as readily jump on the troll for his/her lack of success.
Any media story, however it may come about, that manages to get a large group of people to celebrate the life of someone rather than tear someone down is alright by me.