Submitted by “Andre Hedrick, a principal engineer and operating system architect at Cisco Systems and a Linux kernel contributor, has died. He leaves behind a wife, four young children and many friends. Andre made a significant contribution to personal computing history in a way few people fully realise.” I indeed had no idea. It’s subtle, but quite important indeed. Worth reading, and our thoughts and condolences with his family and friends.
I certainly wasn’t aware, and I doubt I was the only one. A crying shame that none of us will have the opportunity to thank him in person, but for whatever it is worth, Thank you Andre.
I read this earlier, and had no idea of his importance in the struggle to keep computing open and not totally in thrall to corporate interests.
Thanks, RIP.
What a brilliant person…. how sad that he took his own life
His LinkedIn is still even up… I’m posting it not out of any disrespect, but because it highlights his career achievements:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrehedrick
I, too, was not aware of Andre. It disheartening to hear of the loss. Even more so with such a talented individual.
“Andre was unquestionably smart, driven and an advocate for Linux user freedom. Andre was also mentally ill.”
https://lwn.net/Articles/508467/
Very much worth reading.
… so he committed suicide and left behind a wife and 4 young children? Seems pretty selfish, if you ask me. Maybe he should have spent a little less time hacking Linux and more in therapy.
Edited 2012-07-27 22:08 UTC
Nothing better than psychologizing people you don’t know!
I don’t need to know the guy to recognize that committing suicide while you have a family is fundamentally selfish and cruel. I don’t care how depressed you are. You owe your family an obligation to be there for them. And I could give a rat’s ass how great of a code contributor he was in the Linux community. He left behind a wife and four kids that will be forever affected by his selfish decision to end his life. I’ve seen the effects of suicide on young people; it tears them apart, and leaves a hole in them that can’t be filled. If you’ve got issues with depression, seek professional help; do whatever it takes to get better. For those of you who either won’t (or can’t) grok this simple truth, whatever, mod me down, as you inevitably will. Some people can’t handle the truth.
How do you know he had depression? How do you know it wasn’t schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder, which are also significant risk factors for suicide?
Even if he were depressed, how would you weigh the pain he was experiencing against that of his family by his loss? Why are you qualified to judge?
Easy answers tend to be self-serving, which is why one should always be circumspect in judging others. I don’t see how you have enough information, or even the moral authority.
It doesn’t matter. There are treatments available which can control their symptoms. Suicide is NEVER justified.
Without getting into detail, I’ve battled depression for many years, and I have faced the kinds of questions that Hendrick ultimately faced. The difference is that I received treatment, and I wasn’t willing to run away from my own problems and leave my kids without a father. So, I speak from personal experience. Do you? I doubt it.
I’ve had family members with mental illnesses of various kinds, though I’ve been fortunate to not have any myself. You’re right, I don’t know what it feels like, only what my relatives expressed to me.
I applaud your strength in getting treatment, but I don’t think it’s easy to expect someone with these illnesses to necessarily do the same. Someone with severe depression lacks motivation to do much of anything; a schizophrenic may lose touch with what’s real and what isn’t; a persona with bipolar may hate the side effects of the drugs, or greatly miss the highs that come with the illness.
Moreover, unlike treating a broken leg, treatment for a mental illness changes your very thought patterns, i.e. *you*. As such it’s a deeply personal decision. Therefore, is it clearly wrong if someone arrives at a different conclusion than you did?
Dude, you’re being an ass. You don’t know if he was depressed or suffered from schizophrenia or something else. You don’t know if went to therapy or not or how long or how effective it was. You don’t know if he was on medication or not.
In short, you didn’t know dick about him when you decided to take a cheap shot at him and his contributions.
Whatever. I’ve walked in his shoes before. And it’s fair to call out the utter waste of a life, so that other people don’t make the same mistake.
Ok, I’m just going to come out & say it – “You are utterly retarded”. Can you even grasp the stupidity of expecting someone, who might’ve been mentally ill, to realize that he has a problem & should get help? Why the “EFFE” would you expect someone, who might’ve been mentally ill, to be capable of evaluating his mental situation & determining a good course of action??? Writing code is pretty academic, logical, & sterile. The workings of the human mind are the complete opposite of all of that. There’s no reasonable explanation to expect that he would’ve been capable of self-diagnosing. Most doctors can’t even do this. Everyone knows that doctors make the worst patients & lawyers make the worst clients. Get your head out of your ass!
RIP Andre Hedrick!
I recall seeing his name in a few articles, but had absolutely no idea his contributions were of such significance. Truly, an under-appreciated contributor. Thank you, Mr. Andre Hendrick
Sad to hear he took his own life. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.