The video and the article explain and show most of what happened, but on August 10, 2018, Rich essentially committed suicide by stealing an airplane from Seatac, where he worked. There were no passengers on board, and he was the only one killed in the event.
Suicide rates have steadily climbed in the West. Living conditions, bullying, a lack of meaning... there's a near unlimted number of reasons for suicide, but I think that in Rich's case, he ultimately was broken, and probably felt a lack of purpose.
Why would you steal a plane? Rich probably felt that if he was going to end it all, it would be most meaningful to do it not in hiding or in shame, not in violence towards others, but in a way that he felt would bring him peace and push him to the very limit. Because of his job, stealing a plane might have felt like the most logical way to do that, and throughout the video it's made clear that Rich was taken aback by the beauty of the sky. In the article, Rich's personal life is discussed, and he had a love for natural beauty.
Suicide is no laughing matter, and I think to an outsider, the somewhat light tone about this event among 4channers may have been viewed as an offensive way to handle the situation, but I think that it was more just a coping mechanism, and really a way of trying to feel compassion.
And speaking of compassion, Rich made it excruciatingly clear that he wanted no one else to be hurt by his response to his pain. I think that says a lot about his character.
I don't really have much else to say, but thought this was of significance and wanted to archive it here, so there ya go.
Why am I here? Writing this at 2:51am, with work beckoning in the morning. Why does it matter? Who's going to actually read this? Does anyone actually read anything on here? No one comments or leaves any trace in this place, that's for sure. This strange, virtual, seemingly vivid, yet non-existent void... that is where this "place" is. This blog, your streaks on snapchat, your hearts on instagram, your retweets on twitter... all of it is imaginary, lifeless, metaphysical, spontaneously generated, then muddled and forgotten.
The reason why any of this, what you're reading, what you do on this void, matters, is because we give it the power to matter. The internet, in all its glory and complexities, with its physical electrons amounting up to the size of a strawberry, impresses, befuddles, teaches, enthralls, and controls us all because we give it the power to do so. I wonder to myself, if we have the power to let the non-existent indulge us, then what do we have the power to let the physical world do?
