Some may want to make irrational comparisons like comparing the recent death of Steve Jobs to the death of Jesus of Nazareth, accepted by like a billion people as the Lord and Savior of the universe, but I recognize this as a shortsighted comparison. Clearly, Jesus is no Steve Jobs.
For if you've heard any media attention around Steve Jobs's death, you know the truth. You know that any comparisons to Steve Jobs to Thomas Edison are, if anything, too generous to Thomas Edison. Because who needs a light bulb or recorded audio? Steve Jobs invented the motherfucking iPhone!
But, beyond Steve Jobs being truly the greatest American in history, he is actually pure evil. Now, I'm not a total Apple hater like some people, but I think I have a relatively balanced and even-handed stance--Apple is a consumer electronics manufacturer who makes slightly better than average products and charges above average products.
And that's all they are. Apple didn't invent anything, Steve Jobs didn't invent anything, all Steve Jobs did was market the shit out of his products and help spearhead technological innovations. Does this make him an important person? Sure. Does this make him comparable to actual inventors, guys whose products actually changed the path of the world and not just the brands people used? Not a chance.
Basically, the most enduring and important legacy of Apple, besides the completely fucking over Steve Wozniak, is giving limousine liberals somebody to champion. Now, to be fair, I'm a liberal myself, but I'd categorize myself as more along the lines of a blue collar and social liberal. But the point is that people perceive Apple as being a significant and important company because of how it makes customers feel. People use iPhones, iPads, iPods, iLikeSpendingWayTooMuchGoddamnedMoneyOnElectronicsOtherCompaniesMakeJustAsWell and they feel like they're using products which resonate with their left of center ideals, their creativity, and their general selves. And Apple, by selling an esoteric concept which is completely and utterly impossible to define, made a lot of money.
Now, every company has a right to earn a profit. Except drug dealers. And in spite of the psychological addiction that seems to befall Apple fanboys, I won't categorize Apple products as drugs. But only, it seems, Apple is given the right to earn a profit and be considered above it. For Microsoft to make a profit is evil--a sign that Bill Gates, who actually donates money to charity, actually treats other human beings well, and actually has come up with truly innovative products (making slightly better phones or slightly better MP3 players can't compare to, you know, getting the internet established as a primary form of communication), is doing something malicious. But Apple profits are clearly accidental--Steve Jobs, as a man who dresses casual and doesn't eat meat, is incapable of capitalist greed. And again, I don't even mind that he is a greedy capitalist--I'd be if I were him, too--but he needs to be treated for what he is, a mildly important guy who made a lot of money.
The only death I could even remotely compare to Steve Jobs that I've seen is the death of Michael Jackson. And truth be told there are some similarities between the two. Essentially, both Jobs and Jackson are of fair talent and immeasurable fame and hype. Michael Jackson got famous relatively young (I know he was ten and Jobs was in his twenties, but you have to consider the relative age of fame for musicians and corporate CEOs). Michael Jackson had his creative peak in 1983. Michael Jackson died and all of a sudden, all of his (considerable) sins became ignored and anyone who pointed them out was vilified.
Michael Jackson, also, is an ultracapitalist. Now, in spite of most of what I say, Americans aren't that dumb and won't literally just buy anything. Americans will only buy things they want. And Michael Jackson, for years, provided Americans what they wanted--uncontroversial pop music. There's a reason Hendrix had one top forty hit and the biggest hit of the Summer of Woodstock was from The Archies--people are lame. Jackson, unlike Motown contemporaries like Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye, and unlike era contemporaries like Prince, didn't take his fame as a platform to launch unprecedented creativitiy. Jackson enjoyed his fame and he got a lot of money out of it. Fine. He's allowed. But why must we celebrate him as some kind of deity? Take the money and run, quoth the Steve Miller.
But regardless, Steve Jobs and Michael Jackson won't always be viewed as immortals on the insane levels they are now. Time will fade their legends. Hopefully Bill Gates and Prince get their due respect.
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