Sir Terry Pratchett Succumbs To "the Embuggerance," Aged 66

New submitter sp1nl0ck writes Sir Terry Pratchett, the creator of Discworld, has died aged 66, following a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Sir Terry announced that he was suffering from The Embuggerance in an open letter to fans over seven years ago, and recently had to cancel a planned appearance at the International Discworld Convention last summer, and donated over £500K of his own money to research into the condition. He also spoke in favour of a euthanasia tribunal, the members of which would consider the case of each '...applicant...to ensure they are of sound and informed mind, firm in their purpose, suffering from a life-threatening and incurable disease and not under the influence of a third party'. Sadly, he didn't survive long enough to see such a tribunal — or indeed any kind of assistance for those suffering from an incurable condition who wish to end their own life — come into being. More at the BBC.

Comments

This sucks.

[ElectraFlarefire]

A lot.

Re:This sucks.

[B33rNinj4]

Yes, it does. He was a fantastic writer, and will be missed.

Re:This sucks.

[RabidReindeer]

He wrote stories that were witty, entertaining - and full of knives.

The essence of Terry Pratchett can be summed up in one of his more frequent observations: that in the eyes of society, living in a vermin-infested slum practically makes you a criminal, but own a whole neighborhood of them and you're a pillar of the community.

Re:This sucks.

[grimmjeeper]

I've never heard of that. All of the opposition I see comes from the right wing f'tards who want to shove their religion down everyone's throat. You can't kill anyone (whether they're a person yet or not) unless they've been convicted by our second rate "justice" system that seems to convict far too many innocent people. They don't give a flying rip about you while you're alive but they'll fight tooth and nail to make sure you suffer all the way up until the bitter end because "life is a gift from 'God'".

Re:This sucks.

[grimmjeeper]

There's nothing in our DNA that drives us to avoid killing each other. If anything, our evolution causes us to want to kill "them" (of us vs them) over any number of reasons that are nothing more than clever disguises covering up that we're only try to gain control of limited resources.

Hell, many cultures let the old out to die long before they die of natural causes. If anything, that's the natural path that many species follow and we as a species used to share that model in our culture. It's only when you apply religious conservatism to the discussion that it all goes out of whack. Somehow, people got it in their heads that life is some "precious gift" and everyone must be forced to hang on as long as possible despite the suffering that you have to endure simply because that's what some preacher pushed into your head when you were a kid. It's an artificial construct that goes against the natural order of life.

It's time to let go of primitive superstition. It's time to stop forcing religious beliefs on people who don't want them. It's time to give people the real freedom of choice. If you believe and want to go through the suffering because of your beliefs, fine. Go right ahead. But don't take the choice away from others. If they want to end their life before the suffering really kicks in, that should be their choice, not yours. (Disclaimer: the "you" and "yours" is not directed at a specific individual but at those who are fighting right-to-die laws.)

Re:This sucks.

[ShanghaiBill]

Ironic, given the bible gives no direct statement against suicide.

The Bible also does not say anything about abortion or embryonic stem cell research. In fact, the story of Esau and Jacob implies that birth, not conception, is what is important. But most people don't read religious works for guidance, they read them to find justification for what they already believe.

Re:This sucks.

[operagost]

As you have, because you ignored Luke 1:41-44, Psalm 51, Psalm 139, Jeremiah 1:5, and Hosea 12. Those indicate humanity before birth. Interpret as you will, but don't claim the converse as "fact".

Embryonic stem cell research? REALLY? The bible doesn't mention stealing people's credit card information or hijacking airplanes, either, so those must be OK as well.

Are you one of those people who claim that the second amendment only protects muskets (and artillery, obviously)?

Re:This sucks.

[Curunir_wolf]

Some of the suicides are depicted as honorable, including the suicide of Samson.

Don't confuse suicide with self-sacrifice. Indeed, you could claim that Jesus committed suicide because he could have gotten out of the crucifixion several times, and chose to allow it - "the lamb" is sacrificed. Samson sacrificed himself in order to bring down the pagan temple of Dagon. He took many Philistine lords with him.

Calling this "suicide" is like saying James Brady tried to commit suicide by jumping in front of a bullet.

Re:This sucks.

[DutchUncle]

This is a self-contradicting problem. I have absolutely no interest in killing myself or being killed, unless and until I'm incapable, which is precisely the point at which I need help. What I want to be able to do, while capable, sane, and demonstrably *not* in any immediate need and *not* under any duress, is set up the contract (oops, the "will and testament") that specifies the conditions under which I want to be assisted off this mortal coil since I can't do it myself any more.

Re:This sucks.

[malkavian]

The problem is that it's so damn difficult to get an easy suicide: Guns, sure.. In the UK, we're not allowed them, so scratch that. Pills.. The stuff that'd take you down quietly and peacefully is controlled quite strictly (and an OD on a street drug isn't pretty or painless).. Knives.. That's a painful and traumatic way to go. Jumping.. As above.. That's a traumatic and stressful way to go. Hanging.. Again, a traumatic and painful way to go. That's the simple stuff that springs to mind, and it always leaves a mess for some unsuspecting person to have to deal with (usually your friends, or immediate family; that is pretty damn traumatic for them too). Euthanasia is a controlled environment, where the exit from life is as peaceful as it can be. It's all planned, so there's no horrific discovery. It's all taken care of by people who are geared to doing this (medical professionals, who are used to mortality, and the system is geared to handling it gracefully and with a minimum of trauma). I'm definitely on the side of pro-euthanasia.. We put animals down to save them suffering, because it's the kind thing to do. We're just not kind enough to our own to let us choose for ourselves if we want to put ourself down quietly.

Death

[ledow]

At least Death should be kind to him.

He made Death more human - and humane - than almost any author before him.

Terry, Sir, just make sure you don't end up cleaning Albert's boots.

Re:Death

[NickFortune]

Not to disrespect Terry Pratchett in any way, he was completely awesome. You, however, are incorrect.

Meh. The Death of Diskworld was talking in BLOCK CAPITALS long before Morpheus' big sister showed up.

Which isn't to say that Gaiman didn't do a bang up job either. Just that Sir Terry's version came first.

Thank you, Terry.. it was an awesome ride with you

[Anonymous Coward]

“And he goes around killing people?” said Mort. He shook his head. "There’s no justice.”
Death sighed. No, he said,...THERE IS JUST ME.

Ook?

[Kinthelt]

Ook. :(

Re:sadness

[JustNiz]

Thank you for sharing that. It was like the old man wrote it himself. And I don't think there's any higher commendation.

Re:Thank you, Terry.. it was an awesome ride with

[funwithBSD]

“And he goes around killing people?” said Mort. He shook his head. "There’s no justice.”
Death sighed. No, he said,...THERE IS JUST ME.

WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?

The Reaper Man- Terry Pratchett

Got to get past the silly filter.

"Fantasy author" doesn't begin to cover it.

[hey!]

He was a satirist, a master of a fine and under-appreciated art.

Satire in the hands of a master isn't mere travesty. Great satirists traffic in insight, in what is familiar yet goes unnoticed. Travesty makes you laugh at other people, but great satire makes us laugh at ourselves.

And nobody laughs at a joke they don't understand.

Re:"Fantasy author" doesn't begin to cover it.

[wcrowe]

I agree, and I would add "philosopher" to that list of titles. He could impart the most profound insights, and do it in such a succinct, gentle and entertaining way.