Filed under: iPod Family, Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs calls with condolences for family of slain teenager
A 15-year old boy was slain in Brooklyn, NY last week, exemplifying a senseless act of depraved indifference. Christopher Rose was stabbed to death by a group of punks and thugs who put the value of an iPod, and other assorted material things, above the value of a human life.For Errol and Sharon Rose, the parents of the slain boy, there are few words that can be said that offer any comfort. But that didn't stop Steve Jobs from trying.
The Apple CEO placed a call to the grieving parents yesteday
after receiving their phone number from a NY Times reporter who had
been contacted by one of Jobs' assistants.
"I didn't know who he was," Mr. Rose said. "He called me on my cellphone, at 4 maybe. Or maybe it was 5."
The men reportedly talked for a few minutes.
"Some people talk to you like they're something remote," Mr. Rose said. "He was so familiar. After every word, he paused, as if each word he said came from his heart."
Rose said that Jobs called him by his first name and asked how he was doing, conveying his sympathies. "He told me that he understood my pain," Rose said. "He told me if there is anything--anything--anything he could do, to not be afraid to call him. It really lightened me a bit."
[Thanks to R. Stacy Fenner, Kaegan Donnelly and others who sent in the tip]
"I didn't know who he was," Mr. Rose said. "He called me on my cellphone, at 4 maybe. Or maybe it was 5."
The men reportedly talked for a few minutes.
"Some people talk to you like they're something remote," Mr. Rose said. "He was so familiar. After every word, he paused, as if each word he said came from his heart."
Rose said that Jobs called him by his first name and asked how he was doing, conveying his sympathies. "He told me that he understood my pain," Rose said. "He told me if there is anything--anything--anything he could do, to not be afraid to call him. It really lightened me a bit."
[Thanks to R. Stacy Fenner, Kaegan Donnelly and others who sent in the tip]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
eleongonzales said 8:49AM on 7-06-2005
Stevie J you're A okay.
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Dan said 9:33AM on 7-06-2005
That's pretty big of Jobs. I honestly doubt that it was a publicity stunt - he seems like a pretty straightforward guy.
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Thomas said 9:52AM on 7-06-2005
I bet it's hard for Steve to see something like this happen because of one of his creations.
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Bruce Davis said 11:09AM on 7-06-2005
I'll bet Michael Jordon wouldn't call anyone if this was about a pair of sneakers.
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Gav said 11:16AM on 7-06-2005
I think that's very respectable of Jobs, at the end of the day, nomatter what position or power someone has - a tragedie like this brings everyone together. We're all human and whenever something like this happens, it's awful and everyone can understand how bad it is for his family right now.
I'm not really conveying what i want to with this but i think my point is it's nice to know these big-wigs, these people we know of and respect are human after all, nomatter what status we seem to give them.
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Matt said 12:47PM on 7-06-2005
Sorry guys, I like SJ as much as the next mac addict, but the business professional in me says this call was about more than just personal condolences. This was partially to prevent any future lawsuits from this family against Apple. Making the family think that SJ and Apple truly care will prevent the family from suing this nice, friendly company who's product caused their son's death.
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Blair Robinson said 1:57PM on 7-06-2005
This was a nice move by SJ, even though the kid wasn't killed for an ipod, he was killed for something of value. People have been killing people to take their stuff since time immemorial. It's a nice move be steve cause he's offering to help out when it not apple or his fault at all.
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Nelson said 4:33PM on 7-07-2005
A lawsuit against Apple because of that???!!!! My good Lord. American people like lawsuits a lot! That's senseless in any other part of the world. If someone kill me to steel my Mercedes... than my familly will try to get money from Mercedes because they make such a great car that every one wants to have one?!
I think SJ is very human, a good guy! Have you read the speech he made some weeks ago to some students? Have you noticed that he ALWAY have a word for the famalys of Apple emplyees in keynots end...
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Ken said 1:30PM on 7-06-2005
iPod's Killl???
"friendly company who's product caused their son's death"
iPods don't kill (not unless the battery explodes), people kill. It takes motive, a murder weapon without a human operator will do nothing. If I read correctly a knife was used not an iPod, since when do we blame knives for murder? Human depravity, discontentment, is to blame. Hey I don't have and iPod and I want one too but I will be content untill I can obtain one legitimately without taking what belongs to another.
I'm sure some elements of "business" factor into all this and I am sure some would try and spin it that Apple is to blame for creating the desire for an iPod which motivated the murderers (more likely desire for easy money iPod=Rolex=$$$$$) and SJ putting a human face on Apple will help diffuse that but ultimately the who idividuals caused the death not Apple are to blame.
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Josh said 1:58PM on 7-06-2005
First off, nobody made SJ call, and nobody suggested that he do so. It should be obvious that this was a sincere condolence for a tragic event.
Secondly, Matt, as a lawyer, the "business professional" inside you speaks from cynicism rather than reason. There is no case against Apple - none - zilch - nada. Please don't put an ulterior motive on every action, especially one as admirable as this.
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Asif Alibhai said 2:22PM on 7-06-2005
As many people have already said,t his move was very big of SJ.
I think we can rule out that it was a PR Stunt - Steve's people haven't even commented on it. Also, I dont think it would be business related, because if the family did sue (which i dont think they would -- why drag the matter out?) the fact that SJ phoned them wouldn't make a difference at all.
Let's not forget SJ has kids. He's a real person as well as the worlds-best-CEO :)
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Andrew Kaufmann said 3:28PM on 7-06-2005
I'm a bit torn on it. I want to give Steve the benefit of the doubt, but part of me is skeptical. Maybe that's wrong of me.
I guess what would help me decide is finding out how the press found out about it. Did Steve leak that he was going to call the family? Then I think I'd say he had a PR motive behind it (not necessarily ALL PR -- he might legitimately care and feel badly but still have at least a portion of a PR motive behind him). Did the family contact the press without Steve knowing? Then I think Steve definitely did it just because he felt badly about the situation. If we'll never know, then I'll probably convince myself to give Steve the benefit of the doubt, even though a little part of me might kind of doubt 100% non-PR motive.
Either way, it's a sad commentary on society that someone would kill another person for something so trivial as an iPod. It's unfortunate.
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Robert Knight said 4:53PM on 7-06-2005
Geez folks, the guy made a phone call to a grieving father. There was no press release, no media event, just a compassionate man making a phone call to comfort a family that lost a son. Any notion that this was a PR thing is just absurd. You have to back off the usual everything-a-celebrity-does-is-for-publicity mindset and just let this one go.
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Row said 11:28AM on 7-07-2005
I like to think Jobs was showing true compassion but his office called the New York Times for the parents number. What about calling the NYPD or using the phone book? If they didn't want the NYTs to write about it they would have found the number out some other way.
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Laurie said 5:08PM on 7-06-2005
Robert Knight - I could not have said it better myself. Reading some of these comments made me a little sick to my stomach. It didn't occur to me that some people are really so jaded that they question every motive, even when act is so obviously pure.
To repeat what Rob said... this was not a PR event or a sound bite opportunity. Apple has made no comment about it and neither has Steve himself. The Times reported it as a human interest thing, and since it was a Times reported that provided Steve with the number, they obviously knew about it and followed up with the family. I would be money that if Steve had gotten the father's phone number in a less obvious way (if he'd had more details on where the father lived he could have googled a phone book listing i suppose), he would have still made the call and had a private, unreported conversation with these people.
He wasn't apologizing for anything or being proactive in order to prevent a law suit. That is just ridiculous. He did nothing wrong, nor did Apple. As someone else pointed out, this isn't any different than kids getting knifed or shot or beaten for their sneakers, their leather jackets, their designer jeans - even the gold fillings in their teeth. It happens every day, unfortunately. The CEO of Nike may have made calls like this himself for all we know. And so what if he did or didn't. But if he did, we don't need to know about it and most likely wouldn't know unless the parties involved chose to make it public.
Genuinely good and decent people tend to do things just because they care, not because of what might be in it for them. It would serve some of you quite well to remember that more often.
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glad said 9:45AM on 7-07-2005
I second lauries comments, some of those who have made such cynical comments should hang their heads in shame.
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Ian Adams said 4:18PM on 7-08-2005
"We're all human and whenever something like this happens, it's awful and everyone can understand how bad it is for his family right now."
Well, apparently not everyone can understandsomehow I doubt that the people who murdered that child feel any remorse for what they've done.
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Staci said 2:44AM on 8-20-2005
Some of the comments here sicken me. I do NOT like Steve Jobs at all, but reading this story made me feel just a bit more warm to him. Then I go and read the comments, and see that fans of his are even saying that he might've done it out of PR. That's ridiculous! If I, a non-Steve-fan, can see that this was pure of heart, then so should all of you!
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BM5k said 4:56PM on 8-30-2005
"Making the family think that SJ and Apple truly care will prevent the family from suing this nice, friendly company who's product caused their son's death."
Matt, you're an IDIOT. The iPod, or Apple for that matter didn't cause anyone to die. It was a group of people breaking the law. People who draw the conclusion that the crime was caused by the victim, or in this case his posessions, really make me sick.
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