TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington had an unfortunate encounter at the Digital, Life, Design Conference he was attending in Munich, Germany yesterday.
He describes the incident in post titled “Some Things Need To Change” where an anonymous person walked up to him and spat in his face.
Michael Arrington
Arrington writes,”In the past I’ve been grabbed, pulled, shoved and otherwise abused at events, but never spat on. I think this is where I’m going to draw a line.”
Arrington says that his job is not fun anymore and he details threats he received last summer on his life and his family. The threats forced Arrington to spend over $2,000 a day to protect himself, his family and employees. Security experts called the threats serious.
The spitting incident has led Arrington to announce he will be taking most of February off.
‘I’ve decided the right thing to do is take some time off and get a better perspective on what I’m spending my life doing. I’ll be taking most of February off from writing, and decide what the best future for me is while sitting on a beach somewhere far away from my iPhone and laptop. I’ll be continuing to write this week and cover news from the World Economic Forum in Davos, then I’ll take time off starting next week.”
“We write about technology and entrepreneurship. These things are important, but not so important that we should fear for our safety or the safety of our families.”
There’s a Latin phrase that comes to mind here. “Illegitimi non carborundum.” It translates to “don’t let the bastards grind you down.”
