In Defense of Richard Stallman
geoff.greer.fm
In Defense of Richard Stallman
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Re: In Defense of Richard Stallman
#2Thanks
Re: In Defense of Richard Stallman
#3He might’ve been an influential figure, but he’s still a creep. Just because someone made something once doesn’t mean we should turn a blind eye towards them.
Re: In Defense of Richard Stallman
#4[deleted]
Re: In Defense of Richard Stallman
#5He might’ve been an influential figure, but he’s still a creep. Just because someone made something once doesn’t mean we should turn a blind eye towards them.
> What’s most disturbing about this is how many of my friends and peers support Stallman’s removal. At first it was because they took the false accusations at face value. When I pointed out that these accusations were lies, they supported Stallman’s removal for other reasons. They focused on his tone deaf communication style and awkward demeanor. They spoke of behavior from decades ago and pointed out the fact that he had a mattress in his office. (Apparently that’s where he often slept.) As far as I can tell, the worst allegations against Stallman involve him being a socially clueless aspie. He held his positions at MIT, GNU, and the FSF for over thirty years, and in that time nobody accused him of coercion, unwanted touching, or verbal harassment. If an occasional social gaffe or failed attempt at humor is all it takes to get thrown out on the street, nobody is safe.
Re: In Defense of Richard Stallman
#6100% this post. I'm extremely saddened by the willingness to destroy a man based on nothing.
Re: In Defense of Richard Stallman
#7This pretty much sums up my opinions on the matter. I'm glad someone else took the time to write it up and share it with others.
Re: In Defense of Richard Stallman
#8> blatantly lie about what was said,
I've seen this said a few times, and it needs to be cleared up.
Stallman defended Minsky by saying it wasn't rape and it was assault. To mount this defence Stallman had to ignore common English definitions for both words, and he had to ignore the legal definitions of both words.
People are angry at Stallman for what he actually said, not what you think they think he said.
If you want to say that you want necrophiles to fuck your corpse when you die; that you think the harms of incestual abuse can be avoided with condom use; that you think child abuse isn't that harmful; that you think sexual assault isn't assault unless force or violence is used; that having sex with a trafficked coerced child isn't rape; then you shouldn't be surprised when projects want to distance themselves from your views.
> You don’t get the free software movement without a person like Richard Stallman
We don't get the free software movement we have without Stallman, but what's that actually saying? How popular would gnu be if it had someone who was better at communication involved?
Re: In Defense of Richard Stallman
#9He might’ve been an influential figure, but he’s still a creep. Just because someone made something once doesn’t mean we should turn a blind eye towards them.
How is he a creep and what did he do to justify how he was treated? Did you read his comment about his defense of Marvin Lee Minsky? Precisely what was creepy or wrong about it?
Re: In Defense of Richard Stallman
#10> They focused on his tone deaf communication style and awkward demeanor. They spoke of behavior from decades ago and pointed out the fact that he had a mattress in his office.
It wasn't just awkward demeanor. He actively made women feel unwelcome in the workplace and behaved unprofessionally over and over again.
> He held his positions at MIT, GNU, and the FSF for over thirty years, and in that time nobody accused him of coercion, unwanted touching, or verbal harassment
Yes, because of people like you, Geoff. When people like Stallman behave like they do and say the things they say they don't have to face the consequences because people don't want to speak up, because they're afraid of being called liars or censors. That's how authority figures and popular individuals keep getting away with it.
The second paragraph of the post is irrelevant and further proves the point. Stallman's contributions to free software don't excuse his conduct.