Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Are there really cultures where inflicting suffering on others is not "within their cultural frame and value system"? Yes! * Consider treatment of children in Korea, where kids are forced, by their parents, to study 16 hours per day. * Consider tactics used in many resistance movements against oppressive governments in Slavic cultures (and similar tactics recently adopted by oppressed African American communities i…
I think you've confused cultures where people have a relatively high tolerance for discomfort because they consider it to be worth it (the examples you gave) and culture where people simply do not care about others' discomfort (how Stallman's colleagues describe him). All those cultures have a goal in mind when inflicting discomfort. Does Stallman?
Yes, making someone feel uncomfortable is considered bad everywhere, but in many parts of the world, it's the same kind of bad as using the wrong fork to eat your salad in the US. No one cares. No one will argue it's not better than using the Right Fork, but whatever. (And yes, there are cultures where eating etiquette and ritual is super-important).
That's even true in parts of lower-class US culture. If I'm on a construction site, and there are two workers:
- One is impeccably polite, and never makes me uncomfortable
- One always helps me out in a bind; if I need a shift covered, or my family has an emergency, but goes out of their way to tease everyone
Guess who'll be preferred? It's the opposite from elite British society (which the US descends from), where I can conquer your country and exploit your people so long as I'm polite and don't lose my temper.
And yes, different types teasing and other ways of making people intentionally feel uncomfortable for NO reason are parts of many cultures, and no one cares.
As a footnote: As far as I know, Stallman does have a goal in inflicting discomfort: he is advocating for a particular set of social changes. Is that an effective way to do it? Probably not. But no one's perfect. Stallman works from first principles and kind of ignores prevailing culture.