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Seems reasonable to me, though I am among the crowd who didn't read his initial statement as anything resembling a defense of Epstein.
> False accusations -- real or imaginary, against me or against others -- especially anger me. I knew Minsky only distantly, but seeing him unjustly accused made me spring to his defense.
People aren't saying he's "just as guilty" as Epstein. They are saying that:
Minsky (71) had sex with a 17 year old who had been trafficked and coerced, in 2001. This was several years after (1999) rumours started spreading about "pedophile island".
In many places this makes Minsky a rapist, whether or not he knew i) she was trafficked or ii) she was coerced or iii) her age.
Seems reasonable to me, though I am among the crowd who didn't read his initial statement as anything resembling a defense of Epstein.
It irks me to a great extent how you cannot debate certain topics without immediately being labelled as an apologist or a supporter. Nuance no longer exists.
RMS doesn’t have to throw in an obligatory attack on Epstein to defend Professor Minsky. It’s just not necessary. Don’t apologize to the mob or cave in to their demands. They will pounce on weakness. They’ll say this message doesn’t go far enough. They’ll say it is evidence you knew you were wrong. And at the end of it you’ll be left feeling like you were dishonest with yourself and spineless for giving in at all. We…
However, usually apologies in this context backfire. Everything that you say about this can and will be used against you. This has happened to various people before, who (I believe) have been well-meaning but offended the wrong people.
I sincerely hope the best for him, but I don't expect this apology/elaboration will help him.
Seems reasonable to me, though I am among the crowd who didn't read his initial statement as anything resembling a defense of Epstein.
It's that defence of Minsky that's a huge problem.
I really hope this will be sufficient to let this whole situation rest. The right thing to do is to accept his apology while holding him accountable for his commitment to be better in the future.
We the socially inept can and do learn to adapt. He’s a clever man, he can do it too.
RMS doesn’t have to throw in an obligatory attack on Epstein to defend Professor Minsky. It’s just not necessary. Don’t apologize to the mob or cave in to their demands. They will pounce on weakness. They’ll say this message doesn’t go far enough. They’ll say it is evidence you knew you were wrong. And at the end of it you’ll be left feeling like you were dishonest with yourself and spineless for giving in at all. We…
He already had attacked Epstein, long before any of the controversy either time had occurred. He's not caving to a mob by doing so.
> I think the right term for a person such as Epstein is "serial rapist".
[1]: https://www.stallman.org/archives/2019-jan-apr.html#25_April...