Author: Steve Litt Date: To: dng Subject: Re: [DNG] FSF and human rights
John Morris said on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 22:55:57 -0500
>On Fri, 2021-03-26 at 15:46 -0400, Steve Litt wrote:
>>
>> I'd suggest nobody sign anything, and nobody respond to this email.
>>
>> If you believe that Stallman was removed, shunned and criticized
>> because of guilt by association, then it's not much of a stretch to
>> believe that you will suffer the same fate if you defend him. And
>> then any who defends *you* will suffer the same fate, ad infinitum.
>>
>
>This exactly how a "climate of fear" works.
You don't know me. You haven't even done research on me, or you'd not
accuse me of "fearfulness".
[snip]
>If we can't find the will to defend RICHARD
>F*CKING STALLMAN, we won't defend anyone. One by one we will all be
>singled out for destruction. This attitude above sounds like the
>mewling sounds Republicans
Republican? Like I said, you've obviously done no research on me. But
beyond that, later in your post you also imply that I'm an SJW. I've
been accused of both of these, but not in the same email.
> have made for decades, ever retreating
>because it is never "the hill to die on" as the revolution marches over
>their former "inviolate" position and National Review reverses course
>and assigns someone to pen "The Conservative case for X."
Yeah, let's talk about it never being the hill to die on. On the
gallows in 1776, Nathan Hale said "I only regret that I have but one
life to lose for my country", just before they sprung the trap door.
Contrast this with the "revolutionaries" of January 6, 2021, who after
arrest are saying things like "not my fault, the president suggested
it" and "prison is hurting my mental health" and "I want to be tried in
Texas for the crime I committed in DC."
If the preceding paragraph seems offtopic, well, this whole thread is
offtopic.
What price are you willing to pay in your defense of Stallman? You
willing to be fired, for cause and without unemployment, for violation
of your employer's social media rules? And then blacklisted from the
Tech industry? Not certain, but possible. You willing to pay the
freight? Or will you wuss out like the January 6 brigade?
Perhaps you're self-employed. You willing to be boycotted? How much
income are you willing to lose? If that possibility occurs, will you
say ""I only regret that I have but one business to lose for RMS?" Or
will you say "Waaaa, waaaa, waaaa, the SJWs took my business?
>
>This isn't actually about RMS, it is just the usual SJWs marching ever
>onward, seizing resources and key nodes in the social order.
The preceding is pretty funny, considering that you're being an SJW for
taking up RMS's cause (not that I necessarily disagree with his cause,
and I have nothing against what you call SJWs).
> The FSF
>is the prize they seek, both to loot it and because it is a choke
>point to take and hold.
Now you've lost it. The SJWs want to take over the FSF. Sure.
> Same reason they seized Debian.
Yeah, the SJWs took over Debian. Sure.
> Ever
>wondered why Debian went from a model of enlightenment and civility to
>what it is now? It wasn't systemd, that was a symptom. It was
>infiltrated and seized by intolerant people who cared nothing for
>Debian or its culture, it was just another resource to seize as they
>moved through the software world, killing it and wearing its skin,
>then demanding respect due the original entity.
The preceding paragraph is the only part of your screed I agree with,
although I'd add that the Debian constitution or whatever it's called
and their ridiculous way of voting made such a downfall almost certain
in the long run.
A message to Alexis PM, Harald Arnesen, and any others who think my
advice was out of fearfulness: You don't know me. You haven't
researched me. To support causes I really believe in, I've put myself
in situations where death was a real possibility. I didn't eat on those
days, so I wouldn't have a full stomach if I were stabbed or shot in
the stomach. I estimate I lost five figures of revenue, over the years,
for my anti-systemd stance, which many potential customers considered
an unstable rant. I've probably lost potential customers over more
recent stands I've taken (not difficult to research). I took the punch.
So go ahead toughguys, if RMS is your #1 priority and he hill on
which you're willing to die, sign the letter. But if things go south for
you, I don't want to hear you whining and crying. Instead, if you have
the guts your bravado suggests, you'll follow the lead of Nathan Hale,
Lech Walesa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and Joan of Arc, and
proudly take whatever comes your way.
And for gosh sakes, don't get the Devuan project involved in your
crusade.
>RICHARD M. STALLMAN IS A GOOD MAN WHO HAS DONE MORE FOR CIVILIZATION
>THAN ALL OF HIS DETRACTORS COMBINED. FLAWS INCLUDED.
I N E V E R S A I D A N Y T H I N G T O T H E
C O N T R A R Y .