• namingthingsiseasy@programming.dev
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    5 months ago

    How is it that you’re so well-versed in all of Stallman’s negative quotes (from over a decade ago), yet conveniently omitted the fact that he later retracted those statements?

    On September 16, 2019, Stallman announced his resignation from both MIT and FSF, “due to pressure on MIT and me over a series of misunderstandings and mischaracterizations”.[124] In a post on his website, Stallman asserted that his posts to the email lists were not to defend Epstein, stating "Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve called him a ‘serial rapist’, and said he deserved to be imprisoned. But many people now believe I defended him—and other inaccurate claims—and feel a real hurt because of what they believe I said.

    The FSF board on April 12 made a statement re-affirming its decision to bring back Richard Stallman.[133] Following this, Stallman issued a statement explaining his poor social skills and apologizing.[134]

    • Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Those issues are ones that it’s hard to just walk back with a mea culpa, especially when the apology comes precisely when it starts to impact your career.

      • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Stallman spends decades publicly-championing adult-child sexual relations on his personal blog and using his work email address.

        Stallman later comes under fire for strange comments about Epstein’s underage girls/clients. Some people say he should step down, as his poor image jeopardises the effectiveness of the FSF.

        2 days later, Stallman has a sudden change of heart. Child/adult sexual relations are wrong. Children can’t consent.

        Some Linux nerds: “see, he’s changed his mind, he’s a different man!”

        Maybe I’m overly pessimistic, but to me the timing of his epiphany seems rather convenient.

        How ready people are to treat celebrities as deity-like figures is scary to me. Just because Stallman has some great FOSS credentials doesn’t mean he can’t be a total POS in other areas. People bend over backwards to defend him as some saint who can do no wrong, even to the extent of trivialising child rape. It’s scary what a bit of celebrity worship can get people to do.

    • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      You mean when he had an epiphany and changed his mind 2 days after his job became under fire?

      Gee, I dunno. Maybe because it was a clear last-ditch effort to save his job, rather than because he genuinely went from his decades-held (and publicly-championed) view that sex with children is ok to sex with children is rape, by sheer coincidence, 2 days after people started requesting he step down over Epstein comments?

      It was about as convincing a statement from Stallman as when Zuckerberg says he cares about privacy.

      Do you genuinely believe him when he says he changed his mind? It’s an awfully convenient timing, even you would have to admit.

      And can I also ask - are you only looking favourably at him because you like him? If Andrew Tate, just before his court case, came out and said that his views on women are wrong and he doesn’t believe that stuff anymore, would you believe him? It seems to me that you’re likely sweeping Stallman being pro-childrape under the rug, because he happens to have cool ideals when it comes to software.