The events of the past few weeks should serve as a reminder that what's historically been considered 'normal' behaviour in a workplace just because people have gotten away with it doesn't mean it's morally, ethically or legally justifiable.
I would expect you to do the same for Linus and his Linux, just as so many people do (did) for Steve Jobs and his Apple products.
The main rule for kernel development is "you don't break userspace'
And yet John did. I think Linus is hard on those that break this rule because he has stressed this rule time and time again in the past.
Also, refusal to own up to a regression is kind of infuriating.