Some people are easily offended, some people easily offend, some people are direct, some people are indirect - get over it.
What matters here is the quality of the code / workarounds that are being presented, by whom and what alternatives they are.
-_-
You are correct though, in that the majority of the comment is spent at least dancing around that issue since little of substance was provided on the alternative that they suggest is more worthwhile.
Nitpicking, since everyone can tell what you mean, but FWIW, the phrase you are looking for here is someting like "ad hominem" or "tone argument", not "straw man"; that's something completely different.
There wasn't much of a technical and security discussion in what was posted. Linus spent his time writing about his feelings and how hurt they were that someone did something he didn't like. Very little of substance or merit was communicated. If you consistently behave like a petulant child in a leadership role, expect people to gawk at it.
Linus does a good job at maintaining kernel development and often makes sharp technical commentary. By those measures his communication style seems to have been successful and practically helpful so far.
That is to say, it is the largest collaborative software project in human history
No amount of Linus being a "petulant child" can disprove the results of his style
That seems like a very significant technical and security matter worth discussing, no matter the style of its delivery.