It was still a Linux distribution and back then, no one had ever thought of systemd.
Saying using systemd turns Linux into Lindows just shows how ignorant you are of linux history, of that "systemd" thing you've just heard of and of what makes Linux and Windows different.
Being a Gentoo user doesn't make one into a Linux guru. In fact, starting your comment by stating you're a Gentoo user as if it will give more weight to what follows is just plain arrogant. It shows that you're definitely not a linux guru, what distribution you use/have used don't matter at all for that.
I feel for Gentoo users, people like you make them look bad.
[1]: https://www.shlomifish.org/humour/by-others/funroll-loops/Ge...