It is appalling how tone deaf this move by FSF has been in light of the circumstances that we live in today. Its genuinely disturbing to see this wellspring of the modern computing ecosystem become corrupted like this. They had an opportunity to change which they seemingly took in 2019 but I guess they didn't really mean it.
None of this excuses the weird statements and viewpoints and offense people have felt but we should ask RMS what he actually meant and have him describe before making the call. A lot of it is probably a misunderstanding and he will continue to offend people because that is the nature of his disability. It’s not intentional malice. He probably doesn’t harbor any ill will or desire to offend.
This is just something that happens when you are autistic. It can trigger a personal investigation process where one tries to figure out the social mistake, but they still slip up .
also,
“It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so fucking what." Stephen Fry
Mobs going around digging up whatever they can to bully people?
Vulnerable parts of our community coming forward with their experiences allowing us to understand the pain they experienced due to tone deaf comments and actions by those that were held in high esteem.
I would like the community to be welcoming to people of every background. Actions and comments that constitute harassment absolutely should not be tolerated, especially from those who are entrusted with power.
I don't think we should be obligated to read everybody's mind at all times. The only standards communication should be held to is honesty and good will.
Strawman argument. Nobody's arguing this.
The expectation is not perfection, but a certain minimum standard of respect and understanding from those who hold power.
Nobody is asking for him to be imprisoned over his comments. But his comments and actions have clearly shown that he lacks the skills required to be in a leadership position in the community.
If I can speak casually for a second I have no doubt that if they oust RMS they’d replace him with a diversity hire who simply is not singlemindedly focused on free software enough to actually fight like they need to. I think it’s really easy to underestimate the extent to which being absurdly logical to a fault and incredibly principled is critical for success in RMS’ position, and that’s what he offers warts and all. You don’t have to like the guy, you can think he’s a dick, but can we at least agree that he does mot have a track record of being malicious and at least half the controversial things he’s said aren’t even unreasonable they’re just the things you’re not supposed to say
Funny anecdote. Paul Steed (RIP) was notorious for conducting himself in a manner that was akin to RMS x20 in all manner of professional (let alone social) settings. Game developer conferences, company-adjacent deathmatches and lan parties, etc. His lewd comments and actions went far, far beyond any parody you could possibly think of for RMS's offer for "tender embraces".
Thing is, nobody complained - even posthumously. There is a fair argument to be made that this is due to the fact that he looked like Paul Steed.
Actions and comments don't constitute harassment in a vacuum. That is a judgement that is up to the recipient of said actions and comments.
I quote: "We can imagine many scenarios, but the most plausible scenario is that she presented herself to him as entirely willing. Assuming she was being coerced by Epstein, he would have had every reason to tell her to conceal that from most of his associates."
Judging those with Asperger's specifically for a well-documented aspect of their condition is an interesting take. Be sure to tell any friends of yours who suffer from depression to "just cheer up" while you're at it.
Or he's willing to "go there" and discuss the matter the same way people discuss grisly murder in abstract, detached terms.
What he's not aware of are the social taboos around discussing these topics, especially in a way that casts child sexual predatory acts as "less bad" than other acts. In other words, he's unaware of others' visceral aversion.
Separately I find it hilarious that he’s called transphobic because he believes in non-binary identity but doesn’t believe in grammatical usage of the singular they (FWIW I naturally use the singular they and reject the idea that it’s invalid, but ironically I too fall afoul of it because I use the singular they as a genderless singular but now the trans community has made they its own pronoun meaning my usage of they as a sane default is itself considered transphobic...sigh...)