> Modern Desktop Linux is very fragile because everything has to be configured and managed automatically. You haven't been able to startx without a lot of reconfiguring for years.

I guess I don't know what a Desktop Linux from a hole in the ground.

I use Slackware on my desktop, and it works just fine. I can switch WM using startx.

I will allow that installing Slack is not a pointy-clicky exercise, and if the application isn't in Slack's package manager you'll need to compile from source but .. it's not that complicated.