Politeness is a good thing to strive for much of the time, but I also think that no-bullshit directness is just as important, if not more so. It becomes a self

Politeness is a good thing to strive for much of the time, but I also think that no-bullshit directness is just as important, if not more so. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The less direct we become as a people, the more sensitive people become to it, the more offense they take to it, the less direct we become, and so forth. Basically, Linus is a valiant anti-bullshit warrior.