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He was not shunned upon due to an unjust weaponization of cancel culture. He has a long, documented history of expressing very concerning beliefs and of extreme

He was not shunned upon due to an unjust weaponization of cancel culture. He has a long, documented history of expressing very concerning beliefs and of extremely inappropriate behavior towards women and the latest comments were just the straw that broke the camel's back. Here's a short compilation thread of unacceptable behavior and accusations with sources https://mobile.twitter.com/_sagesharp_/status/1173903102623154176 https://mobile.twitter.com/_sagesharp_/status/11739031026231...

ng12 7y ago
> I'm sure Richard Stallman still thinks sex with teenagers is acceptable. This is my red flag for someone who's being intellectually dishonest about RMS. It's also the signature move of cancel culture -- aggressively reducing someone's opinion to one that can be easily canned as intolerable.
- phreack 7y ago
  I don't see it as a reduction, there are over ten very serious accusations on that thread alone and most comments are sourced. Even discounting the author's biased comments, there's still a lot of proven intolerable behavior.
  - ng12 7y ago
    Then it would be in the author's best interest to avoid the examples that are easily discountable. RMS's opinions on the age of consent are well documented and within the realm of reasonable discourse (the most commonly cited example is him pointing out that the age of consent varies wildly depending on what part of the world you're in).
    - krapp 7y ago
      > RMS's opinions on the age of consent are well documented and within the realm of reasonable discourse. Well documented, yes. Within the realm of reasonable discourse, no. Or more accurately, only reasonable among the circle of advocates who consider everything Richard Stallman says to be reasonable, by definition. This[0] is a list of items from RMS' blog which speaks to his opinions more clearly. For further context, here[1] is the HN thread discussing it, and here[2] is my own comment therein which points out in each item, in RMS' own words, explaining why his opinion on the matter falls far outside what would be considered reasonable by most people. It is not merely the case that RMS stated as simple mathematical fact that ages of consent differ from place to place, rather he has stated on multiple occasions his belief that children are capable of consenting to sexual relations that that sex between an adult and a child is not only normal, but healthy and should be encouraged by society. [0]https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guile-devel/2019-10/msg00005.html https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guile-devel/2019-10/msg00... [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21285543 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21285543 [2]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21287006 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21287006
- n9 7y ago
  Using this to erase the many, many reports of his behavior is tragic. You're pulling one thread and saying that the rest don't exist. This is the central activity of rape culture. I've seem RMS at work first hand and my experiences fit right in with the experiences being reported. I get that people don't want him to be the person that is being described: this is a natural response. But I am using my voice to say that just the small bit of RMS that I experienced first had is enough to justify his loss of position and status. And from the look of it my story is just one of a very large number of similar and worse stories.
  - ng12 7y ago
    > You're pulling one thread and saying that the rest don't exist That's the thing: most of the oft-repeated threads are unconvincing at best and plain dishonest at worst. If there better examples of RMS's inappropriate behavior we should be focusing on those.
    - n9 7y ago
      There have been many examples. I myself have typed what I personally witnessed multiple times. I'll just put it this way today: I saw more than enough for him to be fired and more than enough for him to be demoted from his leadership roles. I am a real person, former Senior Director of Engineering at a fortune 50. I saw what I saw.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
golf3 7y ago
It was Twitter nobodies who attacked him, no one he'd personally offended.
- n9 7y ago
  OK, friend. What about this "twitter nobody?" First hand, eyes-on experience. RMS grabbing asses. RMS cornering a coworker. Coworker locking herself in a room because she couldn't get away from him. RMS not even hearing what was said to him when told to stay away. RMS inappropriately touching the same woman again. And that is just one of my two tales to tell and I've only shared air with the guy for three days of my life. If you work for MIT and you grab ONE ASS or corner one woman so that she locks herself in a room and calls for help you are likely to be fired. The reports are consistent and may vary in details by tell a remarkably similar story over and over. The real story here is the people that do not believe them.

ng12 7y ago

> I'm sure Richard Stallman still thinks sex with teenagers is acceptable. This is my red flag for someone who's being intellectually dishonest about RMS. It's also the signature move of cancel culture -- aggressively reducing someone's opinion to one that can be easily canned as intolerable.

phreack 7y ago
I don't see it as a reduction, there are over ten very serious accusations on that thread alone and most comments are sourced. Even discounting the author's biased comments, there's still a lot of proven intolerable behavior.
- ng12 7y ago
  Then it would be in the author's best interest to avoid the examples that are easily discountable. RMS's opinions on the age of consent are well documented and within the realm of reasonable discourse (the most commonly cited example is him pointing out that the age of consent varies wildly depending on what part of the world you're in).
  - krapp 7y ago
    > RMS's opinions on the age of consent are well documented and within the realm of reasonable discourse. Well documented, yes. Within the realm of reasonable discourse, no. Or more accurately, only reasonable among the circle of advocates who consider everything Richard Stallman says to be reasonable, by definition. This[0] is a list of items from RMS' blog which speaks to his opinions more clearly. For further context, here[1] is the HN thread discussing it, and here[2] is my own comment therein which points out in each item, in RMS' own words, explaining why his opinion on the matter falls far outside what would be considered reasonable by most people. It is not merely the case that RMS stated as simple mathematical fact that ages of consent differ from place to place, rather he has stated on multiple occasions his belief that children are capable of consenting to sexual relations that that sex between an adult and a child is not only normal, but healthy and should be encouraged by society. [0]https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guile-devel/2019-10/msg00005.html https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guile-devel/2019-10/msg00... [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21285543 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21285543 [2]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21287006 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21287006
n9 7y ago
Using this to erase the many, many reports of his behavior is tragic. You're pulling one thread and saying that the rest don't exist. This is the central activity of rape culture. I've seem RMS at work first hand and my experiences fit right in with the experiences being reported. I get that people don't want him to be the person that is being described: this is a natural response. But I am using my voice to say that just the small bit of RMS that I experienced first had is enough to justify his loss of position and status. And from the look of it my story is just one of a very large number of similar and worse stories.
- ng12 7y ago
  > You're pulling one thread and saying that the rest don't exist That's the thing: most of the oft-repeated threads are unconvincing at best and plain dishonest at worst. If there better examples of RMS's inappropriate behavior we should be focusing on those.
  - n9 7y ago
    There have been many examples. I myself have typed what I personally witnessed multiple times. I'll just put it this way today: I saw more than enough for him to be fired and more than enough for him to be demoted from his leadership roles. I am a real person, former Senior Director of Engineering at a fortune 50. I saw what I saw.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

golf3 7y ago

It was Twitter nobodies who attacked him, no one he'd personally offended.

n9 7y ago
OK, friend. What about this "twitter nobody?" First hand, eyes-on experience. RMS grabbing asses. RMS cornering a coworker. Coworker locking herself in a room because she couldn't get away from him. RMS not even hearing what was said to him when told to stay away. RMS inappropriately touching the same woman again. And that is just one of my two tales to tell and I've only shared air with the guy for three days of my life. If you work for MIT and you grab ONE ASS or corner one woman so that she locks herself in a room and calls for help you are likely to be fired. The reports are consistent and may vary in details by tell a remarkably similar story over and over. The real story here is the people that do not believe them.