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What's objectionable is primarily the phrase "thin blue line" - it's highly politically charged language: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_blue_line https://e

What's objectionable is primarily the phrase "thin blue line" - it's highly politically charged language: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_blue_line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_blue_line One would hope it was just a particularly bad gaffe, but it could also be an insight into how he actually views himself as a maintainer which is not great.

arp242 2y ago
Eh, right. The "far right" seem to appropriate every other thing these days. I can't keep up. In the context of a long-term good faith maintainer in what is clearly a constructive good faith email, assigning bad faith meaning to a simple phrase is in itself a bad faith action IMHO.
- CRConrad 2y ago
  > Eh, right. The "far right" seem to appropriate every other thing these days. I can't keep up. Is it really appropriating anything, though, in this case? Seems this is more people ascribing the expression to a particular political camp in order to taint T'so by association with said camp. (Sorry, if you were being ironic or sarcastic in your wording, I failed to pick it up.)
bigstrat2003 2y ago
It is most certainly not politically charged language. It's an anodyne statement referring to being a small force keeping bad things from happening. That's all.
- fastball 2y ago
  The "blue" is specifically about police, so it is not as generic as you make it out to be.
  - CRConrad 2y ago
    The expression exists in only two colour variants, blue and (the original) red. If he'd used the other, you'd probably have pointed out what a colonialist Victorian asshole T'so is, for identifying with the 19th century British army? The expression itself is inherently quite generic; all the claims about it being "specifically about" anything are just people reading stuff into it.
- kllrnohj 2y ago
  While words change and it rapidly escalated over the last 10 years, it's been about police brutality/misconduct for at least 50 years now. Using phrases whose meaning you're unaware of is generally risky behavior. Trying to claim it meant something other than what the common lexicon says it means is just asinine.
  - imiric 2y ago
    Maybe instead of assuming that the person who used the phrase intentionally wanted to politically charge their message with 50 years of US-centric baggage, it would be safer to assume that they were unaware of the political context and/or made a mistake. Or, you know, ask the person to clarify what they meant before jumping to conclusions. Why this is being brought up in a discussion about Linux is beyond me. Context and nuance matter. Tangentially: this is a problem with "cancel culture" in general. The mob is willing to lynch people at the mere mention of something they find objectionable. That's what's asinine.
CRConrad 2y ago
The gaffe is on the part of those who read far too much into the expression.

arp242 2y ago

Eh, right. The "far right" seem to appropriate every other thing these days. I can't keep up. In the context of a long-term good faith maintainer in what is clearly a constructive good faith email, assigning bad faith meaning to a simple phrase is in itself a bad faith action IMHO.

CRConrad 2y ago
> Eh, right. The "far right" seem to appropriate every other thing these days. I can't keep up. Is it really appropriating anything, though, in this case? Seems this is more people ascribing the expression to a particular political camp in order to taint T'so by association with said camp. (Sorry, if you were being ironic or sarcastic in your wording, I failed to pick it up.)

bigstrat2003 2y ago

It is most certainly not politically charged language. It's an anodyne statement referring to being a small force keeping bad things from happening. That's all.

fastball 2y ago
The "blue" is specifically about police, so it is not as generic as you make it out to be.
- CRConrad 2y ago
  The expression exists in only two colour variants, blue and (the original) red. If he'd used the other, you'd probably have pointed out what a colonialist Victorian asshole T'so is, for identifying with the 19th century British army? The expression itself is inherently quite generic; all the claims about it being "specifically about" anything are just people reading stuff into it.
kllrnohj 2y ago
While words change and it rapidly escalated over the last 10 years, it's been about police brutality/misconduct for at least 50 years now. Using phrases whose meaning you're unaware of is generally risky behavior. Trying to claim it meant something other than what the common lexicon says it means is just asinine.
- imiric 2y ago
  Maybe instead of assuming that the person who used the phrase intentionally wanted to politically charge their message with 50 years of US-centric baggage, it would be safer to assume that they were unaware of the political context and/or made a mistake. Or, you know, ask the person to clarify what they meant before jumping to conclusions. Why this is being brought up in a discussion about Linux is beyond me. Context and nuance matter. Tangentially: this is a problem with "cancel culture" in general. The mob is willing to lynch people at the mere mention of something they find objectionable. That's what's asinine.

CRConrad 2y ago

The gaffe is on the part of those who read far too much into the expression.