I believe that while Linus' attitude could be better, it is understandable. Not that I'm excusing it, it's just that almost all the times you see someone pointi

I believe that while Linus' attitude could be better, it is understandable. Not that I'm excusing it, it's just that almost all the times you see someone pointing out him being an asshole, you can go back up the email chain to find the person he's being an asshole to being obtuse. Combine this with a deep care that Linus has for his "baby", and tons of crap trying to get past the radar on a regular basis, and it's understandable his reactions are what they are. Similar situations arise in communities where denial and/or subterfuge are common tactics, such as climate change denial and creationism. Just look up the term "sea lioning". That being said, I am for more diverse opinions, which I think you only truly get when you have more diverse points of view, which is why I agree that prejudice is a very bad thing. What is interesting to me, though, is I have yet to see prejudice from eg Linus. He's mean, yes, but he tends to "spread the love" (as the kernel management guide puts it) fairly evenly and not based on prejudice. Of course, I might just not be seeing this because I'm a white straight cis male. Last but not least, I agree that ideas and code are fair game for criticism. Unfortunately, sometimes people associate with their ideas (and sometimes code too) and take it as a personal insult when their idea or code is criticised.