this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2024
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    [–] [email protected] 22 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (7 children)

    I hate the RMS cult. He's done good stuff for software, but he's not a guy you should worship.

    Richard Stallman on paedophilia:

    "The nominee is quoted as saying that if the choice of a sexual partner were protected by the Constitution, 'prostitution, adultery, necrophilia, bestiality, possession of child pornography, and even incest and pedophilia' also would be. He is probably mistaken, legally--but that is unfortunate. All of these acts should be legal as long as no one is coerced. They are illegal only because of prejudice and narrowmindedness."

    RMS on June 28th, 2003

    "I am skeptical of the claim that voluntarily pedophilia harms children. The arguments that it causes harm seem to be based on cases which aren't voluntary, which are then stretched by parents who are horrified by the idea that their little baby is maturing. "

    RMS on June 5th, 2006

    "There is little evidence to justify the widespread assumption that willing participation in pedophilia hurts children.

    RMS on Jan 4th, 2013

    E: FFS. "But he changed his mind" - no, he put out a statement saying he doesn't believe those decades-held opinions days after there were calls to remove him from a public-facing position. Call me a pessimist, but that timing seems awfully convenient to me. He didn't change his mind, he was just trying to keep his job.

    The RMS cult is fucking insane. Are the downvoters paedophiles too, or are they merely fine turning a blind eye to these views, just because their guy was the one to say it? If it was, idk, Zuckerberg who said this, would you defend him like you people are defending Stallman?

    [–] [email protected] 22 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Uh, no, there's no one you should worship.

    [–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago

    I have chosen to worship you based upon this position. That is all.

    [–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

    Indeed.

    But people that publicly champion child rape, bestiality, and parent-child sexual relationships doubly so.

    The fact there are so many people who are pro child rape, or at the very least pro people who are open advocates for having sex with children, is absolutely disgusting.

    [–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

    I would agree with a small portion of it, but pedophilia, no, no way.

    Though I do have something to share on the subject. I used to go out with this girl, I was 19, she was 17. We had sex and all that (willingly, of course). Legally speaking, I was a pedophile, but let's take a look at the age gap and how old I was.

    Anyway, I wasn't that into this girl, so I break up with her. I did know that she kinda had a crush on me, but I didn't think it was that serious. Three weeks pass after the breakup and her dad shows up at my doorstep with 2 other guys (his relatives... or at least I presumed as much) accusing me of raping his daughter... I tried to explain that there was no such thing and that yes, we did have sex, but at no point was it against her will. Sure, I might have been the one that instigated the intercourse, but it wasn't like she didn't like it. Regardless, her dad was pissed as hell and even threatened to submit this to the DA 😱... I was about to be taken to trial and very possibly go to jail for what? A girl that I broke up with that was probably deeply hurt (I am sorry for that, but you can't force someone to love someone else) and wanted to get back at me, so she involved her parrents in the ordeal, not thinking things through (of course, she's young) how this might affect the other person and stain him FOR LIFE.

    Luckily, things cooled down, I went to talk to her parrents about this, I said I was sorry and I shouldn't have had sex with her, but the truth of the matter was that, I didn't rape her! They also called her to confront me on this, we had a long converstaion with her parrents present, she was furious, lying through her teeth, portraying every single time we had sex as rape. I think her parrents saw through this, since there were personal insults at my expense, not to mention that "why did you break up with me!?" was mentioned quite a few times throught the conversation and that kinda sealed the case that this was nothing more than a broken heart. I promised them I'll never contact her again, for her sake (and mine as well), and to let her heal, and I never did.

    My point is, things could have ended up being A LOT worse for me. I think that me showing up alone at their house kinda made them think about the whole situation and that maybe our daughter is actually lying to us (why would I show up there and risk getting my head chopped off if I really did rape her, right). Just goes to show you that people can be mean, take advantage of a certain situation and portray it as something completely different.

    I always asked a partner's age after that, ALWAYS. Unless it was blaintly obvious she's not a minor.

    [–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

    This wouldn't be illegal in the UK or many countries. Age of consent is 16 here. From what I've read, USA is an outlier that infantises young adults to impose mortality.

    Always weird because the music videos exported by the US are often soft porn and the music industry has a thing for barely legal girls.

    [–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

    Age of consent is 16 here.

    In Russia too. Until 2003 it was 14.

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

    I don't live in the US BTW. I said "the DA" to conform to what most of the viewers on Lemmy are used to (most are US citizens). In reality we don't have a district attourney, you involve the police and the state takes care of things onwards.

    Always weird because the music videos exported by the US are often soft porn and the music industry has a thing for barely legal girls.

    Which just goes to show you that that "imposed morality" thing isn't really working... in the US or anywhere else. The US is somewhere at the top by number of pedophiles vs. number of population.

    [–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

    Out of curiosity, where are you from?

    [–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)
    [–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

    Ah cool. I do like that Lemmy feels more distributed than Reddit. Too many Americans on it.

    [–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

    Yeah, it kinda feels that there is more diversity here, but still, I do belive the majority is from the US, so I sometimes cater in my comments to that part of the population, just to cut down on explaining myself afterwards.

    [–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

    The age of consent is 16 in most places. Like half of Europe, half of the US states.

    RMS wasn't talking about 16/17 year olds.

    There's very obviously not anything wrong with a 17 year old having sex with a 16 year old.

    [–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (5 children)

    I was 19, she was 17.

    Still, if he's talking about cases like mine, yes, I can get onboard with that. But with an age gap of 10+ years, no, I really can't.

    My mom was almost 20 years younger than my dad m, but she was 27 and he was 46. That may seem weird, but both of them are adults.

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    [–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

    Suddenly reminded about Shurigina.

    [–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

    Are the downvoters paedophiles too, or are they merely fine turning a blind eye to these views, just because their guy was the one to say it?

    Because we're in a community dedicated to memes and this post is making fun of RMS. Your reaction is misappropriate, especially with this question.

    [–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago

    It's not really making fun of him, it's the usual treating him like a deity figure.

    Just look at the jumping through hoops to defend him that people are doing and always do whenever his... uh... unorthodox views on child rape come up.

    [–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

    COOL GUY CLUB 🎸

    [–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

    Why don't you include the more recent postings in which he states his opinion has changed? The most recent one here is 11 years old.

    [–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Thats the thing about saying an opinion on the internet, its tied to you forever. In real life people tend to change their minds and can re-evaluate on their own shitty opinions after a few decades. Not always, but it happens. But that doesn't change the fact you said that thing that one time 20 years ago. The people who don't really care about you and just want a mental straw man to hate don't care about things like personal growth or that you have changed stance, just that you thought that bad thing at one time.

    Im personally guilty of saying some real edgelord shit as a teenager on the internet. If someone somehow collected a few comments I made when I was 15 and went on a 5 paragraph essay about how terrible of a person I am now it would make me roll my eyes and tell them to get bent. Who I was as a 15 year old and my opinions then is completely independent of who I am now and my current stances. But the 5-paragrapher doesn't care about that, they got their ragebait strawman and a ride on the high horse so they are happy.

    [–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (5 children)

    Very well said. I think people tend to not realise that personal development is really a thing that happened when they have instant access to the old opinions of people online.

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    [–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

    Why don’t you include the more recent postings in which he states his opinion has changed?

    Because he is biased.

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

    Lol, you mean when he changed his opinion 4 days after his comments were outed, and only when it looked like his job was untenable?

    Seems awfully convenient that RMS would change his decades-held opinion that paedophilia is fine mere days after he found himself in hot water.

    If Andrew Tate, right when Google was mulling over removing his content from YouTube, said "you know, I actually think misogyny is a bad thing. Honest.", would you believe him? Would you think he's a changed man?

    I wouldn't. But maybe you're just more trusting than I am.

    [–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

    It's funny, because he didn't get fired, he resigned. And he never returned to his previous position. It wasn't about losing his job, or getting it back. It was that he grew and changed his opinion. Unless you believe people can't grow?

    And the incident which made him do that (where he even said what was done is wrong!) is not related to the previous comments you've listed.

    Hey, wasn't Bill Gates on Epstein's flight logs? The same Bill Gates who claims he's never been on any of his islands? Huh, someone with genuine connections and not just pedantic with words. Someone should really look into that. Funny how nobody brings up those who are actually involved.

    EDIT: why'd you add two whole paragraphs about Tate a day after I replied? Were you hoping I wouldn't notice and it'd look like I ignored them? The difference is Tate continually reiterates his opinions (I.e. there's not a decade gap between him saying it and then saying his opinion changed in light of evidence) and also, actually acts on them (which Stallman has never done).

    [–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

    People in high up positions often "resign" when their position is no longer tenable.

    It's an opportunity afforded to people at the top so they can save face.

    I don't see why you're bringing whataboutism about Gates into this. The discussion isn't about Gates, nor do I like Gates. Why bring him up other than to muddy the debate and shift focus away from padeo-champion RMS?

    The discussion is about RMS being pro paedophilia, and his cult being in denial about that fact.

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

    He still didn't return to his position. And again, the things said that lead to him resigning are not related to his previous comments. And again, he actually denounced what happened, in that email chain. He absolutely wasn't defending it. Go read it yourself, in full. Not some chopped up version.

    Hey, Stallman answers his emails, how about you ask him what his opinions are yourself?

    [email protected]

    Also, I'm bringing up Gates because while there's massive uproar over some misplaced pedantry a lifelong activist did (again, while denouncing what happened and saying Epstein is described too lightly), it seems eerily silent when it comes to people in the same sector actually having real connections to Epstein and not just unpopular opinions on how words should be used.

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

    I didn't say he returned to his position.

    The entire thing led to him resigning. It was his comments on Epstein that got the ball rolling, but people bringing up his public championing of child rape using his work email address, as well as women alleging that he had been creepy with them, all led to him losing his position.

    Look, you can defend him all you want. That's fine. I'm just on the "child rape is bad" side of the fence.

    [–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (11 children)

    We're on the same side of that fence, don't think you're smart by painting me as pro-pedo. It's incredibly disingenuous and tells me you're running out of arguments to stand on. Stallman is of the belief that that is bad, and has denounced Epstein's actions. And even if he didn't, he still did nothing himself, so I'm not sure how me making the point that Stallman isn't the devil opponents say he is makes me belong on "that side of the fence"?

    The "creepy" allegations have all been debunked iirc. I've heard of one about a mattress in his office, which wasn't even in his office or his mattress? I've also heard of him giving a business card (why is that creepy?). If you have any examples with actual evidence which isn't just "I heard that she said that he said", feel free to share and I'll look.

    My point about him not returning to his previous position makes the argiment that him taking back his previous views wasn't just to return to the job he had. As you said that he didn't actually have a legitimate reason to change his opinion. Because if you don't like someone, it means they never have a benign reason to change their opinions!

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    [–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

    Oof, I wish that I haven't heard about this

    [–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

    It's unfortunate. And it's very strange that a lot of the cult just ignores it or actively covers it up

    I was banned from the Reddit sub because of it lol, hopefully here doesn't have the same mods

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

    Yea, at the moment I think (or want to think) that he himself doesn't pose a threath to children or is pedo and also do belive that he generally is a person with a good intent with a terrible take on this topic.

    [–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

    This is something he mentioned literally a few times between 2003 and 2013 (and he talks about a lot of stuff - check stallman.org) and he doesn't even believe anymore. In 2019 he said that it was something he used to believe, but he realised he was wrong. You can read it on Wikipedia (unfortunately I can't find the original source for the quote right now): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman#Controversies

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (10 children)

    What's the problem? You want people to not discuss things that are offensive? It's a shame he used to believe that, but he changed his mind, admitted to being wrong and moved on.

    What would you want to happen instead? That we cancel people, because they have an opinion we don't like?

    he was just trying to keep his job

    What job? The position at his foundation that he does for free? If he only cared about keeping it, why did he quit 2 days later?

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