This post was written by Hannah Wolfman-Jones, but includes a response from civil rights expert Nadine Strossen, ex-president of the ACLU
Birth of a movement
Richard Stallman and the ideas of free software that he developed originated in the days when computers had not yet become an integral part of the life of ordinary people, that is, in the 70s. Decades before our cell phones tracked our every move, before smart homes brought mass surveillance to our living rooms, the idea of computers as powerful tools of oppression seemed downright absurd.
Stallman was different. He hated and feared that users would lose control of computing. To combat what he saw as an unacceptable loss of basic user freedoms with respect to proprietary software, Stallman formulated and then adhered to the principles of free software.
By the early 1980s, Stallman had founded the free software movement and became one of its most prolific contributors, programming the GNU operating system to create completely free software. He campaigned and wrote free software for free, while his less talented fellow computer scientists made millions.
Stallman's followers grew in number as his terrifying, crazy rants of the early 1980s largely came true. So much so that there is now an international free software foundation, many related organizations promoting variations of its ideas, and many online forums.
Unlikely icon
" ... . , . , . ; " -- , ,
3 , 1 1 , . . , , , - .
, . . , , , .
, . , , .
- , , . - , . - «they» , - .
, « », . , , .
#CancelStallman
2019 , , , . , . . 850 000 Media Lab , . , , , , , .
, , 2016 , , . , 17- « » . , . , :
: ( ). «». « » , : , - X, Y, , X... «» , - , ... , , . , , , . , « » . , , .
( - . - .)
Selam G., , «» . , , , , . , , , , Medium : « , ».
Selam G. , , « », « ».
Selam G. . . , « EMACS». ( , "". « Emacs» « Emacs», «, Emacs». Emacs - , , «» «» Emacs .)
Selam G Medium, - #CancelStallman . , .
, . 2003 :
« , « ( ) , ». , . , «» , , - , . « ( ) ». , 14 , . ( 14- ). , , , , ». - .
2011 : « » , . , . ? "
. . , , , .
Tech Crunch The Daily Beast , , , - , - .
, , « ».
: «». , , - , - .
« » (, "" , ) « » ( , «» , , , , ) .
, , , , . ., . . , .
( 1985 ) . . , . . , , .
, , , .
: « », «» New York Times . : , .
, , , , " " . , , . , : .
. , « : , , ».
, , , : ? , , , . , . - (ACLU), , 1991 2008 .
, ( , ). - - EPIC ( ), FIRE ( ), ACLU Heterodox Academy.
": , " (2018) " : , , " (1995). , , .
, . #CancelStallman:
, , - -, , , . [ , ] , , , , .
- : . - : , , .
, . , . , . -, -?! !
- " ". [ ] , , , - , , - . , . (), , .
, . NAACP ( ) 1950- 60- , , , . , - - , .
, , (, , , ), , , .
, ! , , - ! , , .
, , , , .
, , , .
, , - , , , ! , , , « », ! , (, ) , .
, , « » , , , . , , , , , . - - , , , . « / » , , , , , , ? ! - , , . , , . , , [ ].
-, [ ] , , , , . , . .
! , , , : , , , .
, , ( ), , .
, , , , . «», , , , , , , -, ! , , .
, , , , , , , . . , , , , . , , , .
, [ ] - , , : «! , - . . , ». . , , - .
, , , ! . , , , , - - - .
, " ", , . , , . , , - , - . . , , , , . .
18- , , . , , , . « » , . ""?
, , , , . , , , , , , , .
« : , , ». , , , . , - - - , . , , , . , , , , , . , , , ! , , ( ). , . , , «» «» , .
. , .
Atlantic, 80 , « - ». « » « », , . , , . (, 75% , 87% ) (, 79% 24 ).
2300 2017 , 71% , , , 58% , . ? , . . «»! . , , « », ?
So you judge, dear reader. Do we Web deserve to be #cancelized too?