Stallman Detests Wealth

You want FUD? By God, we got FUD!

Not new FUD, but definitive FUD.

For a massive demolition of the whole RMS “philosophy,” I refer you to Linux Victim. However, I think this article is the best example I’ve yet seen of how GNU FUD has got its filthy, unkempt grip on the general media. A few quotes, together with comments:

My first thought was that he should be institutionalized. (First impressions are always the best, aren’t they?)

The most momentous product of Stallman’s genius, Linux, was the first operating system to feature software that was entirely free. (Um, er, well, y’know…)

Lawrence Lessig… thinks that, in free software, he’s behind nothing less than “the most important social movement of the 21st century.” (SoftwareFreedomIsTheMostImportantFreedomOfAll™)

Stallman detests wealth. That’s why, upon entering the William H. Gates Building at MIT, he often turns to Gates’s name on the wall and gives him the finger, vigorously, really shoving it up there. (Good point. It’s certainly not like Boston and Cambridge are chock-full of plaques, memorials and institutions celebrating extremely wealthy individuals.)

When on the road, he carries exactly (and inexplicably) 52 pounds in his rolling suitcase, including an air mattress (to counter any hard beds), books, chocolate, tea, and roasted nuts. (Yes, that’s inexplicable. Not sure about the roasted bit, though.)

He lives off the meager stipends and paltry honoraria that come with his trips. (Nothing to do with other people’s money, of course.)

Of course, most of these precautions are pointless, since he outs himself every time he offers up ID to board a plane, then writes about every inch of his travels on his blog. So why bother with all the inconveniences? (“Fuck convenience,” Stallman snaps. “If you won’t sacrifice a little convenience for your freedom, you’re going to lose it.” Holy Pointless Martyrdom, Bat-Brain!)

That’s just page 1. It gets worse and worse and worse; although I like this quote from RMS concerning the 1998 freeware summit:

“I couldn’t call them spineless,” Stallman says today of the open sourcers, “because they threw out the idea there ought to be a spine.”

What, just because they changed the sodding name?

I wouldn’t call this investigative reporting at its worst, because it’s not investigative in any real sense, and it doesn’t strictly qualify as reporting.

And I know you’ve all read it. And I don’t care. It needs to be posted, goddamnit.

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And I’ve been searching for the relevant TM as a riposte to the repellent Lessig, without realising it was actually a FUD.

My apologies to Frak.