Remember when I talked about the changes in Linux (and the resulting rudeness I experienced)? Let’s skip back to that first part about Linux changing.
As I pointed out then:
I’ve never been a kernel dev, so I’ve not seen Linus’ behavior in person. Hell, I didn’t even know how abusive he’s been to others until this whole story broke, and didn’t know that his apology was prompted by a news outlet calling him on his abusive behavior until today.
Welp, I ran across this article on Linux Journal about the “controversy” (oh, the horror of not being able to be a privileged ashhole to everyone!), and my eyes just about fell out of my head. Because the links cited by the first “impassioned” person to be quoted… well, how about you just see them.
Yup, you literary readers of this blog are probably feeling that queasy sensation in your stomach whenever you hear the name Theodore “Flaming Phallus” “Women Shouldn’t Have The Vote” “White Supremacist/Separatist” “Vox Day” Beale. The second-ever person kicked out of SFWA thanks to his premeditated attempt to smear the organization’s name after years of trolling it, the head of the Rabid Puppies, and … well, pathetic failed attempt at being a super-villian and instead being a sad troll.
Seriously, that queasy sensation the literary types are getting is not because of some kind of fear. Nope; having failed to overthrow the Hugos, he’s turning toward pushing his brand of reactionary sexist racism towards the FOSS community.
Y’all have been warned.
But hey, folks, N.K. Jemisin has already pretty much summed up things after winning a Hugo in 2016:
“Only a small number of ideologues have attempted to game the Hugo Awards. That small number can easily be overwhelmed, their regressive clamor stilled, if the rest of SFF fandom simply stands up to be counted. Stands up to say that yes, they do want literary innovation, and realistic representation. Stands up to say that yes, they do just want to read good stories — but what makes a story good is skill, and audacity, and the ability to consider the future clearly rather than through the foggy lenses of nostalgia and privilege.”
In case it’s not clear, let me rephrase it:
“That small number can easily be overwhelmed, their regressive clamor stilled, if the rest of the FOSS community simply stands up to be counted. Stands up to say that yes, they do want innovation and quality code. Stands up to say that yes, they do just want to have great software — but what makes a software good is skill, and audacity, and the ability to consider the future clearly rather than through the foggy lenses of nostalgia and privilege.”