Bonum Certa Men Certa

Inclusion of Dissent and Diversity of Views (Opinions, Interpretations, Scenarios)

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Apr 16, 2024,
updated Apr 16, 2024

Oslo Opera House, Norway

Published this past January: The Moral and the Legal by Richard Stallman

THE free software movement (can be capitalised, too) was born out of the desire to 'hack' on code, as in mend or fix or generally alter programs to suit one's needs. There was nothing illegal about such 'hacking'. It was actively encouraged and it helped improve efficiency/productivity at MIT, where printer code could still be altered.

Three months ago the father of the free software movement (Dr. Stallman) spoke about the difference associated with morality and obeying the law. To Stallman, being a nonconformist, merely following societal norms should not be presumed "right". One can be sceptical and vocally critical of norms. Progress, as the proverbs go, comes from 'unreasonable' people who turn down norms and reject orthodoxies. Sometimes people follow them. That's how progress happens.

Around the time Stallman was 'canceled' (only weeks earlier) he gave a talk in Russia. There's even footage from that talk:

Richard Stallman in Moscow 2019

After the invasion of Ukraine many people online demanded an annulment of the first freedom (of the Four Freedoms) and the FSF brushed off such calls, which would set dangerous precedents and lead to unintended consequences.

Stallman and others will never be "normal" and that's OK. That's what diversity and inclusion mean. It ought to mean we accept those who are different from us, including people who think differently.

Modern society advances faster in a liberal setting that permits if not rewards unusual beliefs, ideologies, or worldviews. With the Codes of Conduct we mostly see a pivot to crush that. Codes of Conduct gravitate towards "Inclusion and Diversity" the way horrible corporations view them. They want us fighting over sex, race etc. while they're fighting wars by making bombs and other weapons, including digital weapons. Dissent isn't tolerated by such corporations. Dissent hurts their bottom line (profits). It was never about morality, it was all about control.

Don't fall for it. Stand for freedom of expression as much as you insist on software freedom. In practice, freedom of expression necessarily means tolerance of views you might find "offensive", sometimes outright objectionable. Not only the US has a First Amendment. Norway has something similar in its Constitution and 3 months ago its government stated: "Freedom of expression is a prerequisite for a functioning democracy where all members of society have access to information and can participate in social and political life. Freedom of expression is also an enabler of other human rights, such as freedom of assembly and freedom of religion or belief. Promoting freedom of expression is a key priority in Norway’s foreign and development policy."

Corporate Codes of Conduct take us a step closer to Taliban rather than Nordic societies. Choose what you prefer.

Photo credits: Richard Stallman in Moscow 2019. By DonSimon. Simon Kwong/Reuters for the image below.

Programmer Richard Stallman says a powerful computer is all he needs – he can usually manage without an internet connection. Photograph: Simon Kwong/Reuters

Other Recent Techrights' Posts

A Week After a Worldwide Windows Outage Microsoft is 'Bricking' Windows All On Its Own, Cannot Blame Others Anymore
A look back at a week of lousy press coverage, Microsoft deceit, and lessons to be learned
 
Links 26/07/2024: Hamburgerization of Sushi and GNU/Linux Primer
Links for the day
Links 26/07/2024: Tesco Cutbacks and Fake Patent Courts
Links for the day
Links 26/07/2024: Grimy Residue of the 'AI' Bubble and Tensions Around Alaska
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/07/2024: More Computers and Tilde Hosting
Links for the day
Links 26/07/2024: "AI" Hype Debunked and Elon Musk's "X" Already Spreads Political Disinformation
Links for the day
"Why you boss is insatiably horny for firing you and replacing you with software."
Ask McDonalds how this "AI" nonsense with IBM worked out for them
No Olympics
We really need to focus on real news
Nobody Holds the GNOME Foundation Accountable (Not Even IRS), It's Governed by Lawyers, Not Geeks, and Headed by a Shaman Crank
GNOME is a deeply oppressive institutions that eats its own
[Meme] The 'Modern' Web and 'Linux' Foundation Reinforcing Monopolies and Cementing centralisation
They don't care about the users and issuing a few bytes with random characters costs them next to nothing. It gives them control over billions of human beings.
'Boiling the Frog' or How Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) is Being Abandoned at Short Notice by Let's Encrypt
This isn't a lack of foresight but planned obsolescence
When the LLM Bubble Implodes Completely Microsoft Will be 'Finished'
Excuses like, "it's not ready yet" or "we'll fix it" won't pass muster
"An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs"
The lesson of this story is, if you do evil things, bad things will come your way. So don't do evil things.
When Wikileaks Was Still Primarily a Wiki
less than 14 years ago the international media based its war journalism on what Wikileaks had published
The Free Software Foundation Speaks Out Against Microsoft
the problem is bigger than Microsoft and in the long run - seeing Microsoft's demise - we'll need to emphasise Software Freedom
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 25, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, July 25, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Links 26/07/2024: E-mail on OpenBSD and Emacs Fun
Links for the day
Links 25/07/2024: Talks of Increased Pension Age and Biden Explains Dropping Out
Links for the day
Links 25/07/2024: Paul Watson, Kernel Bug, and Taskwarrior
Links for the day
[Meme] Microsoft's "Dinobabies" Not Amused
a slur that comes from Microsoft's friends at IBM
Flashback: Microsoft Enslaves Black People (Modern Slavery) for Profit, or Even for Losses (Still Sinking in Debt Due to LLMs' Failure)
"Paid Kenyan Workers Less Than $2 Per Hour"
From Lion to Lamb: Microsoft Fell From 100% to 13% in Somalia (Lowest Since 2017)
If even one media outlet told you in 2010 that Microsoft would fall from 100% (of Web requests) to about 1 in 8 Web requests, you'd probably struggle to believe it
Microsoft Windows Became Rare in Antarctica
Antarctica's Web stats still near 0% for Windows
Links 25/07/2024: YouTube's Financial Problem (Even After Mass Layoffs), Journalists Bemoan Bogus YouTube Takedown Demands
Links for the day
Gemini Now 70 Capsules Short of 4,000 and Let's Encrypt Sinks Below 100 (Capsules) as Self-Signed Leaps to 91%
The "gopher with encryption" protocol is getting more widely used and more independent from GAFAM
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 24, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Techrights Statement on YouTube
YouTube is a dying platform
[Video] Julian Assange on the Right to Know
Publishing facts is spun as "espionage" by the US government and "treason" by the Russian government, to give two notable examples
Links 25/07/2024: Tesla's 45% Profit Drop, Humble Games Employees All Laid Off
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/07/2024: Losing Grip and collapseOS
Links for the day