Richard Stallman on Love
Slide from talk by Karim Lounis, uploaded 4 days ago:
Richard Stallman's personal website includes a section that lists three essays on the subject of love (plus his “Former Personal Ad” dated 2009 —we are happy he found love).
“Childhood Sweetheart” is particularly revealing of Stallman's rather uncommon approach to romantic relationships: he would readily pass up the prospect of sexual involvement with a willing beautiful woman to prioritize the platonic connection with another woman to whom he is not physically attracted but needs his support.
It also shows that when he (or anyone else for that matter) invites someone to dinner, or hands out his “ pleasure card,” the ultimate intention may as well be altogether unrelated to sex. Specially for Stallman, it's most likely to be company, human interaction, friendship.
Thus, given the significant additional light that this article casts on Stallman's character when it comes to romantic relationships, we have decided to reproduce it here.