Bonum Certa Men Certa

They Tell Us Linus Torvalds is Sexist But Evidence Suggests Otherwise

Likewise, there's no good evidence that Richard Stallman is sexist (just opportunistic hearsay and misrepresentation)

Torvalds family
What % of those whom Torvalds blasted in mailing lists were not female? And as the only man in the house of feminists, does that fictional "sexist" narrative make any sense at all?



Summary: Torvalds and others who are middle-aged (or older) males are often torpedoed using weakly-backed allegations (or insinuations/innuendo) of sexism; that does not seem to matter and won't matter when they treat men the same (or worse)

OUR previous article about the Linux Foundation has received over 13,000 reads, i.e. a lot more than the usual. So it must have struck a nerve. Torvalds "has been under attack for many years but it was as late as 2013 that the attacks became more coordinated and consolidated," one person told us. "I suspect, but can't prove, that it was the criticism of Nvidia and consequent defense of the GPL, which was the deciding factor in them collectively moving to take him out."



"Maybe the problem is people who try to demonise Free software leaders by misusing the feminist cause. I've seen Torvalds writing loads of strongly-worded things, but rarely have I stumbled upon anything that's even remotely misogynistic/chauvinistic. The same is true for Stallman."The deeper we look into the attempt to oust Stallman (partly successful; he's still in GNU), the more evidence we find that we didn't see before, e.g. the degree to which IBM/Microsoft may have been behind it. Look at the demography and corporate affiliations, which aren't publicly stated so one must dig. One can find October 2018 articles such as "IBM to acquire Red Hat in deal valued at $34 billion" (mere weeks after IBM-connected media caused Torvalds to pull away, we presume partly due to pressure from the Linux Foundation because of things we read at the times; sources sent us E-mails at the time alleging that IBM had played a role in it, trying to lower the price of Red Hat). Looking back at the whole thing, especially with new optics or a new set of spectacles, it's starting to make a little more sense. Red Hat has long attempted to shoehorn its own replacements for things that worked absolutely fine, were modular, widely used and anti-monopolistic (by their very structural nature). Not so convenient when you're trying to sell $2,000 annual support contracts for a server... systemd is now in most servers; all that systemd needs now is its own kernel.

Remember how back in 2009 they tried telling us that Stallman, who posts lots of feminism-themed news picks in his personal/political site, is "sexist" because he mentioned the word "virgins" (without even specifying a gender; men too can be virgins). Maybe the problem is people who try to demonise Free software leaders by misusing the feminist cause. I've seen Torvalds writing loads of strongly-worded things, but rarely have I stumbled upon anything that's even remotely misogynistic/chauvinistic. The same is true for Stallman. Their most outspoken rants/outbursts were directed at men. If you want to see male-dominated culture, look no further than IBM. Hypocrites like these deserve the most condemnation.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Our IRC Community Turns 17 Very Shortly
A few years from now our IRC community will turn 20
Linux Foundation Buys Misleading Puff Pieces About Itself, Earns Some LLM Slop to Accompany the PR (Openwashing and Propaganda as a Service, With the Brand "Linux" Needlessly Borrowed)
Isn't it funny that after the "LF" (misusing the brand "Linux") flooded the Web with press releases and fake articles (that it had paid for) it now gets some LLM slop doing the same?
 
[Video] Richard Stallman on What Patents Would Have Done to Music (Covered by Copyrights)
Our WebM version can be played using Free software, independently of the availability of Invidious mirrors
Microsoft Destroys and Exploits, It Does Not Create
A race to nowhere
It's About So Much More Than 2 Microsofters, It's About Freedom to Speak About Crimes at Microsoft
Suffice to say, if some people related to our professional field attack women and get arrested for it, then there's nothing immoral about relaying this information
Links 22/03/2025: Social Security Attacks and More Attacks on the Press
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/03/2025: INTERPOL, DDoS by "Hey Hi" Hype, and RSS/Feed Readers
Links for the day
Links 22/03/2025: Alzheimer Research and Mega-breaches in the US
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, March 21, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, March 21, 2025
Gemini Links 21/03/2025: Leasehold, LOTI, and Project Managers
Links for the day
Links 21/03/2025: Energy Facilities Under Fire (or on Fire), EU "Solidarity with Ukraine" and First Console
Links for the day
Links 21/03/2025: "IBM cuts Thousands" and Outlook Outage Again (Microsoft Looks for Excuses)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/03/2025: "Happy Spring" and Leaving "The Enterprise"
Links for the day
Many Articles About Layoffs Are Still Fake, Still LLM Slop, Even About IBM Layoffs
No wonder tech and tech journalism are getting so much worse
Speak More About the GNU Manifesto (40 Years Old This Month), It Helps Remind People That GNU/Linux Was Started by Richard Stallman and the Ultimate Goal is Freedom
We generally encourage people to speak about Software Freedom
Slappification: Using More SLAPP to Cover Up SLAPP and Chaining SLAPPs (From Microsoft) in a Failed Bid to Censor Techrights
How low can a person with a law degree stoop?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, March 20, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, March 20, 2025
Hidden from coroners and the public: tech industry cultural contagion
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Richard Stallman on Patents
uploaded a day ago by Aleksandar Popovic
What Happened to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) Elections: Leaking Information of Members (Even in 2025)
More nonsense about Hey Hi (AI), which OSI has been openwashing on Microsoft's payroll
Recommended New Article From Dr. Andy Farnell and Some Site Miscellany
Andy says he and his daughter successfully avoid GAFAM
Links 20/03/2025: Executions in China and Crackdowns on Science in the US
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/03/2025: Ubuntu Shafting Common Sense and Blocking of Bots of the Net
Links for the day
Links 20/03/2025: IBM Layoffs (Thousands Reportedly Laid Off) and Lots More Corruption in the White House
Links for the day
Techrights Will Never Capitulate to Threats From Microsofters
Set aside violence against women and all sorts of other things; it's not about personal issues
The Microsoft-Led Open Source Initiative (OSI) is Hurting, It'll Try to Hurt Its Critics and Exposers Now
The OSI's chief meanwhile issues a bunch of meaningless waffle, a sort of "damage control" or "face-saving" platitudes
Apple is Still an Enemy of Open Standards and Software Freedom
Apple did not get any more benign
Gemini Links 20/03/2025: Wanting the Future Back and "Society That Lost Focus"
Links for the day
Fake Articles About GNOME
betanews again
Richard Stallman's Personal Site Says He's Looking for More Opportunities to Speak in Europe
He does not charge people for the talk
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Debian Pregnancy Cluster, when I stopped using IRC
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Mass Layoffs at IBM Confirmed
Thousands believed to have been laid off