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Re: Willingness to share a position statement?

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Quoting Gerardo Ballabio (2021-03-24 12:32:31)
> Matthias Klumpp wrote:
> > Inclusivity and tolerance does not mean we have to accept every opinion as equally valid.
> 
> Equally valid -- no.
> Legitimate to express -- yes.
> 
> I am really worried about the increasing trend (not specific to
> Debian) towards demanding that people who hold "dissenting" opinions
> be removed from their positions, excluded from the public debate, and
> even fired from their jobs, which if universally applied would make
> them unable to earn a living. That is what dictatorial regimes do --
> often while maintaining a facade of freedom: "Nobody is being
> prevented from speaking, we're just making their life miserable
> because we don't like what they're saying". That's exactly what's
> happening with the current political correctness storm. Say one bad
> word and your life might be ruined.
> 
> Just yesterday I happened to read this quotation (on a Debian mailing
> list!). I believe it is very much to the point:
> "Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves
> exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves
> only the unanimity of the graveyard. -- Justice Roberts in 319 U.S.
> 624 (1943)"
> 
> What happened to "I don't agree with what you're saying, but I'll give
> my life to defend your right to say it"?

Very well said, Gerardo - but there is a piece missing:

Question is not if legitimate for RMS to have and share opinions.

Question instead is if RMS mixes personal opinions with official roles.

I sometimes sneeze.  If I worked at a restaurant, then I served a role 
as a servant where it is absolutely unacceptable to sneeze.

If I failed at understanding that sneezing while acting in my role as 
servant was unacceptable, then it would be reasonable that management 
fired me.  And it would be sensible to sign a petition to have the board 
of the restaurant step down if they failed to fire me.

Now imagine that I blogged about my sneezing, shared videos of sneezes 
in slow-motion, and argued in talk shows that my sneezing was special 
and could cure COVID-19, not spread it.  The restaurant managers fired 
me, but later changed their mind and hired me back again.

Should I be fired again, or the management be shamed? Depends on whether 
I sneezed at work, not if it was public knowledge that I was a sneezer 
and clueless about how viruses spread - those features have *nothing* to 
do with my ability to serve food at a restaurant (regardless of my very 
presence in the restaurant might make sone guests vomit because they 
remembered some slow-motion video they once saw, produced by me).


 - Jonas

-- 
 * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt
 * Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/

 [x] quote me freely  [ ] ask before reusing  [ ] keep private

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Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Gerardo Ballabio <gerardo.ballabio@gmail.com> - 2021-03-24 12:50 +0100
  Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Steve McIntyre <steve@einval.com> - 2021-03-24 13:40 +0100
    Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Adrian Bunk <bunk@debian.org> - 2021-03-24 17:50 +0100
    Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Holger Levsen <holger@layer-acht.org> - 2021-03-24 20:30 +0100
    Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Gerardo Ballabio <gerardo.ballabio@gmail.com> - 2021-03-25 21:40 +0100
      Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Steve McIntyre <steve@einval.com> - 2021-03-25 22:40 +0100
        Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Steve McIntyre <steve@einval.com> - 2021-03-25 23:30 +0100
          Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Roberto C. Sánchez <roberto@debian.org> - 2021-03-25 23:30 +0100
            Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Steve Langasek <vorlon@debian.org> - 2021-03-25 23:40 +0100
              Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Roberto C. Sánchez <roberto@debian.org> - 2021-03-26 00:00 +0100
                Why does Debian Care about the FSF Sam Hartman <hartmans@debian.org> - 2021-03-26 00:20 +0100
                Re: Why does Debian Care about the FSF Andrey Rahmatullin <wrar@debian.org> - 2021-03-26 09:30 +0100
                Re: Why does Debian Care about the FSF Simon Avery <digdilem@gmail.com> - 2021-03-26 23:10 +0100
              Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Adrian Bunk <bunk@debian.org> - 2021-03-26 00:40 +0100
                Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Felix Lechner <felix.lechner@lease-up.com> - 2021-03-26 01:30 +0100
            Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Steve McIntyre <steve@einval.com> - 2021-03-25 23:50 +0100
        Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Adrian Bunk <bunk@debian.org> - 2021-03-25 23:40 +0100
          Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Pierre-Elliott Bécue <peb@debian.org> - 2021-03-27 11:20 +0100
        Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Gerardo Ballabio <gerardo.ballabio@gmail.com> - 2021-03-26 10:30 +0100
          Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Ulrike Uhlig <ulrike@debian.org> - 2021-03-26 11:30 +0100
          Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Steve Langasek <vorlon@debian.org> - 2021-03-26 17:00 +0100
      Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Ulrike Uhlig <ulrike@debian.org> - 2021-03-26 00:40 +0100
    Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Philip Rinn <rinni@inventati.org> - 2021-03-26 00:20 +0100
    Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Dmitry Smirnov <onlyjob@debian.org> - 2021-03-31 00:40 +0200
      Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Steve McIntyre <steve@einval.com> - 2021-03-31 01:00 +0200
      Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Steve Langasek <vorlon@debian.org> - 2021-04-01 01:20 +0200
      Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Pierre-Elliott Bécue <peb@debian.org> - 2021-04-01 11:00 +0200
        Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Dmitry Smirnov <onlyjob@debian.org> - 2021-04-02 03:10 +0200
          Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Tiago Bortoletto Vaz <tiago@debian.org> - 2021-04-02 03:50 +0200
            Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Pierre-Elliott Bécue <peb@debian.org> - 2021-04-02 21:00 +0200
          Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Pierre-Elliott Bécue <peb@debian.org> - 2021-04-02 14:10 +0200
            Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Dmitry Smirnov <onlyjob@debian.org> - 2021-04-03 03:30 +0200
              Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Zlatan Todoric <zlatan@riseup.net> - 2021-04-03 10:30 +0200
              Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Steve McIntyre <steve@einval.com> - 2021-04-03 14:10 +0200
                Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Milan Zamazal <pdm@debian.org> - 2021-04-03 15:50 +0200
                Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Pierre-Elliott Bécue <peb@debian.org> - 2021-04-03 17:40 +0200
  Re: Willingness to share a position statement? Jonas Smedegaard <jonas@jones.dk> - 2021-03-24 13:40 +0100

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