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The Stallman report (stallman-report.org)

submitted 4 weeks ago by Lionir@beehaw.org to c/foss@beehaw.org

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[–] Midnitte@beehaw.org 27 points 4 weeks ago (5 children)

Mere possession of child pornography should not be a crime at all. To prosecute people for possessing something published, no matter what it may be, is a big threat to human rights. – stallman.org, 5 June 2017 “Possession of child porn”

I'll honestly be surprised if he doesn't end up being revealed to be in possession of CSAM.

[–] Whom@beehaw.org 41 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

Entirely possible but he's also a stubborn man obsessed with his own ideological consistency and absurdly precise (if not commonly understood) language. He's clearly a creep but having kept up with him over the years I think it's similarly possible that those statements aren't self-serving and are instead sincerely held dominoes 15 down the line from following the implications of some core principles.

That doesn't make them not disgusting and also does not mean he should remain the voice of our movement, of course.

[–] 5714@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Wise people know when to adjust core beliefs to not get into a situation like this, but I'd say that there's at least a bit of intention here.

[–] Whom@beehaw.org 12 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Oh absolutely, if following the trail of your beliefs leads you to a conclusion like this it should be a reason to interrogate those core beliefs and/or recognize where other core beliefs take priority, and not doing this is a major failure on his part that I'm sure is largely motivated by ultimately not really caring that much about sexual violence. It's just that the pattern of reasoning here is so consistent with his approach to every other issue that he writes about that I think it's reasonably likely that he just defends possession of CSAM on principle (as twisted as that is) rather than as as a defense of actions he's made. This is not a defense of the man, to be clear, just a guess as someone familiar with his idiosyncrasies. What we know for sure from his own mouth should be more than enough to condemn him and get him the hell out of the FSF. Having a man who actively defends pedophilia in a leadership role in any capacity is an embarrassment and a failure of the organization as a whole, even if he also laid the intellectual foundation for its mission.

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

yeah kinda like Aaron Swarttz made some sus statements but he was still relatively young. never got vibe he was pedo, just did not undersatnd the issue.

[–] Whom@beehaw.org 7 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

I've no idea what Swartz said on the subject and I'm not sure if this implication is intended by you but I would not characterize rms as just being uninformed. There's lots of evidence in this piece that he encountered information and testimonials from abused parties and nevertheless landed at the conclusions he did. I don't know if he holds CSAM or not but I do know he is long past the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his words.

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