Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

To: RussP
What are you going to do? Quit using computers?

Of course not, but just because there are many leftists in software (vs. hardware for example) doesn't mean I give their most outrageous leftists a pass, much less defend them as you are Stallman.

A good analogy is you like movies, and your favorite is Michael Moore, and why not since Hollywood is mostly leftists. Stallman is actually more left than Moore, yet here you are trying to rationalize your support. The best you've come up with is you like his free bribes. Conversely, I spit on them, and spend as little time as possible using his software, just like I avoid Moore's products, free giveaways or not.

35 posted on 12/12/2006 7:27:42 PM PST by Golden Eagle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies ]


To: Golden Eagle

Michael Moore's movies are political, but Richard Stallman's software is not even slightly political, so your analogy falls flat on its face. Beyond that, Stallman is but one of many, many contributors to Linux and open source in general.

Stallman is an interesting character. Although I profoundly disagree with him on many political issues, I nevertheless respect him for his vision of free software. The modern mass-market software industry, you see, is hardly a model for free enterprise. The way MS was able to leverage its de facto control of public standards (Word, etc.) with proprietary formats is a classic example of the failure of free enterprise. We can only hope that that failure is temporary. Currently, the only hope for rectifying that failure is Linux and Open Document Format.


36 posted on 12/12/2006 9:16:17 PM PST by RussP
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson