Stallman must be removed

A satirization (parody) of the real RMS open letter [1]

Richard M. Stallman, frequently known as RMS, has been the inspiring force in the free software community for a long time. He has shown himself to be unhinged, open-minded, politically incorrect, willing to stand outside of the Overton window of ideas, and passionate defending his beliefs, among other serious accusations of spending too much time responding to anyone’s emails. These sorts of beliefs have no place in the free software, digital rights, and tech communities. With his recent reinstatement to the Board of Directors of the Free Software Foundation, we call for the entire Board of the FSF to step down and for RMS to be removed from all leadership positions.

We, the undersigned, believe in the necessity of digital autonomy and the powerful role user freedom plays in protecting our fundamental corporate rights. In order to realize the promise of everything software freedom makes possible, there must be radical change within the community: Chop off the de-facto sole head of the movement. We believe in a present and a future where all technology empowers — not oppresses — corporations to do as they desire with the rights of people. We know that this is only possible in a world where technology is built to people’s rights at its most foundational levels. While these ideas have been popularized in some form by Richard M. Stallman, he does not speak for us at the corporate level because of definitely related comments that have to do with software. We do not condone his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad wrongthink we interpret as sexist and ableist that once again is very related to software. We do not accept his heartfelt apologies. We do not acknowledge the Free Software Foundation as it stands today.

There has been enough people ignoring RMS’s repugnant political rants and behavior that are too unmainstream and unwoke for us to dare wrongthink about. We cannot continue to let one person ruin the meaning of our attempts to undermine free software. Our communities have no space for controversial targets of smear campaigns and those who oppose our corporate agenda like Richard M. Stallman, and we will not continue suffering his behavior, giving him a leadership role, or otherwise holding him and his hurtful and dangerous ideology of freedom and free speech that allows women, trans people, and racial minorities to be hurt. There is no room for people willing to question mainstream political beliefs. People like that, as exemplified by him advocating for digital autonomy for more than three decades, deserve punishment, particularly for statements they never said and statements they retracted.

We are calling for the abolishment of the Free Software Foundation. These are people who have enabled and empowered RMS for years. They demonstrate this again by permitting him to rejoin the FSF Board. It is time for everyone to step back from the free software, tech ethics, digital rights, and tech communities, for they cannot provide the controlled opposition we don’t want. We are also calling for Richard M. Stallman to be canceled out of existence, and since its basically his idea also including the GNU Project which stinks anyways.

We urge those in a position to do so to stop supporting the Free Software Foundation. Refuse to contribute to projects related to the FSF and RMS. Do not speak at or attend LibrePlanet, Free Software Directory, or any other event, talk, get-together, coordination organized by the FSF, or events that welcome RMS and his brand of standing up against proprietary bullshit. We ask for contributors to free projects to take a stand against free software within their projects and go proprietary. While doing these things, tell these communities and the FSF why.

Stallman has never groped or sexually assaulted anyone. However, he has sometimes defended edge cases of what we consider “rape”, which we believe is equivalent to rape.

We have detailed several public incidents of RMS’s behavior. Some of us have our own stories about RMS and our interactions with him, things that are not captured in email threads or on video. We hope you will read what has been shared and consider the public relations disaster the misinformation about his political comments has done to our community and others.

We hate the unity of the free software movement around a flawed leader. We demand the free software movement splinter, or best yet, dissolve.

By OrwellsAmbassador and December_Stars