[lug] So now we're a bunch of communists, eh?

Ian S. Nelson nelson_ at attglobal.net
Mon Jul 31 07:34:47 MDT 2000


B O'Fallon wrote:

> Steve Ballmer, at Microsoft's annual financial analysts meeting in
> Seattle (the full article is here:
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/12266.html):
>
> "Linux is a tough competitor. There's no company led Linux, there's
> barely a Linux road map. Yet Linux sort of springs organically from the
> earth. And it had, you know, the characteristics of communism that
> people love so very, very much about it. That is, it's free."
>
> -----------
>
> I have in my lifetime been called many, many things (some good, some not
> so good) but no one until now has dared called me a communist. Perhaps a
> better term for Linux users would be "anarchists." Or, we since they
> want something for free, how about "misers"?
>
> But communists? Never!
>
> B. O'Fallon

  "Communists" is such a subtle jab too,  it's almost funny, there isn't
any other slur you can use these days without crossing the line, it's
pretty much either "commies" or  "Catholics."  (as far as I can tell those
are the only demographics you can publically make fun of and not get in to
trouble)  I went to college with guys who were proud to be communists, in
some circles it's a very high compliment..  I'm practically a member of the
anti-communist party and I use and contribute to Linux, what's that make
me?   Probably an anarchist but who knows?

The way I see it, Linux people are "reds" or "anarchists" or any easy to
define demographic, they're mostly just people who got sick of crap not
working so they did themselves.  They are Renaissance people.


--
Ian S. Nelson                                           __o
Nelson_ at attglobal.net.NOSPAM                            \<,
                                                      ()/ ()








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