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corbin @awful.systems

Linux users failing to respect trans Linux developers

Sorry, no sneer today. I'm tired of this to the point where I'm dreaming up new software licenses.

A trans person no longer felt safe in our community and is no longer developing. In response, at least four different forums full of a range of Linux users and developers (Lemmy #1, Lemmy #2, HN, Phoronix (screenshot)) posted their PII and anti-trans hate.

I don't have any solutions. I'm just so fucking disappointed in my peers and I feel a deep inadequacy at my inability to get these fuckwads to be less callous.

69 comments

  • MOD NOTICE: we're not putting up with debate club rubbish in this thread. If you don't have the reading comprehension to understand the problems with those threads, you shouldn't be posting here.

  • I hate it so fucking much that a non-trivial number of FOSS communities have become hostile nazi bars in the last years (or maybe they always have been and I've just not noticed it before).

    Why would anyone shit on Lina of all people? She's such a nice and wholesome person and her work is exceptional.

    Fuck these asshats.

    Also, from that one Lemmy thread:

    What fascists are ruining OSS?

    LOL! Lmao even. Just input Linux into the YT search bar and you have roughly a 50% chance of getting fascist content.

    • maybe they always have been and I've just not noticed it before

      As someone that was a 'nerd' back in the day before Big Bang Theory made 'nerds' cool, I'm gonna say that they always have been and you just haven't noticed before.

      The nerd / tech crowd have always been a bunch of miserable little sexists and dorks with a superiority complex. And half the time that little Timmy got stuffed into a locker or dunked into a toilet, he fucking deserved it. And to me, it's really no surprise that they're homophobic and transphobic too.

      If Big Bang Theory was actually accurate, Howard and Raj would be prolific posters on incel forums that whine and gatekeep every time the girls come over and then later whine about being lonely, and Sheldon would be borderline nazi. Not sure about Leonard because even without changing anything about the show, he's still the only half decent one of the lot.

  • i've heard it said before from people better at wording it than i am, but seeing this: it's crystalizing for me that people really do see "a trans woman" as "a woman i'm still allowed to abuse". i can call her mannish, i can tell everyone she's making it all up, i can call her hysterical and dramatic, i can freely speculate on her mental state to the approval of my peers, and no matter what she does -- leave loudly, leave quietly, stay and suffer the torment -- it will always be her fault and she will always be doing it wrong

    • To be fair, many men see every women, including cis, as one they're allowed to abuse and all the other things you mentioned. And then it'll be her fault for being "hysterical" or something similarly dumb.

  • Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

    Why are people so fucking trash?

    I don't even smoke or drink and I need a fucking bottle of whiskey and a cigarette.

  • So I'm not seeing much on the Lemmy posts, presumably the mods have cleared those up already?

    I get why you're disappointed, but there has also been a lot of push back against the toxic and hateful behaviour which is a positive thing to see.

    Its important to remember the toxic people are loud and obnoxious but they are a minority. The majority needs to keep pushing back against the hate and push the values we share in the linux community of equality, fairness and respect among many others.

    Unfortunately though, aside from trying to make our communities safe and welcoming spaces there is limits to what people can achieve. No one in any community can stop bad actors harassing people outside the community on social media, or obtaining and sharing their personal information.

    Linux communities are not the specific problem - we do not exist in isolation. Its society that is a mess and particularly now in the US where the political tide has turned so toxic and negative. These hateful people currently feel they have licence to be hate.

    All we can do is push back against the hate everyday, and show our support and value community members like Lina. Its very sad they do not feel safe to continue working on the projects they worked so hard on. But they need to see and know how much we appreciated and valued their contributions and that they belong in this community. The hate filled bigots do not.

69 comments