Re: [ox-en] Nazi in Debian Alert
- From: Robin Green <greenrd greenrd.org>
- Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 23:50:47 +0000
Well, that's unfortunate, but if the Debian developers don't want to eject
him, what can you do?
I mean, it's not as if Walther is using his position to promote Nazi
ideology is it - or is it?
It's a tough one for free software communities, because what would you
have them do? Stop accepting contributions from him, for example? OK,
but then they're fragmenting the development of free softare and/or
slowing it down. Is it really worth doing that, chucking away his
contributions just because he happens to be a Nazi? As long as his
contributions aren't actually promoting Nazism in any way shape or
form, it seems like a waste to reject them.
Personally I would not want to work on a free software project with a
Nazi, and if I were in their shoes I'd try to have him ejected. But
that's on the personal level, and on their personal level apparently
they aren't too bothered by it - or not bothered enough to exclude him,
anyway.
--
Robin
On Tue, Jan 20, 2004 at 10:55:40AM [PHONE NUMBER REMOVED], Paul Bowman wrote:
On the night of 4-5 Jan I was initialy looking for an online text of the
(somewhat obscure) nazi Francis Parker Yockey's text "Imperium" which I
found on the following nazi webite:
http://reactor-core.org/secret/
I then checked out the site root http://reactor-core.org/ which puzzled
me a little bit until I realised that the webmaster was clearly trying
to present one face tothe world whilst hiding another by the moronic
"trick" of not putting a link to his "secret" page on the site root.
(Obviously never heard of search engines... duh!). The horrifying part
was when I realised that Jonathan Walther (said nazi in question) was a
current member of the Debian development team "in good standing" so to
speak. After staying up all night searching everywhere and drawing a
blank I then passed on a warning to RMS and Bruce Perens. The former as
"Walther" had rather cheekily put him as the second to last link on his
top-level page and then openly put a link to a nazi site (Yggdrasil)
smack bang underneath him (though an atheist by confession, rms is
Jewish by descent in case anyone hadn't already realised that). I also
ended up selecting Bruce Perens because I was aware of him through the
UserLinux list (and the whole "OS vs FS" thingy, obviously) and he was
the only name that I knew in relation to Debian. Obviously as well as
any political or ethical issues, there is a personal security issue in
that Walther may well be passing on personal address and other
security-sensitive details of folks within the FLOSS movement to his
"racial comrades".
Since that time, despite a fairly hostile attitude from Perens and the
Debian crowd ("Let's play shoot the messenger!") they have, from what
little I can see from the outside (I am not currently a Debian
developer), completely failed to deal with the issue in any serious way.
Given that I have allowed them over 2 weeks grace to sort their problems
out internally (I consider it basic solidarity to allow organisations a
chance to deal with serious issues internally - though both Perens and
those Debian insiders I have been in contact with have completely failed
to show me a shred of even the most basic human solidarity by completely
disobeying my requests for discretion and passing on my private emails
to them direct to Walther - and thus, by extension, my mortal enemies,
endangering my job and potentially, my life - fucking Yanks!) and all
they've responded with (aside from abuse that is) is a liberal "though I
find what he is saying distasteful, I defend to the death his right to
say it" style Californian rubbish, I shall respond in kind with an
equally inane "liberal" ploy of "the public has a right to know". So now
you know. Debian harbours Nazis and no they haven't mentioned it in the
last Debian Weekly News so I thought I'd pass it on.
If anyone wants a full copy of the correspondance between myself,
Perens, Debian members and the varyingly threatening and pleading emails
from Walther himself (yes, these cunts gave him my email address and my
name although all they had to do was ask him to explain the "secret"
site - there are days when I loathe Americans...), then email me off
list and, so long as I can check your bona fides and that you understand
the concept of "personal security", then I am happy to pass on the full
record that I have.
BTW, if someone could pass on a summary of the relevant information to
the German language list, I would be most grateful.
Yours for an open source and anti-nazi society,
Paul Bowman
Leeds AFA (in a personal capacity)
Current FS Project: https://sourceforge.net/projects/heresy/
P.S. I'm away in München for a few days so I'll not be able to respond
until Friday.
---
FYI:....
---
My dad fought the Nazis in world war two. There are good ways and bad
ways to fight them. Your way is a self-destructive obsession, given your
age and circumstances, an incurable one.
Debian developers have rules. We don't discriminate based upon belief,
no matter how disgusting that belief is.
I can't help you. I don't want to hear from you again.
Bruce Perens
Paul Bowman wrote:
By allowing the original email I sent you to go to Jonathan Walther.
Please tell me it isn't so.
Paul
_______________________
http://www.oekonux.org/
--
Robin
"it's FREE and we get the ability to modify the source code ourselves,
something that is extremely dangerous to do, was discredited decades ago..."
- Howard Strauss writing in Syllabus magazine
http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=8460
_______________________
http://www.oekonux.org/