[runbyfruity]

The downvotes could also mean you should do some self-reflection. It's possible you don't realize you're espousing offensive views. And before you go "zomg I've triggered the snowflakes!", there's nothing wrong with holding these views in the abstract, but they do suggest that perhaps these ideas might drive you to very real actions that aren't particularly helpful for society.

[wazoox]

I'm espousing all sort of offensive views. I'm for the end of capitalism, for instance. As for self-reflection, I've been accused of everything, for instance to be an antisemite because I'm espousing the offensive opinion that Israel is an apartheid state, and that BDS is a fine idea I support. I concluded with George Orwell and Noam Chomsky that “Goebbels was in favor of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you’re really in favor of free speech, then you’re in favor of freedom of speech for precisely the views you despise. Otherwise, you’re not in favor of free speech.”

Therefore I conclude that it's of the utmost importance to be able to express despicable, obnoxious, offensive views. That doesn't mean that I condone all of these views. OTOH, all really important views are necessarily offensive to someone, else they're probably benign and of little significance, if any.

I understand that RMS is probably an obnoxious jerk. However, it's in a large part because he is an obnoxious, insensitive jerk that he's been so adamant on his principles, and I deem this is a key reason why he had a significant influence in technology and on the world at large.