[rowanG077]

This is false dichotomy. The media spend incredible amount of energy destroying this guy for no apparent reason. It's not more then fair the same amount of energy is spend helping him for the injustice that was done.

Beside it's not like the media is lacking in energy to spend on inciting social justice mobs.

[mikeash]

I don’t think it’s a false dichotomy at all. This same community discusses other things, far worse things, and we can compare them. When this community discusses victims of harassment who get fired for reporting it, there isn’t nearly this much time and energy spent on it. When an article about a drone strike blowing up an Afghan wedding made the front page recently, there wasn’t this much outrage. Uber covers up actual crimes and the discussion degenerates into arguments about whether there’s any duty to report crimes to the police. People get fired all the time for far smaller infractions and everybody just shrugs.

Why does this community care so much about what happens to this asshole?

[rowanG077]

This asshole? Without "this asshole" the world would look vastly different today. This guy isn't even an asshole as far as I can see.

It is a false dichotomy, you are pretending that defending the injustice done to Stallman somehow takes away focus from other injustices which is not at all apparent.

The community cares so much about him because he has done significant amounts for the good of humanity. Some people blown up by a drone strike aren't known at all by the community and haven't proven themselves to be invaluable. It's the same reason that you would be sad when a person close to you dies and yet you don't feel the same way when some African kid starves.

People indeed get fired for smaller infractions but those people haven't even closely created as much value as Stallman.

[mikeash]

You seem to be saying that it’s not really about “justice” at all, but rather that it’s purely about defending people who have done a lot of visibly valuable things. Did I get that right?

[rowanG077]

No. You didn't get that right at all. You asked why people are defending him and I gave you an explanation. The comparison I made with the african kid was specifically made to clue you in on it but it seems it went over your head.

[mikeash]

And that explanation was that he’s done a bunch of valuable stuff. But your first answer to me was “justice.” These don’t match at all.

The comparison with the African kid went over my head because approximately none of the people pouring so much effort into being outraged that Stallman got fired have a close personal connection with him. Sure, I’m more upset when a friend suffers than when a stranger does. But you’re not friends with Stallman, are you?