Re: why isn't stallman on lp2022 speakers list?

[Dora Scilipoti]

Hello Kaio,

Kaio Duarte Costa wrote:

> Many people signed up, took the time and filled out the form to
> participate in LibrePlanet 2022 as speakers, including me. It is not
> fair to those who prepared and filled out the form before, the deadline
> has passed and it was very well publicized by the way.

There must be a misunderstanding. Having him speak at LP doesn't mean he
will take someone else's place. It has never been like that. He speaks,
everyone else speaks as well.

But you are right. He probably didn't apply and thus didn't fill the
forms. That's because applying is something he never did before. If for
whatever reason the organizers wanted to change this tradition, the
least they could have done to avoid all this is to inform him: "Richard,
this year you won't be invited by default, you need to apply." But they
didn't, AFAICT.


> Also, we should pay close attention before saying something like "we or
> X people (or community) need this".

I'm having trouble agreeing with this, perhaps I'm missing something. As
I understand it, it is natural and even necessary for a community to
express its needs.

Those who want to have RMS speak at LP are probably those who feel
inspired and empowered by his words. It's not "hero worship," like it's
often said.

 I respect the RMS just as I respect
> and treat anyone well, but I think you should note that the people who
> are going to speak are also leaders and no one is leading above anyone
> else. We all follow the same philosophy, and I respect everyone's
> opinion on the matter and show my disagreement on the issue respectfully
> here. 

Yes, there are many leaders and they all deserve to be heard. In fact,
they are given an opportunity to speak at LP and many other events.

In the free software and free culture world, many of those leaders were
inspired by Richard Stallman, and they in turn inspired others, and so
on. That doesn't mean that the one who paved the way for things to
happen needs to be put aside.


-- 
Dora Scilipoti
gnu.org/education
stallmansupport.org -- Disinformation succeeds because so many people
care deeply about injustice but do not take the time to check the facts.