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

[Kaio Duarte Costa]

Em 2022-03-05 19:46, Dora Scilipoti escreveu:
> 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.

Hello Dora,

> 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.

In the event, I was not mistaken about the first part of my text. In
fact, I didn't say that his participation would replace another or that
others would do this as well, he is certainly welcome to participate and
sign up when there is the process again. I believe that he, as well as
anyone else, will never be prevented from participating without good
reason!

> 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.

Regarding the other question, if he wants to participate, why didn't he
ask the LibrePlanet Organization Team if he would be invited? And then,
in the same way, did other people who were interested in seeing him
speak, ask the team? If not, in both cases, the situation is indeed
expected. Therefore, it is always good to politely question the
organizers of the event about this in advance. Surely, if this was not
intentional, they would find a way to fit it into the schedule.

At least I, regardless of being invited or not, would expect people to
sign up and do the same process, because the process should be the same
for everyone. After all, we are all activists and want to be heard,
right? Since there isn't a difference, in this case, I would advocate
for everyone to do the same process. Of course some, and others, won't
need to sign up, but they will certainly be asked for their information
and will go through approval, just like everyone else.

> 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.

Regarding this, I admit that I left the explanation too vague. Well, I
stand for the equality of the application process, and therefore I am
against such a "requirement" being used to violate this.

But then, does this mean that they can't put Richard on LibrePlanet 2022
just for the sake of it? Not at all, they can make the request here,
write the reasons and ask Richard to also speak up, explaining the
situation of why he wasn't included (if he doesn't want, or didn't ask,
or whatever reason) and then, we can debate and come to a consensus and
present all together to the LibrePlanet team in time (if they agree to
it).

In fact, I advocate that the opinions and requests of the community be
heard and considered. However, when they are done in a timely and
organized manner, I believe this does not hinder the process and
guarantees everyone's expression.

> 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.

Regarding "Hero Worship" as some say, I may have misunderstood, but I
have felt in some e-mails that certain individuals speak in a way that
sounds worshipful. And I, in my personal opinion, do not support that.

Thinking about this a little bit, I talked about the issue of
leadership, because I felt that some spoke without thinking about the
other representations that are participating this year. I am not
comfortable with this, I believe that everyone should be valued equally,
regardless of who they were inspired by and who will speak (or not). 

> 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.

I fully agree that all (not just one or the other) activists, hackers,
enthusiasts and others who paved the way for Free Software and Free
Culture have a full right to speak, and should not be put aside, as well
as anyone else.

Reinforcing my position of respect, I am open to dialogue and
conversation on this and any subject. I respect Richard and everyone,
and I am in favor of everyone's freedom of expression and opinion. In
the explanation, I tried to be broad in my answers, and this way if
something sounds vague or strange, please question it!

-- 
Kaio Duarte Costa (Kaiod)