[arch-general] Arch should be apolitical

[Kusoneko]

On June 1, 2020 11:18:50 PM UTC, Amir Fletcher via arch-general <arch-general at archlinux.org> wrote:
>Arch Linux is a fantastic distribution. It should remain exactly that:
>a computer operating system for technical users. Politics should not be
>part of the project.
>
>Recently, the Arch reddit logo was changed to a rainbow. This is for
>"pride month". It is forcing a political view on all of the users who
>did not ask for this. Many of us don't care about the views of the
>developers or moderators as long as we continue to enjoy Arch.
>
>When this was brought up, the moderator silenced the criticism and
>deleted the thread.
>
>https://old.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/gutcxb/is_arch_gay/
>
>https://archive.is/Y9Ni1
>
>This is where the problem begins. If we cannot even discuss
>disagreement with views being forced on us, what's left? Please
>moderators and developers, reconsider forcing your views on us and not
>even allowing discussion about it. We do not all share your views, but
>we can get along if everyone is left to their own devices.
>
>This kind of topic should not even need to be brought up. It's very
>disheartening to see whoever moderates that reddit doing this. We just
>want to use Arch. In many cultures outside of Europe or the US, this is
>not welcome at all. Even in those countries, not everyone wants an
>agenda shoved into their face.

I agree with Amir on this. This is an operating system, supposedly free from "corporate actions", where for PR reasons a company would "support" pride months and other political events. The developers, maintainers, moderators and trusted users can support whatever politics they want, as publicly as they want, but the OS itself and all official channels for the OS should remain free from political statements, agendas and actions. Similarly, censorship of dissenting opinions is not a good look for any community such as Arch. As Amir stated above, outside of western countries most countries are strictly against LGBT+ stuff, to the point where being a part of it is a death sentence, and supporting it publicly can be dangerous. Forcing any sort of political agenda like this onto an OS carries danger for it's users located in such countries.

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 850 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://lists.archlinux.org/pipermail/arch-general/attachments/20200601/c15703f4/attachment.sig>