he’s not particularly relevant at this point, but even this one note (and its retraction) feel like they should put to bed whether or not Richard Stallman should have any influence over anything:

Dutch pedophiles have formed a political party to campaign for legalization.

I am skeptical of the claim that voluntarily pedophilia harms children. The arguments that it causes harm seem to be based on cases which aren’t voluntary, which are then stretched by parents who are horrified by the idea that their little baby is maturing.

[Many years after posting this note, I had conversations with people who had been sexually abused as children and had suffered harmful effects. These conversations eventually convinced me that the practice is harmful and adults should not do it.]

like, bro, what are you doing. beyond being abhorrent, this is the sort of nonsense Reddit used to be infamous for and it made the website fucking rancid. why would anyone want to share a political movement with Stallman when he has to be debated out of positions like “you should not have sexual relations with people under the age of 13.”

There are a few things that Stallman really does not get.

1. Power over an individual reduces their ability to consent, and adults have considerable power over teens.
2. The discussion about having those teens accessing pornography should be handled separately. It’s simply not the same matter.
3. Pornography and nudity are not the same thing.
4. No matter how bad witch hunters are, this should not be used as a defence for the alleged target of their witch hunts.
5. “Normal” or “natural” are not the same as “should be taken as morally, ethically, or legally acceptable”.

Once you take those things into account, you notice that most of the things that Stallman talks about the topic aren’t just immoral, they’re outright idiotic.