Torvalds Uses Profanity To Lambaste Romney Remarks

netbuzz writes "Last night Linux creator Linus Torvalds took to his Google+ page and called Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney 'a f***ing moron.' Torvalds' stated reason? Romney's much-ridiculed suggestion that air passengers would be safer in emergencies if aircraft windows could be opened (a suggestion which some, including Snopes.com, have taken as a joke). Torvalds also recently called Mormonism, Romney's religion, 'bats**t crazy.' Is this just Linus being Linus? Or does such outspokenness on non-technical matters reflect poorly on the Linux community that Torvalds leads?"

Comments

Come on Slashdot, seriously?

[Frosty Piss]

For those having issues understanding the summary, here's the plain text:

'a f***ing moron' = ' a fucking moron'

'bats**t crazy' = 'batshit crazy'

Hope this helps.

He actually apologized

[TheInternetGuy]

Would be nice if the summary mentioned that Linus actually apologized the next day. But I think Linus' original assessment was correct, never mind whether Romney was joking or not.

Speaking of people being morons...

[Xandrax]

The problem is that the reporter that originally covered this (New York Times's Ashley Parker) has stated that Romney said it in the form of a joke and was not being serious. Seems like not being a moron is a fine line even for Linux creators.

Ashley’s response to the question:

The Los Angeles Times story that relayed Romney’s airplane remark to the world was based off a pool report written by the New York Times‘s Ashley Parker. When we asked Parker this morning whether it seemed as if Romney made the mark in jest, she left no doubt. “Romney was joking,” she e-mailed. Parker told us that while the pool report didn’t explicitly indicate that Romney was joking, it was self-evident that he was. ”The pool report provided the full transcript of his comments on Ann’s plane scare,” she said, “and it was clear from the context that he was not being serious.”

Linus' follow up...

[Hobart]

https://plus.google.com/102150693225130002912/posts/TTeQKFPrCQU?hl=en

Linus Torvalds - 3:19 PM - Public

Ok, since I publicly called the guy a f*cking moron, I guess I should also publicly follow up: it does seem Romney was joking.

Whew.

...Move along. Can we get back to hating on proprietary blobs now?

Snopes on the window comment

[rjh]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/romney/windows.asp

Per Snopes, although it is true that Romney made that remark, it was clearly told as a joke meant to lighten the mood. It was not a serious comment.

Re:Mormons

[whoever57]

And no, not those fringe cults that bonk 12 year old girls say they're Mormon - because they're not.

Some Scotsmen might have something to say about that

Re:Come on

[rolfwind]

I was being sarcastic.

Technically speaking

[thomst]

Technically speaking, the poster is incorrect in referring to Linus Torvalds's comments as "profanity". They are, instead, vulgarity (common or coarse language), rather than profanity (language which demeans the sacred).

Hey ... I'm a writer. I can't help myself.

Re:Romney *is* a moron

[OneAhead]

Tsk, talking about confirmation bias.
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/09/26/obama_jumps_in_gallup_tracker.html
http://www.gallup.com/poll/150743/Obama-Romney.aspx
Oh... Gallup suddenly is not that credible anymore, is it?

Re:Bill Nye

[Frequency Domain]

I don't hear Bill Nye being a pussy and apologizing for calling it like it is. He called a sitting US Congressman a "fucking idiot" for his pseudo-scientific beliefs and followers of creationism "fucking retarded".

Nope. It's a great story, but it didn't happen.