X-IMail-SPAM-Connection Re: X-IMail-SPAM-Connection Re: merchandise

[Shango Oluwa]

David Williamson,

I will address you one more time to say this:

_You_ seem to be the one who is offended and I cannot apologise for
that. It may be that the developers of UbuntuLinux made a "mistake" (as
you maintain) to incorporate the African notion of 'ubuntu' in this
distribution of GNU/Linux, but in fact it would seem that it is _you_
who made the mistake by subscribing to a distribution that incorporates
this philosophy in its terms of use.

As long as an explicit link exists between my culture and a public
operating system, I will be advancing its cause according to my cultural
values. You correctly identify this as "politics on your desktop" and
this is your fault not mine or any proponent of African cultural values
- be it Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela or El Hajj Malik Shabazz. Your
effort to silence me is a reflection of your grasp of what it means to
be "in Christ".

I received many messages in support of my objection - some of them from
UbuntuLinux high-command, so it is for you to migrate or remain using a
distribution that was created from African sweat and monetary resources,
where users will oppose right-wing promulgation in undying defence of
the African struggle for humanitarian justice. 

Maybe you should research the Ubuntu Community Code of Conduct and the
history and philosophy of Mark Shuttleworth and then make a public
apology.

Over and out.
Shango Oluwa.
www.mewe.org.uk


On Thu, 2004-11-18 at 19:30 +0000, Shango Oluwa wrote:

> Welcome to the increasing reality of African and Underdeveloped World
> use of the internet! What? Should I not voice my/our concerns? 

By all means express your concerns, just as I expressed mine.  My gripe
pertains to the socio-political connotations of the name of the linux
distribution, Ubuntu.  Who you are and where you're from doesn't pertain
to my argument.  

> Seriously, just browse CafeExpress.com - they have a section called
> "Right-wing politics" t-shirts... easy to gloss over and chuckle about
> if you're not being done in by the right-wing everyday.
> Deal with it: Me and my people don't want it.

Then don't buy from them.  And if you don't want Ubuntu dealing with
them, by all means let them know as you did.  My gripe is, again, a
linux distribution with a socio-political slant, rather than just a
gnu/linux philosophy.  Right wing or left wing, it doesn't matter.  I
don't want politics on my desktop unless I put them there for myself
only... just as I have a faint background on my (personal) web page of
Orthodox crosses - it's for me alone.

Is it wrong for the Ubuntu gang to have this philosophy attached to
their distribution?  Of course not.  It's theirs and they can do
anything they want with it.  It's just that it's a bone of contention,
and gets in the way for some people.  Somebody could take Ubuntu, rename
it Hitler Linux, have some wacky nazi philosophy, a swastika splash
screen, and some crazy people would use it for that reason, and because
it's a great distro too.  But is it a good idea?  Does it increase the
number of people who want to use that distro?  No - and I'd rather see
as many people using Linux as possible.

I think that the philosophy attached to this distro, while admirable,
will only hinder its use and growth.  I've read on the list where some
people don't care about that, and that's fine, but it bugs me as someone
who wants to see linux take over the personal and corporate desktops.

I hope I've made myself clear, and please forgive me if I've offended
you in any way.

In Christ --

David Williamson




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