NewsForge: Osama bin Laden, Open Source software, and the United States

“…We export the Jerry Springer Show, you know. And
people in some countries do not know that Springer represents us at
our worst, not at our best.

Similarly, the Open Source and Free Software advocates who get
the most press are often the most outrageous, not those who are
best at presenting the many benefits of Open Source and Free
Software in a logical manner that will appeal to the unconverted,
and I’m sure we’ve all cringed now and then at some of the insults
spat by Linuxite Fundamentalists at those who dare question their
articles of faith in any way.

But who will shut down the noisiest members of the Open Source
rabble? In a dictatorship or closed-source company, it would be no
problem. They would be ordered to zip their lips and turn all press
or public inquiries over to a public relations professional who
would issue quotes as pithy as those we see below dictator murals
in repressive countries. In an Open society, anyone who wants to
have a say has it. You may not like what some say, and I might not
either, but tolerating speech we don’t like is one of the prices we
pay for freedom.”

Complete Story