On 16/05/16 10:26, Steve Litt wrote: > On Sun, 15 May 2016 23:22:07 +0200 Jaromil <jaro...@dyne.org> wrote: > >> On Sun, 15 May 2016, marc wrote: >> >>> http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Debian/openrc-conversion.html >> >> what's wrong with these guys to call themselves linuxmafia? >> >> some of us are from places in which that word means prevarication, >> violence, misery and corruption. I've never been entertained by >> such a name, not even when it was about slackware packages. very >> bad taste. > > Hi Jaromil, > > I know Rick personally, and I'm very sure he meant no offense to > anybody. Although he can be rough on people he disagrees with, I've > never heard him say anything bad about groups of people nor imply in > any way that he's a hoodlum nor a criminal. > > Rick has held the linuxmafia.com domain since at least 1999: > > http://jhauser.dyndns.org:8080/archives/html/svlug/1999-02/msg00341.html > > The word "mafia" isn't particularly insulting in the US: It reminds > Boomer-age Americans of the TV show "Untouchables", Frank Nitti, and > Al Capone, the latter of which has come down through the ages as a > sort of folk hero. > > I see your point: If the URL were "linuxcrips.com" or > "linuxbloods.org", most Americans would react pretty much like you > did. But I'm sure Rick meant no offense to anyone: It just doesn't > have the same connotation in America. > > SteveT > Al Capone may be a cult classic villain, one that no doubt has become infamous, but folk hero??
I don't think folk hero is really a justifiable term in that instance. Typically "folk heros" are those who have risen from obscurity to hero status for saving/rescuing the common people from a great calamity or oppression. How did Al Capone champion the common peoples cause and what great benefit did he bestow on society his society to deserve being called a "folk hero". That American TV/Hollywood want to paint him in a different light shows just how corrupt that industry is - not surprising really given their hand in the drafting of terrible treaties such as the TPPA. Here in NZ "mafia" is still a negative term associated with racketeering, money laundering, extortion and protectionism. Regardless of the intent of "Linuxmafia" as group/organisation/publication, I think that name is an oxymoron and given the connotations globally, probably not likely to be particularly well received in some regions. Daniel.
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