"Extremism" boils down to "ideas and action we really don't like". In other
words, it's a meaningless propaganda phrase much like "intellectual
property". I remember someone demonstrating just how meaningless it is to
call someone an "extremist" by saying something like, "I'll use whatever
means necessary to stop people raping children, so I guess I am an
anti-child-rape extremist".
In recent years, the word "extremist" tends to be used as a synonym for
"terrorist", another meaningless propaganda phrase that also generally boils
down to "ideas and action we really don't like". The word chosen depends on
the context, not the thing described. When a suicide bomber blows up a school
bus in Israel it's "terrorism" by an "extremist", but when CIA US drone
strikes murder hundreds of children it's "collateral damage" by "defence
forces" (even though they're doing it in other people's countries so it's
actually offence not defence).
http://www.antiwar.com/hacohen/h041202.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8695679/168-children-killed-in-drone-strikes-in-Pakistan-since-start-of-campaign.html
Calling people "extremists" implies they are willing to use violence to
achieve their goals. Since it's obvious that nobody would protest against
proprietary software by assassinating corporate CEOs or blowing things up,
this is simply an ugly smear. Using this kind of hyperbolic language makes it
clear that LR either doesn't have a very firm grip on reality, or more
likely, just doesn't cares much about truth or nuance. If I was a Libreboot
developer, I would be nodding and smiling, backing slowly away, and getting
ready to fork the project.
BTW I agree this belongs in an "off-topic" area, but does it really have to
be called the Troll Lounge? Could we possibly have two forums, the 'Troll
Hole' for actual trolling, and another one for conversations relevant to the
Software Freedom movement, but not specifically to Trisquel, called something
like 'Off-topic Lounge' or even 'Software Freedom Lounge'? I am guilty of
starting off-topic threads in the user forum because I'm not trolling, and I
refuse to start them in a forum area called the Troll anything.
