I am not an asshole, and so can you

I am a white male in my 20s in the tech industry. I support LGBT, people of color, and women. You sensed a “but” there? Well, there isn't one, because I am not an asshole. If you stand idly by and don't take a stand, it makes you, at best, complicit and, at worst, responsible. It makes you an asshole.

Opal is software that converts Ruby code to Javascript. One of the core contributors to the project, Elia Schito, has apparently posted inflammatory remarks on twitter about trans people, calling them “delusional.”

Thanks to @CoralineAda

As I waded through that trainwreck of thread (I don't recommend actually reading this, you will end up a worse person for it) a few thoughts struck me:

• Free speech does not mean you can say whatever you like. It does not mean you are free to be an asshole without consequences, nor does it mean that anyone has to give you a platform from which you can spout your hate. What should those consequences be? Should Elia be asked to quit the project?
• Whether it is reddit finally banning /r/fatpeoplehate, or an avowed fascist being disinvited from speaking at a tech conference, or a transphobic contributor getting called out on twitter, we are seeing this deluded concept of freedom of speech butt heads with doing what is right. I've put together a helpful flowchart to see if you are being an asshole.

See how easy this is?

• Just as you have the freedom to be an asshole the community has the freedom and the imperative to call it like it is. You say “it’s all about the code” and you say you would be fine with a child molester as the public face of your project.

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

You say they are free to be racist or transphobic or just genuinely terrible. I say we can do better. I say we have to do better.

• Where is the line between “these are my beliefs” and “this is my project and I'll do what I like?” It has to be somewhere before fascism, /r/fatpeoplehate and transphobia. @hnrysmith on GitHub said it best:

• Maybe the most ridiculous thing about this whole debacle is that the whole thing could have been avoided had that first response been “Hey Coraline, I don't believe this is the correct medium to discuss this, feel free to email me at [email] to discuss this further, thanks for your interest in Opal.”

Software is about people, and open source is doubly so. People are donating their time, effort and considerable skill to your project. Even if they aren’t contributing code they are probably submitting bug reports or evangelizing about “this cool new library I found.” Treating people with respect is not optional. “Free Speech” does not absolve you of responsibility. People are free to be assholes, we are free to stop them. Step up, let’s not be assholes together.