Well said. So well said it may end up on a website. <br><br>Thanks for it, I'm better off having read it.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 1:18 PM, Dustin Laurence <<a href="mailto:dustin@laurences.net">dustin@laurences.net</a>> wrote:<br>
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I've not said much about this trial because I didn't find it to be a<br>
very pleasant topic, but now that Hans has not only been found guilty<br>
but has actually *shown* himself to be guilty I guess I will.<br>
<br>
Frankly, I always thought the case against Hans was strong. I don't like<br>
the idea that, hrm, "one of our own" committed murder, but I thought<br>
that it was about as good as circumstantial cases get and absolutely<br>
grounds for prosecution. And this is what bothers me about some of the<br>
comments from the Linux community: Hans was sometimes made into<br>
something of a tragic figure being scapegoated because he was<br>
"different." "Different like us" was meant to imply "this could happen<br>
to any of us, because society hates us." That was a mistake. Are we so<br>
paranoid that some sense of grievance or other against society was<br>
stronger than the fact that all evidence suggested he had been busy<br>
covering up murder? That isn't just sad, it is scary, because it<br>
suggests that the popular stereotype of computer enthusiasts as<br>
maladjusted, socially incapable misfits has a stronger basis in reality<br>
than we like to admit.<br>
<br>
It also gives the lie to our own ethos. Theoretically, technical people<br>
have learned the hardest lesson of all: that the universe is what it is<br>
regardless the stories we tell about it. The reason the challenger<br>
accident was a story of engineers vs. managers is because managers are<br>
trained to manipulate social reality, and tend to think *all* reality is<br>
social reality, while engineers are trained to manipulate physical<br>
reality and therefore recognize that it is not subservient to social<br>
reality. Yet in this case, quite a few of us behaved as the NASA<br>
managers: they allowed techie social reality to blind them to what the<br>
physical facts were saying: that Hans Reiser had in all probability been<br>
covering up murder, and therefore in all probability must have committed<br>
it (or been an accomplice, but no one argued that theory that I know<br>
of). That did not constitute proof and would not justify simply assuming<br>
guilt (we are all still committed to the idea that freeing the guilty is<br>
preferable to convicting the innocent, I hope), but it should have been<br>
a strong warning not to make Hans a martyr or symbol regardless of how<br>
much we wanted him to be innocent.<br>
<br>
Unfortunately I thought the Salon article was pretty accurate, and<br>
consistent with what I suspected of Hans' character. It hurts, sure, but<br>
sometimes the universe is just that way. I am glad that Hans revealed<br>
the location of Nina's body; I hope he doesn't get a lighter sentence<br>
for it, but it does prove that the jury verdict was accurate and I think<br>
that's important. I'm sorry that it may bury the Reiser filesystems, but<br>
I for one don't value filesystems over either a life or over the correct<br>
functioning of justice. If Hans had gone free, it would have damaged<br>
every one of us, not so much because a human being died at the hands of<br>
her ex-husband (that is true, I am just not arguing the point) but<br>
because it would have damaged the rule of law. I applaud the jury for<br>
reaching the correct verdict, and (though it doesn't matter) would<br>
support a stiff sentence (including the death penalty). I say that not<br>
because of the murder itself, but because Hans made clear just what the<br>
Salon article reported; he has no remorse and believes that nothing is<br>
his fault and everything is the fault of everyone else. He shows signs<br>
of lacking some of the innate inhibition against taking another human<br>
life. That makes him a very dangerous person that, I suspect, could and<br>
would kill again. I do not care to see him on the street for a long,<br>
long time, and would not cry if that was "never" either because of a<br>
life sentence or the death penalty.<br>
<br>
I could add a diatribe about how it is postmodern Western culture that<br>
teaches people that they have no responsibility or guilt, that this is<br>
the inevitable consequence of a very sick, disfunctional society that<br>
believes with Plato's Socrates that all evil is caused by bad education<br>
or ignorance, and that only traditional ethics has any chance of doing<br>
otherwise, but I shall refrain.<br>
<br>
Sadly,<br>
<br>
Dustin<br>
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