[DotGNU]The concerns of the last week - new mailing list: address@hidden

[Barry Fitzgerald]

Dear Members of the DotGNU and Free Software Community,

        The horrible events of the past few days have put a considerable
strain
on all of us.  When I say "us", I'm not speaking as an American, but
rather as a citizen of the world.  The strain of these events comes in
many forms.  The most obvious form of that stress (and, the form that
will be most damaging in the following weeks) is the nationalistic
fervor that will rise on both the American patriotic and anti-American
fronts.  Many people harbor many different political opinions all over
the world.  I personally feel that these diverse political opinions are
what gives us strength.  These diverse opinions provide us with a sense
of refinement in our systems.  Without our differences, we could never
adapt in a positive way to the events around us.  As such, everybody has
something different to say about these horrible events.  This has
affected everybody in a mutually unique way.

        However, I know that one thing is true and that it is a
universal
truth.  It is not positive when innocent people die.  To paraphrase UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan concerning this event: There is no just
cause that can be advanced by terrorism.  The act of brutally massacring
people is not an act of positive change.  This is the act of a person
who
does not have enough power to pro-actively change the world around them,
so they take their aggression out on the defenseless.  There is a time
for political argument and discussion.  To do so on the graves of the
innocent is an atrocity that humanity should not be forced to endure.

        We must not allow these events to be shrouded in nationalism and
impersonality.  This was not simply an attack on the United States of
America.  This was an attack on every innocent person in those buildings
who did not have a chance to save themselves.  This, and all terrorism,
is an attack on every person on the planet.  The targets of this brutal
murder were not preselected, they were random in the most literal
sense.  To allow these deaths to be simply another statistic to be used
for political purposes misses the point entirely.  Every death is a
tragedy unto itself.

        In regard to this, I stand in solidarity with the free world in
its stance against terrorism of all forms.  I offer my condolences to
the
families of those that lost their lives in this horrible event.  I
reject
those who wish to justify these events in rhetoric.  Finally, I stand
with the rest of the world, shoulder to shoulder, bearing the burden of
this tragedy.


*** In response to the need for people to find solace in all
communities, the DotGNU Steering Committee has decided to create a
mailing list called address@hidden ... This will be an open list
for discussion of these events.  Please be compassionate and treat
others in this list with respect.  There is room for disagreement.
There is no room for brutal grandstanding.  Please join and share your
emotions.  This is provided as a service to the community and is not an
official GNU mailing list.  We hope that once this discussion actively
moves
to the new list, we can take the moderation off of the developers list.