Jon Pretty

Everyone should read Ryan's post, though I regret that he had to write it. It shows, quite starkly, how frenzied the obsession with @jdegoes has become that a black man, who deserves to be one of the most welcome people in Scala, has to defend supposedly-racist associations.https://twitter.com/Ryan_Signify/status/1267593008033087490 …

I call it a "frenzy" because it's grown from a couple of perfectly valid criticisms of John about five years ago, into desires to "kick him out of the community". In the intervening years John has certainly irked many people, but he hasn't repeated any offense of the same nature.

"Disagreements" may sound like downplaying them. But that's how they were seen at the time. Those who disagreed with John in 2015 still talked with him in 2016; still went to events with him in 2017. It's as if the more time passes without incident, the harsher the condemnation.