Re: If I could sneak in just this little...

On 1/14/2026 6:27 AM, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:

I often wondered: is it considered “woke” to use Free Software and to
care about Software Freedom?

I don't think so.  As I see it, wokeness is limited to considerations of race and gender and "social justice" for all, not to software licensing.   Others may feel differently of course.
I think almost nobody cares about the somewhat nebulous idea of 'software freedom' or having access to source code, and if Linux were proprietary and controlled by one MegaLinux Corp, it's adoption wouldn't change much.
As I see it, MS-hatred drives most Linux adoption.  On YouTube there are lately a TON of vids and comments by people having shitfits about Windows 11, claiming they moved or are soon moving to Linux.

Do the “anti-woke” crowd use Free Software?

Of course.  But depending on your commitment to anti-wokeness, you would be repulsed at the amount of wokeness embraced by many Linux distros now.  DEI and code of conduct statements now abound at many distros. For instance, CachyOS claims to be an "LGBTQ safe space".
ugh.

How do they reconcile it with their allergy to “woke”> principles?

Again, I think most just don't care one way or the other, unless it's a game containing a woke storyline or character you're forced to interact with.

Do they just like using it because it’s “free as in beer”,

This...

just hold their noses while downloading and installing it, and don’t
think any further about it?

...and this.
Even I don't hold my nose while trying Free software.  I'm definitely hoping for a non-GPL license, but overwhelmingly I care about the functionality.
I daily use Notepad++ and SQLiteStudio, both released under the GPL. I've asked both creators to move off the GPL, but no luck.

Or maybe they consider their complaints about its supposed lack of
functionality are just their way of “sticking it to the Libs”?

Sticking it to The Man (Microsoft and large corporations), more likely.