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No. The C++ mascot is not a diseased rat named Keith.
And Richard Stallman did not draw him.
January 10, 2024
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Sometimes, a joke is so utterly ridiculous... that it becomes believable.

And sometimes -- sometimes -- that believably ridiculous joke gets repeated so often that the mass populace begins to accept it as fact.

Such is the case of "The C++ Mascot".

The story, as written on The Uncyclopedia (a satire website), is thus:

"The official mascot for C++ is an obese, diseased rat named Keith, whose hind leg is missing because it was blown off.  [This] is a contemporary version drawn by Richard Stallman."

And here is the image of Keith, the "C++ Mascot":

This is Keith.  Keith is not really the C++ mascot.

Obviously a joke, right?  No sane person would ever take this seriously... right?

Turns out that this joke has been repeated often enough that it has begun to be believed by many.

Take a few minutes, on any major social media platform (from Twitter to Reddit), and do a few searches -- you will quickly find a pile of posts from people who appear (without irony or tongue-in-cheek-ness) to truly believe "Keith" is the C++ mascot.

Lots of Twitter users appear to believe this joke is true.

Now, before we continue I need to make two statements:

  1. Explaining jokes is one of the worst things a human can do.  Never explain jokes.
  2. People believing that a made up bit of satire is, in fact, true... simply makes that satire even better.  It is glorious.

That said... there are several instances where jokes -- in the computing world -- have been repeated so often that people have begun to accept them as truth.  As a verified, factual part of computing history.

One great example is the mythical story of "The first computer bug" -- that the term "bug" was named after an actual moth that flew into a computer.  A joke story which, despite being disproven, remains firmly entrenched as a "fact" in the minds of computer enthusiasts and journalists everywhere.

So, in an attempt to get ahead of yet another joke becoming an accepted "fact" in computer history, The Lunduke Journal is here to set the record straight.  Begrudgingly.

Keith is not the C++ mascot

That diseased rat?

He's not the C++ mascot.

In fact, C++ has no mascot at all.

Diseased or otherwise.

Richard Stallman did not draw Keith

And that line where the C++ mascot was "drawn by Richard Stallman"?

That's not true either.  Funny, to be sure.  But not true.

Just to make sure -- because, hey, maybe Stallman actually did draw it, right?  Who knows! -- I reached out to Richard and asked him directly.

This is, word for word, what he told The Lunduke Journal:

"That is incorrect -- it was not drawn by me.  (I would be unable to draw that; I am not very good at drawing.)

I have a low opinion of C++, but I don't hate it.

 

Dr Richard Stallman"

Does Stallman like C++?  No.  No, he does not.

But he did not draw the diseased rat.

I know.  I just ruined the joke.

Trust me, I feel bad about being that guy.  The guy that reads a great bit of satire and proceeds to hop on the Internet to tell folks, "Well, actually, that is factually incorrect."

Man.  That guy is annoying.

But, in this case, it had to be done.  Too many people were believing it.  This diseased rat was beginning to reach a point of factual acceptance by a large number of nerds.

Before long, it would become as widely accepted as that story about the first computer bug -- and the true history of computing would continue to erode ever further.

Sure.  The notion of people -- years from now -- reading how "Keith, the diseased rat drawn by Richard Stallman is the mascot for C++" in their textbooks... well... that's just funny.  One heck of a solid joke.

But the Computer Historian in me just can't let that happen.

So I'm here.  To be the party pooper.

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The Unpublished Anti-Lunduke Hit-Piece
A Tech Journalist interviewed me for a hit-piece article. But the questions made them look bad, and they shelved the story. So I'm publishing their hit-piece for them.

Back in September, shortly after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I was contacted by a Tech Journalist writing for FossForce.com (a smaller, Open Source focused publication) who was working on an article around Open Source, Antifa, and the Lunduke Journal’s coverage of those topics.

This particular outlet had, several months prior, run an “anti-Lunduke” hit piece without first reaching out for comment — which resulted in their most popular article (at least on social media) in quite some time.

With that in mind, it seemed reasonable that they’d want to repeat that success with another “anti-Lunduke” story.

This time they were doing the responsible thing. They reached out to the subject of the hit-piece article with questions. I like encouraging Tech Journalists when they do actual journalism, so I answered each and every query with easy-to-quote responses.

But, it would appear that the answers they received were not conducive to creating the hit-piece they were hoping for — my guess is they realized their questions made them look like the villain in the story. The villain they, clearly, hoped to portray me as.

They opted to not publish the piece.

So I’m publishing their hit-piece for them.

Below is every question — and every answer (with no edits) — which I was asked, on September 19th, by a Tech Journalist by the name of Christine Hall, writing for FossForce.

Fair warning: This is very, very politically charged.

Enjoy.


September 19th

Hall:

The last time I mentioned you in an article, you castigated me for not reaching out to you beforehand. Well, I’m reaching out now. We’ll see what comes of this.

You do recognize that the vast majority of organizations using the term antifa as a descriptor are not in the least bit terrorist and pose no threat to society -- and indeed, the only threats they might pose to fascist groups are not physical or life-harming?

Lunduke:

Hello Christine! Nice to hear from you!

Many, if not most, of those proclaiming support for Antifa (within Open Source) have also made statements encouraging or supporting violence and discrimination.

Regardless of that fact -- which I have documented extensively in Lunduke Journal coverage -- when violent acts are committed (such as murder, riots, and lynchings) in the name of “Antifa”, to turn around and immediately declare yourself to be “Antifa” is a clear declaration of support of that violence.

Hall:

And why did you feel it necessary to call out Danielle Foré’s [the founder of the elementary OS Linux Distribution] trans status in such an ugly manner?

Lunduke:

There is a noteworthy overlap between “Trans activism” and support for political violence -- including in the recent murder of Charlie Kirk (the murderer’s boyfriend was “Trans”).

In the case of Daniel Fore, he, a leader of an Open Source project, regularly calls for discrimination (and violence) against people he disagrees with -- often in conjunction with his self-declaration as “Trans”.

Thus, his declaration of being “Trans” becomes a part of the overall story.

It is worth noting here that The Lunduke Journal has never -- and would never -- call for discrimination or violence against someone because of how they identify or who they may (or may not) vote for.

This is in stark contrast those, such as Mr. Fore, who consider themselves “Trans” or “Antifa” -- who actively advocate for both discrimination and violence.

Hall:

Mentioning a person’s trans status in ways that are pertinent to your argument necessates rudeness such as calling her a “dude who likes to wear dresses”?

Lunduke:

Dan Fore is, in fact, a dude who likes to wear dresses.

The only reason to view that as a negative is if you view dudes wearing dresses as a negative.

Hall:

I’ll quote you on that, which I’m pretty sure won’t bother you in the least.

Lunduke:

Absolutely! Quote anything I say here. In fact, I suggest quoting absolutely everything I’ve written to you here, today.

Hall:

You also understand, don’t you, that voicing disagreement with an assessment made by POTUS is not only legal but a healthy part of the national dialog.

Lunduke:

Absolutely! Did I say somewhere that it was illegal to disagree with a politician? It seems unlikely that I have ever said that.

Hall:

Also, how would you reply to this:

There have been very few murders linked to individuals associated with Antifa, some incidents of rioting attributed to Antifa supporters, and no credible evidence of lynchings conducted in the name of Antifa. Compared to far-right groups, violence attributed to Antifa is much less frequent and lethal, with only one suspected kill—Aaron Danielson in Portland, by an anti-fascist activist—officially confirmed in recent U.S. history.

Lunduke:

Murder is bad. I am opposed to all murder.

In the context of these discussions, bearing in mind the Kirk murder is important (as many statements were made in response to it). The murderer of Kirk appears to have been pro-Trans and pro-Antifa (based on all available information).

Hall:

Is there any evidence that the suspect was part of an antifa group? I haven’t seen any.

Lunduke:

I have seen some reporting to this effect (including statements from family and messages he wrote).

But, far more important to this story, is the response to the murder among Antifa supporters (including those within Open Source). A large portion of Antifa supporters have celebrated the murder as justified because it killed someone they considered to be a “fascist”.

Hall:

Also, no group should be held responsible for what some deranged person who identifies with the group has done.

Lunduke:

I agree that a broader group should not be held responsible for the actions of a small number of individuals.

However, and this is critically important, it is entirely appropriate to hold people responsible for their own statements and actions.

With that in mind: The overall messaging of Antifa (and Antifa supporters) tends heavily towards violence. Punching, killing, molotov cocktails, etc. are all common messaging used by Antifa (including by those I quote within the Open Source world -- many of whom have advocated violence against myself).

Advocating for violence, then celebrating when violence is committed, are not good things.

Yet we see a great deal of that among Open Source supporters of Antifa.

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To everyone who grabbed a Lifetime Subscription over the last few days: All of you are set to full Lifetime access. You should have a confirmation email in your inbox. If not, email me and I’ll make sure you’re setup properly.

That “50% off” sale ends tonight at midnight. So you have a few hours to snag a discounted subscription, if you haven’t already.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this work. Couldn’t do it without you.

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The “50% off every kind of Subscription to The Lunduke Journal” sale has been extended through Monday (October 13th).

So. You know. Grab one at 50% off between now and end of the day on Monday.

To all of you amazing nerds who have picked up a Lifetime Subscription already this weekend: You are awesome. You’ll be receiving a confirmation email, with all of the Lifetime Subscription details, by tomorrow (if you haven’t already).

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See you all on Monday!

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