Liz Upton, Raspberry Pi’s cofounder and chief marketing officer, told BuzzFeed she believes that much of the issue stems not from the hiring of the former police officer who admitted to using Raspberry Pis for covert surveillance, but instead from a picture the account posted to Mastodon a day earlier showing pigs in blankets. “We didn’t put a content warning on it, because we don’t put a content warning on meat,” Upton said. “There were quite a few people who tried to start dogpiling on that.”
where's the anti-cop discord I want in
She added, “I don’t think any of the people complaining here would not call the police if their house was burgled.” When BuzzFeed News pointed out that police don’t surveil burglars, Upton agreed that’s true.
“I think there are people out there intent on perpetuating a culture war on Mastodon. And I’m not sure their motives are necessarily benign.”
Upton said she believes much of the negative reaction to Roberts’s hiring is not genuine. “Toby was in the police force for 30 years in the UK,” she said. “He’s a decorated officer. He worked on organized crime, on getting drugs out of schools. He’s not a bad person, and this is not the United States. I think there are people out there intent on perpetuating a culture war on Mastodon. And I’m not sure their motives are necessarily benign.”
When asked whether Raspberry Pi had managed the situation well as an organization, Upton responded, “I think come next week we will be talking about something else.” She also said as a Chinese woman she has long had bad experiences on the internet. “Your characteristics aren’t necessarily visible, but Toby is a former policeman. That is how he identifies. It’s what he is.” When asked if she was trying to equate being a police officer to being a Chinese woman, Upton replied, “No, no, no, no, absolutely not. But I am saying people will grab onto things to jump on.”
