>..... Instead of decisively saying "no, never" or "yes, make it so," he has consistently equivocated on the Rust issue.......if Linus had just said "no, keep it downstream".

I have been thinking for years that the reason why Linux dont attack Rust like all other languages is that his close friend or close subordinate like Greg actually like rust. So rust as a language has huge leverage within the Linus decision mental model.

Not to mention the huge Rust gang both on the internet and around him. Friends that support Rust. Having the usual strong opinions of Rust like he had for C++ will obviously damage friendship.