I am not sure if you're referring to this, but I have seen so many instances where an individual joins a community and then systematically tears it apart by calmly and coolly promoting ideas that ~51% kind of like and ~49% absolutely hate, through a combination of personality cult and back-room coalition building. I have seen this happen in forums, IRC channels, RPG groups, businesses. It is a particularly insidious type of toxic personality because you can't fix the problem by excising them without alienating and losing a large chunk of your community.
The project being run by people who hold unreasonable and downright odious views who act like, frankly, utter asshats, is a much more serious problem.
The Kay/Linus debacle is something you can expect to see more of from these fine folks going forward. Mark my words. Ask yourself if you want software developed this way running your OS.