When I launched the development of the GNU system I explicitly said the purpose of developing this system is so we can use our computers and have freedom thus if you use some other free system instead but you have freedom then it's a success. It's not popularity for our code but it's success for our goal.
If you start in the pit of despair with these profane awful things even a glimmer of hope or awareness is going to occur that's much brighter coming from this dark awful beginning.