I'm not part of the kernel development world, but I did read the entire thread that sparked this all off.
There was a patch sent up for some rust code.
One of the maintainers decided to use that patch to take a hard stance on the Linux kernel being C only, not a specific dig on Rust.
The person who submitted the patch tried very professionally to find a solution and address any technical objections on the thread.
Some other people also chimed in, very professionally.
There were some strong words (not directed at any person), but it was mostly professional, even if it was somewhat of a political standoff.
Hector seemed to come flying in off the turnbuckle and go off on a rant that was, at best, tangentially related.