It is a Linux distribution, it just turned out that "let me interrupt for a moment" meme was actually correct and what you wanted was a portable GNU distribution with an open kernel, and instead you got a Linux distribution with Google's user space and now instead of realizing the terminology was wrong from the get to you've misidentified the very trick Google played on us.

Turns out a kernel is just a kernel after all, and you really do want GNU+Linux, not just Linux.

I said distro not gnu/linux for a reason, but yeah what I wanted out of Android is a tinkerer friendly OS. I've long since abandoned Android anyway.

Stallman appreciates you saying so. :)