Ousting Brendan Eich as CEO of Mozilla is a big mistake.
People who opposes gay marriage are not evil. This was the law of the land in the US since for ever until recently. For people to turn on him in supporting his belief is despicable.
I am glad the tide is turning everywhere that gay marriage is being implemented widely but punishing people for their political actions is a dangerous slippery of slopes.
Gay marriage issue is winning by changing people's mind one by one. There are tons of people that previously oppose to it. Heck even Obama 'evolved' on this issue. Are we going to revenge on them as well? (
What's next? Shall we fire pro-choice candidate as well? How about purging people that vote (Democratic/Republican) party?
He never 'evolved' though. It says right there in the article, he never articulated a change of heart/mind, just that he was sorry he offended anyone - the ultimate non-apology, apology.
It wasn't about his personal belief. He actively donated. He picked a side in what is still an ongoing globalized war for human rights.
Secondly, freedom of speech does not entail freedom of societal consequences of speech. It just means the government can't punish you for being an asshole. It doesn't mean anyone is forced to hang out with assholes. Nor are we forced to use products of which appearantly funds end up trying to oppress other human beings. The answer to moral criticism of corporatism is always 'vote with your wallet'. Now you are saying we are not allowed to do just that? That we must treat every company equally irregardless of their political actions? (actions yes, not opinions)
Also, the exact position of gay marriage in the US is completely irrelevant -- that notion alone testifies a misplaced arrogance. Mozilla operates in a very large globalized world. A world where in many countries gays are still oppressed -- and i don't mean in the you-cant-get-married-way but in the we-are-going-to-kill-you way.
This is a large globalized war for human rights, and he picked sides. That has consequences. Here's a question: what if he contributed to Al Queda? He didn't fly those planes -- it's just freedom of speech, right? He should be able to be CEO of Mozilla, right? What an assholes we are if we would stop using Firefox because of that, right? I realize it's a straw-man argument. His actions are not on the same level. But it proves that the notion that political actions should be free of consequence is plain wrong. The whole point of political actions is that you want something to change. People who believe that change is for the worse, are free to fight you with any legal means including voting with their wallet or refusing to work for somebody who they perceive to be their moral enemy.
Yes, that makes a person less qualified for certain types of jobs. It made sense for Mozilla to fire him for financial reasons -- but i kind of hope, moral reasons played a part as well. And he did choose to stick with his guns, so he lost a standoff he chose to be in.
> This is a large globalized war for human rights, and he picked sides. That has consequences. Here's a question: what if he contributed to Al Queda? He didn't fly those planes -- it's just freedom of speech, right?
I think this is why it's difficult to have a sensible discussion on the matter, because the overwhelming stench of hyperbole frightens off everyone else but the flies.
People who opposes gay marriage are not evil. This was the law of the land in the US since for ever until recently. For people to turn on him in supporting his belief is despicable.
I am glad the tide is turning everywhere that gay marriage is being implemented widely but punishing people for their political actions is a dangerous slippery of slopes.
Gay marriage issue is winning by changing people's mind one by one. There are tons of people that previously oppose to it. Heck even Obama 'evolved' on this issue. Are we going to revenge on them as well? (
What's next? Shall we fire pro-choice candidate as well? How about purging people that vote (Democratic/Republican) party?
We must stop ousting people on a single issue.