[rjknight]

I don't want to condemn Brendan Eich until I've heard his side of the story, though I think he has almost certainly acted in a way that I can't approve of here. I'm disappointed by his donation, though no more disappointed than I am about any of the other donors - I don't expect higher standards of Brendan or Mozilla than I would of anyone else, and I think that people condemning him should remember that liking Mozilla's products is not contingent on liking the personal politics of people who work for Mozilla.

His personal views have no bearing on the work that Mozilla does, or his work as part of that. As a private individual he's entitled to his own views and to support those views with his own money, and I personally believe that society benefits from allowing a distinction between the personal and professional spheres. Brendan Eich the public figure should retain respect as a pivotal figure in the development of the web, even if Brendan Eich the private individual holds views that some (though by no means all) people find deeply objectionable.