[lukifer]

On the one hand, Brendan Eich is entitled to his political views, and they do not inherently preclude him from being a great CEO.

On the other hand, a non-trivial portion of the population, particularly the next generation, see opposition to gay marriage as morally repugnant, the way most people now view anti-miscegenation laws.

I don't think this is going to go away. Mozilla will continue to suffer a minor but significant attrition of mindshare over this issue as long as he remains at the helm, regardless of his merits as a leader or as a human being.

[acjohnson55]

I've got to disagree. At the end of the day, there aren't a whole lot of "substitute goods" for Mozilla the same way as there are for, say, Chick-Fil-A. Unless people within Mozilla oust Eich or fork the organization, the world may just have to deal with it. I wish Brendan Eich had different points of view, but I'm certainly not prepared to ditch Firefox over the situation.

But I'm also I'm trying to put myself in the shoes of someone emotionally closer to the situation than myself. I'm a black guy in an interracial relationship. It's tough to say how I'd feel if Brendan Eich had donated to an anti-miscegenation campaign. I'd probably feel pretty shitty about it. But I don't think I'd stop using Firefox on that basis alone.

[hadoukenio]

> But I don't think I'd stop using Firefox on that basis alone.

Maybe it's because you are not LGBT? Given that you're black, would you stop using Firefox if he had donated to the KKK?

[pdkl95]

As a bisexual-leaning-gay man, I have some strong feelings regarding people holding outdated views. VERY strong.

In the end balance, though, Mr. Eich's donation was... fairly small, relatively speaking. This cost is likely MUCH smaller than the potential damage this could do to Firefox and the various freedom-centered movements that depend on it.

Therefor, this is a mater of PICKING YOUR BATTLES and realizing that those who normally would be seen as an enemy can sometimes become an ally against a larger foe. Winning difficult social issues such as marriage equality would be a LOT harder without tools like firefox to maintain free (as in speech) communication on the net.

/* especially when certain intelligence agencies have been found using this kind of wedge issue to break up groups they perceive as a threat */

[Xylemon]

As someone who identifies as Bisexual and has been invovled with a few gay relationships, I have no intention of ditching Firefox nor do I plan to stop supporting Mozilla. While I don't agree with Eich's personal beliefs on the matter of same sex marriage, it's his PERSONAL belief. It seems he has and still wants personal matters distant from Mozilla or Firefox or anything else related to his career. Everyone will disagree with you on something, doesn't mean you should always shame them for an opinion.

[cluthe]

The problem is that he donated money to support a law that discriminates against people. It's not a private personal opinion that isn't harming anyone, his personal belief has directly contributed to discrimination. Beliefs are never truly personal and private, what people believe affects their behavior and interaction with others.

[paulhauggis]

"Beliefs are never truly personal and private, what people believe affects their behavior and interaction with others."

It's true. If I find out that a CEO is an atheist and voted on laws that went against the rights of Christians, I would probably want him fired too.

[cluthe]

Sure, if a CEO supported and donated money to a law that would stop Christians from being able to get married like everyone else then i would hope they are publicly criticized and pressured to defend their beliefs and the actions they have taken as a result of those beliefs. I wouldn't say they should be fired but they should be made to feel that actions taken to discriminate against others can have social consequences in both your personal and professional life.

[devindotcom]

He seems to have answered a version of the question prior to the quote you selected.