[andrewcooke]

i've stood my ground for my beliefs when people were ridiculing me for doing so. it's a lonely position to be in.

i didn't share eich's views here, but he's free to have them, and the reason for the problem is, ironically, the intolerance of other people (people forcing their "tolerance" down his throat).

he has my respect. not for his view on gays. but for staying true to what he did. i think this is a shame.

[wdewind]

Except he didn't stand his ground at all. He never once explained his beliefs. If he had done that I think people would've been a lot more tolerant of him. I don't think it had to end this way.

[rossjudson]

Sure it did. The knives were out.

Is it a requirement to explain what you believe? You can't just state it? I mean, there's no rational reason to oppose gay marriage, so attempting to rationalize it just comes off sounding stupid. Should we force a person to say stupid things?

Maybe what you mean is to demand a conversation. Forcing someone to participate in a conversation doesn't seem right either.

Does a person have the right to be close-minded?

[wdewind]

> Is it a requirement to explain what you believe? You can't just state it? I mean, there's no rational reason to oppose gay marriage, so attempting to rationalize it just comes off sounding stupid. Should we force a person to say stupid things?

Someone who is CEO of a very public, very community driven company? I think it's reasonable to expect him to participate in a conversation about his beliefs, especially when those beliefs do not seem to reflect those of the community he represents and the community is a core part of the business. That conversation seems to me to be a part of the business itself.

He doesn't have to believe certain things, but to be an effective CEO he has to have the community respect the integrity of his beliefs. He didn't even give them the opportunity to do so, and then complained that he was being witch hunted. All he had to do was say "No, actually I'm not a witch." Instead he said "I promise I wont speak any spells." This analogy is getting a bit silly, but you get my point.

> Does a person have the right to be close-minded?

Absolutely, and a person has the right to be close minded and run a company as well! This has NOTHING, let me repeat NOTHING, to do with Eich's rights.

[badubu]

Except that personal beliefs are just that, personal. You don't have to explain them.

[yawboakye]

Assuming people can logically explain why they're LGBTQ. Most of the time personal beliefs are irrational.

[vacri]

Except he didn't stand his ground at all. He never once explained his beliefs.

He did stand his ground in terms of what his position meant at Mozilla, explaining it on his own blog and doing interviews.