[briantakita]

> Eich's behavior impacted a hell of a lot more people than the backlash did

The backlash affects everybody. It creates a hostile environment where your opinion can cost you your job. That coupled with ever growing levels of transparency means everybody needs to have a politically correct opinion or face consequences.

The ends do not justify the means.

Also, what does firing Eich achieve for the gay rights movement? Nothing. This is revenge politics. This is the dark side.

As Ghandi said: "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind".

[Karunamon]

>It creates a hostile environment where your opinion can cost you your job.

It would probably already cost you your job to publicly declare (let alone financially support) similar non-equality views of both blacks and women. Why is this so much worse?

Oh no, one more particular flavor of bigotry becomes socially unacceptable. However will I cope. </sarcasm>

>Also, what does firing Eich achieve for the gay rights movement?

An object lession that being bigoted against LGBTs is just as unacceptable and repugnant as being bigoted against blacks or women. Regardless of your position in life. A double standard that I, for one, am glad we are reversing.

[anonbanker]

I'd say the lesson is that, Despite evidence of overwhelming hypocricy amongst one of the biggest and most vocal supporters, LGBTQ's in the valley will form a mob and start boycotts that prove to be just as damaging and counter-productive as anything the conservatives and white power idiots can do.

Another lesson is that if I started a company in the Silicon Valley, released a combination AIDS/Cancer vaccine for free, and used the South Park Redefinition of "Faggot" (referring to insensitive harley motorcycle riders), I would destroy my company and people would boycott the cure for AIDS and Cancer.

Another lesson is that Silicon Valley is just as socially intolerant as Utah, but like most geographically-distinct cases of bigotry, the "lower class" is different. in Mississippi, it's African American crack users. in SV's case, it's anyone not 100% in-step with GLAAD. one is no better than the other.

(disclosure: I'm an lgBtq that thinks that marriage should not be a government institution. if you want tax breaks, incorporate.)

[briantakita]

Eich said he supported equality. He supported taking care of domestic partners. If you have issue with his "support" then have a respectful dialog. If he is wrong, then that will become obvious. Instead, the movement acted like a bully & does not have the moral high ground anymore.

You are conflating the state not recognizing gay marriage with a human rights issue. Not everyone agrees. Besides, the notion of marriage enforces the status quo of monogamy. I think Polyamory should also be recognized with equal benefits. Or better yet, all people should receive the benefits of a married person.

While I agree that there are equality issues with banning gay marriage, I don't think it's a human rights issue. For example, I'm single. Is it a human rights issue that I don't receive the tax benefits of being married? It's unfair, but I wouldn't say my human rights are being violated.

Support for Prop 8 doesn't necessarily mean that person is a bigot. This labeling is irrational & meant to stir up hatred. There are different reasons to support Prop 8. It's a cultural battle. However, ostracizing is a type of bullying. That behavior is wrong & needs to be called out.

I hope we can be respectful toward each other. It was not that long ago where gay rights activists were in the minority and treated with disrespect. We have an opportunity to have a more tolerant society. Let's not miss this opportunity.

[eropple]

> Eich said he supported equality

He gave money to Prop 8, Pat Buchanan, Thomas McClintock, and Linda Smith. His actions make me not believe what he says.

If you want to support equality, you don't give money to people who make "homosexuals are subhuman" a part of their political worldview.

[Karunamon]

>Eich said he supported equality.

His actions show otherwise.

I've said this before here, but I have much less problem with the (small) donation (to a failed cause) than I do his subsequent behavior.

His subsequent hypocrisy proves beyond any reasonable doubt that those views are still very personal and very real to him, regardless of what comes out of his mouth.

One does not abdicate a CEO position, something of great prestige, power, and compensation, on a lark. He was asked, multiple times by multiple people what his true thoughts were and declined to elaborate. He could have just (heartfeltly) apologized. He could have just thrown another $1000 at GLAAD/HRC/etc.

>You are conflating the state not recognizing gay marriage with a human rights issue. Not everyone agrees.

The same could be said of women's suffrage or the equlaity of blacks. The fact that it's a state issue does not preclude it being a human rights issue.

I have skin in this game. I see the behavior of people like Eich as a personal affront to me and people close to me. A proclamation that people like me should remain second class citizens because of some outmoded religious belief.

> However, ostracizing supports makes the ostracizers act like bullies.

Again, how is this any different from publicly announcing your support of some other anti-equality group? How well do you think a CEO would do if it came out that they were donators to Stormfront? I keep hearing this "bullies" line but it doesn't add up.

[Xdes]

>I see the behavior of people like Eich as a personal affront to me and people close to me.

Yet you aren't going to get fired for having expressed those views five years ago. How would you feel if your boss decided to fire you over your personal beliefs, overlooking your professional merits? Do you really want McCarthyism again?

[bane]

> Yet you aren't going to get fired for having expressed those views five years ago.

There was a time, during my own lifetime where it is was perfectly acceptable to openly discuss weather whites and blacks should be allowed to get married or not. Social change can occur quickly, like a wildfire, the recent history of a change is not all that important -- the fire has already happened.

[eropple]

I know more than one transgendered person who was let go from a tech job because of "culture fit" when they decided to transition. So I'm not really sure what the difference is except that it's a white male under the gun.

[briantakita]

> His actions show otherwise.

Those who know him say he treated everybody equally. He set policy & a supported a system in Mozilla that promoted equality. His heart is in a decent place. We all have moral blind spots. He has his past. We all need to grow in some areas.

Painting Eich as some "extremist" is disingenuous.

> How well do you think a CEO would do if it came out that they were donators to Stormfront?

Prop 8 had 52% of the vote. It is a mainstream opinion. Stormfront is a fringe group. Eich does not seem to belong to any other extreme group. He just supported a Proposition.

Numbers does not mean morality, however it does indicate that someone is relatively in line with the rest of the population.

I struggle with this because there are things that most people are ok with that suppress rights of those who don't have a voice right now.

Whenever I bring up those issue, I face the risk of ostricization. That is why I oppose ostracizing Eich. That behavior opposes equality & tolerance. It make it "ok" to be kneejerk judgmental.

If there's one thing that we learned from gay rights, black rights, & woman rights, it's we need to be more tolerant as a society. We need to treat everybody with respect.

> He was asked, multiple times by multiple people what his true thoughts were and declined to elaborate.

Over a period of a few days? He did apologize for hurting people.

He obviously felt strongly about this issue. It's coercive to make him change his mind from social pressure. Actually, it probably meant he would have to lie. He chose to not talk about it, as it would have cause more emotional distress. Given his position, he acted in a respectful manner.

> I have skin in this game.

We all do brother or sister :-)

> I see the behavior of people like Eich as a personal affront to me and people close to me

I see public shaming and bullying as a personal affront to me. I've been unfairly bullied online (and offline). The problem with online bullying is the target's motive & the truth does not matter. Only perception matters.

When you damage someone publicly, you are assaulting them. Especially today where things online stick with you forever. There are also emotional consequences to being bullied.

I have some opinions that are not mainstream. I want to be heard without being disrespected.

I want tolerance. Seeing people act like bullies makes be nauseous.

You can't deny how I feel about your opinion, just like I cannot deny how you feel about my opinion. However, if I don't like your opinion about something, it is not right for me to label you as a bigot or some other loaded term.

Let's not hate people. Let's understand that people live within a context. Let's change the context.

[Karunamon]

He has his past.

If that was truly the case he would have explained this when asked about it. He did not. He quit his job rather than do this.

Prop 8 had 52% of the vote. It is a mainstream opinion.

With ads like this [1] I'm not surprised. His money went to support those, by the way. And you probably meant was.

"ok" to be kneejerk judgmental.

You and everyone else I've asked this question to seem to dance around it. How is this any different than supporting any other kind of anti-equality thing?

* Don't say his views were in the past, they clearly are not, given his post-reveal behavior.

* Don't say this is different unless you can objectively prove a way that this particular right is somehow different from the right of women or blacks to vote.

So which is it? Why is disliking people because they think women are beneath them or think blacks are sub-human any different than this? It's the same xenophobia dressed up in new clothes - that makes it okay now?

it's we need to be more tolerant as a society. We need to treat everybody with respect

And part of which is naming and shaming those that fail this relatively simple task. Being tolerant does not mean accepting intolerance in the same way that being pacifist does not mean accepting war.

He did apologize for hurting people

Which holds about as much water as "sorry you were offended" in my book. The view underpinning the action he (sort of kind of weaselly) apologized for is still there as strong as it ever was. He couldn't even be bothered to give a counter donation.

The problem with online bullying is the target's motive & the truth does not matter

This is where we diverge. I have no problem what-so-ever castigating someone for bad behavior if it's actually proven that they did engage in bad behavior. Mis-aimed outrage is a huge problem with online communities.

However, I see no such mis-aiming here. You've got someone who failed in two big respects - the ability to treat other people with respect in private, and the ability to handle basic CEO duties such as PR and recognizing conflicts of interest.

He was unfit to be CEO and did not deserve that position, with those two things in mind. Maybe that's a value judgement, but that's mine to make.

I want tolerance

Rejecting intolerance is the first step.

However, if I don't like your opinion about something

Again, you're mis-framing Eich's action as if it were a mere opinion or thought that crossed his mind one day, and not something he gave money to support (this in particular: [1]) and gave his job rather than repudiate. That tells me all I need to know about his "personal beliefs" and how he feels about them.

--

[1]: http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2014/04/04/brendan_eich_s...

[briantakita]

> You and everyone else I've asked this question to seem to dance around it. How is this any different than supporting any other kind of anti-equality thing?

He has not said anything hateful.

In many ways, I think his opinion is not conducive to equality. In fact, the notion of marriage is unequal. It's unequal to people who don't want to get married or are polyamorous. Also, there are many natural inequalities. There are many gray areas. Also, everybody has prejudices and promote inequality in some contexts.

However, just because someone has an opinion of inequality, doesn't mean he should be the target of a smear campaign.

Tolerance is important.

> Rejecting intolerance is the first step.

That's why I'm rejecting the gay rights movement's online bullying tactics. You don't get a free pass just because you were an oppressed minority in the past.

> Which holds about as much water as "sorry you were offended" in my book.

He said he is sorry he caused pain. He admitted to causing the pain and apologized for that. He did not turn the blame around to say your perception is wrong.

He is the target of your hate. Let go of your hate. Hate is the dark side...

> I have no problem what-so-ever castigating someone for bad behavior if it's actually proven that they did engage in bad behavior.

It's not proven that he behaved badly. Also, who is the proper judge of this? The mob always feels like they are the right judge. The mob always feels justified. How else could the mob justify the bad things that mobs do to their victims?

> you're mis-framing Eich's action as if it were a mere opinion or thought that crossed his mind one day

Have a rational dialog about this. Express how much pain Prop 8 caused. Express why this is an inequality & how that affects you. Don't act with vengeance.

That is why Martin Luther King & Ghandi were successful. They did not act like their oppressors. They had the moral high ground. If they acted with vengeance, equality would not be as far as it is today.

[crassus]

There needs to be a Godwin's corollary for invoking racism about discussion of issues not involving racism at all. If you can't reason about a political issue without comparing your opponents to Hitler or slave owners, then you probably have a terrible opinion.

[Karunamon]

An equality fight is an equality fight. The closest parallel to this one were the early/mid 1900's ban on interracial marriage - in fact aside from the personal characteristics being argued about, the concerns are identical.