Mozilla just can't catch a break
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This is why, despite supporting gay marriage, I think it is abhorrent that Brendan Eich was effectively forced to resign. He donated privately to a campaign that was supported by a majority of people, but somehow that makes it ok to destroy his career because we don't agree with his stance. I don't particularly want to inhabit a society where that is the norm. It makes me very uneasy.
EDIT: So many downvotes, wow.
Actually I'm starting to wonder about the whole idea that you can't fire someone based on their religious beliefs (at least I understand this is the law in the US).
What if I discover one of my employees donated to a political group that is trying to bring back slavery. I definitely wouldn't want someone like that working for me. But I can't let them go because their religious book says slavery is fine and their religious views are protected?
Crazy world.
None of this stuff happened until Dear Leader changed his position. Now, all of a sudden, being opposed to gay marriage is the Worst Thing Ever.
If you're naive enough to think that people only started caring about gay rights because some leader of a country where you have to prove you go to church to get elected finally started espousing reason, then you're more ridiculously naive than your posts suggest.
Everything is a balance. His contributions to Mozilla, the open web, technology, fairness and many other things outweighs his one misstep by far. And if that is not possible then we live in a black or white, totalitarian mindset state. People can be wrong and it shouldn't outweigh everything right they have done. Especially since this happens in the midst of major social change, there will be some waves.
Eich, in this wider societal context, means very little.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_the_United_States#M...
Bigot: a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices
Is it really surprising considering that a lot of the people here are white racist sexist homophobic males with barely any social skills who laugh at how much they can relate to the "forever alone" meme?
You know, after spending enough time reading HN comments I started thinking tech attracts the worst kind of people. Only recently I realized it's simply not true -- actually I'm kind of happy nobody compared homosexuality to bestialism or pedophillia (well, I haven't really read all the comments on this topic, but I am going to give HN the benefit of the doubt).
It's just that the world is a pretty awful place -- unless you are the "default human being" (white, hetero, male). But it is getting better (very, very slowly).
I'm just happy that there are people like you (and this whole Eich episode proved there's a lot of such people) who make being in the tech industry (and generally being around other human beings) quite bearable.
This is debatable; there was a lot of propaganda from the prop8 supporters that confused people. One co-worker thought prop8 meant schools would actively teach her child about homosexuality. Any sexuality(hetero or homo) teaching in school should be first decided by the parent, ihmo. At least when I was growing up, parents had to sign a waiver/consent paper before the high-school kids were sent to the birds-and-bees classes.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/03/opinion/la-oe-fleish...
>> The Yes on 8 campaign targeted parents in its TV ads. "Mom! Guess what I learned in school today!" were the cheery-frightening first words of the supporters' most-broadcast ad. They emerged from the mouth of a young girl who had supposedly just learned that she could marry a female when she grew up.
Guess what, yes, your actions in private/public life have an effect on your employability and the success of your organization.
If power is sufficient it can be turned against or for, actions - oh, I never guessed it!
"It makes me very uneasy."
Oh no, I guess you're just going to have to be a decent human being from now on. Sorry.
Please tell me this is a joke.
Edit:
There's nothing on the page in the image: http://www.catholicvote.org/?s=firefox&submit=%C2%A0
So i assume this is indeed just a joke.
They should be free to speak their mind as the opposition, correct?
That's how freedom of speech works, after all. Only the person who is right gets it.
The "pro-interracial-marriage" side is the only side that gets to speak its mind these days, because they are the side that is right. Try coming out as against interracial marriage and you will be run out of your company on a rail, as you should be, rinse and repeat for gay marriage.
In 1986, only around 30% of Americans "approved" of interracial relationships -- now about that number have a family member IN an interracial relationship. Things move faster now, and in just a few years, the idea of being against same-sex marriage will seem just as insane about being against interracial marriage.
How would you define Hate Speech. Do you think it's okay? Do you think Google is right for not allowing Hate Speech on youtube?
I'm only asking because I want to know if these Eich-supporters have a limit somewhere; where speech becomes harmful - from just expressing yourself to inflicting a tangible negative effect on others who do not wish it. While I'm not accusing Eich of hate speech, I believe his donation to an effort to make a law which forces his belief on others - something that has nothing to do with how he lives his own life - is similar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech
>>In law, hate speech is any speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display which is forbidden because it may incite violence or prejudicial action against or by a protected individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group.
Am I crazy for thinking that prop8 disparages the love between two men or women that want to get married? Isn't the core of prop8 based on people who cannot accept the LGBT community and want to keep marriage for themselves? Shouldn't society squash this kind of thing out of law?
Maybe? California still gave all the legal rights and benefits of marriage to gay couples, it was just called something besides marriage. The only right Prop 8 took away was to the word "marriage".
There's also the case where the ACLU defended the right of neo-nazis to march in a town with a heavy Jewish population. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union#...
Hate speech is often despicable, but Freedom Of Speech has traditionally been taken very, very, VERY seriously in the US.
Personally, I feel it's a dangerous mistake to start policing hate speech, and I don't want to see it happen. I think the freedom to express whatever position you want on an issue, no matter how reprehensible, is crucial to the ideals of the nation.
If that means fringe groups say awful things, so be it. For me that's infinitely better than the alternative.
Some people might feel that way, but there are arguments against gay marriage that have nothing to do with this. Some people feel gay marriage reduces freedom, some people are against the idea of government involvement in marriage, period (which is actually what I suspect Eich's view is), and some gay people are against gay marriage.
>Shouldn't society squash this kind of thing out of law?
Not just no, but hell no.
Sorry, folks. All the major browsers are gay.