Mozilla foundation's new CEO causes concern due to anti-gay-marriage views

in legal on 2014-04-01 18:34 (#3HA)

The guy co-founded Mozilla and served as Netscape's chief architect . He invented Javascript . He's been Mozilla's chief technical officer for 9 years. On March 24th, Brendan Eich became the Mozilla Foundation's CEO - and members of Mozilla's staff promptly demanded that he step down . Why? Because Brendan Eich is anti-gay-marriage.

The BBC , CFO World , and others are reporting that online dating site OK Cupid is notifying users of Firefox of the views of the Mozilla Foundation's new CEO - and requesting that they use another browser to access the site. It's not quite a boycott - users can still click through to access the site while using Firefox - but it's definitely a statement. This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened. Hobby Lobby , Chick-Fil-A , and Costco have all experienced similar backlashes.

Mark Surman, XO of Mozilla, says:

"I worry that we do a bad job of explaining ourselves, that people are angry and don't know who we are or where we stand. And, I worry that in the time it takes to work this through and explain ourselves the things I love about Mozilla will be deeply damaged."

At what point do a person's political, personal, or religious views outweigh their qualifications for leadership - and does using Firefox in any way imply support of these views?

Re: Different levels (Score: 1)

by kerrany@pipedot.org on 2014-04-03 21:15 (#YY)

I dunno about that wedding cake example, since that has specifically been discussed in the courts and appears to have lead to a decision that yes, you can force someone who runs a business to sell you a wedding cake. ( Court decision here - warning, it's a PDF.)

I do not shop at Hobby Lobby specifically because of their stance on women's rights. Happy to make you happy - hope that helps your faith in humanity. I also ditched the Slash, which I loved, because Beta. Some of us have principles - and I would be willing to wager that the guy you're replying to has 'em too, considering he went and built a whole new site over them.

I am still posting using Firefox because I haven't yet been satisfied on the Eich issue. I'm keeping an open eye on alternatives, but I'm giving the man a few days (okay, nine so far, though only a few since I found out about it) to say something that isn't pandering to the popular belief that equality is good while still shimmying his way around his personal beliefs that equality is bad.

As for your parting shot, though, it comes down to this: He has the right to say "Hey, those people shouldn't be able to get married to the people they love!" I have the right to say "That guy is a dick for saying that!" That's equal rights - which is more than Brendan Eich seems to want to grant some people. I'd say the protest is pretty darn equal all around.