oped: I'm sorry but I totally support Mr.Eich, however I rebuke the Mozilla Board for even putting pressure on Mr.Eich to step down from his position as CEO...as well as any and all Boards of companies in the Silicon Valley et al for even suggesting people must hide their religious values or be removed from positions within companies...do we adhere to the US Constitution /Bill of Rights or do we cave to the CPUSA,LGBT,GLAAD which from now on to be known as The Pink Swastika Party!
I for one will continue to use Mozilla/Firefox as my web browser as it is the best on the web...but am putting the board on notice that I find their caving for the sake of being PC nauseating to say the least!
CPUSA,LGBT and GLAAD are facists of the Hitler era:
By Gerry Shih
SAN FRANCISCO
(Reuters) - Tech workers in Silicon Valley debated on Friday whether
Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich got the comeuppance he deserved or was himself a
victim of intolerance when he resigned under pressure this week amid
outrage over his opposition to same-sex marriage.
Some, especially a dating website that had urged its users to boycott
Mozilla's popular Firefox web browser, cheered Eich's resignation after
less than two weeks as CEO of the nonprofit software company. Others
viewed him as a victim and called his critics intolerant of people with
different views.
Mozilla
co-founder Eich, who invented the programming language Javascript,
donated $1,000 in 2008 to support Proposition 8, which sought to ban
same-sex marriage in California. Voters approved the measure, but it was
struck down last June by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Eich did not respond to requests
for comment on Friday, but he had posted an apology on his blog before
he resigned for the pain his stance had caused. His views about gay
marriage had been known within Mozilla for nearly two years, but
controversy erupted after he was appointed CEO in late March.
Rarebit founders Hampton and Michael Catlin, a gay developer couple,
pulled their software apps from Mozilla after Eich's appointment.
OkCupid.com, the online dating site, called for a boycott of Firefox.
Some on Twitter who identified themselves as Mozilla employees called
for Eich to resign.
On
Friday, news of Eich's departure prompted a backlash on Twitter. Many
suggested Silicon Valley was intolerant of people with views outside
northern California's liberal mainstream.
Even Rarebit's Hampton Catlin said he had not anticipated the issue's escalation and was saddened by Eich's resignation.
"We absolutely believe people should be allowed to have personal
opinions, but we also believe that we are allowed to disagree and to try
and change someone's mind by expressing our own personal story," the
Catlins said in a statement.
"We absolutely don't believe that everyone who voted yes on Prop 8 is
evil. In fact, we're sure that most of them just didn't understand the
impact the law would have."
They said many backers changed their mind due to "the impact and pain that the law caused to friends and family members."
When Eich made his $1,000 donation in opposition to same-sex marriage,
the political landscape for gay rights was different than it is today.
Even presidential candidate Barack Obama and his Democratic primary
rival Hillary Clinton were five years away from embracing legalization
of same-sex marriage.
At the
end of 2008, same-sex marriages were legal in only Massachusetts and
Connecticut. Today 17 states, including California, allow such
marriages.
AN APOLOGY
Before his resignation, Eich posted an apology on his blog for the
"pain" he said his views had caused. He vowed to uphold a culture of
equality as Mozilla's CEO, including maintaining the nonprofit's health
benefits for same-sex couples.
In the Thursday post that announced his exit, Eich said he was taking a
rest to spend more time with his family and would continue to work on
browser software issues.
Some cheered his resignation, including OkCupid.
"We are pleased that OkCupid's boycott has brought tremendous awareness
to the critical matter of equal rights for all partnerships," the
company said on its main Twitter feed.
Silicon Valley's denizens pride themselves on being part of a
meritocratic community that welcomes talented workers regardless of
their origins or political and religious beliefs.
But analysts said the Eich episode showed there are limits to that tolerance.
Gay rights are widely embraced in the San Francisco area, long known
for its thriving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Silicon Valley's tech culture reflects that sensitivity, and its
companies rely on their CEOs to set that kind of tone, analysts said.
"We in Silicon Valley have a certain degree of hero worship," said Jane
English-Lueck, an anthropologist at San Jose State University who has
studied the industry's culture.
"The CEO has a lot of iconic visibility, and what a business leader is
saying is going to have meaning to people about that company."
Eich's departure is a reminder that high-profile corporate executives
can be taken to task for unpopular personal views, said Bruce Barry,
professor of management and sociology at Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, Tennessee.
"This
might make other executives understand that you are potentially
accountable for your private views," Barry said. "The fear of getting in
trouble or not advancing causes people to self-censor. But that's what
rank-and-file employees have always known."
Mozilla has apologized for not addressing the controversy quickly
enough and said it was wrestling with the conflict between "equality and
freedom of speech."
"Equality is necessary for
meaningful speech," company chairwoman Mitchell Baker said in a blog
post announcing Eich's resignation on Thursday. "And you need free
speech to fight for equality. Figuring out how to stand for both at the
same time can be hard."
(Additional reporting and writing by Edwin Chan; Editing by David Lindsey and David Gregorio)
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