Re:Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay goin...
by itsoktocry on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @08:09AM
(#24566020)
>But as a CEO if you decide to wear your politics on your sleeve (which nobody forces you to)
So you have to shut up and kowtow to the popular opinion?
Society is going to weird places.
Re:Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay goin...
by Xylakant on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @08:46AM
(#24566330)
Brendan Eich chose to apply for a leadership position in an organization which wears its stance on diversity issues on the proverbial sleeve. For some Mozilla folks that I know, this stance was a contributing factor in deciding where to work. Going on public record with an opposing stance on this was obviously controversial.
Given that access to health care is a major pain point for queer people in general and health care benefits are employer provided in the US made the matter even more pressing.
So yes, if you choose to apply for a position in an org that has a public stance on an issue, choosing to wear the opposing flag on your sleeve may not be the best move. You’re however, absolutely entitled to your opinion - you just have to deal with the results of your statements.
Re:Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay goin...
by Talanes on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @08:53AM
(#24566402)
We used to literally blacklist people over their political leanings. Had congressional hearings and everything. This is just people being vocal.
Re:Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay goin...
by bzbarsky on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @10:34AM
(#24567564)
To be clear, the blacklisting was not, in theory, over "political leanings": it was for belonging to an organization that explicitly advocated the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. There were a lot of issues with the McCarthy era, but this detail is important and generally glossed over.
If a dutch CEO would come out to vote for Geert Wilders' PVV (our ultra rightwing populist party) I'm pretty sure that would have an immediate effect on the company and on its remaining employees.
Employees as a rule want to be associated with companies and CEOs that they feel have their interests at heart. Plenty of them can be 'bought', which is why so many terrible companies with terrible leadership flourish. But Mozilla made it quite plain that they weren't going to be 'that sort of company' and if you say that loud enough and often enough then there are certain things you should not do.