Re:Thinking About Mozilla
by kevingadd on Tuesday April 01, 2014 @09:10AM
(#7507777)
The main tension is that LGBT individuals and advocates (rightfully so) view anti-gay-marriage campaigns as an attempt to curtail their civil rights. As a result, many people are unwilling to separate the personal and professional spheres in a case like this; they really don't think bigots of any stripe or people who disagree on who deserves what rights should be employed.
I'm among the people who think the personal and professional spheres HAVE to remain separate, because uniting them puts minorities at considerable risk - the fundamentalists that run a good chunk of the country's businesses and government agencies would very much like to fire people for being queer or holding liberal views.
Regardless of this, the people upset with Eich and Mozilla have very good reasons to be upset. It's tough to balance the needs of both sides.
One extra wrinkle here is that Eich has an impeccable professional record - there are no reports, substantiated or otherwise, of him doing improper things in the workplace or discriminating against LGBT individuals of any kind. The only reason we know about his politics is because of the requirement to disclose campaign contributions.
If Eich had a bad track record, I think the issue would be settled already because everyone could agree that the track record justified booting him out on his rear.
I'm among the people who think the personal and professional spheres HAVE to remain separate, because uniting them puts minorities at considerable risk - the fundamentalists that run a good chunk of the country's businesses and government agencies would very much like to fire people for being queer or holding liberal views.
Regardless of this, the people upset with Eich and Mozilla have very good reasons to be upset. It's tough to balance the needs of both sides.
One extra wrinkle here is that Eich has an impeccable professional record - there are no reports, substantiated or otherwise, of him doing improper things in the workplace or discriminating against LGBT individuals of any kind. The only reason we know about his politics is because of the requirement to disclose campaign contributions.
If Eich had a bad track record, I think the issue would be settled already because everyone could agree that the track record justified booting him out on his rear.