Maybe it's because you are not LGBT? Given that you're black, would you stop using Firefox if he had donated to the KKK?
In the end balance, though, Mr. Eich's donation was... fairly small, relatively speaking. This cost is likely MUCH smaller than the potential damage this could do to Firefox and the various freedom-centered movements that depend on it.
Therefor, this is a mater of PICKING YOUR BATTLES and realizing that those who normally would be seen as an enemy can sometimes become an ally against a larger foe. Winning difficult social issues such as marriage equality would be a LOT harder without tools like firefox to maintain free (as in speech) communication on the net.
/* especially when certain intelligence agencies have been found using this kind of wedge issue to break up groups they perceive as a threat */
It's true. If I find out that a CEO is an atheist and voted on laws that went against the rights of Christians, I would probably want him fired too.
Well, it worked. The CEO has resigned today.
I would like to see one instance of the HN (or should I say, the US left) community going on the side against discrimination but regarding something against their personal beliefs.
I won't hold my breath.....
Why should I respect your freedom of choice..when you can't respect mine? We live in a world now where if I say or do something that is against the US left, I have a chance of getting fired and or having my livelihood or career ruined.
This is evil.
There is a difference between respecting your freedom of choice and respecting your actual choice. If your belief is repulsive to your peers and discriminatory then you need to realize there are going to be consequences for holding that belief and acting on that belief when it comes time to try to fit in with society. Your freedom of choice does not give you freedom from all consequences of that choice. On the other hand LGBT people are NOT free to choose to marry the person they wish if laws like the one Mr Eich supported exist.
If you stand against discrimination and apply social pressure to the people who choose to continue to support discrimination then you are, in fact, on the side AGAINST discrimination.
In general, I don't like a sociocultural norm that punishes people solely for taboo or unpopular beliefs; while I'm pro-gay-marriage, I hold other opinions which are even more controversial. Yet if the issue was a more extreme one (say, if Eich was a Holocaust denier), very few people would be comfortable with having him in a position of power, and the implicit legitimization of that political opinion.
I'm not sure it was right for the left to call for his resignation; however, in terms of what's best for Mozilla and the open web, I think it was the right move for Eich to step down.
But I'm also I'm trying to put myself in the shoes of someone emotionally closer to the situation than myself. I'm a black guy in an interracial relationship. It's tough to say how I'd feel if Brendan Eich had donated to an anti-miscegenation campaign. I'd probably feel pretty shitty about it. But I don't think I'd stop using Firefox on that basis alone.