Eich never said that he was wrong. That’s his prerogative – he can have that opinion – but I’m not sure why anyone would forgive someone who isn’t even asking for forgiveness.
I’m really all for forgiving mistakes and being graceful. There is no reason to rub someone’s past mistakes in their face when they already admitted to making a mistake. Humans screw up, even CEOs. I think in general we need to be more forgiving.
But Eich never asked for forgiveness, so that’s really a moot point with him.
Of course, harassment is not ok, but I really can’t see a problem (and also no internet mob) in voicing your opinion (even strongly worded) and calling for a boycott.
Is gay marriage, or equality in general, now going in a different direction because Eich was forced to resign?
Can you come up with any positive effect of this controversy?
If the answer is no, and I believe it is, then I don't think you can call any of this graceful.
Donating $1000 to support a movement that undermines human equality is incredibly out of line with Mozilla's views. From my perspective, that's about a month's rent or a mortgage payment; he must care about the issue a lot to donate that much of his own money. His interview non-apologies certainly didn't help the issue.
Is it the most monumental gain ever, or the cause for a "different direction" for gay marriage? Of course not, few things are. It's a war made up of small battles, and small victories that add up. That's how societal change works.
Since we're just throwing questions, here is one for you: How exactly do you think most societal change occurs?
I prefer the term 'equality'. This particular fight is just one example of a large group of people trying to prevent a smaller group of people which they dislike from enjoying the same benefits as the larger group. There are many others, and they're all equally important on principle.
It's not about being gay; it's about being equal no matter who you are or what you do.
Brendan has don neither, and in fact has pretty much doubled-down on his opposition with his clearly crafted non-answers.
Yes, those who support gay marriage are "right" and history will show this. But the graceful thing to do when you're right is not to curb-stomp those who were wrong. It's not to rub it in their face. It's not to ruin their lives because they made a mistake.
The graceful thing to do when you are right is to let those who were wrong to get away with it. To let them pretend like it never happened.
Because "winning" history is not about destroying those who opposed you.