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These attempts to blackball people in their professional lives for their political opinions (see Brendan Eich at Mozilla) and political decisions (this DropDrop

These attempts to blackball people in their professional lives for their political opinions (see Brendan Eich at Mozilla) and political decisions (this DropDropBox stuff) are really no better than the Hollywood Blacklisting during the McCarthy witch-hunts that we all look back on as a dark chapter of American history. It really goes against the spirit of tolerance and plurality that America has embodied at its best. I can only hope that just like for McCarthyism, we will all wake up from this binge in a few years and realize just how far we've strayed from our best ideals.

mhurron 11y ago
I too believe that all people should be free of any consequences of their actions.
- dredmorbius 11y ago
  Should I supply your sarcasm tag?
Touche 11y ago
> These attempts to blackball people in their professional lives for their political opinions (see Brendan Eich at Mozilla) and political decisions (this DropDropBox stuff) is really no better than the Hollywood Blacklisting during the McCarthy witch-hunts that we all look back on as a dark chapter of American history. In this case her political opinions directly affect the business she joined.
jacobolus 11y ago
Rice is not being attacked for her “political opinions”, and euphemistically describing torture, assassination, indefinite imprisonment without trial, war under false pretenses, mass surveillance, etc. as a “political decision” is disingenuous. Direct participation in war crimes is not comparable to being vaguely associated with American leftists during the mid-20th century. What Rice contributed to was a violation of American and international law, a betrayal of her oath of office and of the public, and a shameful episode in our history. I too hope we can “wake up from this binge in a few years and realize just how far we've strayed from our best ideals”. If we had any such ideals, the justice department would have aggressively prosecuted the criminals involved, up to the highest levels of government.
smt88 11y ago
"Tolerance" should never apply to bigotry. Fifty years ago, we'd be having this debate about the version of Brendan Eich that believed black and white people shouldn't get married. Society didn't tolerate bigotry then, and it shouldn't tolerate it now. Brendan Eich has the right to his opinion, and his employers (and customers) have the right to fire him for them. Political beliefs are not a protected class. (As for Condoleezza Rice, she participated in war-mongering, which is totally different from "political opinions".)
- marcoperaza 11y ago
  To the credit of Mozilla's board, Eich wasn't fired. He quit because the hoopla made doing his job impossible. It was the right move on his part because his presence became damaging to Mozilla. To your point about it being fine to fire people for their political beliefs, the legal right to do something doesn't say much about whether you should. I think everyone would be appalled if it became common practice for employers to look through every campaign you ever donated to, every cause you ever lent support to, to find something to disqualify you over. It also does nothing but further alienate and divide people. Going back to the McCarthy era, there was nothing illegal about firing communists. And the people doing it had lots of reasons to think they were doing the right thing. The US was in an existential battle against an empire that had worldwide gulags and purges as its goal. Stalin was a proven master of infiltration and palace intrigue. More recent evidence shows that McCarthy's paranoia was not ill-founded -- Soviet intelligence had infiltrated large parts of American society and government. It was still morally wrong to fire people for their political opinions. Especially if they aren't loudly advertising them.

mhurron 11y ago

I too believe that all people should be free of any consequences of their actions.

dredmorbius 11y ago
Should I supply your sarcasm tag?

Touche 11y ago

> These attempts to blackball people in their professional lives for their political opinions (see Brendan Eich at Mozilla) and political decisions (this DropDropBox stuff) is really no better than the Hollywood Blacklisting during the McCarthy witch-hunts that we all look back on as a dark chapter of American history. In this case her political opinions directly affect the business she joined.

jacobolus 11y ago

Rice is not being attacked for her “political opinions”, and euphemistically describing torture, assassination, indefinite imprisonment without trial, war under false pretenses, mass surveillance, etc. as a “political decision” is disingenuous. Direct participation in war crimes is not comparable to being vaguely associated with American leftists during the mid-20th century. What Rice contributed to was a violation of American and international law, a betrayal of her oath of office and of the public, and a shameful episode in our history. I too hope we can “wake up from this binge in a few years and realize just how far we've strayed from our best ideals”. If we had any such ideals, the justice department would have aggressively prosecuted the criminals involved, up to the highest levels of government.

smt88 11y ago

"Tolerance" should never apply to bigotry. Fifty years ago, we'd be having this debate about the version of Brendan Eich that believed black and white people shouldn't get married. Society didn't tolerate bigotry then, and it shouldn't tolerate it now. Brendan Eich has the right to his opinion, and his employers (and customers) have the right to fire him for them. Political beliefs are not a protected class. (As for Condoleezza Rice, she participated in war-mongering, which is totally different from "political opinions".)

marcoperaza 11y ago
To the credit of Mozilla's board, Eich wasn't fired. He quit because the hoopla made doing his job impossible. It was the right move on his part because his presence became damaging to Mozilla. To your point about it being fine to fire people for their political beliefs, the legal right to do something doesn't say much about whether you should. I think everyone would be appalled if it became common practice for employers to look through every campaign you ever donated to, every cause you ever lent support to, to find something to disqualify you over. It also does nothing but further alienate and divide people. Going back to the McCarthy era, there was nothing illegal about firing communists. And the people doing it had lots of reasons to think they were doing the right thing. The US was in an existential battle against an empire that had worldwide gulags and purges as its goal. Stalin was a proven master of infiltration and palace intrigue. More recent evidence shows that McCarthy's paranoia was not ill-founded -- Soviet intelligence had infiltrated large parts of American society and government. It was still morally wrong to fire people for their political opinions. Especially if they aren't loudly advertising them.