4 ms·

The apologists just keep repeating the same argument: that what Eich did was merely expressing a personal view, whilst those opposing his appointment as CEO wer

The apologists just keep repeating the same argument: that what Eich did was merely expressing a personal view, whilst those opposing his appointment as CEO were a mob on a witch hunt. The reality is that Eich as a supporter of Prop 8 was part of a mob on a witch hunt, one with considerably greater consequences than a CEO resigning from his job. The job of one man doesn't even begin to compare to the civil rights of so many. The continued portrayal of Eich as the victim instead of the aggressor bothers me a lot. To paint Eich as a good guy and those who opposed him as some evil misinformed opportunistic lynch mob is a complete reversal of reality. Prop 8 supporters are the lynch mob, and Eich was one of them. Calling for him to step down is a relatively mild response to that.

vacri 13y ago
This being said, it really bothers me that OKC and others did not clean up after themselves. Battle won, they just fucked off. No encompassing announcement of "Hey, use Mozilla again, boycott over". They got what they want, Mozilla is once again pure in the diversity stakes, but they didn't bother to clear the bad air. They've basically left the bad taste of the virulent boycott hanging around despite getting exactly the change they wanted. So yes, it was a witch hunt - they only cared about destroying Eich, not strengthening Mozilla, and were happy to damage their Mozillan allies (that they purported to be defending) in the process. Besides, it's possible (and common) for both sides in an argument to be wrong.
- ballard 13y ago
  Yeah I think your interpretation is fair. Taking a leadership stance takes on a higher level of responsibility to do the right thing and be just, and to appear to do that.
philbo 13y ago
The job of one man doesn't even begin to compare to the civil rights of so many. While this is true, I think comparing a political donation to a witch hunt and a lynch mob is a stretch. It's not really clear to me how the rights of lesbian and gay people have been improved by Brendan's decision to resign. Whereas Mozilla has lost it's founder, new CEO and long-term CTO and, if recent activity on es-discuss is a reliable gauge, the ECMAScript committee has lost its benevolent dictator and the man who invented the language. Are you positive that the world is better without Brendan occupying those positions?
- rimantas 13y ago
  Ok, would you reply with the same were Brendon to donate to KKK or some anti-interracial-marriage organization?
  - philbo 13y ago
    No, clearly. The KKK was literally a lynch mob. They murdered and tortured and terrorised people and communities.
  - chr1 13y ago
    You know that KKK were killing people right? and anti-interracial-marriage were not allowing people to live together. Do you think that can be compared to prop8 which only wanted to remove tax cuts and social status?
    - lern_too_spel 13y ago
      No, what Brendan helped pass was worse than anti-miscegenation laws. With the latter, you might not be able to marry your first preference, but there are plenty of fish in the sea. If you're gay, in post-Proposition 8 California, you could not marry anybody you were attracted to.
      - chr1 13y ago
        Do you really think not being able to live with someone you love is better than not getting the tax cut?
        lern_too_spel 13y ago
        Where did I say that? I said that not being able to marry anybody at all you were attracted to is worse that not being able to live with one particular person that you might fall in love with. Also, marriage has more legal implications than taxation.
  - exodust 13y ago

vacri 13y ago

This being said, it really bothers me that OKC and others did not clean up after themselves. Battle won, they just fucked off. No encompassing announcement of "Hey, use Mozilla again, boycott over". They got what they want, Mozilla is once again pure in the diversity stakes, but they didn't bother to clear the bad air. They've basically left the bad taste of the virulent boycott hanging around despite getting exactly the change they wanted. So yes, it was a witch hunt - they only cared about destroying Eich, not strengthening Mozilla, and were happy to damage their Mozillan allies (that they purported to be defending) in the process. Besides, it's possible (and common) for both sides in an argument to be wrong.

ballard 13y ago
Yeah I think your interpretation is fair. Taking a leadership stance takes on a higher level of responsibility to do the right thing and be just, and to appear to do that.

philbo 13y ago

The job of one man doesn't even begin to compare to the civil rights of so many. While this is true, I think comparing a political donation to a witch hunt and a lynch mob is a stretch. It's not really clear to me how the rights of lesbian and gay people have been improved by Brendan's decision to resign. Whereas Mozilla has lost it's founder, new CEO and long-term CTO and, if recent activity on es-discuss is a reliable gauge, the ECMAScript committee has lost its benevolent dictator and the man who invented the language. Are you positive that the world is better without Brendan occupying those positions?

rimantas 13y ago
Ok, would you reply with the same were Brendon to donate to KKK or some anti-interracial-marriage organization?
- philbo 13y ago
  No, clearly. The KKK was literally a lynch mob. They murdered and tortured and terrorised people and communities.
- chr1 13y ago
  You know that KKK were killing people right? and anti-interracial-marriage were not allowing people to live together. Do you think that can be compared to prop8 which only wanted to remove tax cuts and social status?
  - lern_too_spel 13y ago
    No, what Brendan helped pass was worse than anti-miscegenation laws. With the latter, you might not be able to marry your first preference, but there are plenty of fish in the sea. If you're gay, in post-Proposition 8 California, you could not marry anybody you were attracted to.
    - chr1 13y ago
      Do you really think not being able to live with someone you love is better than not getting the tax cut?
      - lern_too_spel 13y ago
        Where did I say that? I said that not being able to marry anybody at all you were attracted to is worse that not being able to live with one particular person that you might fall in love with. Also, marriage has more legal implications than taxation.
- exodust 13y ago