Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich was recently forced out of his position for donating $1,000 to Prop 8 and refusing to apologize for his personal beliefs. Eich helped build Mozilla and contributed developments such as Netscape and JavaScript.
Now employees of Mozilla have threatened to quit, customers have stopped using the Firefox browser, and the dating website OkCupid has urged their customers to use a different browser, even setting up a detection device that determines a visitor’s browser and sends a warning to anyone using Firefox.
From those who preach tolerance and peace comes yet another example of bigotry and intolerance. What would happen if the tables were turned—if CEO was forced to resigned for being gay because customers and employees were personally offended. Would not these same tolerant people demand that the CEO be re-instated because such bullying is in and of itself a hate crime?
Mozilla has bullied a man into resigning from his job. But bullies gain power only when victims submit to the abuse. Regardless of our personal stances on gay marriage or other social policies, we should never be that society—or that person—who intimidates, oppresses, or persecutes another human being for their religious or political beliefs.
Rather than silently witness the injustice, OkCupid asked their users to use a different browser—and you can do the same. Take a stand against those who would persecute a man because he believes in something and has the courage to put his money where his mouth is.
Read more about the boycott on Socon or Bust.