Voluntary Resignation or Yielding to Public Pressure?

Apr 9, 2014 | 1 comment

Mozilla announced the resignation of its CEO Brendan Eich last Thursday amidst a multitude of protests from members of the LGBT community. Various individuals and organizations questioned Eich’s appointment to the position after it was discovered he donated $1,000 to a campaign supporting Proposition 8 six years ago.

OKCupid, an online dating service, urged its Firefox users to boycott the search engine and switch browsers while Twitter exploded with opinionated responses to Eich’s political views. Dennis Prager, in an article for Townhall, also advocated boycotting Firefox – but for a very different reason.

Prager noted that the people must boycott Firefox “solely in order to preserve liberty in the land of liberty.” The seasoned writer and broadcaster lamented the resignation Brendan Eich and demanded he be rehired to his rightful position as CEO.

“The message the gay left…and the left in general wish to send is that Americans who are in positions of power at any company should be forced to resign if they hold a position that the left strongly opposes,” Prager writes.

The controversy has not subsided after Eich’s resignation, rather it has simply shifted focus. Many are calling attention to the lack of tolerance on the part of LGBT activists – a characteristic touted by that community.

Bill Maher, political commentator and comedian, stated on Friday that he thinks there is a “gay mafia” that will “whack” anyone that crosses them.

Exhibit A: It was recently discovered that Sam Yagan, CEO of OKCupid – the organization that kicked off the Firefox boycott – made a $500 donation to Utah Congressman Chris Cannon in 2004. On the surface it seems unimportant; however, Cannon (R-UT) is openly opposed to same-sex marriage and voted against a bill banning job discrimination based on sexual orientation (similar to the bill being debated in our very own Capitol).

While Maher’s terms are obviously crass and hyperbolic, there is some truth to the idea that tolerance does not extend to those with differences of opinion. Are we now going to see hoards of LGBT sympathizers demanding Yagan step down from his position? Based on the outrageous precedent set by his own company, that’s exactly what he should do.

Mozilla downplayed the animosity toward Eich claiming that, although tweets calling for the JavaScript creator’s resignation were widely reported in the mainstream media, they came from a very small number of people.

After the controversy began, it seemed unlikely that Eich would resign. In an interview with The Guardian he stated: “I think I’m the best person for the job and I’m doing the job.”

However, public pressure and intolerance made sure Eich is no longer “doing the job.” Mozilla states they are in the process of figuring out the next step for the company’s leadership.