Employee outcry over his stance on gay marriage pushes Mozilla's CEO to step down

[Loudocrema]

"My five cents: I would have stayed and politely told those employees who were having problems with my personal opinion that they are free to leave the company at any time. "

I don't think anyone cares about your personal (and shitty) opinion .
WTF is this article, and it is about super old news on top of that. What was the reason, apart to bring homophobia on this website? Why was it approved?

[HEC3]

Didn't this happen back in 2014? 
 
Why is this news?

[Hardware Geek]

Does this article mean that all of notebookcheck is a homophobic organization or is it just this specific writer that is a homophobe? This type of opinion article, which is only loosely tied to technology because it was the former CEO of Mozilla, is simply being used as an excuse for the writer to express their own homophobia. Notebookcheck should get rid of this writer a.s.a.p. Go write for fox "news" if you want to spout this kind of vitriol.

[Codrut Nistor]

First of all, in terms of content, this article is rather unsuitable for notebookcheck, you should have opened an "Opinion" section instead. Nevertheless, I agree with you - social movements and democracy must clash at some point.

Still, firing a new CEO over political reasons like this only confirms that Mozilla's days are numbered - they are slowly resembling another Yahoo sadly.

1. The article is tagged as Opinion, right? This should make it clear that it's not just a news report, it's MY opinion.
2. However, I am sorry that many of you consider this article homophobic, because it's not. Speaking for myself - some of my colleagues might disagree, and I fully support their right to think differently - I have nothing against the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, some of my all-time favorite artists are gay - Freddie Mercury, Rob Halford, Sivert Høyem.
3. I know it's easy to get in flames when talking about such delicate matters, but I NEVER said that I AGREE with Mozilla's CEO homophobic stance, only that I agree with HIS RIGHT TO HAVE SUCH A STANCE. For now, being a homophobe is not illegal yet. Please be aware of this.

Bottom-line: NBC or myself HAVE NEVER supported homophobic, anti-Semitic, or xenophobic opinions. If anyone here wants to talk about totalitarian regimes and how those really feel, I still remember my childhood years in communist Romania. We could talk about that anytime. Speaking of gay couples in Texas, I am sure that they will fight and gain back their right to marry and I fully support that, but I cannot ignore the fact that some people oppose that for whatever their reasons and, now matter how obtuse this stance is, they also have a right to an opinion. Censorship is exactly where totalitarism starts...

[Codrut Nistor]

Hello Internet Explorer! This happened all the way back in 2014.

Yes, it was a major time travel incident on my part. Please accept my apologies for that. Regarding the position on homophobic opinions and my personal opinion, on the other hand, it looks like I was completely misunderstood.

[vertigo]

Regarding the position on homophobic opinions and my personal opinion, on the other hand, it looks like I was completely misunderstood.

You weren't misunderstood, it's just become the preferred method of arguing to simply attack the person (ad hominem) rather than have a civilized discussion, because that's easier to do than actually present a real argument. So many people have developed the mindset that their beliefs are right and anyone who disagrees with them is wrong and that there's no room for discussion and those who have a differing opinion, or even dare to discuss a topic without condemning those who have a differing opinion, are automatically homophobic/racist/xenophobic/fascist/communist/extremist/etc, and apparently don't even realize their attitudes are very much anti-democratic, despite all their banter about democracy.

The irony of your ending up the object of so much critical commentary similar to the subject of your article, while likely lost on many leaving those comments, is sad, especially since your article was clearly not homophobic but was simply discussing the implications of social media (a tech subject) in corporate politics (in a tech company) on this, a tech website. Or, at least, it was clear to me, since I didn't read it with an agenda to brand you a homophobe simply for not falling in line and agreeing with those that want anyone who doesn't share their total beliefs to be punished.

I'm all for holding people accountable for, and ideally stopping, harassment, discrimination, etc, but the fervor of those that want to bring down anyone who dares have an opinion they don't like is taking things too far. That's not what America is about. But these people don't care about that, and nobody can have civil discussions anymore, and so people on both sides just keep pushing each other farther and farther apart.

As for the article topic itself, aside from being old news, I don't think the outcry itself is an issue, as that's just people voicing their opinions, which is what America is all about. And, I reiterate, it's extremely problematic when a group of people think their opinion about another's opinion is not only fine, but that you must be bigoted to disagree with it and there is no other acceptable opinion. The issue is in these people's belief that their opinions must be upheld, by holding their target accountable for not sharing their beliefs. And at what point will the line be drawn? Will people soon be flooding social media with demands that an elected government official step down or be removed because they hold a certain faith? It's not that far of a leap.

The path to a better community isn't by demanding anyone who has different values or beliefs than you be censored and removed from whatever position they may hold, and certainly not by insulting and condemning someone for simply discussing a topic, it's in discourse and civility. "If you deny to anyone else the right to say what you think is wrong, it will not be long before you will lose the right to say what you think is right. Defense of the freedom of others is self-defense."

[George]

It seems strange to write an article on a news story from 7 years ago in order to then append a personal opinion to it.
That executive also chose to make his personal opinions about sexuality public. If you choose to make your private opinions public then there are consequences. If you are dismissive of the difficulties faced by people who are subjected to bigotry and discrimination then that is a stance on the topic. I am not unsympathetic to criticism of mindless cancel culture but this article seems to simply serve as a vehicle for a personal stance.

[Pooh Sheisty]

The only productive member of a company forced out by degenerates for not supporting deviant behavior. Not to worry, the pendulum will swing back the other way. If it doesnt, then whoever is still sane in the west will emigrate to China or Russia

[Pooh Sheisty]

As expect the historical ignorants  want totalitarian control over other people they disagree with.
We are already seeing book burning, next there will be undesirables being burned.

"People have always been held accountable for opinions that cause harm to society."
So you want all communist people fired from their jobs?

The only books the Nazis burned were on homosexuality, sex changes and transvestite behavior, along with other pseudoscientific writings. Really makes you think...  ::)

[MisterV]

There are many arguments that one can make on this article and the opinion shared, but I think in the end, the CEO resigning was the right move. Whilst everyone may be entitled to their opinions on various subjects, as a company senior executive, however, you simply cannot let your personal opinions on such sensitive matters be let out in the open - keep your opinion to yourself.

And the last part of the article, where the CEO should have stayed and asked other employees who weren't happy with his stance, should leave - that is a huge NO NO in the corporate world and is almost akin to a bullish -style of leadership (i.e. if you don't like my views, then there's the door). There would have been a massive outcry from all the company employees who most likely would have stopped working, rioted, approached the media etc. which would have ultimately led to the CEO resigning anyway due to the mounting pressure. He was doomed either way.

[AbdullahJD]

The LGBT Community is getting stronger and we should stop them before it's too late.