Thoughtcrime

[Xiahou]

I think personal boycotts against companies with an objectionable behaviour is a good thing.

But Mozilla wasn't accused of objectionable behavior. No one ever accused Mozilla or Eich of ever treating anyone differently.



In other news, let the purge continue:
OkCupid's CEO Donated to an Anti-Gay Campaign Once, Too

Of course, it's been a decade since Yagan's donation to Cannon, and a decade or more since many of Cannon's votes on gay rights. It's possible that Cannon's opinions have shifted, or maybe his votes were more politics than ideology; a tactic by the Mormon Rep. to satisfy his Utah constituency. It's also quite possible that Yagan's politics have changed since 2004: He donated to Barack Obama's campaign in 2007 and 2008. Perhaps even Firefox's Eich has rethought LGBT equality since his 2008 donation. But OkCupid didn't include any such nuance in its take-down of Firefox. Combine that with the fact that the company helped force out one tech CEO for something its own CEO also did, and its action last week starts to look more like a PR stunt than an impassioned act of protest.

Maybe, after all this stupidity has run its course, people will begin to think twice before burning someone at the stake for having supported something years ago- something that was also supported by a majority of voters at the same time.

[HoreTore]

But Mozilla wasn't accused of objectionable behavior. No one ever accused Mozilla or Eich of ever treating anyone differently.

Uhm, yeah, he was.

The donation was considered objectionable behaviour.

[Lemur]

Maybe, after all this stupidity has run its course

Or maybe, as has already been pointed out in many places, this was an unfortunate confluence of events, and not the harbinger of a new inquisition. Maybe. But where's the dramatic value in that?

[Ironside]

In other news, let the purge continue:
OkCupid's CEO Donated to an Anti-Gay Campaign Once, Too

Maybe, after all this stupidity has run its course, people will begin to think twice before burning someone at the stake for having supported something years ago-
something that was also supported by a majority of voters at the same time.

You can spot the differences that won't make the hot heads particulary interested in that case. Link is broken btw.

Anyway, that part of him not regretting anything, nor having changed his mind is quite critical on this. It's not "old guy supported segregation in his youth", it's "guy supported banning gay marriage recently and is still making himself appear very much to support banning gay marriage".

[Xiahou]

You can spot the differences that won't make the hot heads particulary interested in that case. Link is broken btw.

Fixed.

Read between the lines in his explanation and it comes down to him saying "It's not as bad that I supported an anti-gay candidate- because I did it for money." I suppose that makes it better.

Another difference is that this CEO recanted and completely disavowed his past donations- so presumably all will be forgiven. Which is why I chose "thoughtcrime" as the thread title. The donation is forgivable- the reason Eich had to be punished is because he wouldn't disavow his belief.

Or maybe, as has already been pointed out in many places, this was an unfortunate confluence of events, and not the harbinger of a new inquisition. Maybe. But where's the dramatic value in that?

Honestly, it's looking more and more like a publicity stunt on the part of OKCupid. He was willing to donate to an allegedly anti-gay candidate so he could try to garner favor in DC. And then he leads the charge to burn another for being "anti-gay" to garner some positive publicity for his company. It's nauseating.

From the Mother Jones article I linked earlier:

"Of course, it's been a decade since Yagan's donation to Cannon, and a decade or more since many of Cannon's votes on gay rights. It's possible that Cannon's opinions have shifted, or maybe his votes were more politics than ideology; a tactic by the Mormon Rep. to satisfy his Utah constituency. It's also quite possible that Yagan's politics have changed since 2004: He donated to Barack Obama's campaign in 2007 and 2008. Perhaps even Firefox's Eich has rethought LGBT equality since his 2008 donation. But OkCupid didn't include any such nuance in its take-down of Firefox. Combine that with the fact that the company helped force out one tech CEO for something its own CEO also did, and its action last week starts to look more like a PR stunt than an impassioned act of protest."

[Ironside]

Fixed.

Read between the lines in his explanation and it comes down to him saying "It's not as bad that I supported an anti-gay candidate- because I did it for money." I suppose that makes it better.

Another difference is that this CEO recanted and completely disavowed his past donations- so presumably all will be forgiven. Which is why I chose "thoughtcrime" as the thread title. The donation is forgivable- the reason Eich had to be punished is because he wouldn't disavow his belief.

Well boycotting CEO:s for greed would make a very, very long list.

Actually, Eich was given the option to disavow his action, he did not need to disavow his belief. Formulating himself properly of course.

We can go through this. Something can be so vicious that's unforgivable, but if something is forgivable because it was made in the past (a different time, a different person), then the first point is to establish the answer on the question: "Would you do the same thing today, if given the opportunity?". If the answer is either yes or an implied yes, then it's not a matter in the past, it's a matter now.
It is also the standard procedure in situations like this. Churches are paticulary fond of this.

If you really want to go that way, then asking for any act of conformity is a thought crime. They always ask you to act according to a set of standards or face the (unpleasant) consequences. If the set of standard changes, then you need to act according to the new standards, not the old, even if leeway is often given in that case.

[Greyblades]

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