The universe gives us great news, Firefox lovers and LGBTQIA members and supporters: Brendan Eich, Mozilla CEO and gross homophobe, is stepping down from his position as chief executive after only two weeks. After his promotion, three board members and several employees quit because Eich donated $1,000 to Proposition 8, which dictates, “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Even dating website, OkCupid, weighed in and released a pop-up letter to its Firefox users, urging these members to use another browser.
In an interview with The Guardian, Eich said that he doesn’t believe his personal beliefs are “relevant” to his job. With that line of logic, where do we draw the line between personal ethics and business practices? As inherent consumers, we have the power to make political statements with our purchases. Because giving our money to companies suggests that we condone and approve their practices and ethics, what we choose to invest in reflects our values and beliefs. It is a quiet power that we have, but one that matters when wielded nonetheless.
OkCupid showed Firefox and the rest of the online community that they want to keep their business in line with their ethics, as we all should. Unfortunately, Eich is supposedly leaving to focus his attention on supporting an anti-gay marriage ballot in California, which is just preposterous. However, it’s always a good platform of opposition to boycott businesses that are led by scumbags until they succumb to the pressure and resign. That is the meaning of the power of the people.
Photo courtesy of Policy Mic.
