He just wanted to take an opportunity to "express [..] sorrow at having caused pain."
Eich does not regret his actions, he's just sorry that you felt pain because of the things he did. Classic business-ese non-apology.
Inclusiveness at Mozilla
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Re: Inclusiveness at Mozilla
#12i'm really not one of those baying for his head, but didn't that just kind of read like 'but some of my best friends are black!'?
To be fair, he explicitly asks for being held accountable on those grounds. That, you usually don't do if you are just talking about your "best black friends".
Re: Inclusiveness at Mozilla
#13Nothing in the post indicates he's reversed his stance on prohibiting his gay employees from marrying.
And it's his right as a private citizen to have his own opinion on the matter. That's why people vote, because they don't agree on all issues.
That's totally irrelevant with respect to what he'll do as a CEO. And, last time I checked, prohibiting your employees to marry, was not in a CEO's powers (or responsibilities).
Re: Inclusiveness at Mozilla
#14He just wanted to take an opportunity to "express [..] sorrow at having caused pain." Eich does not regret his actions, he's just sorry that you felt pain because of the things he did. Classic business-ese non-apology.
I absolutely despise this sort of dissection of expressions of regret. It's poisonous and never raises the level of discussion.
I have serious questions about the sincerity of the motives of people who do it.
Re: Inclusiveness at Mozilla
#15He is sorry like the NSA is sorry you found out what they've been doing.
Brendan Eich doesn't just dislike gays getting married. He hates the concept so much he officially donated to prevent it from being possible.
I'm sorry, but I don't sympathize with the argument that he's "entitled to his opinions," because it's more than that. Nevermind that he's now CEO of Mozilla.
(I personally don't care if gays can get married in the eyes of a church or not; I care that gays are fundamentally unable to get the same benefits as other people.)
Re: Inclusiveness at Mozilla
#16"My ongoing commitment to our Community Participation Guidelines, our inclusive health benefits, our anti-discrimination policies, and the spirit that underlies all of these."
"...and in the meantime express my sorrow at having caused pain."
Ouch, how can somebody hold two opposing thoughts in their head at once? That's basically a denouncement of his own personal efforts.
At this point, the best thing he can do to level set things, is to make some equal and public donations to same-sex marriage causes.
It sucks when your actions have consequences...especially when those consequences hurt other people.
"At the same time, I don’t ask for trust free of context, or without a solid structure to support accountability. No leader or person who has a privileged position should. I want to be held accountable for what I do as CEO. "
And that's exactly what's happening. I hope he keeps getting held accountable for participating in the oppression of a minority group until he takes substantive steps to make public amends.
Re: Inclusiveness at Mozilla
#17I think this is 95% satisfactory.
It's unreasonable to demand that someone change their mind about something (and would you believe it if he claimed he had?), but it's imperative to be sure that his personal opinion will not bleed into his executive function.
He knows he's outnumbered, and on the wrong side of history. But he recognizes that he can't change himself on demand. It's the best we can hope for in an honest person. Or, at least, it's the first step.
Vigilance, however, is warranted.
Re: Inclusiveness at Mozilla
#18I have commented on this issue before [0].
I've been thinking about this again. After reading this I think he still stands to his opinion, that he personally thinks gay marriage is wrong. Obviously he's an idiot, but I think even idiots are entitled to their opinion as long as it doesn't interfere with his work at mozilla.
I think that is also what he's trying to say with his blog post. I think he made it pretty clear that he does not want this to interfere with his work at mozilla. So as long as he does not discriminate LGBT at work, I think he deserves a shot at it.
You can't force him to change his opinion. I think that is more honest than an apology he doesn't mean.
Re: Inclusiveness at Mozilla
#19Expressing sorrow for causing hurt isn't the same as taking responsibility for it. The very first action should be an apology, but that hasn't happened and doesn't look like it'll ever happen.
There's nothing to apologize for, besides causing hurt. He's not going to apologize for the views he holds, or for contributing to a cause he believed in because he had the means. Even if his views have since changed, which personally I don't find relevant, people should not be expected to apologize for the views they once held, for the reasons they held those views are beyond all of us to explain or denounce. Everyone is struggling to make sense of the world, and popular opinion isn't the official stance for everyone.
Re: Inclusiveness at Mozilla
#20I'm happy he said something. He didn't have to.