To Eich his own

“Hello there, Mozilla Firefox user. Pardon this interruption of your OkCupid experience,” opens a memo posted by the online dating website. “Mozilla’s new CEO, Brendan Eich, is an opponent of equal rights for gay couples. We would therefore prefer that our users not use Mozilla software to access OkCupid.”

Promoting itself as the “best free dating site on Earth,” OkCupid has chosen to raise awareness among users about the allegiances of Mozilla’s new CEO and provide them with different options when accessing the site, including Google Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer.

The OkCupid memo cites Eich’s $1,000 contribution to support California’s Proposition 8 as the basis for their boycott, according to CNN.

“Those who seek to deny love and instead enforce misery, shame and frustration are our enemies, and we wish them nothing but failure,” it reads.

Naturally, I couldn’t agree with OkCupid’s directors more. I, too, consider myself the enemy of anyone who seeks to deny love and enforce all those terrible things they mention.

What complicates OkCupid’s rationale is that Eich is more on their side than they realize.

Shortly after his promotion, Brendan Eich blogged an apology to all whom he may have “caused pain.” He promised to shape Mozilla as an inclusive, supportive environment. He also actively encourages public vigilance.

“I don’t ask for trust free of context, or without a solid structure to support accountability,” he said. “I want to be held accountable for what I do as CEO. I fully expect you all to do so.”

Contradictory though it may be, in this age of heated social activism, it is apparently possible for someone to support inclusivity and professional equality without affirming — for personal, religious or a myriad other reasons — the right of same-sex couples to legally marry.

It’s a frustratingly popular double-standard — one I cannot wait to see laid to rest — but we have to work around it to enact lasting change.

I’m thrilled that the professional community has gotten involved in this social debate so adamantly.

The equality battles are being fought in shopping aisles and drive-thrus as well as courtrooms and picket lines. I take issue not with OkCupid’s initiative in posting the memo, and especially not with the content of the memo, but with the solution proposed.

We don’t want Eich to resign — we need people like him.
Based on the extensively regretful and cooperative nature of his blog post, his promotion and influence are actually a step forward, not backward.

I’m willing to wager there are many CEOs who haven’t contributed financially to anti-marriage equality campaigns but harbor far more destructively discriminatory workplace policies.

Rather than boycott Firefox, let’s ask that Eich revoke his support of Proposition 8 or make a donation to the Human Rights Campaign. Either of the above would be more productive ways to move the equality campaign forward than removing Eich from his position.

Eventually, I’m convinced, love will win.

sbkissel@indiana.edu