Letters: Out at Mozilla, but was it fair?

Re “No ‘witch hunt’ at Mozilla,” Column, April 9

It is no wonder that bullying is a major problem at schools. Kids learn from adults.

Brendan Eich was bullied into resigning as chief executive of Mozilla. Because he donated $1,000 to the Proposition 8 campaign, he was bullied by people whose personal views differed from his.

The “face of a company,” as Michael Hiltzik calls a CEO, should refer to the business’ product or mission statement. Last time I checked, a CEO has responsibility for the overall success of an organization, and Eich is smart enough to know and abide by that.

What has made our country great is the vast collection of diverse thinkers. But more and more we are being bullied into one way of thinking. We call this the “intolerance of tolerance.”

Gigi Scully

Pasadena

Hiltzik misses the elephant in the room: In our post-Citizens United world, corporations may now exercise their newly granted right of free speech to underwrite political campaigns. American consumers who only consider the usefulness of the products they buy may find themselves underwriting political campaigns that are antithetical to their own values.

Users of Mozilla’s Firefox Web browser not only had a right to voice their opinions on Eich’s values, but some would say they had a duty to do so.

Consumers should be aware of all aspects of the products they buy, including the moral and political beliefs of company CEOs. In today’s world, which political campaigns corporations support may be as relevant to consumers as the value of the products they produce.

Daniel Blake

West Hills

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