There has been quite a bit of chatter in the aftermath of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich’s resignation. Wingnuts are pointing fingers at an elusive “gay mafia” that they allege is responsible for Eich’s ousting. The only problem: They don’t actually have anywhere to point, which is why they have used such vague terminology. The fact is there was no organized campaign.
Even out blogger Andrew Sullivan suggested “fanatical” gay activists bullied Eich out of his job. Sullivan, who should know better, didn’t name names either. Other media outlets reported “protests” were what prompted him to step down, but these protests are never identified. Glenn Beck went so far as to accuse gay “terrorists” of “celebrating” the fact that Eich “lost his job.”
In the San Francisco Chronicle, conservative Debra Saunders claimed that the “forces of intolerance” defeated Eich. Who are these forces, according to Saunders? “A number of emails from gay readers who supported the get-Eich campaign.” Ah, yes, those all-powerful openly gay emailers with nothing better to do than write to little-known columnists at dead-tree publications. And the supposed “get-Eich” campaign? Well, she never bothers to identify it.
Yet no gaggles of LGBT activists ever were seen congregating on the lawn of Eich’s house or picketing outside the Mozilla Firefox headquarters. Not to mention, Eich didn’t lose his job. He quit. While it is entirely possible that he was forced out by the board, we don’t know that for sure. (Memo to Beck: We have plenty of things to celebrate without taking pleasure in someone’s demise. Like marriage equality and Zac Efron.)
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The most likely suspects for a “gay mafia” would be well-funded LGBT orgs such as GLAAD or HRC. But neither of those organizations weighed in publicly on Eich until after he stepped down.
The only big entity that commented on the issue was online dating website OkCupid, with a PR gimmick that encouraged Firefox users to switch web browsers. That’s a far cry from demanding Eich be fired. And OkCupid is hardly a gay company.
Perhaps the closest thing resembling a “gay mafia” was an online petition on a site called “CredoAction” that called for Eich to clarify his position on marriage equality. The petition demanded his firing if he retained his opposition to same-sex marriage, an intolerant position supported by fewer and fewer Americans. And come on now, how much weight does an online petition really carry these days?
Then, of course, there was the opposition to Eich within the Mozilla community. A handful of employees tweeted about their disappointment in the CEO’s hiring. Some called for his resignation. Others asked for a conversation that he refused.
Have waited too long to say this. I’m an employee of @mozilla and I’m asking @brendaneich to step down as CEO.
— Chloe Varelidi (@varelidi) March 27, 2014
But it’s hardly surprising that LGBT employees would be uncomfortable with a boss who opposed the legal recognition of their families, or be concerned about what it could mean for workplace equality.
So where exactly is this clandestine “gay mafia” that wields such enormous power? Basically, we’re talking about a few employees, Mozilla fans, and random social media activists. Perhaps this so-called gay mob is hanging out with the Affordable Care Act’s federally-funded Death Panelists? The gay mafia running death squads. Now there’s an unlikely scenario.
HeroQueero
All of those bigots created the “gay mafia” idea because their teeny minds can’t process the fact that the majority of society believes in equality. The world and times are changing. Their lies, fear mongering,and violence towards the LGBT community are no longer tolerated and they are dinosaurs in an evolving world that longs for a better and more beautiful place. They are realizing that they are swiftly heading towards irrelevance, and therefore, extinction, in the world and media and, like cornered animals, will fight and scream to stay alive. Love WILL win. It always has and ALWAYS will.
Desert Boy
Apparently, Bill Maher and Andrew Sullivan are the experts on identifying the so-called “gay mafia”.
Mezaien
@HeroQueero: NO MAN! the gay mafia is real exist as from 1996, and here to stay. They don`t have to look hard! it is ME, long live the gay mafia.
rand503
Rich straight white guy quits job over truthful allegations.
Oh the humanity! How will our society ever recover?
AnitaMann
The first rule of gay mafia is we don’t talk about gay mafia. Instead, we sing about it using various Broadway show tunes!
Clark
It is rather interesting that those who scream and yell about “acceptance” and “tolerance” are themselves the least tolerant of any opinion other than their own.
Those gay mafians do the rest of us a great disservice.
Ridpathos
@Clark: While I agree that some people can be a bit too outspoken and rash in their support of equality (i.e. when it devolves into name calling, nobody wins), when people talk about acceptance and tolerance, they are usually talking about ‘people’ not ‘opinions’.
There are some really stupid opinions that you shouldn’t be tolerant of: anti-semitism, white supremacy, etc.
When right-wingers bemoan the lack of tolerance of their intolerance, I have no choice but to face-palm.
Kat
As the godmother of the Gay Mafia (did not come up with that name, we don’t even have one, but it amuses me), I am diligent in my efforts to keep us clandestine. We never brazenly meet in public. In fact, most of our members do not know each other and that is by design. Our organization is built upon a tiered cell structure with strictly enforced limited lines of communication between cells so no one member can reveal the identity of anyone outside of their small cell yet we can efficiently get messages out to to the entire organization from top down. We don’t organize but of course we support things like pride events and open protests on the principles of equality but mostly they’re smoke screens the media and the people who hate us can point to and gawk and stare while we can continue our work mostly unfettered.
Cam
@Clark:
Clark, didn’t you get the memo? That fake equivalency argument failed during Prop 8 and every other rights issue.
What you are saying is that by not allowing a bully to hit them, the gay community is being intolerant of the bully’s opinions.
Sorry troll, but not doing business with a company because the CEO has spent money and time trying to harm us isn’t intolerance. It’s the free market at work. Isn’t that something you right wingers love?
Kat
@Clark: Well, see, when that opinion is that an entire swath of people don’t deserve equality then that is essentially an opinion supporting second class citizenship for those people which = bigotry. And I am proudly intolerant of bigotry.
AnitaMann
@Clark: If you’re gonna troll at least be good at it. You failed miserably.
BJ McFrisky
If there is a gay mafia, they’re doing as shitty a job as militant protesters, because Chick-fil-A just surpassed KFC as the country’s #1 chicken restaurant.
Another embarrassing failure for us that leaves us with egg on our collective faces. And yes, everyone over the age of three sees Eich’s resignation as being forced by radical gay-marriage activists, simply because them’s the facts.
Stefano
The “Gay Mafia” is just another member of the numerous conspiracy theories.
Ajai
Meanwhile Mississippi passes a law that makes discrimination legal. In Oregon a child is killed because his parents think he might be gay. And schmucks like Sullivan lament the ‘persecution’ of some rich CEO. If these people want to see what stifling freedom of speech looks like, they should try visiting Russia.
Hank
Such thing as ‘gay mafia’ is a fallacy, as well as Heterophobia.
It’s an excuse for bigoted people to justify their hatred.
alterego1980
@BJ McFrisky: While I won’t go to Chick-fil-A for political reasons, I refuse to go to KFC for several others, including, health, cleanliness & service. No thanks.
And I don’t know this gay mafia, but i will take this opportunity to say thanks and keep up the good work!
Throbert McGee
Really? I was unaware that Brendan Eich had supported legislation to overturn California’s (extremely comprehensive) Domestic-Partnership legislation. My impression from the news stories is that, in fact, Eich had merely supported Prop 8, which prohibited the state of California from using the word “marriage” in the domestic-partnership forms that provided full legal recognition for same-sex couples.
If you want to say that Eich opposed “full equality”, that would be accurate, I guess.
It’s true that California DPs were not recognized under Canada’s Same-Sex Marriage laws; and from what I understand, California DPs also required a minimum period of cohabitation that was not required for opposite-sex couples seeking a marriage license. So, in that respect, there was definitely a lack of full equality.
On the other hand, California DPs and California SSMs were equally unrecognized in Texas and Virginia and various other states; and before the SCOTUS ruling, they were equally unrecognized by the IRS and other federal agencies. It seems like overstatement, then, to say that Prop 8 made any Californians into “second-class citizens.”
Cam
@BJ McFrisky:
And what a surprise, BJ gleefully wants to attack anything that gays have done and trumpet a supposed victory for the right wing.
Hey BJ, let me ask you something. If Chick Fil Et is doing so wonderfully and the gay issue for them was such a failure for us, then why is Dan Cathy going around trying to do damage control for the chain?
Oh wait, that’s right, you aren’t supposed to be questioned on another one of your false posts.
But once again, cheering on the right wing is what you do best.
Throbert McGee
Also, while it’s true that “The Gay Mafia Wants to Silence Christians!” is an idiotic bumpersticker slogan of the right, I believe that putting “Boycott Hate-Fil-A!” on your car’s bumper or in your email .sig, and walking around with duct tape on your mouth and “No H8” written on your cheek because you saw a celebrity doing it, are no less idiotic.
Cam
@Throbert McGee:
Please stop coming in and trying to lie and minimize what is going on.
Ca. Domestic partnership laws had MULTIPLE benefits that were not available under them bur were available to married couples. It wasn’t the word, it was the institution. The definition of a 2nd class citizen is that you are disallowed from something that everybody else is allowed. So by definition Prop 8 was a discriminatory law that in turn created a group of second class citizens.
Your tortured attempt to minimize that reminds me of the most ludicrous of the angry and defensive Mormons and Catholics that were coming in here screaming during Prop 8.
Considering Eich’s background and the horrific attempt at minimization in your post I would guess just another defensive Mormon bigot.
Throbert McGee
@Cam:
Really? What benefits were those? I’m pretty sure that the truth is what I said: the benefits provided by the State of California to couples with registered “DPs” were essentially identical to the benefits available for married couples. It’s true that at the time, same-sex “DP” couples in California couldn’t get any FEDERAL benefits, but neither could same-sex “married” couples — the only benefits were those provided by the state of California, and Prop 8 didn’t change that.
Do you actually imagine me screaming when I write my posts? Look up sang-froid on Google. But you should calm down, Multiple Miggs, lest you accidentally swallow your own tongue.
I’ve liked pretty much all the Mormons I’ve ever met, but I’ve read parts of The Book of Mormon and I think it’s a very silly and poorly-done imitation of the Bible, which I consider to be a mostly good blend of semi-fictionalized history, mythology, and poetry.
My family is mostly either Roman Catholic or apathetic towards religion, with a few Muslims by conversion and marriage.
And I tend to identify as a “Southparkian Deist” — which is to say that I infer a Creator from scientific observation of nature, but for all I know this Creator is actually a wall-eyed hippopotamus/cat.
Anyway, Cam, you’re rather boring, but have a nice day just the same!
Cam
@Throbert McGee: said…
Really? What benefits were those? I’m pretty sure that the truth is what I said: the benefits provided by the State of California to couples with registered “DPs” were essentially identical to the benefits available for married couples
________________________________
1. You are defending Prop 8, therefore you have obviously exposed yourself as an anti-gay bigot.
2. If Prop 8 did not force second class status on gays, then you have an issue with the U.S. Supreme Court which struck it down for that reason.
3. As for some differences between Civil Unions/Domestic Partnership and Marrige in Ca.
Exemption from property tax on the homes of survivors of veterans who died on active duty
Partial exemption from property tax provided to survivors of certain veterans
Unlimited exemptions from federal gift and estate taxes on transfers to partner
Recognition of relationship under the California Political Reform Act and Prop. 34
Exclusion of interest in the income of one’s partner from certain conflict of interest laws in the state constitution
Coverage of relationship under conflict of interest rules governing Coastal Commission members and employee
Coverage under federal laws prohibiting discrimination based on being or not being in the legal relationship
Rights under immigration laws
Social Security rights
Medicare rights
Treatment as a couple under Indian affairs laws
Treatment as a couple under international laws and treaties
Assured recognition and guaranteed provision of rights in other jurisdictions
But oh gee, I guess you figured you could just spout the typical bigot defending lies and nobody would bother to respond. Nice try, but the sad thing is, your posts are just tiresome repeats of the exact same posts that anti-gay right wing bigots always come on here with.
Frankly I’m a little embarrassed for you.
Ruhlmann
@Throbert McGee: sang·froid
SäNG?frwä/noun
1. composure or coolness, sometimes excessive, as shown in danger or under trying circumstances.
synonyms: composure, equanimity, self-possession, equilibrium, aplomb, poise, self-assurance, self-control, nerve, calm, presence of mind informalcool, unflappability
pomp·ous/?pämp?s/
adjective: pompous
1. affectedly and irritatingly grand, solemn, or self-important.
“a pompous ass who pretends he knows everything”
synonyms: self-important, imperious, overbearing, domineering, magisterial, pontifical, sententious, grandiose, affected, pretentious, puffed up, arrogant, vain, haughty, proud, conceited, egotistic, supercilious, condescending, patronizing; informalsnooty, uppity, uppish
“pompous officials”
Patsy Stoned
No gay organization called for Eich’s removal. Not one. The calls for him to step down came mainly from within Mozilla. People from outside the organization can have opinions, but rarely, if ever, sway a board. Board members stepped down when he was named. But facts have never swayed contrarian tools like Andrew Sullivan.
Throbert McGee
I was not aware of these differences, and I stand corrected. Unlike some of the things you listed (such as immigration laws and Indian affairs), which are strictly under Federal control, these points do relate to the internal state laws of California, and I admit they strengthen the argument that Prop 8 made Californian same-sex couples into “second-class citizens.”
As for your point #2:
It’s pretty obvious that you have never read the actual text of the Supreme Court decision Hollingsworth v. Perry (which relates to the Prop 8 controversy), and that you have a very poor understanding of how the legal system actually works.
Here is an excellent summary of Hollingsworth that distills the case down to its basic points, none of which have anything at all to do with “second-class status” of gays or anyone else. It was entirely about legal procedures and whether they had been properly followed.
Incidentally — well, actually, it’s not “incidental” at all — the notorious “homophobe in a robe” Justice Antonin Scalia sided with the majority in Hollingsworth, AGAINST the Prop 8 supporters, thereby paving the way for California to resume issuing “Marriage” licenses to same-sex couples, instead of “Domestic Partnership” licenses.
(Which is not to say that the four Justices who disagreed with Scalia and Roberts and the rest of the majority, and who might have found in favor of the Prop 8 side, are vicious homophobes who want gays to be second-class citizens — as I said, the case was about legal proceduralism and technicalities, and was not a sweeping endorsement nor denial of anyone’s rights.)
Throbert McGee
@Ruhlmann:
Beggin’ the court’s pardon, I ‘umbly wishes to plead nallow contendery, guv’nor, m’Lord, sir.
Throbert McGee
And by the way, I promise you that if an ACTUAL anti-gay bigot were to come in here and start making ridiculous claims about “the gay mafia” or “homosexuals want to recruit children” or “ex-gay therapies actually work” or Sodom this and Leviticus that, I am fully prepared to squash their feeble arguments with the help of logic, sang-froid, and pomposity.
I am prepared because I have lots and lots of personal experience arguing against anti-gay bigots. I have so much experience with them that I can separate their valid complaints about the LGBT Community from their silly bigotry, and I can treat the valid complaints with respect, while gently admonishing them for their silly bigotry.
I am not an enemy of all LGBT people, nor am I an enemy of every Christian or Jew or Mormon or Muslim who votes against certain legal initiatives that happen to be currently faddish among certain segments of the LGBT community.
But am a sworn enemy of posturing fools on both sides, and a sworn enemy of self-inflated ignoramuses who simply cut-and-paste arguments that they clearly don’t understand (whether these arguments relate to US law or the Bible or medicine or whatever), and an eternally hostile foe of airheads who form opinions of their own, but just parrot whatever fashionable views are circulating in their demographic group.
And in the camp of my enemies, there are a lot of religiously bigoted anti-gay idiots, AND there are a lot of self-proclaimed “proud to be gay” idiots.
So there!
P.S. Confidential, for Cam’s eyes only: “Nanny-nanny boo-boo, stick your head in doo-doo.”