No, Eich's $1000 didn't singlehandedly determine a law. It's peanuts. It's nothing. On the other hand, this witch hunt did singlehandedly disenfranchise him of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of employment.
The pro-prop-8 side spent $39M. The passage of the amendment caused the state to stop recognizing 18,000 previously-legitimate marriages. So if you count only immediate effects, his $1000 contribution works out to 0.46 marriages, or destroying the marriage of about one person. Is the emotional harm done to that person worth hundreds of thousands of dollars? It's at least comparable.
In fact I think the harm done to Californians and other Americans by the passage of prop 8 is vastly more than is implied by that simple calculation. I'll just link to my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7525692
dnr|12 years ago
In fact I think the harm done to Californians and other Americans by the passage of prop 8 is vastly more than is implied by that simple calculation. I'll just link to my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7525692
momentarily|12 years ago
eevee|12 years ago
It's not a witch hunt if we really did catch him red-handed using his magical powers for evil.
momentarily|12 years ago
Your moral judgment concerns no one but you. It is binding on no one but you.
You are a bigot. Everyone that is complicit in disenfranchising this man of employment because of his political opinions is a bigot.
Political persecution doesn't just happen in the third world. It also happens here. And it's a crime against humanity wherever it happens.
You are responsible for what you did. I am holding you responsible for your actions. I am holding you responsible for what you did to this man.