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From: sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: net.motss
Subject: Re: "Gay Rights"
Message-ID: <1151@bbncca.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 17-Nov-84 21:31:50 EST
Article-I.D.: bbncca.1151
Posted: Sat Nov 17 21:31:50 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 18-Nov-84 05:25:08 EST
References: <214@usfbobo.UUCP> <11300005@acf4.UUCP>
Organization: Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, Ma.
Lines: 28

Yes, I thought I heard dem ol' bones of Ayn Rand rattling in Greenberg's
arguments even before he admitted it.

He's got it all wrong, of course, thinking that I'm putting the "rights
of the programmer" ahead of my own, and that I would end up poorer because
of it.  Let me just say that I would prefer monetary bankruptcy than
ethical and spiritual bankruptcy.  If I see a potential for injustice done
where I would share complicity in the act, it is my duty to make sure that
I avoid it.  That means not doing business with admitted bigots where their
bigotry would attempt to influence my standard operating procedures.
That means withdrawing my offer to any clients who would attempt to
have me discriminate among my employees according to their whims.

Greenberg misunderstands: I, myself, am far better off by refusing to take
the money and reassign the programmer.  The fact that the programmer
benefits, too, is simply a side-effect.  My principles are more important
to me than the damn $9000 or whatever.  The simple fact is that we both
have principles: it is merely that for Greenberg, here, it is materialism:
the almighty buck, the continued existence of a business.

I would like to mention that this discussion is sufficiently far-afield
of the topics of net.motss that it really should be moved, perhaps to
net.politics or net.philosophy, two arenas where the theory of Objectivism
is better battled over.
-- 
/Steve Dyer
{decvax,linus,ima,ihnp4}!bbncca!sdyer
sdyer@bbncca.ARPA