Microsoft can not win
No this is not an anti-MS post. I feel sorry for them in this post. They are getting pressure from 2 sides of a HOT political issue. The issue is homosexual stuff. First let me say I do not believe homosexuality is a moral activity, but the contrary is an abomination to God as stated in the Bible. But what is going on is MS was backing a pro-homosexual bill, they got pressure from a local pastor (local to their area) so they decided to just pull support, and they are neither supporting it nor speaking against it. Now the pro-homosexual groups are threading a boycott, and if they were to support it, some of the people in the Bible belt would threaten a boycott. So it looks like MS in unpleasant area, and I think they are making the right decision (as they do in abortion) they have no voice on the issue, because the stock holders and employees will have all kind of options, and to take a stand on a political issue that is HOT and not part of their business is just a bad idea, and a way to loss customers and make stockholders upset. So I feel sorry for MS and co, they have found themselves where they do not belong, nor do they belong.
One thing that’s interesting in all corporations, stuck in these political/moral/ethical positions, is that they typically go against the conservative moral/ethical/political views. That’s because they are trying to do business and make money. Look at the heads of Enron, etc, companies… they stole billions and left hard working americans out to dry. Others create products that go against the moral grain, such as a handheld game that came out after 9/11 where you play a terrorist trying to fly planes into WTC without getting shot down. Others are just plain wrong – those “Support our troops” and all the american flags that propped up after 9/11 – they’re all made in china. This is because it’s almost unheard of to have a very successful multi-billion dollar business without screwing someone or bending/breaking the laws a bit (either in past or present). I don’t know why Microsoft stuck its nose into this business – they should have stayed out of it. They should continue to lobby the justice department so they don’t go to court on monopoly charges – they should stick to that – it’s what they do best =]