Now that the controversy over Mozilla's firing of CEO Brendan Eich over his antigay politics has subsided (and before something similar happens again, and it surely will), it's time for a brief tutorial on McCarthyism. Because, if those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, Americans — who don't notice history even as while it's making headlines — are condemned to the endless purgatory of idiocracy.
McCarthyism, also known as the 20th century's second Red Scare, took on several forms in the 1950s. Today, however, let's focus on blackballing. Blackballing, also often known as blacklisting, is the act of denying employment to someone due to political opinions they express, and activities in which they participate, away from the workplace.
The qualifier "away from the workplace" is important. Denying you a paycheck because of your politics — politics you don't express at work — is the core essence of blackballing, and arguably the most powerful torture device in the censor's toolbox.