No, I am not Astroturf
I didn’t want to have to write this. Please don’t read it.
This is a guide for people who question my identity and credibility. Since a couple of my blog posts on a contentious issue have gone viral, these attacks are now more frequent, baseless, and nasty. I’m super-happy to engage in debates on housing policy, Airbnb, the political process, short-term renting, technology, what the tech industry is doing to SF, or any other public issue. But if you’d just rather attack me, I’ll just send this to you and then we can stop chatting.
I have been active in politics for my entire adult life, going to back to volunteering for Governor Bill Clinton in his 1992 campaign for president. In all that time, I have never sought to make my activities about myself. But since proponents of Proposition F (the “Airbnb law”) have attempted to paint every political activity opposed to them as “Astroturf,” I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time defending myself for the purposes of defending the credibility of my reasoning.
So, you can stop reading. I’m numbering this list so I can just start replying “Please see #3” or whatever and send a link.
- No, I do not work for Airbnb. No, I do not work for a company that works for Airbnb. No, I have not been paid for anything I wrote about Proposition F or the campaign against Airbnb. No, Airbnb did not write it, influence it, or review it. I’ll take it as a compliment that you think I’m a professional at this. I am not.
2. No, I am not anonymous. You are literally two clicks away from my Twitter right now. Here’s my LinkedIn profile for good measure. See, I’m a real person! I may even be your neighbor. I hope we can be friends even if we don’t agree on everything.
My username on Medium is “Emey” which is a portmanteau of my real name. Again, I’m not looking for attention for myself. Also, one time in a Facebook group using my real name, someone threateningly replied with my home address and what my kids looked like. I flagged it. That stuff is scary. I don’t know how politicians do this every day.
3. No, I am not a PR flack. I don’t work in PR, and I never have. I have friends who work in PR — they’re great people. How about we not impugn an entire profession, y’all?
But still, that’s not me. Here’s a suggestion: If you want to know if someone who’s on Twitter works in PR, you can just tweet at them, “Do you work in PR?” and they might answer you!
4. I have chosen not to talk about my career because it is irrelevant. My political opinions and exercise of free speech are not connected to my work, and I don’t want my employer to be dragged into this political nastiness. I value my job and my career. I work in marketing at a company that uses technology to drive its business. If you think your job makes you morally superior to me, then… actually it might! I sincerely thank you for your service to our community.
Also, please stop with this. Every company in the history of the world has owners, investors, shareholders. So does yours. (WHO IS PAYING YOU???) I’m glad y’all think I have this much sway in the tech sector, but I don’t get invited to billionaire parties.
I am very happy in middle management. (People seem to get confused about job titles. Also, I don’t know Ron Conway, thanks.)
5. Yes, I’ve read that response post by the former attorney in Massachusetts. Thanks for sending it again. I sincerely appreciate that someone wrote a response to my arguments, and not just another post about what a corrupt hack I must be. I disagree with many of that blog’s points, and I think it fails to comprehend California’s ballot proposition system and the speed with which technology companies and consumers will adapt to this unamendable law. Anyway, I bet that gentleman got a lot of pageviews. If he moves to SF, he’ll do great here.
6. Yes, I know Airbnb is spending a lot of money on this election. Yes, I agree the “No on F” ads are hyperbolic. Yes, I agree Airbnb’s “you’re welcome for the taxes we paid” billboards were really lame and arrogant. No, these don’t change my opinion on whether this proposition should be law, and they shouldn’t change yours, either. Ballot initiatives are Serious Business — they’re laws that no legislator can fix — and we shouldn’t treat them as opinion polls or expressions of our feelings. No matter how you’re voting, I hope you take this responsibility seriously.
7. No, I don’t have any units for rent. Yes, I used to rent out a spare room on nights when my family wasn’t staying with us, but I’m out of the game at this moment. I’m remaining active in this election because I think using a ballot proposition to regulate a dynamic new market is doomed to fail, and I think this Proposition is written in a way where the “cure” is targeting the wrong disease, and the side effects will be awful.
8. No, I’m not a libertarian or a “techno-anarchist” or a plutocrat or anything like that. I don’t hate the poor. I’m generally a liberal Democrat. I think taxes should be more progressive, climate change is an emergency, money needs to get out of politics, and that working people are getting screwed.
9. Yes, I agree that the phrase “sharing economy” is stupid. Did you know that the word “sharing” doesn’t usually imply a financial transaction? That’s been explained to me many times, even though I never use that phrase. Have you ever seen or heard me using it? No, I don’t love the term “homesharing” either, but I’m waiting for someone to devise something more graceful than “renting a private room or home on a short-term basis.” Yes, I agree that Uber… wait, why are you talking about Uber now?
10. I’m friendly and polite by nature. You don’t have to talk about me, you can talk to me. I’d love to hear from you!
