I can say it a third time, I'm not against political advocacy.
There is "astroturfung", i.e. pretending you're a grassroots movement when it's actually orchestrated. There is also uber-style "grassroots" campaigning, where you use your existing reach to push your narrative to a broad number of people who are dependent on you.
I think the former is deceptive and the latter is unfair. However both are distinct enough from normal awareness campaigns or organic grassroots movements that I don't see a problem.
To make an analogy, consider a game like soccer. Soccer is inherently competitive, so it makes no sense to get upset about the fact that there is competition. However, mostly, that competition is restricted by the rules of the game. Even this is not the whole picture: There are a number of rules violations which are generally accepted as part of the game and are even part of strategy, such as tackling other players or drawing out the clock. However, there are other rules violations which are clearly outside the acceptable territory, such as defending the goal with a handgun or bribing the referee. I think a similar case can be made for lobbying.
I can say it a third time, I'm not against political advocacy.
There is "astroturfung", i.e. pretending you're a grassroots movement when it's actually orchestrated. There is also uber-style "grassroots" campaigning, where you use your existing reach to push your narrative to a broad number of people who are dependent on you.
I think the former is deceptive and the latter is unfair. However both are distinct enough from normal awareness campaigns or organic grassroots movements that I don't see a problem.
To make an analogy, consider a game like soccer. Soccer is inherently competitive, so it makes no sense to get upset about the fact that there is competition. However, mostly, that competition is restricted by the rules of the game. Even this is not the whole picture: There are a number of rules violations which are generally accepted as part of the game and are even part of strategy, such as tackling other players or drawing out the clock. However, there are other rules violations which are clearly outside the acceptable territory, such as defending the goal with a handgun or bribing the referee. I think a similar case can be made for lobbying.