When does a person cross the line from private citizen to public figure?
A friend of mine--who knows what an avid eBayer I am--alerted me last night to a story he'd found on a
gay gossip message board. Seems that eBay CEO Meg Whitman was featured in
an article in Monday's
New York Times, detailing her efforts to raise money for former Massachusetts Governor--and gay rights opponent--Mitt Romney, who is making a bid for the White House in 2008. Here's her quote:
"I've never done anything like this before," said Meg Whitman, the chief executive of eBay, in a break from her callers. "I start out by saying: 'You won't believe where I am! I'm at the Boston Convention Center with four or five hundred other people dialing for contributions for Mitt Romney.' "
Romney, you may recall, is avidly against gay marriage or civil unions, championing a state constitutional amendment in Massachusetts which would take it from the only state to allow same-sex marriage to yet another which officially bans gay and lesbian couples from making legal commitments.
The NYT article upset author and
Out magazine columnist
Josh Kilmer-Purcell, who emailed Hani Durzy, the director of media relations at eBay, for a comment. Durzy replied that Whitman was a private citizen and could "conduct her personal life in a way she deems appropriate."
Which would be fine and good (if regrettable) were it plain old Meg W. soliciting money for Romney. But once she appears in print as
Meg Whitman, the chief executive of eBay, it's her clout as head of the largest internet auction site in the world that makes the item newsworthy. In effect, she's using her position to publicize her politics. That, in my definition, is when she steps over the line and leaves "private citizen" behind.
So, how do I think eBay should respond to the
growing outcry from the GLBT community and its supporters? I think they should do two things: first, remind Whitman that as a public figure, she represents eBay, and should avoid publicly offending millions of eBay customers. If she refuses to stop shilling for bigots, then in my opinion she is the wrong person to head a corporation with a large and diverse clientele, and should be replaced. Second, I think eBay should release a statement distancing the company from Whitman's support of Romney.
As Josh Kilmer-Purcell suggested, I emailed Hani Durzy at eBay, and received what looks like an identical reply from Carolyn Frongner, whose title is Manager, Office of the President:
Dear Marlys Pearson,
Thank you for contacting Hani Durzy regarding the recent announcement about Meg Whitman's participation as a National Finance Co-Chair for Mitt Romney's President Exploratory Committee.
As a private citizen, Meg has opted to support a longtime friend and
former colleague in his quest for the 2008 Presidential nomination. Meg's decision is a personal choice and is not representative of the views or opinions of eBay Inc. eBay thoroughly respects Meg's ability to balance the day-to-day operational needs of our business, while also maintaining an ability to conduct her personal life in a way she deems appropriate.
Thank you again for your correspondence. We appreciate you getting in touch with us to express your views.
Carolyn Frongner
Manager, Office of the President
I hope she'll appreciate my reply, then, too:
Dear Carolyn Frongner,
Such a disappointment to receive a canned reply instead of something that addressed my concerns. My point was that, contrary to "your" assertions (or whomever's, since other people are receiving the same letter signed with different names), when you allow Ms. Whitman to shill for candidates under her title, she IS representing eBay, and is a public figure, not a private citizen.
I'll be blogging about this soon, and hope you hear from many more people. Until Ms. Whitman is told to desist from using the company name to raise money for bigots and a public statement is released distancing eBay from Mr. Whitman's discriminatory views, I will be boycotting eBay and urging my friends, associates and readers to do the same.
Sincerely,
Marlys Pearson
As I sit at my desk and look around the room, I can see literally dozens of items we've bought from eBay over the years: vintage Barbies, books, movie posters, dvds, computer games, collectibles of all kinds. If I crane my head and look around the corner, I can see plenty more recent purchases under the Christmas tree (yeah, it's still up). Like I said, I love eBay. But I will not spend any more money there if they allow the company name to be used in support of anti-gay politicians like Mitt Romney.
If you care, get eBay to care, too. Send an email to Hani Durzy, Director, Corporate Communications eBay Inc., at hdurzy@ebay.com--or directly to the Office of the President at csme@ebay.com and let eBay know how you feel. Then spread the word through your blogs, websites, MySpace pages and bulletins. And in the meantime, stop buying from eBay, until they listen.