Mac vs. PC on Prop. 8

A group called Homo Tracker has produced a series of No On Prop 8 ads spoofing the Mac vs. PC spots, replacing the Mac with the “No On Prop 8″ position and the PC with a “Yes.” [h/t Boi from Troy]

Curious as to if Microsoft or Apple may take the views of their parodied alter-egos seriously, I took a peek at how much employees of each organization were donating to either side of the California anti-gay marriage proposition.

No on 8 PSA: No vs. Yes
So, is the PC fairly represented by a gay marriage ban? Here’s some numbers:

According to campaign finance data on the California Secretary of State’s website, 19 donors identifying themselves as employees of Apple gave a total of $5,745 to ProtectMarriage.com’s initiative to pass Proposition 8, all but one residents of California. Three Microsoft employees also gave to the cause, with their donations totalling $1,220. Two were from Washington State, the third a resident of Provo, UT.

Over on the Vote No On Prop 8 side, 37 Apple employees gave a total of $27,827 to the cause… again all but one California residents. 22 Microsoft employees gave donations totalling $4,495, with half of the donations coming from out of state (largely Seattle).

To be fair, Apple’s advantage comes from being based in Cupertino - obviously with more employees in California than Microsoft, the numbers would reflect them being able to give more regardless of which side of the issue.

However, maybe since gay unions aren’t recognized in Microsoft’s homestate of Washington, perhaps it is fitting that John Hodgman’s portrayal of the aloof PC has been replaced by actor Bob Stephenson’s eager Yes On Prop 8 guy.

The only real conclusion that can be drawn is that jointly, the Mac & Microsoft crowd have put their financial weight in opposition to a gay marriage ban, $32,322 vs. $6,695 for those employees in favor of Prop 8.

      
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