EDIT: Apologies where you see terms like "we", "collectively", etc and feel that it does not reflect your viewpoint or are unclear how it is. It may not particularly mean you or the DAO. It could entirely be me. This was quickly written up as my gears were turning while typing and wanted to capture it all.
Surprisingly, I am switching sides on this.
As long as there is voting power involved in the airdrop, then I don't think we should go through with it. The associated money from selling? Fine. Getting access to the cool artwork and tech? Fine. Extra Voting Power? Not Fine.
To @RobertoTalamas 's point: Even with the proposed airdrop, the balance of power within ATX DAO will not shift drastically. Even if all current members receive an additional NFT, this will not result in a monopoly of power. The maximum an individual member could wield is three votes, a capacity only held by twelve genesis members. The vast majority of our members will have either one or two votes, maintaining a diverse and distributed decision-making process.
Although it is fair to say that this won't cause a monopoly of power, it just feels like we are headed in that direction. Even if only by a miniscule amount. A DAO should seek to have EVERYONE'S power and voices equal. I would even argue that regardless of your number of NFTs, you still have 1 vote for X NFTs to place instead of X votes for X NFTs.
I agree with the sentiment that early founders and contributors should be rewarded for their efforts, but not in the terms of rewarding them power. Sure, they built the groundwork and structure and made all of this possible, but making it so that their voices are more amplified goes against the ideals of a DAO. It is difficult, and I think we've been blinded by centralization of power recently. The DAO belongs to one person as much as it belongs to a founder/early contributor. It's a hard pill to swallow because many of us see this as our "baby" that we've nurtured and raised, so of course its difficult to let someone else nurture it when we "think" we can do it better. When in reality, the other people will bring new ideas and contributions and help nurture the DAO into something far greater than it currently is.
Although, the DAO has shifted into a more "centralized" mindset recently: Members NEED to be congregated in the Austin area. Members NEED to be KYCed....to name a few quick ones off the top of my head. I don't entirely disagree with these motives/requirements. It's tough when we have to think about the health of the organization and playing properly by the rules (U.S. Laws). But I personally joined this DAO because of the promise of what a DAO could be, following the vision of what a DAO was back in 2021. "Decentralized", "Autonomous", "Organization". A way for everyone's voice to be heard equally and the ability to do that anonymously if they prefer. Along with the ability to make some sort of livable wage through their contributions and efforts and have those contributions/efforts weighed equally when compared to the next person. That is pretty much what a DAO is to me. I think we've done a good job of upholding a lot of DAO values. However, I personally, have recently strayed away and lost the vision, replacing it with money, power, aesthetics. Simply GREED. I will continue to fight the good fight and help keep us clear of the problems introduced with traditional structures. Long story short: I do not think that we should allow the airdrop as long as any form of centralization of power exists alongside it. And of course, and hopefully as always, it ultimately comes down to a decentralized vote.
