Don’t Be Fooled By Fake Names:
Identifying the Negatives When They Try To Hide
Keeps Us On The Path To A Positive Future
By Susan M. Halpern
Former Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)
There is no positive way to be negative. But the folks who would divide us keep trying. Today brings us a new tactic. They’ve apparently formed a new group that encourages all of us to “Expect the Best.” They’ve put out a couple of posts, but you can’t tell who is actually sponsoring the message. So, let’s unpack this latest tactic and do a little detective work.
The message of the posts is the same old story. They attack the current council by claiming that Addison’s “High Standard Culture has waned and dwindled at a dangerous pace in the last two years.” Of course, that two-year period is significant, because the 2016 election was when Addison voters elected a council that was not beholden to or controlled by Addison’s ex-mayor. That is certainly a strong indication that we’re dealing with the same folks with the same old negative message. Next, the postings claim that Addison should expect “higher standards” and a council that should take their duties “seriously.” The clear import is that the current council does not meet these criteria. Again, the same folks with the same old negative message.
So, what do we know about the identity of the person posting? On Next Door the posting was supposedly made by “Aslaugh Lothbrook.” Of course, I immediately wondered, who is “Aslaugh Lothbrook?” Again, with a little detective work, we can see a clear effort to conceal the true source of these postings. First, check the Dallas County records, and you will see as I did that the name “Lothbrook” yields no results. In other words, no one named “Lothbrook” owns property in Dallas County. We also reviewed the voter list, and to no one’s surprise, found that no one named “Lothbrook” voted in Addison’s election last year. We also noted that on the Next Door site, the address for “Aslaugh Lothbrook” is listed as Azure Lane, where the ex-mayor’s partnership owns a house but no one named “Lothbrook” does. Hmmm.
So, who is “Aslaugh Lothbrook?” Well, with even a minimal amount of searching, you will discover as I did that the History Channel has an original scripted series called “Vikings.” And, lo and behold, one of the characters on that show is named “Aslaug Lothbrok.” And that leads me to conclude that “Aslaugh Lothbrook” is likely a fictional name, and thus an effort to conceal the real identity of the person behind the posts. So, why hide? Well, it’s the same tactic we saw last year, when vile campaign pieces were circulated as part of a coordinated attack on Mayor Joe Chow. There, those involved hid behind an innocuously labeled Political Action Committee. This is just more of the same.
Don’t be fooled. It’s the same group, with the same negativity, and the same fundamental attack on anyone who isn’t them. If it’s not their idea, it’s a bad idea. If it’s not their solution, it’s a bad solution. Everyone who isn’t them is awful. According to them. Doesn’t Addison deserve far better than to be subjected to such gamesmanship?