Bad Companies
Source: Colin Kaepernick earns support from diverse chorus, including John Brennan, over Nike ad | Fox News
Many may recall back in our university or college days, that the targets of student antipathy were the large mega- corporations that were ostensibly responsible for inflicting all kinds of ills upon society. Big oil in particular was seen as evil since they were heartless goliaths that trampled upon the rights and freedoms of the plain folk in their single minded pursuit of the dollar.
Valid or not, protests against the perceived evils of these large corporations became more common as people use their voices to hold large companies to account for their activities. To this day, if a rare species of grub may be endangered by a pipeline or a dam, a veritable village of protesters appears to protest the project and by extension, the company behind it. The standard pushback was against “the military industrial complex” which was the oppressor of the people. Today, the issues that get people to wearing masks and holding signs are more bizarre and comical, ranging from the protests against drinking straws and grocery bags, all the way to free speech in general.
With the passage of time, the perception of the evil corporation has not really changed, though many have made significant concessions to public sensibilities. What has gone unnoticed is the rise of other corporate behemoths whose reach and negative influence is far more pervasive than those demonized in past generations.
Without exaggeration, the majority of the world is now subject to the activities of a handful of powerful companies. Unless you have been living in the deep Amazonian rainforest, your life has been touched by Google, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix,Twitter and Apple. Together these companies influence virtually every aspect of people’s daily activities. They all have the same common denominator of providing some form of convenience to a public that needs and craves instant gratification. This is best expression of capitalism; a need is identified and is addressed by a service. This continues the legacy of Henry Ford, Eli Whitney and Jacob W. Davis of Levi Strauss fame.
What’s different about today’s modern behemoths is that they aren’t content just to sell people on products and services. They are also very much intent on shaping the way people think. Not happy just to make billons of dollars by selling lifestyle, they are shaping mindsets. As if they were characters in a Bond film, we have actual real life “Villains” who are controlling the thought processes of hundreds of millions of people.
The recent announcement by Nike of their new sales campaign posting Colin Kaepernick as their icon, adds that company to the list of mercenary companies that would have been loudly protested back 30 years ago. To be fair, Nike’s business demographic are younger people, particularly the black demo, who are more likely to sympathize with Kaepernick’s actions. Older people, less likely to support Kaepernick’s actions are less likely to be customers anyway. But if this decision is based solely on business, they had every opportunity to propose someone who is of genuinely heroic stature; a guy like Pat Tillman springs to mind. Some may know that Tillman gave up his professional football career to serve his country by joining the army in the wake of 9-11 and then was tragically killed in action.
Instead, Nike has chosen to insert their political viewpoint in championing Kaepernick, not in spite of, but because of his protests against the national flag. He is the Jane Fonda of the modern epoch.
People once mobilized against what they perceived to be the evilness of large corporations. It’s ironic now that corporations have never been more invasive and manipulative…and no one protests. It’s much more disturbing that the people currently being celebrated for their actions, are anti-heroes… instead of real ones.
