Mean-Spirited Anti-Globalists
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Spiked editor Brendan O'Neill recounts an amazing degree of mean-spiritedness recently exhibited among leftists obsessed with "globalization". Apparently, they're so happy about Starbucks contracting that they're indifferent to (or even gleeful about) the fact that thousands of its employees are losing their jobs.
But what is bad news for coffee-shop workers is brilliant news for well-to-do writers for whom Starbucks' once-unstoppable spread summed up everything that is Rotten about Greedy Capitalism. The 12,000-plus workers without jobs don't even get a mention in one British commentator's overexcited dance on the grave of Starbucks' shut-down stores: "Bad news for Starbucks shareholders, great news for those of us who resent the ubiquitous coffee chain's omnipresence in our towns and cities." Indeed, she thinks it would be a good thing if Starbucks' "US and Oz slump gets a grip here [in Britain]". [Americanized punctuation. Omitted footnotes.]Incredible. You'd have to read it yourself to believe it!
Earlier, after describing the extent of the layoffs, O'Neill recalls that, "In fact, suggested one writer at the end of last week, send them to 're-education camps', North Korea-style, because the skills they learned at cynical Starbucks 'won't be transferable'".
It's interesting that leftists are no longer feeling as much need to hide behind a mask of concern for their fellow man, especially since we are now being asked to sacrifice ourselves to nature (read: "inanimate objects") rather than, at least, to other human beings. (Not that I'm a fan of sacrifice under any circumstances....)
-- CAV
4 comments:
I think it may be conclusive now: Leftists hate success!
The burning question I have is: how big does a business have to get before people start to hate it?
Even though you're half-joking, that's actually a very interesting question, especially when we re-phrase it: "At what point will leftists ADMIT they hate commercial success? To themselves (including when they have it? To others, when they may feel they have to be more guarded about it for one reason or another?"
Even though you're half-joking, that's actually a very interesting question, especially when we re-phrase it: "At what point will leftists ADMIT they hate commercial success?
When it's big enough to no longer be considered "small", which means "weak" to the altruist mind.
Or, to put it another way: when it's strong enough to no longer need *their* protection. The altruist is threatened by someone who does not need something.
Hmmm. And I guess they exempt themselves from such hatred because they are now better able to "help the little guy".
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