== The whine of voracious liberals = By Mark Morford

[madokie]

Does the extremism of some progressives spell danger to delicious evolution? Well, yes

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/10/12/notes101207.DTL&nl=fix

I hear it nearly every week in response to nearly any column that has anything to do with me daring to say I appreciate or admire or moderately wish to commend some sort of progressive movement or corporation or product, one that appears to be creating some sort of good in the world, moving things forward or upending the status quo or infuriating the religious right and making you think/shop/screw anew.

I get the e-mails. And there is, by and large, a general outpouring of agreement, understanding, clarity. There are also lots of healthy disagreement, discussion, valid points of contention. There is the requisite tiny hunk of phlegmy, grunting hate mail from the turgid and the monosyllabic and the neoconservative. Well and good and lovely.

But then there's this other hunk, a surprisingly large and very whiny group of responders who invariably say something like this: It does not matter that Company X has made impressive strides in environmental awareness or product design or gay rights or whatever the hell you're talking about. It does not matter that maybe you're a little bit right and this is a slightly revolutionary thing you mention.

It is still not enough. Company X has Serious Flaws. Product Y still kills trees in Bangladesh. CEO Z hates kittens and wears fur mittens and once said something mean about transsexual midgets. Therefore, you are completely wrong and I cannot believe you support this company/idea and this must mean you're a capitalist idiot Audi-driving hypocrite and I'm never reading your column again. Unless I do. So there. ...

[rpannier]

1. This is the first time I've ever read his column and I gotta say...

He sounds like a whiner.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I read his columns regularly. He's very good, very funny.

And he's right on with this one.

[madokie]

5. hes always right on in my book too

[gratuitous]

11. He's usually pretty good

But you're right; this is a column of self-absorbed whining. Happens even to the best of columnists, I guess.

[bryant69]

3. Different agendas

If you are a capitalist and believe the system to be a good one, than highlighting those companies who make good choices is a positive. If you believe that capitalism is a bad thing and should be done away with, than highlighting the few good corporations is putting a bandaid at best on a much bigger problem. At worst it's distracting people from seeing the real problem.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Stuckinthebush]

4. Ya gotta love Morford

Yes, zealots are zealots regardless of their left/right stance. They are everywhere and are never satisfied with incremental change. I bet we can find one or two here at DU too! ;)

Thanks for the post!

[renie408]

6. Boy, he is dead on with this. n/t

[Solon]

7. So he lauds companies for having good PR, then has the audacity to lambast liberals for pointing...

out that its just PR? Who the fuck is whining again?

[cali]

9. Actually, I think you make a good point.

Just because a corporation has a good HR policy, doesn't mean they're still not deserving of criticism in their other business practices.

[Solon]

10. I've said this before, I'll say it again, Corporations, especially those that are publicly traded...

are amoral, notice I didn't say IMMORAL, but amoral, there is a difference, though it is slim. If a company can do something that is ethical, and not endanger the bottom line, they will do it. However, that doesn't mean they won't do something that is unethical just to preserve that bottom line. There is no such thing as an ethical or moral company, with the only exception being those that are wholly or majority owned by individuals, which are as moral as their owners. Then again, there is also no such thing as an unethical or immoral company either, many of their acts may be considered moral or immoral, they usually balance each other out.

The question is whether corporations, and the corporate structure, has an overall positive effect on our society, I have my doubts about that.

[cali]

8. Yep.

He's right on with this. Of course there's a segment of the left that's gone around the bend.