I wandered over to PowerLine to see what was bothering the boys from Minneapolis. The current screed has to do with the reaction to the commencement address by PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi to Columbia University's Business School. The PowerBoys displayed their need to revel in their self-imposed sense of victimhood.
"Yesterday the Web site of PepsiCo flagged what Indra Nooyi's public relations statement on her graduation remarks at the Columbia Business School MBA recognition ceremony this past Sunday. In her statement Ms. Nooyi wrote that her remarks had unfortunately been "misconstrued." "
http://www.powerlineblog.com/
What on earth had she said to illicit such a response?
To summarize, she had used her international perspective to tell those aspiring business leaders about her understanding of the world. She likened the five continents to the five fingers of the hand, each with their own accompanying characteristics. Perhaps the reaction was that she had presented North America as the middle finger with all the accompanying implications.
My feeling, however, is it that the major objection came because she had used the address as occasion to relate an anecdote about the boorish behavior of a group of American businessmen in Beijing. Like vampires, they are repulsed by the reflection of their own image.
Read her address for yourself:
http://www.pepsico.com/Speech-ColumbiaBusinessSchool.pdf