Is it wicked of me to gloat at the little discomfitures occasionally endured by the pampered, overfed, overpaid, contingent of bankers, corporate lawyers, CEO’s and PR people to give them a little poke in their highly feathered nests?
Every time another smug evangelist preacher gets caught with his pants down, or when a millionaire or two is named and shamed as a colossal tax dodger, or when a jetsetting CEO busier with his pleasure yachts than with the environmental damage his company is causing finally gets his comeupance, I am convinced for one short moment that justice is indeed possible.
Only a short moment mind, before the reality of our unjust world takes over again. But can you blame me for enjoying the moment?
A while back I had a little entry on this blog about mining giant Vedanta’s major loss in the Indian courts. It had felt so good to write a headline that went “The Little Guys Win for Once”. So now I have to admit to a thrill of atavistic pleasure when I read of the award that Survival International awarded with tongue-in-cheek cockiness to Vedanta’s PR people - Finsbury PR, and its founder Roland Rudd - for Major PR disaster of the year.
OK, so maybe the polished and urbane Mr Rudd, with his yearly salary of nearly three million pounds isn’t exactly going to be weeping over his Courvoisier and cigars tonight at the jab, but for a former journalist, it can’t be nice can it, the idea that your name is being shot by press release to media organizations around the world as the chief blunderer of the year?
Another poke in the side for the Fat Cats, a small victory to the Little Guys
on Oct 21st, 2010 at 2:26 pm
These cases although rare, are the predictable result of highly powered individuals and/or organizations, extending themselves beyond their limitations set by reality. A false sense of invinceability brought on by self-deceptive hubris, is the powerful illusion to bring on such irrational behavior. However, the overall track record of damage and profiteering successfully achieved before a careering ending blunder usually outweighs the costs to the perpetrator. Moreover, the continuous chain of command ensures that the cycle of exploitation continues, at a great net loss to the many who must endure such callous behaviors over time. Still, Dheera, you are more than right to celebrate the small victories as they arise, for the sake alone of hope that some saner times will come.