When I was growing up, my parents always cautioned me to remember that there are two sides to every story. Over the past year I feel that there has been a lot of information about Coca-Cola, Inc. floating around Macalester. However, I feel that the stories that get the most press are the ones that demand action without actual examination of the Coke Company, or the situation that exists in Colombia. I grew up in Georgia, the Coke capital of the world, and I feel that I can expound intelligently on some aspects of the company that many people have not thought about, or have purposely ignored.
Coca-Cola has been found innocent of any wrongdoing in Colombia by judicial courts on two different occasions. In addition, the company was dismissed as a defendant in the lawsuit filed against them in Miami regarding the situation in Colombia. Contrary to what people here would have you think, Coca-Cola does allow its workers to join unions, and one Colombian union has admitted that there is absolutely no evidence implicating Coke in the violence that is taking place there. Perhaps people are dying in Colombia because the country is being torn apart by civil war and is ruled by a paramilitary government. An average of 15 people are killed every month in Colombia, and that has nothing to do with Coke and everything to do with the violent situation in the country itself.
The safety of Colombian employees has been one of Coke’s priorities. The Company has heightened plant security and even provides transportation to and from work, as well as emergency cell phones, and shift and job transfers to employees who feel threatened by local violence in Colombia.
This does not sound like a company that is arranging for the extermination of its workers.
I also think that it is important to observe the kinds of programs that Coca-Cola supports. I happen to know, personally, that the arts community in Atlanta (the home of Coke) would not be the same without support from Coca-Cola. I also know that Georgia schools, and schools across America have benefited from Coke. Coca-Cola, Inc. founded the Art of Harmony program, which supports teenage artists in high schools across the country.
In addition, the Coca-Cola Scholarship supports Higher Education for countless students who might not otherwise be able to afford an education.
In addition to positive community involvement, Coke also supports many activist organizations including: the Atlanta Pride Committee, the American Indian College Fund, the Asian American Alliance, the NAACP, the Human Rights Campaign, the Magic Johnson Foundation, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. In January of 2003, the organization Hope Worldwide honored Coca-Cola Nigeria for the company’s extensive efforts to combat HIV/AIDS. In 2001, Coca-Cola, Inc., was named one of the "50 Best Companies for Minorities" by Fortune Magazine.
So you see, this is the "evil corporation" that we’re trying to kick off our campus: a company that has been found innocent of murder charges, a company that supports schools and education, a company that supports people of color, homosexuals, racial minorities, and people with AIDS. What an insidious organization.
Before you judge something as completely evil, it is always a good idea to explore the issues and to become informed. Students at Macalester love a cause, and much of the time it doesn’t matter what cause, just as long as people are allowed to protest. This sort of blind ideology is something that Macalester students condemn in other people, but overlook in themselves. People with these ideals are so "liberal" that they come full circle to conservatism, completely intolerant of people with differing ideals.
Jumping on the bandwagon (and protesting just to protest, as many college students do) is just as bad whether one is jumping on the Republican bandwagon, or jumping on the Boycott Coke bandwagon-the blind ideology is the same. Coca-Cola is a giant corporation, and there are probably less than stellar aspects to the company. However, it should not go overlooked that Coke has used its status as a large company to change the world for the better, and that’s more than many companies can say.
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