Evil corporations

Labor union leftists and progressives have rushed to join the so-called Wall Street demonstrations started last month by a rag-tag band of college students.

One news account this week described how this might give the protests some “focus,” given that beyond a few standard-issue Berkeley placards railing against capitalism, the demonstrators’ grievances seem a bit scattershot. We shall see.

But all this brings to mind an old episode of “South Park,” in which a group of hippies upset with corporate America hold a protest music festival (think Woodstock) in the small Colorado town in which the animated TV series is set. Two of the characters, Kyle and Stan, both in elementary school, become intrigued with the idea of protest and join the hippies in front of the stage as the festival begins. Here’s the dialogue:

Man 1: “Wow, this band is so crunchy. Dude, I need more weed.”

Stan: “So it seems like we have enough people now. When do we start taking down the corporations?”

Man 1: [Takes a deep drag from his joint.] “Yeah man, the corporations. Right now they’re raping the world for money!”

Kyle: “Yeah, so, where are they? Let’s go get ’em.”

Man 2: “Right now we’re proving we don’t need corporations. We don’t need money. This can become a commune where everyone just helps each other.”

Man 1: “Yeah, we’ll have one guy who like, who like, makes bread. A-and one guy who like, l-looks out for other people’s safety.”

Stan: “You mean like a baker and a cop?”

Man 2: “No, no, can’t you imagine a place where people live together and like, provide services for each other in exchange for their services?”

Kyle: “Yeah. It’s called a town.”

Driver: “You kids just haven’t been to college yet. But just you wait, this thing is about to get huge.”