Pics and RIPs: A Funeral for Bain Capital's Victims on Copley Square
A
small and somber group of about 25 activists gathered in the shadow
of the Hancock Tower today for a funeral on Copley Square. Dressed in
all-black, satirical grief filling their faces, the mourners –
representing MassUniting and likeminded progressive fronts – came
to sink a casket for the countless jobs that cease to exist as a
result of Hancock tenant Bain Capital's outrageously greedy practices.
The
service was short, with Pastor William Dickerson blasting the
“callous actions” of Bain's “corporate raiders” before
participants amplified the firm's contributions to the unemployment
rolls. Each pillaged company got its own tombstone – DDi
Corporation, where Bain banked tens of millions while firing
thousands of workers; American Pad & Paper, where a similar scene
played out.
Of
course this is all timed to former Mass governor Mitt Romney's
presidential candidacy, which could use a funeral of its own these
days. That despite Romney being less
than integral in a number of these dealings; as was noted in numerous
fact checks of the famously botched anti-Mitt pseudo-doc King of Bain,
he was off saving the Winter Olympics and socializing healthcare when
DDi got plundered.
Still
Bain is bigger than Romney. It's emblematic of why so many things
suck in the age of the super corporation – why the quality at TGI
Friday's has plummeted, and why so many board-run newspapers are
folding. These monsters suck the life, spirit, and resources out of
businesses. There's no consideration for employees or customers. For
villains like Bain, the bottom line is their sole concern.
Romney's
spin chumps can say what they want about these sporadic public
demonstrations. They can claim that those who protest Bain resent
capitalism – even that they're jealous of the pinstriped
chimpanzees who live large on the backs of poor people. But what they
can't say is that they appreciate these kinds of spectacles. Not even
the most naïve Romney drone would swallow that much bullshit.