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Tell me more about the millions dead because of coke. Are you going to apologize for criminals because people have free will? Did coke force people to drink it?

ipython 3y ago
I believe the thread started with a veiled reference to the Sacklers and the lack of jail time related to the manufacture, marketing and covering up the fact that they knew of widespread abuse of OxyCotin (opioids).
drekk 3y ago
It's so funny to watch commentators on HN act like every relationship sports two equal parties that individually are "autonomous rational agents" Coke is cheaper than bottled water because of the aggressive subsidies they've pursued. The reason that poverty is correlated with obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dementia (among others) is not politically neutral or ethically innocent. It's a byproduct of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible. Sure, you're right, the board of coca cola did not put a gun to my head and force me to do a kegger with their sodas. They "only" spent more than the discretionary budgets of some nation states to get kids "craving" (read: addicted to) high fructose corn syrup. Speaking of guns and forcing people though, are we going to talk about how the company funds paramilitary forces in countries such as Columbia where they kill union activists? I guess those people are foreigners so they don't really enter the calculus. There's nothing more quintessentially American than funding death squads in Latin America I suppose. https://prospect.org/features/coca-cola-killings/ https://prospect.org/features/coca-cola-killings/ Watching people defend multinationals that would turn them into Soylent Green for 0.01% higher quarter-quarter growth is tragic.
- beardedwizard 3y ago
  No, we aren't because this is a story about IP theft. Why the comments devolved into apologizing for criminals is beyond me. Nobody is defending multinationals, theft is theft is theft regardless of your politics or personal agenda.
- gruez 3y ago
  >Coke is cheaper than bottled water because of the aggressive subsidies they've pursued. Source? Last time I looked into it[1], the claim didn't hold up to scrutiny. >Speaking of guns and forcing people though, are we going to talk about how the company funds paramilitary forces in countries such as Columbia where they kill union activists? I guess those people are foreigners so they don't really enter the calculus. There's nothing more quintessentially American than funding death squads in Latin America I suppose. https://prospect.org/features/coca-cola-killings/ https://prospect.org/features/coca-cola-killings/ I skimmed the article and couldn't find anything that supports the claim that "the company funds paramilitary forces". It mentions there's a lawsuit that claims coca-cola was "complicit" (which by the way, ended up being dismissed[2]), and outlines violence against labor organizers by the paramilitaries, but stops short of claiming they were funded by the company. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36841407 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36841407 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinaltrainal_v._Coca-Cola_Co https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinaltrainal_v._Coca-Cola_Co.
gruez 3y ago
>Are you going to apologize for criminals because people have free will? Typically victims of crime didn't choose to be harmed out of their own free will. A murder victim didn't consent to be killed. In that case I'm not sure how "free will" applies. People suffering from the negative effects of coke however, did consume it out of their free will.
- beardedwizard 3y ago
  > People suffering from the negative effects of coke however, did consume it out of their free will. That is exactly my point. The implication in many comments is that the crime is ok because "coca cola bad" - it's not.

ipython 3y ago

I believe the thread started with a veiled reference to the Sacklers and the lack of jail time related to the manufacture, marketing and covering up the fact that they knew of widespread abuse of OxyCotin (opioids).

drekk 3y ago

It's so funny to watch commentators on HN act like every relationship sports two equal parties that individually are "autonomous rational agents" Coke is cheaper than bottled water because of the aggressive subsidies they've pursued. The reason that poverty is correlated with obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dementia (among others) is not politically neutral or ethically innocent. It's a byproduct of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible. Sure, you're right, the board of coca cola did not put a gun to my head and force me to do a kegger with their sodas. They "only" spent more than the discretionary budgets of some nation states to get kids "craving" (read: addicted to) high fructose corn syrup. Speaking of guns and forcing people though, are we going to talk about how the company funds paramilitary forces in countries such as Columbia where they kill union activists? I guess those people are foreigners so they don't really enter the calculus. There's nothing more quintessentially American than funding death squads in Latin America I suppose. https://prospect.org/features/coca-cola-killings/ https://prospect.org/features/coca-cola-killings/ Watching people defend multinationals that would turn them into Soylent Green for 0.01% higher quarter-quarter growth is tragic.

beardedwizard 3y ago
No, we aren't because this is a story about IP theft. Why the comments devolved into apologizing for criminals is beyond me. Nobody is defending multinationals, theft is theft is theft regardless of your politics or personal agenda.
gruez 3y ago
>Coke is cheaper than bottled water because of the aggressive subsidies they've pursued. Source? Last time I looked into it[1], the claim didn't hold up to scrutiny. >Speaking of guns and forcing people though, are we going to talk about how the company funds paramilitary forces in countries such as Columbia where they kill union activists? I guess those people are foreigners so they don't really enter the calculus. There's nothing more quintessentially American than funding death squads in Latin America I suppose. https://prospect.org/features/coca-cola-killings/ https://prospect.org/features/coca-cola-killings/ I skimmed the article and couldn't find anything that supports the claim that "the company funds paramilitary forces". It mentions there's a lawsuit that claims coca-cola was "complicit" (which by the way, ended up being dismissed[2]), and outlines violence against labor organizers by the paramilitaries, but stops short of claiming they were funded by the company. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36841407 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36841407 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinaltrainal_v._Coca-Cola_Co https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinaltrainal_v._Coca-Cola_Co.

gruez 3y ago

>Are you going to apologize for criminals because people have free will? Typically victims of crime didn't choose to be harmed out of their own free will. A murder victim didn't consent to be killed. In that case I'm not sure how "free will" applies. People suffering from the negative effects of coke however, did consume it out of their free will.

beardedwizard 3y ago
> People suffering from the negative effects of coke however, did consume it out of their free will. That is exactly my point. The implication in many comments is that the crime is ok because "coca cola bad" - it's not.