"I... told.... you...NO MORE ANTI AMERICAN SPEECHES!"
Posted on 05/20/2005 2:58:53 PM PDT by Pikamax
Nooyi apologises for 'slight of hand' to protect PepsiCo
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2005 12:27:06 AM] Sign into earnIndiatimes points MUMBAI: Indra Nooyi, whose ‘America-as-the-middle-finger’ remarks ignited a raging blogstorm in the US, has tendered a formal apology after an initial clarification failed to douse irate Americans calling for a Pepsi boycott.
“I appreciate the honest comments that have been shared with me since then, and am deeply sorry for offending anyone,” she said in a statement posted on the Pepsi website. “Over the years I have witnessed and advised others how a thoughtless gesture or comment can hurt good caring people. Regrettably, I have proven my own point. Please accept my sincere apologies,” she added.
In her Sunday speech at the Columbia Business School graduation ceremony, Ms Nooyi had compared the five continents of the world to the five fingers of the hand. Europe was the index finger, Asia was the thumb, Africa the little finger and the US, the middle finger.
She said that the world regards Americans as boorish and therefore, they (Americans) must exercise caution and engender respect among the world. She also said that as the middle finger anchors the hand, it has a great responsibility to ensure that the hand functions smoothly.
The apology came after an initial clarification over her remarks at Columbia on Sunday failed to make critics hold their fire. Ms Nooyi had said that her remarks were “misconstrued and depicted in a different sort of context as unpatriotic”. “Although nothing could be further from the truth, I regret any confusion or concern that I may have inadvertently created,” the statement released by PepsiCo on Wednesday had said.
It is not known if even this apology will help. Irate Americans are asking for a boycott of Pepsi products, an explanation from Pepsi CEO Stephen Reinemund on a television or a talk show, while others are even hinting at drastic measures.
“The blunder needs to be contained. Abject apology followed by abject apology. Decide right now whether Indra Nooyi matters more than a lasting black eye. Think about the brand,” said a posting on hughhewitt.com, a well-known blog.
Ordinary Americans also seem to be upset. Graduate Wes Martin, who first informed www.powerlineblog.com about the speech, told the New York Sun that he was quite disturbed.
“My family had flown a great distance and spent a great deal of money to come and celebrate a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and were disturbed that the president and CFO of a US-based company made such a comparison at a business school ceremony,” he said.
Another reader, Hugh Marshall, questions the very basis of Ms Nooyi’s analogy. “Since when does the middle finger anchor the hand? Jerry Garcia didn’t even have a middle finger and it didn’t stop him from playing the guitar.
The opposing thumb is far more important and if there is any analogy here, it is that the US is a big opposing thumb that keeps the rest of the world from losing its grasp,” he added.
Eric Egland, member of the Iraqi Field Team’s Improvised Explosive Device Task Force, wrote that he had been humbled by the gratitude displayed by many Iraqis and Afghan people to the US for their action and that he found her comments offensive and off-base.
The U.S. is a continent? WOW!!!
I don't know if you read her entire address to Columbia. If you didn't please do. Her unpatriotic anti-Americanism is obvious.
Yeah, kinda. I'm not sure why people are getting so worked up over this, except that they're in the habit. They see America and "middle finger" and conclude the worst without reading the speech.
"This land we call home is a most-loving, ever-giving nation -- a "promised land" that we love dearly in return. And it represents a true force that -- if used for good -- can steady the hand, along with global economies and cultures."
"Yet, to see us frequently stub our fingers on the international business and political stage is deeply troubling. Truth be told, the behaviors of a few sully the perception for us all. And we know how often perception is mistaken for reality."
So she thinks that anti-American perception around the world is inaccurate and unfair, and that the negative behaviors of a few -- presumably like the jerks in China -- give rise to that perception.
Sorry, but I read the speech, and you are incorrectly insinuating that prefacing or including her supposed love for this country automatically exempts the rest of her asinine diatribe from scrutiny, IMO.
Not. Good. Enough.
Not nearly.
Englishmen are the policemen.
French are the cooks.
Germans are the businessmen.
Swiss are the bankers.
And the Italians are the lovers.
Let's add that naturalized-American, arrogant, over-educated, Indian-born intellectuals are the pricks.
This is the response I got. It includes her apology:
Thank you for contacting us about Indra Nooyi’s recent commencement speech at Columbia University, which has created a difficult situation.
Please know how sorry we are for disappointing you – and how much we appreciate your input. Feedback such as yours has been shared directly with Indra, and she clearly regrets this unfortunate episode. With that in mind, Indra has asked us to share this statement with you:
"Following my remarks to the graduating class of Columbia University's Business School in New York City, I have come to realize that my words and examples about America unintentionally depicted our country negatively and hurt people.
I appreciate the honest comments that have been shared with me since then, and am deeply sorry for offending anyone. I love America unshakably -- without hesitation -- and am extremely grateful for the opportunities and support our great nation has always provided me.
"Over the years I've witnessed and advised others how a thoughtless gesture or comment can hurt good, caring people. Regrettably, I've proven my own point. Please accept my sincere apologies."
-- Indra Nooyi
Thanks once more for taking the time to contact us here at PepsiCo. We truly value your very conscientious point of view, and promise to work just as diligently at regaining your trust and confidence.
Sincerely,
PepsiCo
I always tell them that if they want to make an impact on the world, go back to India and fix the caste system. Now THAT would be a contribution toward improving humanity -- instead of coming here, getting fat on the fruits of our freedom, and insulting the greatest country on earth.
I'll be drinking Minute Maid orange juice at breakfast this weekend!
Automatically exempts? No. But I do look at the whole, not a word here and there out of context.
As for asinine and diatribe, I don't know that I can or would want to argue with asinine -- she's clearly not the sharpest knife in the drawer -- but I dunno about diatribe. To me it sounded like "Be good little boys and girls when you go overseas!"
Run a commercial with Nooyi doing a Chris Farley, slapping her forehead and going "STUPID STUPID STUPID!!!"
They could have written back a big F.U. instead - it wouldn't matter. It won't change her political activities.
Better yet, write directly to the Pepsi Board of Directors:
PepsiCo Board of Directors
PepsiCo, Inc.
700 Anderson Hill Road
Purchase, NY 10577
BoardofDirectors@pepsi.com
Yeah, Pepsi is just nasty.
And it doesn't go good with any liquor!!! lol
No. She's blaming the Bush administration for not bowing to the likes of the EU, UN, etc.
They should send her packing. It is contemptable behavior and this "apology" is even more contemptable. SHe has no love for this nation whatsoever. She should head back to India.
Nuts. Can't boycott what I never used in the first place.
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