Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, October 15, 2021 GREATER BOSTON LEAGUE NOTEBOOK: Everett boys and girls soccer heating up; Malden girls volleyball in huge comeback win over Revere By Steve Freker T he Crimson Tide of Everett High soccer fortunes are heating up on both the boys and girls teams in recent days. Everett boys’ soccer registered a pair of valuable wins over Greater Boston League leader Medford and third-place holder Malden to soar within a point of the top spot in the league standings. Everett claimed a 2-2 tie with Medford to improve to 7-1-2 in the GBL. Senior Luan Cruz scored both goals for the Tide, as Everett rallied back from 2-0 and 2-1 deficits. Everett also earned a 3-1 win over Malden in recent games. Dan Cadet was the #1 star for the Tide, scoring two goals for Everett while Gui Meireles added a single goal. Aman Chetri scored the lone goal for Malden. Malden (5-3-5 overall) got a heartbreaking tie with nonleaguer Winthrop on Saturday at home, as the visiting Viking scored the game-tying goal with only 2 seconds left to play. Everett girls took a 2-1 victory over Malden. Garcia supplied the offense for the Crimson Tide, scoring twice for Everett, for all the offense. Malden High girls’ volleyball in comeback win over Revere, 3-2 Malden High girls’ volleyball nears tourney spot with comeback win over Revere, 3-2 It looked bleak for Malden girls’ volleyball for a good part of the night Wednesday, but it sure got a lot brighter in a hurry. Trailing 2-1 in sets, dropping Malden High girls’ volleyball and head coach Dan Jurkowski held their "Pink Out" game on Wednesday and pulled put a big comeback win over visiting Revere, 3-2. (Advocate Photo) Malden needs to go at least 2-21 or 3-2 in its last five games to get a postseason berth in the MIAA Division 1 State Boys Soccer Tournament. Everett Girls Soccer knocks off Malden, 2-1 The Everett High girls soccer team topped Malden, 2-1 and fell to Medford, 3-2 in the past week of games. Against Medford, sophomore captain Layla Betancur-Cardona and freshman Yelsa Garcia scored goals for the Crimson Tide. ~ Guest Commentary ~ Going Woke: An Insider’s Look at Corporate America’s “Social Justice Scam” By Dr. Richard D. Kocur Coca-Cola, Google, Delta Airlines, Blackrock, Unilever, and Facebook. On its face, this list may sound like a great investment portfolio. Instead, as shown in a new book by former biotech CEO Vivek Ramaswamy, these companies serve as the posterchildren of woke capitalism. Ramaswamy, author of Woke, Inc.- Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam, uses examples from these companies, and many others, to assert his belief that woke organizations who signal commitments to various social causes do so to scam consumers with “the illusion that by engaging in normal acts of consumption we’re fulfilling our social obligations.” Said another way, consumers are being scammed to believe that supporting the right companies with our money somehow makes the world a better place. Ramaswamy’s wide-ranging book clearly comes down in support of traditional shareholder capitalism—where the main duty of a company is the commitment to driving value for its shareholders. This is juxtaposed with many of the examples the author provides of stakeholder capitalism—defined by corporations that believe they have a duty to address the societal issues important to their stakeholders, such as climate change and racism. The obvious implication is that anyone could be a stakeholder and thus all issues facing society are issues worthy of corporate attention and support or opposition. Even without the information presented in Woke, Inc., one can see stakeholder capitalism at play in the corporate actions following the death of George Floyd and the passage of Georgia’s voting law. In one of the more interesting points in the book, the author links the increasingly woke actions of corporations with an ever-growing political divide; in essence, using companies as proxies to signal political identity. Ramaswamy states, “When corporations take sides in America’s partisan culture war, they’re not just signaling their tribe, they’re selling you an easy way to signal yours.” The author’s point is exemplified by the tug-of-war over Goya Foods. When Goya Foods’ CEO Robert Unanue lauded President Donald Trump, Goya was immediately subject to boycotts and protests. If one purchased Goya products it signaled support for Trump, whereas conversely if one boycotted Goya, it was a statement in opposition to Trump. This trend is not just dangerous for companies like Goya, but for our democratic process in general. A preference for a particular soft drink, clothing brand, or chicken sandwich should have no bearing on political affiliation or social connections. Ramaswamy also provides additional background on the rise of woke capitalism by noting the influence of big tech, academia, foreign governments, and what he calls the “new managerial class.” And though these areas are connected to the actions of many of today’s corporations, the author misses an opportunity to delve more deeply into the significant influence of social media, particularly Twitter, when it comes to corporate motivations. In addition, the reader of Woke, Inc. will likely be left wanting when it comes to solutions for stemming the influence of woke corporations. For example, the author’s proposal for protecting the speech rights of employees within a woke corporation are too legalistic and, frankly, unrealistic to consider viable. Lastly, while the actions of woke corporations are apparent and harmful, their true motivation for such actions are not entirely clear. Ramaswamy’s assertion that these corporations are purposefully using woke causes as an opportunity to increase profits at times borders on the conspiratorial. Nonetheless, Woke, Inc. is an informative and enlightening book on the current state of corporate America and provides good background for those interested in learning more about stakeholder capitalism. Despite some of its shortcomings, it’s a book that can arm consumers with something more valuable than the buying power of any coupon. It provides them with the knowledge to make informed decisions about what, when, why, and from whom they buy. —Dr. Richard D. Kocur is an assistant professor of business at Grove City College. He specializes in marketing and business strategy and has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry. both by the two-point minimum, Malden fought back and took another very close decision to win the fourth set and tie the match at 2-2. Malden kept on task in the fifth and deciding set, winning by a 15-11 margin to win the match. Revere fell to 8-9 overall with the loss while Malden improved to 8-4 with the win. Malden was especially excited since they were billing the game as a fundraiser "Pink Out" game to further Breast Cancer Research.
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