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Add me to the list of folks drawing a line between corporations and the folks that run them. Case in point - my own company, which is owned by a very large bank. There is apparently a large website devoted to how much the bank sucks because of some foreclosures they've made in the past. One of my coworkers found a reference to the guy that runs our division with some insulting things. In my opinion, the guy is one of the nicest human beings on the face of the planet and has little or nothing to do with foreclosures that may or may not be justified. However, he's being tarred with the same brush as the bankers.
Another example - AIG is the largest insurance company in the world, and they are notorious for not paying claims as quickly as some people would like. It's a double-edge sword, though. If your house burns down, you curse AIG for taking a week or two to get you the check. If you're sued for setting someone else's house on fire, and AIG won't pay the claimant, you think they're great since you didn't set the fire in the first place (except you, MrSelfDestruct - I've seen your video). It can be a matter of perspective.
As a stockholder in several large companies, I'm sometimes distressed by what companies will do in my name. One of my holdings just layed off a couple hundred people to move a manufacturing operation. Personally, I'm not very pleased about that, but I would be pissed if I didn't get my dividend statement at the end of the quarter. There are fine lines here.
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
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