The wizards who market soft drinks know that America is a fad-happy nation, and Pepsi has long been adroit at catching or creating the latest wave. But there is sometimes a dark side to the national thirst to be part of a trend. Jangling deep in the psyche of some souls, it appears, is an irresistible urge to be certified on the 5 o'clock news as a victim, a stoic survivor of sinister forces. Last week Pepsi found itself at the center of one of the weirdest such ripples of the media age, first as alleged victimizer, then as stoic victim.
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