For the record, I know that many moons ago, I said we wouldn't be discussing political or politically related issues on this blog. Well, its my damn blog and I'm going to break the rules. If you are unhappy with my political leanings or issues on certain topics, I don't give a damn. And if you are seriously boycotting British Petroleum, you are an idiot.
British Petroleum is no doubt responsible for the worst environmental catastrophe in the history of our country. They are liable and likely negligent as more information comes out about their lack of safety and disaster preparation.
What really irks me about this whole thing is that to be a fat, dumb and happy American requires that you watch a few 22 second news clips depicting some poor sap of an oil-stained pelican being washed in Palmolive dish detergent, become righteously indignant and proclaim that your giant moral stand will come in the form of joining a Facebook page called "Boycott BP". Then, shortly before you fall asleep feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside because your moral stand will somehow magically save 17 crude-coated sea turtles, you realize that you have actually done nothing more than convince some other idiots more pretentious than you to specifically avoid patronizing BP. The end result is that the small business owner who owns the BP station and does not work for BP will be forced to layoff the overnight kid who works the register while trying to get through college. Then the stock takes a hit and pensions, pensions belonging to policemen, firefighters, teachers who have investments tied up in BP begin to suffer. And then BP has no money and you switch to the Facebook group "Make BP pay for the cleanup!!" except BP doesn't have any more money because you bought the gas for your SUV from Chevron because it made you feel better about the damn Pelican.
Really people, think this one through. I'm not letting BP off the hook, I'm just trying to point out that college freshman activism is cute until you start looking at the big picture and realize that it's a bit more complex than "Boycott BP" and that really, we're all in this together.
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3 comments:
Interesting commentary…
I may fall into the idiot, righteously indignant camp, however I have chosen not to support BP (or its numerous independent business owners operating under the BP name) since 2007 due to a number of factors beyond oily pelicans. My primary objection is the BP brand positioning as an environmentally responsible organization while attempting to increase industrial waste dumping into Lake Michigan, including ammonia and suspended solids containing insoluble toxins like mercury, lead, and nickel. While this waste is a byproduct of crude oil production regardless of the location, the Great Lakes are a particularly fragile system that has taken decades to recover from the previous industrial dumping that prompted the Clean Water Act of 1977. BP’s deliberate actions to pollute the drinking water for 8 million people while touting eco-friendly messaging disillusioned me as a consumer and angered me as a potentially impacted citizen, therefore, I made a choice not to contribute to BP’s bottom line (albeit a miniscule amount in the grand scheme of things). Pretentious – maybe, but I feel that if I actively support the business I have no room to disapprove the practice of polluting the Great Lakes . It interesting to note that in this case, activism and public outcry resulted in BP reversing its decision to increase waste dumping.
In the case of the Gulf crisis, I am not only concerned about the impact on wildlife (including the poor pelicans and sea turtles), but also on the people and industries reliant on the Gulf ecosystem to function. For example, P&J Oyster Company, a 134-year institution in New Orleans, had to suspend operations due to the tactics used to (attempt to) contain the leaking oil. While it might not be an investment cash cow for retirement funds like big oil, the negligence of BP undermines industries like the $131M oyster/ $6.5B overall commercial fishing economy in the Gulf. In an area of the country that has seen its fair share of crippling blows, this catastrophic event was not a force of nature but of industry. Maybe it’s naïve to continue my moral stand against BP on the basis of my personal principles, maybe it’s idealist to think that the consumer’s decision to purchase elsewhere will contribute to increasing the accountability level of this massive conglomerate in the future, and maybe it’s an insignificant effort when it comes down to my small sphere of influence – but my decision not to support BP or its franchisees is more complex than greasy sea-dwelling creatures or fleeting news clips. We may agree to disagree on whether or not a boycott of BP is the right approach, but there is an area of common ground…I agree that we are all in this together and that it will take a lot more than a passing moment of concern to move forward.
SB
Thanks SB, I guess it took some righteous idignation on my part to evoke a comment from a reader, something I've been trying to elicit from my readership (all 14 of them) for some time now.
But, thanks for the comment, definitely got me thinking some more about this. I'll have a follow up soon.
Nothing like politics to get the pot stirred up a bit....glad I could contribute to your response campaign. :)
SB
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