Comments on: The hypocrisy of the “hate BP tirade”

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 08:01:08 +0000

Thanks you for taking the time to comment, Adam. None of us knows the full story and it is doubtful that we ever will. In the meantime let’s hope that all concerned do the right thing to ensure the restoration of way life and livelihood to those affected.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 07:27:40 +0000

Joe, thank you for taking time to comment on my post. You make some interesting points.

I can assure you that I would feel just the same if it was an “American” company and the event had happened off the coast of Scotland because my point was about the level of and enduring nature of hate against the company even after they had admitted responsibility.

BP is not British anymore and hasn’t been for a long time. In fact the ownership was at one point recently 40% UK based shareholders and 39% American shareholders. These days, companies like BP are global institutions with global responsibilities. But you are right, it has been made into a “British” thing – and that concerns me too. Making it a “nation” issue is not helpful to the people who have been affected. It will help no one if the 4th biggest company in the world goes bust.

Thanks again! Hope to see you here again soon.

By: Joe Markowitz

Joe Markowitz — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:22:06 +0000

Of course it is our insatiable demand for oil that makes all of us responsible in some way for this disaster. On the other hand, it was BP’s responsibility to conduct its operations safely, and BP seems to have failed at that, and in fact has admitted full responsibility for the explosion and the immense damage it is causing. People probably cross the line when they express hatred for a company, but people also have a strong need to blame someone, particularly someone who has actually accepted the blame, and people don’t exactly rush to acknowledge their own responsibility. Of course we mediators want to get people past the blame stage and on to the stage of constructively solving problems, but to get past it, you probably need to let people express their outrage at BP’s conduct.

And maybe you would not feel quite as concerned about all of the anger toward BP if you imagined what would happen if an American company had blown up an oil rig off the pristine coast of Scotland. No doubt the British would be expressing a bit of anger and even hatred at whomever was responsible for such an event.

You might also feel better if you listen to what Obama said about this tragedy. He does not slide into anger, but does demand that BP accept responsibility, and he also does get around to saying that we all bear some responsibility for our addiction to oil. People aren’t quite ready to hear that last part yet. http://www.hopeandchange.net/2010/06/dumbing-it-down.html

By: Adam | SEE

Adam | SEE — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 06:03:42 +0000

Amanda:

So glad that you wrote this post. Yes, I feel the same. I have many friends and acquaintances in New Orleans. Trying to have a conversation about the shared interests of BP and the Gulf Coast residents has been impossible. My prediction is that the hate BP tirade will likely prove detrimental to their long term interests in many yet to be seen ways.