awritersruminations asked
Do you follow http://www.azspot.tumblr.com ? They publish political articles and they've done some great ones about the oil spill. I'd like to just make three quick points:
1. I completely agree with you that people blaming Obama for this disaster is ludicrous. The same people who decry big government and want government out of their lives and are champions of private companies are the same ones now holding Obama accountable for not cleaning up the oil spill, which was caused by a private business, faster. Like you have said many times, the responsibility for cleaning up the oil spill is on BP, not the government. The point is that the people blaming the government are at odds with their own ideology.
2. I understand why people want to boycott BP. This makes sense. I only want to bring up a point that I recently saw on the news which is that boycotting BP does not hurt the company, it really hurts the small convenience stores that sell BP's product. I worry that by trying to punish this huge and negligent corporation we might be hurting some small business owners too but everyone has to decide for themselves if they feel comfortable filling their tank with BP's gasoline.
3. I want to mention something that I'm not sure has been addressed yet which is the long-term health effects on people who are currently cleaning up the oil spill. Azspot posted this chilling article: http://azspot.net/post/708335639/read-this-before-you-volunteer-to-clean-up-the-bp-oil. It's about a woman who participated in the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill some years ago. She still has health problems and knows many others who do too and who have even died. The environmental consequences are well-documented but I think the toll on human life might be the second tragedy of the oil spill.
Thanks for starting this tumblr and thanks for keeping the discourse intelligent and factual.
1. I completely agree with you that people blaming Obama for this disaster is ludicrous. The same people who decry big government and want government out of their lives and are champions of private companies are the same ones now holding Obama accountable for not cleaning up the oil spill, which was caused by a private business, faster. Like you have said many times, the responsibility for cleaning up the oil spill is on BP, not the government. The point is that the people blaming the government are at odds with their own ideology.
2. I understand why people want to boycott BP. This makes sense. I only want to bring up a point that I recently saw on the news which is that boycotting BP does not hurt the company, it really hurts the small convenience stores that sell BP's product. I worry that by trying to punish this huge and negligent corporation we might be hurting some small business owners too but everyone has to decide for themselves if they feel comfortable filling their tank with BP's gasoline.
3. I want to mention something that I'm not sure has been addressed yet which is the long-term health effects on people who are currently cleaning up the oil spill. Azspot posted this chilling article: http://azspot.net/post/708335639/read-this-before-you-volunteer-to-clean-up-the-bp-oil. It's about a woman who participated in the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill some years ago. She still has health problems and knows many others who do too and who have even died. The environmental consequences are well-documented but I think the toll on human life might be the second tragedy of the oil spill.
Thanks for starting this tumblr and thanks for keeping the discourse intelligent and factual.
I like you.
The job of F*ck BP is not done until all reparations are paid and all cleanup is complete. Keep the questions flowing
