Day 81 of British Petroleum's Gulf Coast Oil Spill

I listened to the news yesterday on Day 80 of British Pertroleum's oil spill, and I thought about something that was not covered in the PBS report.

Yes, there were many people interviewed who expressed outrage and frustration.  Yes, there were people interviewed whose very livelihoods hung in a delicate balance.  Yes, people representing the "general public" expressed anger, but these expressions seem to be for media only.

Anger, outrage, and frustration seem to be reasonable and understandable emotions, and having traveled recently through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, it is a topic about which people are discussing and newspapers and tv news are continually reporting, but there is something missing--genuine public outrage and accountability.

I heard reported that BP's CEO, Tony Hayward, visited Saudia Arabia, purportedly to raise cash to pay for the Gulf Coast's clean-up.  The up-swing is that BP's stock is on the rise, and, if things remain the same, I would say it is a good investment.  I am not 100% certain, but I believe BP's financial backer is the British government, itself.

My first encounter with a BP gas station was in 1996 as my brother, Mom, and I traveled from San Leandro to Yosemite National Park.  We fueled at a BP just outside the Park.  BP stations in Texas are few and far between, but cross in to the Southeast, and there is a BP on every corner, and at busy intersections, two on the corner. 

I expected with all the outrage I had seen reported on the news that BP would be suffering financially.  What I saw was the opposite of what I expected.  Never, and this is not a hyperbolic statement but a sad, literal truth, was there a BP gas station without customers, customers buying fuel, not just shopping at the convenience store.  It appears that the outrage is good for soundbytes only.  If people are truly outraged with BP's performance, and lack thereof, why are they continuing to support BP by purchasing their petroleum?  Finances, offering the least expensive gas, is not the reason.  The majority of the time, the BP stations were not the least expensive stations, nor were they "the last station for the next 100 miles" stations.  If the public intends to make a meaningful statement and really impact BP, boycott their petroleum!  Otherwise, why should BP care about what we have to say if our actions contradict us?