Remember these old hits?
Tony Hayward says he “wants his life back?”
Or how about that now infamous slogan of British Petroleum’s concerning all things oil spill, that pledge to”make things right.”
Well, as someone who blogs about these subjects, these two statements gave me a lot of mileage. They were tailor-made, a way to give a verbal “screw-you” to the whole damn company every time they inevitably did anything but make things right, or when I mentioned how Gulf Coast residents are far more entitled to get their life back, way more than some narcissist with an inability to shut up like Mr. Hayward.
But, you know…those slogans were getting a little old, a little tired, kind of hard to keep using them in different ways oh-so-many months later, and just when I was starting to get really nervous about what I was going to do as a blogger…well, Bob Dudley goes to the CERA conference and in his apology to his fellow oil and gas industry executives, he spoke of having to regain not only their trust, but the trust of the politicians and the Gulf Coast residents themselves.
And then, Bob uttered the newest catchphrase…saying that British Petroleum gets it, and in order to regain the trust of all, this will require: “Actions, not words.”
Thank you.
Actions, not words…
I couldn’t agree more.
So okay…Bob…if British Petroleum is about actions to regain trust of the Gulf Coast and not just words, then why is British Petroleum reneging on yet another promise?
From the Alabama Press-register: Time for BP to ‘take responsibility’ for VOO damages
Turns out that all those boats Bob’s company hired to help cleanup the oil as part of the “Vessels of Opportunity” program are not getting the promised repairs. BP initially told everyone if there were any damages, they’d pay to fix things up, but just like hundreds of thousands of people who have been denied by Feinberg’s GCCF, captains in the Orange Beach area of Alabama are now getting their repair claims denied by BP.
Way to regain trust, moron.
“These boat captains — experts on local waters — were willing and ready to work for BP during the worst days of the oil spill, deploying boom, skimming oil and patrolling for oil sheens and slicks. Despite complaints that local people weren’t always getting first chance at the jobs, the idea of employing the people who were kept from their business of fishing and tourism was sound…(Now) the busiest time of the year for boat owners and captains is again approaching. They need to be out on the water…They made agreements with BP to do a job, and part of those agreements included reimbursements for damages. Instead of living up to its end of the deal, BP seems willing to risk more bad publicity and the possibility that frustrated captains will hire attorneys and file lawsuits.”
“Actions, not words…”
Damn Bob, it’s like when you guys at BP speak, you’re living in this strange self-created reality where you are good, kind, responsible people who care, where the Gulf of Mexico is fine. I understand that in your boardrooms and bedrooms, people automatically take your words as the gospel truth,or at least tell you they do…but out here in the real world, things are a little different. Out here, Bob, most people recognize you for the shameless shyster you are, at the helm of a company who reneges on deals, destroys the environment and is at minimum, partly culpable in the deaths of eleven people in the Gulf.
But, it would seem to you that’s neither here nor there.
“Actions, not words…”
So, I mean, thanks for the new catchphrase…I like it, I think it might be you’re biggest hit yet and I’ll probably hang onto it for awhile…but really Bob, don’t think people don’t realize your slogans are as hollow as your apologies, your integrity and your promises.
People simply aren’t that stupid.
Have a nice day.
Drake Toulouse: Photography and Words 
Drake this is Brad again just got back from a trip in the gulf as I have told you before things are fucked up. I cant make a living off what I am catching and what I do catch should I sell to people for consumption that I know may be doing them harm I am in a no win situation here just wanted to let you know what was up u
Thanks for the update, Brad…man, gotta say, I don’t know what to say…except to wish the best to you and my hopes that this all improves. I’ll keep writing, and you keep telling everyone you know…and who knows what might happen when this anniversary date rolls around in a few weeks…
This situation is untenable…
-Drake
damn damn damn… us oilfield works have waited a year to finally get again the big shut down. for the first 8-9 months, non deep water rig workers /cooks/captains, –and the such the service the rigs were left out the GCCF’s claim process and again now GCRPF Rig Workers Assistance Fund. This asses out of coastal people because we’re the one servicing the rigs. The guys permanently on them deep water rigs are not even from here..they are specialists and when the oil spill happens they were relocated–support workers-like me a painter and many other divers/tenders/riggers/welders/roughnecks/and the list goes on of thousands of local offshore jobs
GCRPF=BP controlling the 100 million fund
GCCF=BP controlling the 20 billion dollar fund
coincidence???u guess
Here’s what is fascinating about all of this – even on an article with useful information about a disastrous act by BP, there is an automated google link for bp.com, so that they can give you their pov. The FOCUS for BP is their image and an ability to continue making billions of dollars, and a reion’s ecology, environment, and economy do not factor in. They did a fairly good job of inundating the public with their “make them whole” (yuck) advertisements so that most people out of the area think, oh, okay, they got this pretty much handled I guess, now how I’m gonna pay for this $4 gas? And what the hell just happened in Japan? Libya? With my company’s health insurance? There’s a lot of news to fight with.
BUT, (and maybe worst of all) I truly believe the ONLY hope the folks down there have is to make enough noise that it becomes a cost benefit for BP to make them shut up. Period. The courts are NOT going to be on their side. BP has already secured the district for these fights – and of course it is out of Houston, where Joe “I’d like to apologize to BP” Barton’s the rep, and where BP has had much success in the courts prior. I feel horrid for everyone who has lost their business/ability to do business/had prohibitive debt/damage heaped upon them based on promises and the abject desperation that led many of them to have to work for BP in the VOO program to begin with. It is an evil thing being done to these folks and I am afraid their fates are going to mirror those of the Exxon Valdez. Left with nothing but a life altering mess and getting to watch as a corporation becomes wealthier in the meantime. (And not even safer
Very well put, I’ve dome some digging into how to kill pop-up ads on this site, and it would appear to be the fault of fucking wordpress, even though I purchased my domain name. I may jump to another platform once the year is up…
-Drake