Please boycott BP

This is NOT a political thread. Please keep comments like "It's Bush's fault" or "It's Obama's fault" out of here.

The big corporations and their CEOs only know one language: the price of their stock. And the only way that we, the "normal" people can influence that is by stop shopping in their businesses.
So please BOYCOTT BP, maybe if we do that, the next oil company will think twice before being careless with this Beautiful Country.

Unfortunately, the majority of these are franchised brands, so a boycott only hurts the small business owners. BP can sell everything they pump and/or refine to other outlets.

And I know in my area the best prices are at Sams Club or Wawa gas stations...and they buy from whoever is the cheapest.

So that won't work either.



Don't worry though...the world is going to end soon anyway. I'm fairly certain some kind of unstopped ecological disaster was the plot of some end of the world book/novel I've read recently.

Sure it's BP's well this time. But explain to me how BP is worse then Exxon, Shell, or any other oil company. This could have just as easily have happened to any of their wells. You don't think thy cut safety corners? You don't think they are snorting meth of toasters with the MMS?

You want to "boycott" buy a hybrid or diesel that gets +40mpg, a CNG, an EV, or take mass transit.

BP does have a pretty poor safety record in recent years so they do seem to cut corners more then others. Texas City anyone?

News flash Scooby Brew. Go look in the mirror. We're all at fault. There never would've been a well there in the first place if we didn't make the demand.

You really want to do something? Instead of an utterly pointless boycott, call your elected officials and tell them you support investment in our electrical grid and incentives for electric cars.

It could have been any number of oil companies -- and as said, it wont impact them.

BP is already taking on enough damage to their stock prices than we could ever dream of -- they're already out a billion dollars in trying to fix this situation, with no visible resolution even close to happening.

Add to that all the lawsuits that will come, the fact they are paying lost wages to fishermen and other coastal employed people of the region, fines and fees they're earning for the disaster, etc. Stocks already dropped, watch how much further it goes.

Dont know WHY the government isnt involved with a resolution (be it a laissez faire approach to it) or if BP is refusing the aide (which at this point, should be enforced aide)

Screw THAT! I prefer to keep[ gas in my vehicle at a reasonable price. Oddly enough, BP has it. I also prefer to get my oil changed without going bankrupt. Castrol is in bulk thus cheaper.

Prolly why BP is in such a hurry top resolve this spill.

Posting that this is not a political thread doesn't mean that it isn't likely to be a debatable topic.

Yes, lets boycott small local businesses because they signed contracts with a foreign entity years ago...

Sounds completely reasonable.

BP's stock is taking enough of a beating without a consumer boycott. Why boycott them anyway? They're working on getting to capped, maybe there was some negligence to cause the spill in the first place, but the US Government is just as at fault, if not more so, for what happened.

As I understand it BP is leasing the well from Transocean, however, I am not sure who is responsible for the maintenance that caused the disaster.

Guys, BP stations are nearly all privately owned and operated. Boycotting BP service stations hurts the small business owner more than it does BP. BP still gets their fee for their branding either way.

And typically a boycott has some end result in mind. Exactly what do you want to boycott them for? So they go broke faster and cannot pay for the damage that has been done?

This thread REALLY rides the borderline of acceptability here at HBT. By definition, advocating a boycott is a form of activism. HBT is not a platform for such activity, particularly when the cause is not brewing related.

However, based on the civility of the discussion, I'm going to keep it open for the moment.

Wow - I've given a total of MAYBE $200 to BP brands in my lifetime (No BP station 'round here, Arco gas sucks, AM/PM is overpriced) ... I guess a boycott from me wouldn't change a thing ;-)

Slactivism is what Facebook was built for.

You know what has pissed me off more that anything else?

I've been a regulator. I expect regulated companies to lie, cheat, and pull every dirty and underhanded trick there is. I only ever trusted my licensees when I was there on site. And even then I verified what they were doing by going through their records with a fine-toothed comb.

But MMS? What the hell is going on there? Snorting meth off toasters. Doing inspections while high. Litterally in bed having sex with oil company staff. Letting the oil rig operators write their own inspection reports.

And I've heard the grand plan to "fix" MMS is to break it into three parts. What I haven't heard is anything about firing MMS staff and inspectors let alone criminal investigations of corruption. And the head of MMS wasn't fired. She wasn't even forced to resign.

ctufano said:

Dont know WHY the government isnt involved with a resolution (be it a laissez faire approach to it) or if BP is refusing the aide (which at this point, should be enforced aide)

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This is absolutely false. The government most certainly is involved. The coast guard has had hundreds of ships working on this the whole time.

BP has the lead because BP is the one who has some bit of knowledge about oil wells. The government taking the lead would probably just make things worse.

Synovia said:

This is absolutely false. The government most certainly is involved. The coast guard has had hundreds of ships working on this the whole time.

BP has the lead because BP is the one who has some bit of knowledge about oil wells. The government taking the lead would probably just make things worse.

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Yes the CG is helping and such, but what about actually fixing and such? Theres NO WAY the government doesnt have the resources or means to help either with equipment or brain power? THAT is false.

The oil from every drilling company goes to every gas retailer. BP stations do not sell BP oil exclusively, and non-BP stations do sell BP oil.

To boycott BP oil, you're gonna have to buy a bike.

if we all buy bikes and ride them places, we can all drink more beer! wooo!

bernerbrau said:

The oil from every drilling company goes to every gas retailer. BP stations do not sell BP oil exclusively, and non-BP stations do sell BP oil.

To boycott BP oil, you're gonna have to buy a bike.

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ctufano said:

if we all buy bikes and ride them places, we can all drink more beer! wooo!

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But oil makes tires and chain lube and seat covers. Better walk. Barefoot lest your shoes have leather soles. In fact, just stay home and sit naked in the dark. As oil is behind everything you touch by one means or another.

GilaMinumBeer said:

But oil makes tires and chain lube and seat covers.

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Vegetable Oil!

GilaMinumBeer - you sir, win the Internet today.

If anything we should be supporting BP because they're going to have to pay out a LOT of money in damage claims for the next decade.

They will not be paying out damages (at least in prescribed amounts) for a few decades. The majority of the damages and retribution from Valdez is still in arbitration.

mosquitocontrol said:

They will not be paying out damages (at least in prescribed amounts) for a few decades. The majority of the damages and retribution from Valdez is still in arbitration.

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Damages from oil spills is limited to $75M total, as of about a year after Valdez. They're not going to be paying out all that much.

Remember people died on the platform and people and wildlife will suffer for years due to BP. But I still think this is kind of hillarious:



H

mightynintendo said:

If anything we should be supporting BP because they're going to have to pay out a LOT of money in damage claims for the next decade.

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If everyone boycotts BP how are they going to have the money to clean the mess up?

I just hope BP is not "too big to fail".
When a company like BP goes bankrupt, their assets are being sold (in this case to other oil companies) by a trustee to repay the money owned. In which case, the states effected by the disaster and the US Government would be first in line to reclaim money lost. And then the next big oil CEO hopefully would think twice before trying to save money on remote shut off systems and emergency relief valves like BP did.

Boycotts don't work; dip the BP bastards in their own oil & set them on fire.

First they went to James Cameron...then to Kevin Costner...soon they will hookup big fans on the coast in a hope that they can recreate Superman's super breath in SMIII to push the oil back into the ground.

Just wait...it will happen

So this poor clown BP's CEO Tony Hayward(A.K.A. Mr. Bean) is now famous for saying ultra-stupid things like "I want my live back" - after 18 Americans died on his rig and millions will lose their jobs and businesses because of the spill. So now BP brings a new guy - BP's Chief, and the first thing he says in front of cameras is that we, Americans, are the "small people". And they "care about the small people" LMAO.
I sure hope I don't own too many stocks of BP in my 401K.
I don't care if you Green, Blue or Red: grow a pair and boycott BP!

This is the PERFECT time to buy up shares of BP. They are at $31.98 as I type this. I stocked up. When this mess gets cleaned up (and it will) and when some other disaster has our interest (and it will) and after Americans have forgotten all about this (and they will) and the Gulf shoreline is back to normal (and it will), the price will go up beyond the $60 it was before all of this happened. And I'll have the extra scratch to buy more brewing stuff.

And boycotts like this are useless: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0618-bp-boycott-20100617,0,7878046.story