Thursday, July 1, 2010

Boycotting BP?

I've just taken notice of all these various nationwide campaigns that have been launched encouraging a boycott of BP, theoretically designed to punish them for the ongoing ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

I understand the desire to express outrage over the mess, but I think the underlying premise here is a faulty one. When people launch boycotts of Glenn Beck, they are hoping to force him out of business. Is that the goal here? Suppose, against all odds, that this boycott is tremendously effective and all Americans stop purchasing fuel from BP. This would cause BP to declare bankruptcy, and if that happens, who is gonna pay for the cleanup?

Perhaps I'm missing a key point behind the logic of these calls for a boycott, but it seems that the American people should be hoping for the continued financial success of BP...at least until the people impacted by this spill are back on their feet.