The other day, a great woman reminded me of a quote I’ve heard many times in my life, “Stand for something, or fall for anything.” In light of the BP oil spill, I have realized a lot of people are not “standing” for much, but really just doing a lot of talking. There’s one thing to say “I’m boycotting,” then to actively take a part in reversing or alleviating the passion point(s) you’ve spoken to so powerfully.
Updates: July 11, 2010
Link at the bottom to help inform those who want to help.
It’s Monday morning, April 19, 2010, and you’re on your way to Starbucks when you noticed you are low on gas. Despite the perpetually unsavory price of gasoline, you pulled into whichever gas station was visibly cheaper than the next, filled up and went on your way without a second thought.
Fast forward a few weeks into the BP oil spill, and now you have awoken to your most passionate of passion points; boycotting BP.
Now, after your morning run to Starbucks, you are Tweeting your fury against the ignorance and atrocities of this oil giant; you share links and pictures on Facebook from CNN and MSNBC of oil covered fish and fowl. Your once inane status updates now lament the tragic environmental losses of the oil spill. All this while you “tsk, tsk” when you see someone pumping BP gas into their tank across the street, as though they were the ones pumping the oil out of the ground and letting it loose into the Gulf of Mexico themselves.
You’ve made your point, and now everyone knows…you’re an environmental advocate, right?
But have you really done anything…and why are you doing this now? Where were you on April 19, or any other day prior to the spill? Were you angrily Tweeting/Facebooking and “tsk tsk-ing” about the multitude of environmental impacts oil drilling had on your planet on a few weeks ago? Or are you now concerned because dolphins are dying, Louisiana shrimp will cost more and your Pensacola, FL vacation is now in jeopardy, threatened by oil?
Well if this oil spill has got you so upset, what about open pit mining? Deforestation? Whaling or boycotting the disastrous process of making and disposing of rechargeable batteries for your electric Prius/SmartCar?
These intentional environmentally-destructive practices have been going on from before my parents were in their quarterlife, and yet no one seems to “tsk tsk” in tandem when they see large slates of granite counters in every celebrity’s kitchen and bathroom. Nor do we “tsk tsk” at the billions of Starbucks cups made every year. We only seem to stand up when something goes catastrophically wrong. And this “bad weather boycotting,” in my opinion, is just as ineffective as doing nothing at all.
There is no denying that we are witnessing an unprecedented accident, but personally, I am not planning on boycotting my local BP gas station.
I am not “for big oil” and neither am I a “tree-hugger” who wants us all to live like the Flintstones….however, I would prefer to see people be sincere about what they “stand” for and actually stand for something, rather than fall for the next popular passion point on “World News Tonight.”
Thoughts?
From Mashable’s “Are We Losing Interest in the BP Oil Spill”
Sloane Berrent’s Six Ways to Help the Gulf Coast Today. Berrent is a New Orleans resident and social philanthropist, and she has the 411 on how to do your part in the cleanup process, from donating your money to volunteering your time.