The BP Boycott IS working!

The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico isn't the first major oil spill in the world, but maybe if we try hard enough, it can be one of the last. We need to stop thinking that just because we haven't stood up for what is right, before, we don't have the right to now. Just because this has happened before, doesn't mean we shouldn't finally wise up and man up now. Sure, we could have and should have taken a stand long ago. We didn't. What matters now is, are we going to keep sitting back, letting this kind of thing go on, or are we FINALLY going to do something?

Take away all the media hype for either side, and just look at the bare bones. A company took the risk of drilling for oil in the deep ocean. They chose not to have adequate disaster plans in place. How much they make in profits is fact, and the cost of those backup measures and contingencies is a drop in the bucket, comparably. If they couldn't afford it, then responsibility dictates that they shouldn't have done it at all, until they could afford it.

The business owner chose to invest their time and money in a BP franchise. A smart business owner keeps their personal and business finances separate, and have money saved away in case the business fails. If their business goes south, they can declare bankruptcy. BP franchise owners can sue BP for the lost revenue, just the same as those who lost their businesses that depended on the Gulf.

Blue collar workers at BP gas stations will lose their jobs, but that can't dictate how we react to this crisis. It's harsh, but it's part of business. Should they have kept the slaving industry alive, because of all of the people who lost their jobs when slavery was abolished? The plantation owners were the BP franchises of the day, the slave ships were the oil rigs. The slaves themselves were the gas station workers. Most of the slaves were freed from intolerable circumstances, but not every slave was treated like an animal, and all of them found themselves jobless afterwards.

The boycott is one of many outward expressions of disapproval that we have to show BP and other oil companies that America has opened their eyes, and we aren't happy about what we've seen. Irregardless of where any oil company stands in comparison to each other, the fact is they're all dirty, and it has to stop. BP isn't a scapegoat. They're just the first ones to get caught. Now all oil companies are under the microscope, and they should be. If they're afraid of the scrutiny, it's because they have something to hide.

BP itself IS suffering, in part because of the boycott. Sure, if you only look at incoming dollars, a boycott isn't going to make that big a dent in BP's profits. There is so much more to it, though. BP's stocks are plummeting because of their tarnished reputation. People are going to be reluctant to open new BP franchises. Business owners who can will end their contracts with BP. BP is feeling the pinch, and it's only going to fail if we stop boycotting.