A Hole in the World by Naomi Klein

[Cleita]

The Nation
A Hole in the World
Naomi Klein | June 24, 2010

Everyone gathered for the town hall meeting had been repeatedly instructed to show civility to the
gentlemen from BP and the federal government. These fine folks had made time in their busy schedules
to come to a school gymnasium on a Tuesday night in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, one of many
coastal communities where brown poison was slithering through the marshes, part of what has come to be
described as the largest environmental disaster in US history.

"Speak to others the way you would want to be spoken to," the chair of the meeting pleaded one last time
before opening the floor for questions.

And for a while the crowd, mostly made up of fishing families, showed remarkable restraint. They
listened patiently to Larry Thomas, a genial BP public relations flack, as he told them that he was
committed to "doing better" to process their claims for lost revenue—then passed all the details off to a
markedly less friendly subcontractor. They heard out the suit from the Environmental Protection Agency
as he informed them that, contrary to what they had read about the lack of testing and the product being
banned in Britain, the chemical dispersant being sprayed on the oil was really perfectly safe.

But patience started running out by the third time Ed Stanton, a Coast Guard captain, took to the podium
to reassure them that "the Coast Guard intends to make sure that BP cleans it up."

"Put it in writing!" someone shouted out. By now the air-conditioning had shut itself off and the coolers
of Budweiser were running low. A shrimper named Matt O'Brien approached the mic. "We don't need to
hear this anymore," he declared, hands on hips. It didn't matter what assurances they were offered
because, he explained, "we just don't trust you guys!" And with that, such a loud cheer rose up from the
bleachers you'd have thought the Oilers (the school's unfortunate name for its sports teams) had scored a
touchdown.

More at http://www.thenation.com/article/36608/hole-world

[nightrain]

1. knr. thanks for posting this. perhaps the egregious behavior of the corporations is beginning

to be felt and rejected.

[Cleita]

2. This is such a great article, especially if you read

the whole thing and what BP and other oil companies are doing that I can't let it sink just yet.