Hello, loyal viewers (which would be no one at this point, considering this is my first rant).
Any who, welcome to Skyler's Soapbox: The hottest blog spot for the not-so-informed ignorant pricks out there who like to talk out of their ass like they know what's going on. And for those of you who are a little more savvy than most who will be reading this, please enjoy what I like to consider entertainment through the wonderful world of cynicism, skepticism, and witty sarcasm.
So what topic do I choose to enter the world of blogging with? What better than the most popular ordeal in America right now: The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Now, recently, I have been hearing a lot of the same things from a lot of different people in regards to this disaster, and that is, what, as Americans, can we do to assist in ensuring that this spill is cleaned up in the quickest possible fashion possible? Is it to donate money to the cause? Cut back on oil consumption as a country? Or maybe even volunteer down in the gulf in the clean up? Nah..those solutions wouldn't truly live up to our reputation as Americans. So what is the best solution most of us have come to? Why, pointing fingers at the jackasses at BP and boycotting their stations, of course!
You may be saying, "Wow, what a great idea. I will boycott BP because they are not getting off their lazy asses and cleaning up this oil spill. So I am going to send a firm message to those lazy fat fucks by hitting their checkbooks as hard as possible by going to the Arco down the road! That will show them!"
You are exactly one of the ignorant fucks that piss me off to no end.
First of all, do you really think that pointing fingers at one corporation is going to improve this situation. True, the spill is the fault of BP and they should be held accountable and forced to do everything within their power to remedy this disaster and pay for the damages caused. However, how do you think BP intends to clean up the mess and reimburse those who lost jobs and wages? It's coming from their pocket, which comes from their equity that YOU are limiting the supply of by not giving them your business. In turn, BP loses money not only as a company, but loses money used to repair damages, clean up the spill, and reimburse workers, in which case, BP then needs to use government money to fund the efforts which, ultimately, will come out of YOUR tax dollars if BP goes bankrupt and cannot repay the government plus interest. But hey, let's continue to point fingers at the clear cause of the problem. After all, the average American has no fault whatsoever in this crisis, only being the number one consumer of petroleum products in the world. But don't blame yourselves for your oil dependency, you need a car to get to work, the store, anywhere. And every single person in America needs a car. Carpooling so so out of style, as are bikes. Lord knows, we can't have exercising in this country, now can we? There are no other solutions!
Secondly, do half of you even know anything about the oil you are purchasing? I bet you didn't know that, chances are, that Arco down the street that you went to to purchase gasoline instead of the local BP franchise has a higher chance of purchasing and selling BP gasoline than the BP station itself.
Here is how it works, so pay attention.
Out of the roughly 11,000 BP gas stations that exist in the United States, about 200 of them are actually owned by BP itself. The rest are franchises purchased by local entrepreneurs who pay BP to use their label, but purchase their gasoline from an independent dealer. So, in actuality, you are probably hurting the independent dealers rather than BP itself. I didn't even mention the fact that BP makes the majority of it's money, not by selling gasoline, but by the products it sells in the convenient little stores on your way to work, such as coffee, energy drinks, knick knacks, etc. So, buying the gas or not, BP is still making it's money at it's stores. So really, you are doing nothing more than making a public statement rather than an economic injury.
Though how poorly effective most of the boycott is, the reality is that BP is still, indeed, losing money, with the spill and what not and it's stock values decreasing roughly 16%. But as most economists are saying, if you really want to hit BP where it hurts, be more eco-friendly and free yourself from your damn oil dependency! Take a walk, ride a bike, do something besides drive everywhere! For gods sakes, for those of you who think oil is such a huge necessity, you obviously have done little to no research to know that there are alternative fuels out there that are cheaper and more economically friendly, we just don't like change, nor the idea of having to invest in new products that would adapt to a fuel that, in the long run, would save billions of dollars in petroleum expenses (much of which being spent in the middle east) as well as expenses to save the environment.
Well, that's my rant for the day. Thanks for reading. And remember, save a Mcdonald's cheeseburger; have some food for thought instead.
-Skyler
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