# A Hateful Curse On BP **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 1, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hateful-curse-on-bp/537941 "2010-05-01T01:09:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hateful-curse-on-bp/537941/181 "2010-05-14T00:39:41Z")
> [@elelle](#): > > Well, on more concrete terms, Try2B, Monday’s NPR edition of The Story had a great [piece](http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_1033_RJ_Kopchak_.mp3/view) with Alaska fisherman RJ Kopchak, telling his experience with the Alaska Exxon spill. Listen to it; he was real, no nonsense in detailing what happened there. He was a herring fisherman, and that industry is totally gone due to that spill. > > When asked what he should say to the Gulf Coast fishermen, in light of his experience, he said, knowing it would be deleted, “They’re fucked…” Coming from someone who dealt with years of trying to clean up the spill in Alaska. > > The interview really is worth listening to; heartbreaking, but full of what it took to even try to attempt a big oil spill clean up effort. It is not that they did a crappy job of cleanup, but they stalled the damages payoff for about 20 years. It went from 5 billion, to 4 billion, to 2.5 billion and when the Supreme Court got a hold of it ,it wound up at 500 mill. That means after losing their livelihoods , and waiting 2 decades, they would get about $15,000. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hateful-curse-on-bp/537941/182 "2010-05-15T03:18:48Z")
It is not Zen, but [_I Want to Go to the Beach_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oliathtPzoY) ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hateful-curse-on-bp/537941/183 "2010-05-17T03:24:38Z")
It is Sunday, so a little [Jesus](http://brittgillette.com/WordPress/?p=30) is in order: > [@](#): > > “One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus’ claims by asking him to show them a miraculous sign from heaven. He replied, ‘You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow, red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You are good at reading the weather signs in the sky, but you can’t read the obvious signs of the times!’” Can you read the signs of the times??? Either the US Govt. represents We The People, or it represents the oil companies. The debate is about to be resolved. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hateful-curse-on-bp/537941/184 "2010-05-17T03:39:17Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I see. > > I am convinced that the the theme in _Hellhound on my Trail_ is yet another version of the [Wild Hunt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Hunt) mythology: > > Whew! Well, I believe the hellhound is meant to literally be one of the hounds ‘in mad pursuit’, a la the English version. And (not surprisingly considering the geography) I believe Robert Johnson was adapting the French take on the hunter’s intent: > > For fun, let’s include a mid 19th-century take on the myth, Franz Liszt’s 8th Transcendental Etude, [_Wilde Jagd_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtg7hgEI4LY&feature=PlayList&p=AFD80611D44D11B9&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=1). Um, Hon, what Robert Johnson was talking about was an African sorta guy, [Legba](http://www.squidoo.com/papalegba). I don’t have time to go into it now, but, yer on the wrong track here. Let’s take it up later. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hateful-curse-on-bp/537941/185 "2010-05-17T03:49:25Z")
[the wiki thank here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papa_Legba) with Legba. It’s important if you want to understand Robert Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hateful-curse-on-bp/537941/186 "2010-05-18T02:26:03Z")
I meant to add was that this hellhound business is a fairy tale. The description of Hell is literally from a fairy tale. I link it to a myth that involves Wodan or Odin or take your pick. Then another fairy tale (YMMV) character is introduced who nevertheless asks a good question: “Can you read the signs of the times?” If BP gets their damages capped or are otherwise protected from bankruptcy or what have you by our representatives, then ‘representation’ is another story to add to the list of fairy tales. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hateful-curse-on-bp/537941.md?page=9)