# Brits tell US to lay off the oil spill rhetoric **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 11, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726 "2010-06-11T00:58:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/121 "2010-06-12T17:07:06Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > As an aside, who are BP’s major shareholders? Which one person gets the biggest lump of their profits? The information I’ve been able to get on-line indicates 40-44% UK owned, 35-39% US owned, and, since that doesn’t quite add up to 100%, probably a few percent owned by other folks. (Percentages given as ranges because exact figures vary depending on source) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/122 "2010-06-12T17:18:06Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Please supply the specific statement by Obama in which he turned this “local” issue into an international one. With a link–we need to read it in context. > > (Try to do this while you’re still sober.) This request is disingenuous. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/123 "2010-06-12T17:19:50Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > No, the British papers and politicians have tried to turn a major regional real issue into a minor international issue no one gives a shit about. That makes no sense. Do you suggest that Britain is controlled by a tiny conspiracy that involves politicans, press owners, and oil companies? Heck, do you remember the circumstances behind the demise of Lord Browne as the last CEO of BP? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/124 "2010-06-12T17:25:11Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > This request is disingenuous. I don’t believe that “disingenuous” means what you think it means. > [@](#): > > Heck, do you remember the circumstances behind the demise of Lord Browne as the last CEO of BP? I’d heard that BP’s multiple safety issues, exemplified by the 2005 Texas City refinery explosion but not limited to that event, led to his “demise.” Oddly, [his Wikipedia entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Browne,_Baron_Browne_of_Madingley#Resignation) blames “personal” issues. Of course, anybody can edit Wikipedia. Just as anybody can stir up fake “controversies” in the media. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/125 "2010-06-12T17:28:14Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I don’t believe that “disingenuous” means what you think it means. By asking me to produce a specific statement you are implicitly asserting that such a statement exists, or at least that I have said there is such a statement. Which I haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/126 "2010-06-12T17:34:48Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > By asking me to produce a specific statement you are implicitly asserting that such a statement exists, or at least that I have said there is such a statement. Which I haven’t. Well, you’ve stated that the “issue remains the way that Obama has turned a local issue into an international one.” I’m actually quite interested in the method he used to stir up all that trouble without opening his mouth. How did he do it? Voodoo? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/127 "2010-06-12T17:36:13Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Well, you’ve stated that the “issue remains the way that Obama has turned a local issue into an international one.” I’m actually quite interested in the method he used to stir up all that trouble without opening his mouth. > > How did he do it? Voodoo? It is not one specific statement he has made, it has been the general tone of it. And it is not just Obama, either (in retrospect I have probably focussed too much on him). It appears to be almost the entire American political class (and many media commentators as well). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/128 "2010-06-12T17:45:01Z")
“The whole might of American wealth and technology is displayed as utterly unable to deal with the disastrous spill - so what more natural than a crude, bigoted, xenophobic display of partisan political Presidential petulance against a multinational company?” -Lord Tebbit, former British trade secretary I’m coming to the conclusion that the British people accusing the U.S. of a xenophobic reaction are being suckered by their own press and politicians. Which is kind of unfortunate because this is not a national issue, and also rather ironic. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/129 "2010-06-12T18:04:31Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > It is not one specific statement he has made, it has been the general tone of it. > > And it is not just Obama, either (in retrospect I have probably focussed too much on him). It appears to be almost the entire American political class (and many media commentators as well). OK, you can’t give us a quotation from Obama. Can you explain more about the “general tone”? Or, here’s an easier goal: Since you widened the list of suspects, perhaps you can supply at least one quotation (in context) from this vast field of American Brit Haters? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/130 "2010-06-12T18:04:41Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > “The whole might of American wealth and technology is displayed as utterly unable to deal with the disastrous spill - so what more natural than a crude, bigoted, xenophobic display of partisan political Presidential petulance against a multinational company?” > > -Lord Tebbit, former British trade secretary > > I’m coming to the conclusion that the British people accusing the U.S. of a xenophobic reaction are being suckered by their own press and politicians. Which is kind of unfortunate because this is not a national issue, and also rather ironic. What on earth is this guy even talking about? Are we in the fucking Twilight Zone now? I think there’s some, um, stereotyping going on here. There is an idea among certain circles of British folk that Americans are, in fact, crude, bigoted, xenophobic, and partisan. (The last one is probably indefensible.) So it’s easy to make fun assumptions that will appeal to those circles. Frankly, this completely fake indignation and over-the-top defensiveness actually _is_ making me pissed off at the British public, because it’s distracting the public, the media, and politicians from the actual issue. Environmental catastrophe? Remember? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/131 "2010-06-12T18:08:29Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m coming to the conclusion that the British people accusing the U.S. of a xenophobic reaction are being suckered by their own press and politicians. Which is kind of unfortunate because this is not a national issue, and also rather ironic. Oh right, **we’re** the ones being manipulated by politicians and the press, because everyone knows that the average Briton is far less worldly and cynical than the average savvy American. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/132 "2010-06-12T18:13:10Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > Oh right, **we’re** the ones being manipulated by politicians and the press, because everyone knows that the average Briton is far less worldly and cynical than the average savvy American. :rolleyes: Hey, man, thanks for proving my point so quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/133 "2010-06-12T18:14:17Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > What on earth is this guy even talking about? Are we in the fucking Twilight Zone now? > > I think there’s some, um, stereotyping going on here. There is an idea among certain circles of British folk that Americans are, in fact, crude, bigoted, xenophobic, and partisan. (The last one is probably indefensible.) So it’s easy to make fun assumptions that will appeal to those circles. That’s exactly what I think is going on. > [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > Oh right, **we’re** the ones being manipulated by politicians and the press, because everyone knows that the average Briton is far less worldly and cynical than the average savvy American. :rolleyes: Thank you for demonstrating the irony. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/134 "2010-06-12T18:18:09Z")
I’m with you, **Kyla**. I’m not pissed at the UK for anything BP did, but I’m starting to get annoyed at the it’s-all-about-us reaction I’m seeing, while 11 Americans are dead and thousands of people are losing their livelihoods as a result of a few corporations’ negligence and greed. Oh, but the poor, widdle Brits’ feelings are hurt. We should just stop mentioning the oil spill at all so that the UK can get back to watching the World Cup without having to worry their little heads about it. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/135 "2010-06-12T18:24:36Z")
> [@C3](#): > > We should just stop mentioning the oil spill at all so that the UK can get back to watching the World Cup without having to worry their little heads about it. Take a look at [http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=203](http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=203) and see what you’ve done. I suspect there are some people who are feeling a sense of schaudenfreude that at last America has suffered for once. But I don’t, I feel sadness and compassion for you. I also, fwiw, accept such things as the price we pay for progress. Hysteria is not the way to deal with these things. That hysteria is annoying enough anyway but when it’s directed at me I am particularly pissed off. And when it’s directed at me by the world’s largest hypocrite because he got a bloody nose I am very angry. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/136 "2010-06-12T18:27:48Z")
P.S. One day I dream of being as _sophisticated_ and _worldly_ as **Happy Poster**. Then maybe I could start threads like [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=566117). There’s probably a deeper underlying meaning that my uncultured and easily misled American brain is incapable of grasping. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/137 "2010-06-12T18:30:33Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > P.S. One day I dream of being as _sophisticated_ and _worldly_ as **Happy Poster**. Then maybe I could start threads like [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=566117). > > There’s probably a deeper underlying meaning that my uncultured and easily misled American brain is incapable of grasping. Hey, I heard Americans can get drunk too, outside of California. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/138 "2010-06-12T18:33:53Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > Hey, I heard Americans can get drunk too, outside of California. Dude, you can’t expect me to not to mock you for disparaging Americans when you started a thread called “Cows to gays” the other day. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/139 "2010-06-12T18:43:25Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Dude, you can’t expect me to not to mock you for disparaging Americans when you started a thread called “Cows to gays” the other day. You can mock me as much as you like, particular when, like with that thread, I deserve it 😃 But it doesn’t detract or bolster either of our points, that’s all 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/140 "2010-06-12T18:47:53Z")
Egads, this thread is making me wistful for the warm, gentlemanly relationship enjoyed between George W Bush and Tony Blair. Good times, good times… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726.md?page=8)