Ten minutes ago, I was eased back on the couch, cat snuggled against my leg, watching the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs." I like that show; even though Mike Rowe is shilling for Ford Motor Company, he's a genial guy who seems to have a genuine respect for the worker.
I hadn't seen the BP commercial until now. It froze me in my seat. Watching their corporate whore Keith Seilhan tell us how he has a "personal stake" in the shore cleanup, how BP is taking "full responsibility" for the oil catastrophe and is working "24/7" to "make it right," shocked me into silence. Until it was done; then I leapt up, screaming "You sons of bitches!" sending the cat scrambling for safety and prompting a worried, "Honey, what's wrong?" from my wife. I was almost incoherent for a moment, before I was able to splutter disjointed profanities and, eventually, string together a coherent sentence expressing just how much I wanted to ram Keith Seilhan's head into that broken pipe along with the heads of every other corporate thug on BP's board of directors, until they finally plugged the breach.
Of course, I can't do that. But I can, and have, sent off an e-mail to Discovery demanding (politely, but very firmly) that they yank that ad immediately. You should, too.
http://corporate.discovery.com/...
Here's the BP ad if you want to watch the evil thing. Thanks to Christian Dem in NC for providing the embed code.
Here's what I wrote to Discovery. If you wish to add your voice to mine, be brief, polite, and to the point. Tell them what you want in no uncertain terms, but remember, the poor flunky who's reading your e-mail isn't working for BP. He/she is, however, working for a cable network that is enabling BP to spread self-congratulatory lies and bullshit about their "commitment" to cleaning up the environmental disaster they caused.
Please stop airing the BP ad that promotes their so-called "cleanup initiative" in response to the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. BP is not spending millions of dollars in cleaning up the oil, they are spending that money on an ad campaign to convince us that they care about the calamity they caused, and are continuing to allow to spew oil unchecked into the Gulf. You are enabling them to continue laying waste to the region. Stop spreading BP's lies. As of now, I have deleted Discovery from my TV listing, and will not watch another broadcast on your channel until you publicly announce you have stopped airing the ad, and have stopped taking money from BP. They need to clean up the horrific mess they have made, and you need to stop helping them dodge the responsibility for it. Thank you for your immediate response.
Of course, Discovery isn't the only cable or network to air this ad. Let's hammer all of them. They cannot be allowed to air BP propaganda without being challenged.
How many sea creatures died from being covered in toxic sludge in the time it took you to read this diary? How much oil could BP have cleaned up with the money it spent on that commercial?
Let 'em have it.