As any other bleeding heart liberal, an oil company would be as easily associated with ‘evil’ or ‘greedy’ as cow is associated with milk. When you look at a huge industry or corporation, it’s easy to forget the people who are working within the corporation. Is it really a Medusa rearing its head, only multiplying when the ‘regular guy’ tries to cut it down? Does ‘Big Oil’ have no human aspects to it? Is every single person who works for or is associated with an oil company inherently evil? As humans it is easy to make generalizations and quick judgments.
There are some aspects of oil companies that I agree with that I honestly wasn’t aware of. Promoting a project like the BBPP (Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program) here in Bioko has a great positive environmental impact. Do we not hear of such projects because the American people are not that interested or because the media is biased against ‘Big Oil’. I feel like it’s a combination of both. Like I said before, generalizations and quick judgments are easy; if it’s easier for some Americans to think that everything an oil company does is evil, what could the media or anyone else for that matter do to convince them otherwise. If you support oil interests in the U.S. or abroad… how much do you need to hear about what the oil company is doing outside of itself? The United States is a cynical country. If we hear that some huge corporation is donating to a charity or funding a program… how many of us would chalk it up to PR?
Without the help of oil companies like Exxon Mobil and Hess, the BBPP program in Moka would probably still not exist. Without the BBPP the fight for conservation and protection of bush animals would be near impossible. If I had only heard of this on the news at home, honestly I would be cynical. Of course an oil company would be trying to get positive PR in the environmental sector. But seeing it first hand makes me realize how they are putting money where their mouth is without getting media attention for it. And even if they were getting attention for it, would it devalue the work they are doing? Even if their intentions were solely for positive PR, good is still getting accomplished.
Also, the people who work on Bioko and live on oil compounds are not in control of how oil is run. They are doing their job; I have not met one person here whose sole intention was to screw the American people or the environment.
Do I agree with everything an oil company does now because of my experiences here? Do I think every single person working for an oil company is working for a greater good? Of course not. I am still a bleeding heart liberal. Do I still think that the oil profits have been ridiculously staggering over the past several months? Oh most definitely. I can still be critical of something I have grown to understand on a deeper level. Being liberal does not make me unable to judge things fairly.
The Americans working here are not maniacal neo-cons whose sole purpose in life is to destroy our environment and deplete our natural resources. They are welcoming, funny, caring and loving… they are the textbook definition of southern hospitality. Many of these women and men have taken this group under their wing and have given us a home away from home, making us feel welcome at their houses and BBQs; they are our little slice of America in the middle of Equatorial Guinea.
I know that I am probably biased because of all the hospitality we as a group have received on these compounds. I can only go by what I know and how I feel. As long as we are dependent on oil for energy, there will always be oil companies. As long as there are oil companies, profits will be made. Without profits, projects like the BBPP would collapse. Yes the CEOs and presidents of these companies could make a little less money, but that is not the people whom I am dealing with. One could argue the intentions of any CEO of any major corporation.
The whole point of this blog wasn’t to throw my support one way or the other; or to try to convince anyone of anything. I wanted to show the humanity behind the corporation. Putting a human face on something huge like an oil company makes it easier to evaluate it fairly. If we are not fairly critical of something we feel passionately about, generalizations and quick judgments get passed of as truth. Oil companies should be criticized for not passing profits on or a spill somewhere around the world, but they should also get recognition for work they are doing like funding the BBPP.
Having ethical questions about how a company runs is one thing; lumping all workers in a company as evil or malicious is judgmental and does nothing to solve a problem. It usually makes a situation worse.
Oil companies may not be viewed as cuddly teddy bears, but you can’t write off those who work for them as the ‘bad guys’. If you’re going to hate the company, don’t hate the workers.
There are some aspects of oil companies that I agree with that I honestly wasn’t aware of. Promoting a project like the BBPP (Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program) here in Bioko has a great positive environmental impact. Do we not hear of such projects because the American people are not that interested or because the media is biased against ‘Big Oil’. I feel like it’s a combination of both. Like I said before, generalizations and quick judgments are easy; if it’s easier for some Americans to think that everything an oil company does is evil, what could the media or anyone else for that matter do to convince them otherwise. If you support oil interests in the U.S. or abroad… how much do you need to hear about what the oil company is doing outside of itself? The United States is a cynical country. If we hear that some huge corporation is donating to a charity or funding a program… how many of us would chalk it up to PR?
Without the help of oil companies like Exxon Mobil and Hess, the BBPP program in Moka would probably still not exist. Without the BBPP the fight for conservation and protection of bush animals would be near impossible. If I had only heard of this on the news at home, honestly I would be cynical. Of course an oil company would be trying to get positive PR in the environmental sector. But seeing it first hand makes me realize how they are putting money where their mouth is without getting media attention for it. And even if they were getting attention for it, would it devalue the work they are doing? Even if their intentions were solely for positive PR, good is still getting accomplished.
Also, the people who work on Bioko and live on oil compounds are not in control of how oil is run. They are doing their job; I have not met one person here whose sole intention was to screw the American people or the environment.
Do I agree with everything an oil company does now because of my experiences here? Do I think every single person working for an oil company is working for a greater good? Of course not. I am still a bleeding heart liberal. Do I still think that the oil profits have been ridiculously staggering over the past several months? Oh most definitely. I can still be critical of something I have grown to understand on a deeper level. Being liberal does not make me unable to judge things fairly.
The Americans working here are not maniacal neo-cons whose sole purpose in life is to destroy our environment and deplete our natural resources. They are welcoming, funny, caring and loving… they are the textbook definition of southern hospitality. Many of these women and men have taken this group under their wing and have given us a home away from home, making us feel welcome at their houses and BBQs; they are our little slice of America in the middle of Equatorial Guinea.
I know that I am probably biased because of all the hospitality we as a group have received on these compounds. I can only go by what I know and how I feel. As long as we are dependent on oil for energy, there will always be oil companies. As long as there are oil companies, profits will be made. Without profits, projects like the BBPP would collapse. Yes the CEOs and presidents of these companies could make a little less money, but that is not the people whom I am dealing with. One could argue the intentions of any CEO of any major corporation.
The whole point of this blog wasn’t to throw my support one way or the other; or to try to convince anyone of anything. I wanted to show the humanity behind the corporation. Putting a human face on something huge like an oil company makes it easier to evaluate it fairly. If we are not fairly critical of something we feel passionately about, generalizations and quick judgments get passed of as truth. Oil companies should be criticized for not passing profits on or a spill somewhere around the world, but they should also get recognition for work they are doing like funding the BBPP.
Having ethical questions about how a company runs is one thing; lumping all workers in a company as evil or malicious is judgmental and does nothing to solve a problem. It usually makes a situation worse.
Oil companies may not be viewed as cuddly teddy bears, but you can’t write off those who work for them as the ‘bad guys’. If you’re going to hate the company, don’t hate the workers.
1 comment:
Thanks Amanda, Nice to see kindness, fellowship and honesty can change even a bleeding heart liberal!
Just go tell the rest of the world that we are not all Satan’s Demon workers, even though we sold our soul into an industry entirely ran by the man himself!!!
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