May 2010
There were differences between the British commentaries on the recent oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the American ones. Obviously for the Americans it was a local disaster while for us it was far away. One difference in the commentaries was more subtle, though. To the British the company operating the oil rig was "BP". To the Americans it was "British Petroleum". It was as though they were saying "Hey, you Brits are responsible for this."
I hope they don't do to us what we did to Iceland after the collapse of the Icelandic banks.
At least for the moment they are concentrating on sorting out the problem rather than apportioning blame. I couldn't help remembering the only time I can recall losing my temper at work - with someone who was my boss at the time. (A career-limiting move if there ever was one.) On one occasion after something had gone wrong I had to tell him quite forcefully that, the sooner he stopped bleating about wanting to know how we had got ourselves into this mess, the sooner we would be able to get ourselves out of it.
Some homeless people will readily tell you who is to blame for their problems. Their flatmate started stealing their money. Their partner got into drugs. Social security has got behind in paying their benefits. The police were too heavy-handed. They can't get a repeat prescription because the doctor's surgery is closed. And, yes, sometimes they themselves drink too much or have too-hasty tempers. We need to let the blame go and concentrate on solving the problem.
I wonder whether the oil will affect the Gulf Stream Drift?