BP chairman talks about the ‘small people,’ further angering gulf
Washington Post
By Ann Gerhart
June 17, 2010BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg attempted an earnest apology Wednesday for the worst environmental accident ever to befall America, but it will be remembered for only two words:
"Small people."
Svanberg came with other BP executives to the White House, where
he said President Obama made clear that he is "frustrated because he cares about the small people." "And we care about the small people," added Svanberg, who is Swedish. "I hear comments sometimes that large oil companies are greedy companies or don’t care. But that is not the case indeed. We care about the small people."
Just like that, a new slogan was born. It sardonically swept through cyberspace and landed in the gulf, where it was greeted with no more enthusiasm than the unrefined crude gushing from BP property. "We’re not small people. We’re human beings. They’re no greater than us. We don’t bow down to them. We don’t pray to them," said Justin Taffinder of New Orleans.
"Purely a translation matter," e-mailed BP spokesman Scott Dean. And later Wednesday, Svanberg apologized for his apology: "I spoke clumsily this afternoon, and for that, I am very sorry." BP’s European executives have consistently struggled to strike the right tone in response to the oil spill. Svanberg was the guy who was supposed to demonstrate all the humility that Tony Hayward, the company’s chief executive, can’t quite muster.
Early on, Hayward outraged Gulf Coast residents and officials when he pledged to honor "all legitimate claims," then scoffed, when asked for examples of illegitimate claims: "I could give you lots of examples. This is America – come on. We’re going to have lots of illegitimate claims. We all know that"…
When Carl first mentioned the "small people" gaff in the comments, it hadn’t yet registered on me what Svanberg had said. I was busy being impressed that Obama had called BP to the Principal’s Office and apparently laid down the law [I wish he’d do that with Goldman-Sachs about the bonuses]. But looking at the "small people" comment, is it a Freudian Slip of sorts – one of those times when what you really think [even if you don’t know it] comes rolling out of your mouth? Is it something he really meant to say – not knowing how it would sound? Or was it just something that translated from his native Swedish badly?Usually, in a Freudian slip, the meaning is immediately apparent to all, including the person making the slip. Svanberg didn’t know he’d done it. I’m having trouble thinking it’s a bad translation job since I can’t replace the word "small" with any other word that isn’t equally demeaning or condescending. When I was a kid, I remember a Tennessee politician trying to appear non-racist who used the word "darkies" [he wasn’t elected]. My wife thinks Svanberg might have meant "small businesses" since Obama had been using that phrase.
I think Obama does care about "small businesses" and "small people." In fact, if Obama had used the term, I don’t think there wouldn’t be such a flap. He would’ve used it like "forgotten people" or something like that. I highlighted that part of Svanberg’s comments below because I was impressed that Obama had gotten across that "he is ‘frustrated because he cares about the small people’." But I think what’s wrong with what BP Chairman Svanberg said is the notion that BP "cares" about any "people" at all – or did before their Oil Rig blew up in their face. It’s abundantly clear that they didn’t care about safety – cutting corners at every turn to do it faster and cheaper than was apparently possible.
They’ve hired a PR firm to advertise their way out of this mess, and it’s not working, any more than the "care" Carl-Henric Svanberg is trying to sell. There’s an old saying from England that arose aboard ships that had seasoned Sailors, and young, naive recruits called Marines. It meant if your going to tell a tall tale, "tell it to the Marines." My father had an oft quoted old saying too, "I don’t mind your peeing in my boot, but don’t tell me it’s water." It’s not saying "small people" that matters about what Svanberg said. It’s saying "we care"…
Who cares if BP cares? The leadership of such a corporation has fiduciary responsibilities to the shareholders, and, probably to a lesser extent from their perspective, the stakeholders (employees, vendors, customers etc.) of the corporation. We understand this and we expect that they will behave accordingly – it’s what corporations do. The deal here is that they are simply, undeniably, and irretrievably on the hook for what will turn out to be a long-term and quite noticeable hit on the bottom right hand corner of their balance sheet…whether it turns out to be 50, 100, 150, 200 or more billions of dollars over whatever period of time is immaterial. They have to figure out how they are going to make good on the liabilities the corporation has incurred and along the way, they have to worry about their long-term competitive position in their industry, the kind of company they will re-build if they hope to return to sustained profitability. Could they go under? Who knows and who cares? All their cash and all their assets then apply to the liabilities and, it is safe to say that the U.S. Government, in the interests of its employers, will be the very first in line. Bottom line, Chairman Svandberg, is that we don’t expect or require you to “care” a jot for what Swedes term “liten folk” or any other kind of folk. Your personal translation issues are equally unimportant to us – it’s your wife and children who have to live with you after all. Your moral example is important to them as well as to your big wide circle of intimates. And yours was a moral slip that will not be easily remedied with infusions of cash to the corporate PR budget. Your implication, that the people shucking oysters or netting shrimp or fixing boat engines or slinging grits are “small” as perhaps compared to yourself and your “big” pals is of no consequence. You have lots to care about: whether your insurance carriers will make good, whether your contractors can be subrogated for their share of the liabilities, whether your competitors will make it easier for you by jacking their prices for petroleum product and so on. Spare us your caring and keep ink in your wells sufficient to write the checks.
Damn Carl, I’ve missed your clarity during your recent sabbatical…
One of my little neices would do something silly or reckless and get into trouble a lot of the time. She would always say she was sorry and than proceed to do something equally naughty. One day I told her not to say she was sorry because she obviously didn’t mean it or she wouldn’t have done it again. I’d rather BP say we will find out who made or makes the decision to cut corners and we will make sure they will never, repeat never let this horrible mess happen again. Oh by the way, what happened to the famous quote about the buck stops here or is that just for responsible presidents like Truman and Obama.