Posted on 06/16/2010 9:07:38 PM PDT by CaroleL
BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg emerged from his long anticipated meeting with President Barack Obama on Wednesday and declared "We care about the small people." Of course he was attempting to convey the message that his company will live up to its responsibilities to those businesses and individuals directly affected by the oil spill in the Gulf. He actually said words to that effect too but the line that stood out the most remains, "We care about the small people."
While this derogatory reference to the victims of the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history justifiably angered many Gulf coast residents and countless others on their behalf; it also represents a frighteningly pervasive attitude in this country. Power brokers from both big business and big government meet behind closed doors and decide what will be done and how it will be done to serve their own interests best. Keeping their jobs, furthering their own agendas, appeasing their power bases is paramount; claiming to care about "the small people" is merely lip service.
(Excerpt) Read more at talkingsides.com ...
love fest...
They do not care for medium or large size people. The congress has to debate and pass statues for him to do this. Where is his authority to do this? where is an impartial judge? Who knows what they really agreed to and what is hidden from the media.
The people of LA, Ms Al, and Fl had no input. I wonder if any of this money will end up in Chicago or Calif? Carpetbaggers do things like this. Cut off oil drilling and then depress the economy and buy up cheap labor and cheap assets.
Breathtaking arrogance. It is time for the Small People to rise up and take back their country! First, the ballot box. If that doesn’t work...
If you listen to the whole press conference, he said that President Obama made clear that he is “frustrated because he cares about the small people.”
“And we care about the small people.”
I would love to know if Obama used that expression when talking with him, and he just repeated it.
I know it well....
Robert Reich is a small person.
And he doesn’t love BP back- he wants to nationalize them!
honestly, bp would be better off not even bothering to do business in this cry baby country anymore.
From his accent, I’d guess that English is not BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg’s first language and that he does not have a good command of the American idiom.......but that’s just me.
I'm checking the handle of my pitchfork for soundness.
I get the impression that Obama talked about the ‘little people’ or ‘small businesses’ and the BP person had an international (possible that English is not his first language, let alone American English) take on this terminology, assumed that Barry was using terminology most likely to resonate with Americans (he doesn’t know Barry like we do) and then used it publicly - I can’t see a BP CEO being LESS articulate than Obama.
Now madam Hitlery has no excuse when she calls us ‘the little people’ - nor bubba when he calls us “Joe 6-pack.”
Small, huh? We 6’4”/210pounders object to that! Did they say how big he was, before I offer to meet him in a dark alley?
I see we've all pretty much on the same page - he thinks it's a term we use because he heard obumble refer to us as ‘the small people’ -
we need to nail that down...verify it
The poor guy was trying to be gracious and is now being hammered for it. Obviously it was not his intent to denigrate the suffering people of the Gulf, but the libs and other Americans, who BTW speak only one language and therefore don’t realize the pitfalls of navigating in a foreign tongue, are jumping all over him. He’s probably sayin, eff them all at this point.
He’s Swedish and the report was that Obama was talking about small business people. Give the guy a break. English is his second (or later) language. He was parroting Obama and left out the “business” part. The last thing he was trying to do is offend the locals. I’m just glad he didn’t use another legitimate Swedish word and say “We will not be niggardly in our payments to the small people.” Can you imagine those fireworks? But this is making a trap for a man with his words.
The man should have said “No speak English” and used a Swedish translator.
Probably.
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