Posted on 06/17/2010 7:41:09 PM PDT by WesternCulture
VENICE, La. -- The "small people" of the Gulf Coast have a humongous message for oil giant BP: They're tired of the company's big-time executives making insensitive comments. On Wednesday, BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg told reporters in Washington: "I hear comments sometimes that large oil companies are greedy companies or don't care, but that is not the case with BP. We care about the small people."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
By using that particular expression, I believe he meant to say that he opposes the idea of BP being a company run by cynical men in $5000 suits who couldn't care less about ordinary, honest and hard working people who lack the economic resources of a multinational company.
Personally, I don't claim to possess the verbal skills of BP, but as a native speaker of Swedish I'm somewhat flabbergasted Svanberg chose to use an expression like “small people” which is reminiscent of the Swedish word “småfolk” actually meaning “wight”. Interpreted in a more literal way, this vocable would translate into “small folks” (although “småfolk” per se has little to do with the English expression “small people”).
I don't wish to ironize over the tragic effects of the gulf oil spill, but this wikipedia article might provide you with a “mer klar idé om vad jag pratar om” (more clear idea of what I prate of”):
The stupidity of the ‘offended’ boggles the mind.
New Orleans spent $5 MILLION on ads bashing Britain.
Did it occur to them that that money might have helped some of those small people who are losing out due to the lack of tourism, etc.
“I hear comments sometimes that large oil companies are greedy companies or don’t care, but that is not the case with BP. We care about the small people.”
1st off, this guy is not a native English speaker. Cut the guy some slack.
2nd, this is offensive, but it’s OK for Joe Schmoe to bemoan his lot by whining about “they don’t care about the Little Guy!”? Is “small” that much worse than “little”?
Small minds, indeed.
Wait...what?
They spent 5 million....on ads?!?
Andy Jackson spent less defending the place from the British army!
“New Orleans spent $5 MILLION on ads bashing Britain.”
Huh? Bashing Britain? Are you serious?
If so - don’t expect much more from the “Chocolate City” (I thought that was Hershey).
Bill O’Reiley was offended by this or at least he went on and on about it on his show yesterday-personaly I find it about the same as O’Reiley saying “The Folks” The folks just dont understand President Obama.
>> The stupidity of the ‘offended’ boggles the mind.
If I remember my social studies lessons correctly, “being offended” is the #1 industry in New Orleans, and it ranks fairly high in the state as a whole. Far from being stupid, many of them have actually become quite sophisticated in the practice of victimhood-extortion.
Yes they did. When convention bureau began to get cancellations from Great Britain they withdrew the ads.
Idiots....wasting that money. It was BP money.
Talk about stuck on stupid.
I called and let them know what I thought of that act of gross stupidity.
If he called them “Lilliputians” they wouldn’t be offended. They wouldn’t get it. The poor guy was trying to be humble and the offended people are the “small”people.
Deflect the anger. Are the people of the Gulf enraged at Obama yet? This is frackin’ unbelievable.
It was BP money that was meant to finance ads FOR tourism.
They found out that the Brits were cancelling their conventions in NO in protest.
Maybe the chocolate chips are gone but the morons in charge now aren’t much better at all.
Stop right where you are! You know the score, pal! If you’re not a cop, you’re “little people.”
-Blade Runner (1982)
Bill O’Reiley himself gets more offenseve every night
It’s the intolerance of those that have never studies a foreign language. I heard his speak, and it was very clear that he simply meant ORDINARY, not small, people.
Really don’t think he meant to offend anyone, especially in light of the remarks preceding that phrase.
Now, on the other hand, if ignorant people are offended, then they are excused, because they don't know better. For Oreilly and others who feign such disdain for the remark, they are simply being "small," with a capital S.
“Small minds, indeed.”
- True.
I don’t wish to bore anyone here with quotes from 18th century writers from my part of the World, but I recall these words from one of them (I think it was a certain author by the name of Thorild):
“Små ting rör små sinnen” (”Small things move small senses”).
Give the guy a break. He obviously is not a master of the nuances of English. He meant the working people of the gulf.
Yeah I cant really watch him too much-I watch him only as I am channel surfing and once he starts saying how Obama would never do any of the things he does on purpose I yell in disgust and then click the channel. I do not know how he keeps his veiwer ship at the same level
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