Clive Crook does well to note Britain's "whining" over what they perceive to be "anti-British" sentiment over the BP disaster. Similar pieces have been written on other sites and many British are defending the oil company, claiming that that their pensions depend upon its success. This all begs the question: How do the British possibly have any right to get angry over this?
As Crook points out, anti-British sentiment has been almost non-existent in the whole deal and if the situation were reversed we'd be hearing about how unbelievable it was that the "competent and confident" Americans couldn't fix the problem. Americans are mad at BP because they continue to destroy an important ecosystem in our country, not because they're British. We'd be mad if it was Shell or Exxon or whomever else. British pride and sense of honor may be even higher than its American counterpart, but on this one, all they can rightfully do is admit that one of their companies made a (huge) mistake and hope things get better in the Gulf.
As Crook points out, anti-British sentiment has been almost non-existent in the whole deal and if the situation were reversed we'd be hearing about how unbelievable it was that the "competent and confident" Americans couldn't fix the problem. Americans are mad at BP because they continue to destroy an important ecosystem in our country, not because they're British. We'd be mad if it was Shell or Exxon or whomever else. British pride and sense of honor may be even higher than its American counterpart, but on this one, all they can rightfully do is admit that one of their companies made a (huge) mistake and hope things get better in the Gulf.
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