Amount of anger you're feeling about the oil spill?

[brentspeak]

I've never been the most keen follower of environmental issues, but I'm feeling quite a bit of rage about the whole thing. I can't imagine what committed environmentalists are feeling. And, most importantly, the minds of Gulf Coast residents who are seeing their whole lives go up in smoke?

First thing we do is figuratively hold BP and Halliburton corporations upside-down by the ankles and shake every last cent out of their multi-billion dollar pockets.

[Adsos Letter]

1. Anger? Well...I just happened to mention the DU thread about 25,000 bbs per day

leaking into the Gulf to my wife, who is traversing between the kitchen and the front yard, planting flowers (our computer sits at the midpoint in this passage)

I got an earful both ways, coming and going, with "That governor of Louisiana" and "Drilling offshore" coming in for quite a stream of heated vituperation.

I think there is a fair amount of simmering anger in this house...

[rzemanfl]

3. All because Cheney let them save 500 grand by not putting in

that acoustic thing. I am surprised Bush Cheney didn't waive the requirement of seat belts in SUVs because they were big vehicles....

[roguevalley]

42. its hard to express. I remember they bought a lot of boom stuff from

local outfits for the exxon valdez debacle, took it down to homer and left it on the beach to rot. they had the receipts to show they spent clean up money but they didn't deploy it. they did write it off their taxes. you better keep an eye on them. they will screw you too.

[Dappleganger]

2. I'm still in the astonished phase...

anger will set in a few days when the animals start popping up everywhere covered in toxic goo.

[tavalon]

44. That's where I am

I'm really tired of us shitting in our nest. I'm really starting to think Gaia needs to kick our asses off of her planet. At least that way, maybe she can save some of the worthier animals.

[NotThisTime]

70. Same here... I think numb, just numb. Who allows them to build a platform, drill down a mile when

there was no freaking emergency plan? Who allows it? NO PLAN, NONE, no backup, no nothing, what the hell are they thinking... I know what they're thinking, they're thinking they can make money, save 500K not to put in extra emergency precautions, and they know the Americans will never freaking conserve in oil usage... that's what I know they're thinking. Bastards.

[TransitJohn]

4. More angry about the dead men of the Deepwater Horizon.

Who is going to provide for their families now?

[brentspeak]

7. Haven't forgotten about them

[phasma ex machina]

49. RIP. Endless visions of explosions dance through me head whenever the powers that be

send me to fix computers/phones at an oil/gas field/plant. There's something about working next to a 16" pipeline crammed full of high pressure natural gas that stimulates the old imagination.

[Common Sense Party]

82. Hopefully, life insurance.

[Sebastian Doyle]

5. You should be listening to Mike Malloy right about now

He just went off on the Repukes for all their states rights/small government/deregulation/drill baby drill bullshit that caused this, along with the recent mining disasters, etc.

[CBR]

6. I wish people would talk about the disasters of mountaintop

removal as they do about this.

[texastoast]

17. Damn straight

Coal and oil are just destructive, short-sighted industries.

When will these fuckers learn that you can't eat money.
:mad:

[northernlights]

8. immeasurable

You don't have to be an environmentalist to realize the enormity of this.

Everything I've read...the damage will be irreversible. The marshes will suck the oil up like a big sponge....and die. The habitat for so many species destroyed for good...or at least until long after we're gone.

So many animals will die needlessly. The birds and turtles are nesting right now. Dolphins in the area too.

It makes me so sick with rage to think about it...I can't imagine being there and seeing it.

[Brickbat]

9. Not a lot, really.

I only have so much to spread around.

[lonestarnot]

15. And so what are you so angry about these days then?

I mean if destruction of an entire ecosystem within a matter of months doesn't piss you off, what the fuck does?

[bobbolink]

19. Homeless people dying and nobody giving a shit. THAT pisses me off.

But that doesn't matter.

[butterfly77]

25. Yes it does...

And it will to many more who never gave a damn or thought it couldn't happen to them or their families..

[bobbolink]

28. Yup, that good old "US and THEM". "progressives think they will never be the "THEM"

May it be quickly.

[lonestarnot]

31. Yes, that pisses me off too!

[bobbolink]

33. Thank you. It doesn't seem to rate very high on most peoples' hit parade.

:cry:

[Generic Other]

34. I just made a video about the subject

It may not be on the hit parade, but it has had a decent number of views in the past week.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXJuzL8Dw6I

[bobbolink]

36. Started to watch it, but I don't care for exploitive images of women.

If the rest is in that vein, it isn't honest.

And, go ahead and do the DU thing and blast me for that. I no longer give a shit.

[Generic Other]

41. I am a woman! I wasn't trying to exploit anyone

I have been contacted by several homeless advocacy groups thanking me for bringing awareness to the issue. First you complain because no one cares about the issue of homelessness, then you complain because does try and raise awareness. Seems there's no pleasing you.

[bobbolink]

52. No, there is no pleasing me.

You say you are a woman (?), but you have a woman dressed as a hooker to open a program on homelessness???

What the fuck is that about?

When I say I don't like to see women exploited, which is a reasonable thing to say given the hooker on your website, then you ATTACK with "there's no pleasing you".

Try portraying homeless women as what we are... women who have hearts and souls and minds, and not just bodies in a net bodystocking. With holes in it, yet.

Or just attack and ridicule. Your choice.

[Generic Other]

53. A hooker? That's not what I was trying to portray!

I was reflecting the poverty and hopelessness I have witnessed on the streets in my community. She is dressed in ragged clothes because that is all she has--the clothes on her back. For all I know she dug them out of a dumpster.

I am not blaming this woman for her condition. I am trying to be sympathetic to her condition. It upsets me that the number of women on the streets is so high. That 50% are the victims of domestic violence. That they must struggle daily for basic survival.

The last thing I was thinking about was hookers! The character I used is an older grandmother figure who clearly in my opinion needs a helping hand not to be ignored by those more fortunate.

My intention was not to attack or ridicule. My message is that someone who asks for spare change should not be judged by others. It is a reminder that we are all responsible to help those in need.

I am sorry you find the video and its message offensive.

[bobbolink]

56. I don't know anybody who gets netted bodystockings from a dumpster.

As I told you, I didn't watch it further because of that image.

I am sick and tired of homeless people being portrayed as hookers, druggies, drunks, etc.

You had many choices of how to portray your opening figure, and you chose to go with a woman in a netted bodystocking, which is clearly HOOKER.

NOBODY dresses like that on the street except HOOKERS.

OF COURSE somebody dressed like that is going to be judged!

There is no need to continue this conversation, as you obviously think that portraying someone like this is just fine. I can tell you that that image portrays NOBODY I know who is homeless, but you are set, so that is that.

So, continue to judge ME and criticize and demean me. I'm sure that will make your day.

Bye.

[lonestarnot]

39. It fucking sickens me to drive by palaces that seem to house nothing but ghost and know that people

are dying on the streets.

[bobbolink]

57. And what will be done about it?

Going by the attitude on DU, nothing.

It doesn't rate.

Everything else is much more important.

Unless and until you and others decide to speak up and take action, you will continue to be sickened knowing that people are dying on the street.

I have suggested this before, and I know that nobody will do it, but I will leave this here anyway. Read this report, which gives all the information, and explains why all the "services" in place are doing nothing except increasing homelessness. Then gather people together and take action:

Without Housing
http://www.wraphome.org/downloads/without_housing.pdf

[Cid_B]

32. I'm with brick...

... can't seem to muster much outrage.

[Brickbat]

71. A bunch of local stuff.

I keep most of my anger local. I find it more effective that way.

[He loved Big Brother]

86. Repro rights, bodily autonomy.

Though I thought it was not possible, I feel just as angry about this spill as I do about the ever-present boots on women's necks.

Fucking horrid year And it's only May.

[texastoast]

18. What lonestarnot said. Waiting . . . n/t

[Brickbat]

75. A bunch of local stuff.

I keep most of my anger local. I find it more effective that way.

[napi21]

10. I feel very bad for the people, the animals & the States fr what they

are going to have to suffer because of this, but let me tell you a story. My BIL lives in Fla, in a house on the beach in the pnhandle. I don't think the oil has reached there YET, but I feel positive it will. He's very close o the LA. border. I called him to tell him how bad I felt about what it will do to his property. He's been a lifelong Pub, and do you know what he said? AH, I'm not worried about it. I don't swim much anymore anyway.


What an idiot! I guess he doesn't GAS about his property vlue, the damage to the economy of his state, etc! Oh, and he also thinks the new AZ law is just the right fix for getting rid of all those damn Mexicans.

I guess I told all of you about this because it's one of the reasons I can't feel ange & rage over the spill. Fla. is heavily populated with people just like my BIL, and if they don't care about the effect of this spill that is directly affectig them, then I guess I'm going to limit my concerns to the fish and the animals that are harmed.

[lonestarnot]

23. The whole area will be deadland. Never be the same as there is

apparently no repair in site for capping the damn thing. Who knows how long it is going to continue to spew more disaster each passing second.

[texastoast]

24. Join me in liking animals more than most people

Hell, join me in like blades of grass more than some of them.

[cilla4progress]

50. You hit it right on for me -

angry, definitely; but more so, sad. Pictures of the baby animals...just make me break down in sobs. I'm an ATHEIST/AGNOSTIC and all I can think about is how we humans are fouling creation. There is something very demonic in this. It is a sacrilege. All I can come up with are "religious" terms for it. Although I don't subscribe to a single, patriarchal god-figure, I do believe in the sanctity and holiness of the earth and the living beings upon it. And I know hell when I see it.

[napi21]

51. I'm with ya! I've been involved in Bichon rescue for about

10 years. I've NEVER had a nasty, mean or arrogant Bichon EVER! I have however met way too many people who have gven up their dongs, sometimes after 10 years o living with them, and always for some damn stupid reason like, they're movving & they don't want their new carpet to get dirty, or they're kids are now involved in sports & they don't have time for the dog.

Believe me, I wish I could go down to that oil infested area an help wash the animals & birds that will die without help.

[tnlefty]

11. A small fury that is kept at bay by the gut wrenching feeling

of not knowing quite yet just how horrible it will be.

BP and Halliburton should be forced to pay dearly, to their very last nickle, for this but I won't hold my breath.

[pitohui]

12. what i feel is grief

i have to admit i don't know much about bp but i can't believe they wanted this to happen or thought the shut-off valves wouldn't hold, for sure, they didn't want an explosion to kill/vaporize 11 employees

right now what i feel is grief

and somewhat of the blank stunned feeling because i can't believe we're getting hit by disaster again so soon after katrina...

anger, i'm not angry at bp, if it's proven they screwed up/somehow caused this, that will come later, but right now i'm angry at god

it is worst time of yr that this could possibly happen, the lives this will destroy, from breeding birds to shrimper's families...i'm just blank, bp did not want this, no one wanted this

[texastoast]

22. "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem"

TWO deadly explosions at BP's Texas City refinery. TWO!

If they don't work to absolutely prevent it, they work for the risk of it.

[pitohui]

38. yes my husband missed being on the scene of one of those explosions by a few hours

i'm just...blank

at this point i truly can't believe they did this or want this, i truly have to/want to believe it was an accident

we have to get up in the morning and keep going, you know what i mean?

but yes, at some point, bp has got to get their act together, they're killing workers and, now, killing the environment/other industries as well

that stunned feeling, if you've ever been in a disaster yrself you know what i'm talking abt

anger is not the word...it's just...blank

i have to believe we're all on the same team here, that someone would do this on purpose to save a few bucks is too overwhelming

i'm not anger, i'm in tears

later i can't say what i will be feeling but that's what i'm feeling now

[flvegan]

13. About the spill itself? None, really.

Nothing shocks me anymore about how quick we are to destroy this planet. I'm also not naive enough to think that BP is really going to suffer from this. And Halliburton? Anyone that thinks that evil company is going to lose one cent or one wink of sleep is nary more than a hopeful simpleton.

Seriously. Who is going to do it? Obama? Yeah, right. Congress? Pardon my guffaw. The EPA? I might piss myself laughing at that.

Complicit, spineless political hacks. I don't expect anything from them anymore.

Jaded, I suppose. Yeah, I'm pissed off in general that just ONE MORE THING has happened to fuck the general public over, but really we just do it to ourselves over and over again.

[bobbolink]

21. "but really we just do it to ourselves over and over again." That's pretty much it.

[lonestarnot]

14. And put all of their fucking money and I do mean ALL into recovery and support funds.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. On a scale of 1 to 10, a 25

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8249559

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. I miss the ability to get angry

I have come to realize that no matter what we try to do at a personal level... greed will mean that we will completely foul the nest.

Now that does not mean I will stop doing what I do... but anger... not any more. It raises the level of commitment and activism, even if so cynically I realize that it might not work in the end.

[pipi_k]

26. I'm not angry....

But I am very very sad.

I'm sad for our planet, and I'm sad for all the wildlife.


OK...maybe I am angry. I'm angry at how stupid and arrogant we humans are.


Mostly, though, my heart is sad.

And I get scared sometimes that someday a disaster will happen that we just cannot "fix".

:(

[lonestarnot]

40. This is certainly going to be one of those. We can't fix this.

[spanone]

27. scale of 1 to 10----16

[Mind_your_head]

29. I'm outraged!

But revenge is a dish best served cold.....and I'm "cool" with that.

Peace. :P

[ljm2002]

30. It's making me sick to my stomach...

...and I know I should be angry but right now, the only thing I am interested in is that as many resources as possible be employed as effectively as possible to minimize damage and to cap it somehow, sooner rather than later.

[B2G]

55. Ditto. Sick. n/t

[Generic Other]

35. Sadness tinged with resignation

Beyond anger. The beautiful gulf!

Only a heartless monster would not be moved.

[MilesColtrane]

37. Not so much rage as despair.

[CrispyQ]

63. Same here.

Also, some relief that I'm not 20-30 years younger, facing an entire lifetime of resource wars.

I try to fight my misanthropic & cynical tendencies, but to no avail.

[texanwitch]

68. I so agree.

I am 56 years old and so glad that I am not younger.

I feel sorry for the kids now.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

43. I think I have reached overload. This is one of my big issues, so it is just too much to take in.

_______________________________

[Blue_In_AK]

45. I feel extreme sadness.

I remember Good Friday 1989 like it was yesterday. I feel for the people who will lose their livelihoods and for all the animals that will suffer. This could have been prevented just like the EXXON VALDEZ. We never learn.

[Union Yes]

46. These 2 DU emoticons best describe how I feel..

:nuke: :cry:

edit:recced

[johnaries]

47. Well, I have to admit that my anger has been tempered by the

intense desire to do the Will and Grace "Told You So" dance.

Yeah, I understand that even if we had an agressive Renewable Energy program in place that we would still need to do some unfortunate "interim" programs. And I understand that nuclear energy and off-shore drilling may be "necessary" as interim programs as much as I hate both of them.

And I am truly sorry for all the pain and suffering this spill will create for both humans and non-humans. But people like me have been trying to warn others that this would happen for a long time. So that little petty part of myself is doing the "Told You so"dance while the rest of me is grieving for the damage this "all-too-avoidable" catastrophe has created and will continue to create. And I am reminded by the lyrics of Don McClean from "Vincent":

"But they would not listen
They're not listening, still.
Perhaps they never will."

[Feron]

48. I feel sick,sad, and have that bad old numb feeling..

I got after Katrina.

My heart breaks for the affected families and the wildlife. Unfortunately I am unable to help right now.

[branders seine]

54. scale of one to ten,

with one being the equivalent of getting a relaxing backrub

and ten hitting my thumb with the hammer


I'm at about a twenty-five. I want to drown every goddamned drill baby drill motherfucker there is in their own fucking raw sewage.

[azul]

58. Do environmentalists get committed for madness?

Is this a trap?

Seriously, I think we need to clean our human mess up. Justice and prevention would be served by laws that pull the plug on and seize assets of companies that harm life or the environment. The companies' executives' imprisonment would be determined by their negligence or intent.

[MountainLaurel]

59. Torn between anger and fear

Right now, fear is winning, as I wonder what is going to happen to the delicate ecosystems along the Gulf. I may have tasted my last Gulf shrimp and lost my opportunity to see migratory birds alive in the bayous. If the bottom of the food chain is destroyed, what happens? Likewise, if this moves into the Atlantic, as it's expected to, and hits the Gulf Stream. Will I develop some weird-ass cancer 20 years from now because I spent months breathing in fumes (I live in New Orleans)?

[Cleita]

60. I'm feeling not rage but an overwhelming sadness that we

have been unable to contain and control the corporate greed that makes these manmade disasters happen.

[XanaDUer]

61. A lot

nt.

[ecstatic]

62. I'm concerned about the Gulf Coast seafood industry

I know nowadays we ship in a lot of seafood from China, but it's nice to be able to eat our own fresh supply every now and then. Will that still be possible after this spill?

[AnArmyVeteran]

64. Strip BP execs of ALL their wealth, then public dunking in a pool of thick crude oil...

Figuratively of course... but they should be personally fined every dollar they ever made and forced to live in the wetlands they contaminated with the fowl, alligators, and snakes. A BP executive is foul, and it resembles alligators and snakes so they should blend in nicely in their oil saturated environment...

[gleaner]

65. I wouldn't call it anger ...

It is more like a permanent sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I lived through the oil catastrophes in California and I had hoped never to experience another one. If we made Halliburton produce the 8 billion dollars they "lost" in Iraq under Bush, maybe that would help with clean up logistics.

The environment and the people and wildlife who depended on it for a living are now officially out of luck. The land itself and the ecology can never be replaced. It's gone, and for what? And Obama is still calling for more offshore drilling? That is one of the worst parts. It is criminal. Foreseeability tells us that this could happen again and again and again.

[SmileyRose]

66. Sad, not angry

and oddly hopeful this will translate into killing off "drill baby drill".

[greencharlie]

67. 10+ nt

[Ruby the Liberal]

69. Extreme anger over the $500k remote valve shutoff that could have stopped this. Terrorized over

the thought of how scarce a resource drinking water is to begin with and where this is heading.

Blind fury over the critters that will be affected (coral ridge in the keys included in that as well as the marshes and bird sanctuaries) not to mention the livelihoods of those who depend on the gulf shores for their income (shrimp boats and the like).

Just saw where the US Government limits losses to rig operators to 75million USD for these losses.

Now my blood pressure is totally off the charts.

Edit to add link if anyone is interested: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4364298&mesg_id=4364298

[AsahinaKimi]

72. I am not jumping up and down screaming...

Seriously, this has been done so many times before.. Maybe not this big, but it all ADDS UP.. YOU still can't walk on Santa Barbara Beaches without having oil stick to your feet, and that was years ago that happened.

This should be the last straw... that Oil should not be gathered off the Coast .. and that we should look to alternative energies.

[juajen]

73. I don't think money is enough to mitigate their perfidy.

I would love to see them thrown into pig sludge, and if they survive that, roped to the next rocket to be hurled into outer space with absolutely no protection from the elements, much as our precious animals are in a muck they cannot get out of.

My heart is very heavy. I'm still suffering PTSD from Katrina, and I believe I can speak for all coastal residents in every state when I say we are devastated beyond words. Pray for the people who love our beloved wet lands, who live and work among amazing wildlife and who catch, sell and eat the magnificent food that comes from this wonderful land. Additionally, pray, once again, for the wonderful people of New Orleans who have worked so hard to come back from the hell of Katrina, only to be faced with a catastrophe which could rival Katrina. I'm not sure we will be able to come back again. I hope I'm wrong, and something wonderful happens to make this all better.

[uponit7771]

74. Drill baby drill deserves to be kicked in the mouth

[dumpdabaggers]

76. I'm angry but until we go to a green energy nation we will still need to drill offshore.

The nation needs a new energy priority. Obama is getting us towards this goal.

[The2ndWheel]

77. We were going to use the oil if the pipe didn't break

Angry about this particular event? Not really. Once the oil is out of the ground, what difference does it make?

[lukasahero]

78. Unspeakable grief

I have been an avid follower and supporter of environmental issues for over 30 years. I studied environmental science in college and ornithology (and ecology) in grad school. I am not surprised nor stunned at the disaster. I am grief-stricken at the loss and resigned to the fact that it will still effect no change.

[Swamp Rat]

79. Upper management, CEOs, and major share holders should be force-fed a quart of crude oil

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[underseasurveyor]

80. As someone that works in the field of environmental monitoring & habitat restoration

I think I'm still numb because the deep intense anger hasn't hit me yet. Oh sure I was super pissed when the story first broke but then all of the realities of what's at stake and what is going to happen began to set in. An entire eco-system with all of it's inhabitants above and below water, the vegetation, not to mention the thousands of people that depend on that area for their livelihoods and lives.

Right now I'm too sick over it to be truly outraged yet. Oh it's there under the surface I just want it to channel it as constructively as I can.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

81. Pretty fucking furious.

I am furious a largely self-regulated industry that sucks our common wealth from us for a pittance and sells it back to us at for a fortune has once again befouled the environment.

And I am equally furious I am forced to tell a Democratic president "I told you so!" about my well-founded objection to his opening up of more waters to drilling. :mad:

[The Hope Mobile]

83. 10 practical things we can do to help

http://www.usnews.com/money/blogs/fresh-greens/2010/05/03/10-things-you-can-do-to-help-the-gulf-coast-clean-the-oil-spill.html

[defendandprotect]

84. Sick . . . take BP/Halliburton's money, bankrupt them . .. but let's NOT equate nature with $$$ . .

We have to stop permitting the elites and corporations to in any way

judge nature, natural resources, animal-life -- or any human being by

the yardstick of a dollar bill!!

[WeDidIt]

85. I'd call it a righteous fury.

Yeah, righteous fury fits.

[Lucky 13]

87. Rage, despair, sickness, hopelessness

I've spent most of my adult life working in conservation.

I have no words. Just despair. So much of what environmentalists did to restore and protect that region over DECADES is completely undone in the span of just a few days. Beyond undone. Completely ruined beyond repair. Where do we even go from here?