BP "Small People" Comment Angers Gulf Residents

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." He later apologized and said he spoke "clumsily."

Orange Beach, Ala., Mayor Tony Kennon laughed when he heard Svanberg's remark about "small people."

"They can call me small, miniature, they can call me anything they want. Just write the check and send it to us," he said.

Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf

But Justin Taffinder of New Orleans was not amused.

"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," Taffinder said.

Svanberg is Swedish, and his comments - in English - may have been an unintentional slight. He uttered the remark to reporters following a joint press conference with President Barack Obama - who had spoke of the small business owners, the fishermen and the shrimpers affected by the spill.

Hours later, Svanberg said he was "very sorry" for speaking "clumsily."

"What I was trying to say - that BP understands how deeply this affects the lives of people who live along the Gulf and depend on it for their livelihood - will best be conveyed not by any words but by the work we do to put things right for the families and businesses who've been hurt," Svanberg said in a statement.

But coastal residents already were angry over the oil spill disaster and at BP CEO Tony Hayward's earlier comments that he "wants his life back."

Lyn Ridge, 47, ferried reporters to see oil clean up operations Wednesday in a bay at Plaquemines Parish. He just shook his head when told about the "small people" comment.

Ridge describes himself as "commercial contractor that can't find work and driving boat trying to make a living." To make matters worse, Ridge figures his house on the water in Myrtle Grove has lost half it's value due to the oil spill.

"They can say he didn't mean it that way, but that's how they think of us," Ridge said. "They can't keep their foot out of their mouth," he added referring to another BP executive's desire to have his life back.

In Alabama, Terry Hanners, who owns a small construction company in Gulf Shores, said the chairman's remark revealed something about BP's frame of mind.

"These BP people I've met are good folks. I've got a good rapport with them," said Hanners, 74. "But BP does not care about us. They are so far above us. We are the nickel-and-dime folks of this world."

Kennon said he is relieved that BP agreed to put $20 billion in an escrow fund, and joked, "They better be lucky I called off the invasion of 10,000 rednecks with their rifles headed toward England anyway."

More oil spill coverage:

BP Stops Dividend Payments During Oil Spill
BP Chairman: "We Care About the Small People"
Who is BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg?
Obama's Oil Spill "Battle" Metaphor Runs Into Problems
Sen. Vitter: Still No Urgency in Gulf Coast Response
Gulf Residents on Obama: Actions Mean Everything
Obama: We Will Fight Oil Spill With Everything We Got
Obama Treads Water, Oil in the Oval Office
Obama Offers Strong Words But No Magic Formula
Fact Check: Gaps in Obama's Oil Spill Speech

[toldyouso21]

"..and I've learned over time that a healthy bottom line means nothing if it hurts the people you depend on...LITTLE PEOPLE, like YOU, Griswold..."

National lampoon christmas vacation......

[sailinggirl]

Amazing, a person speaking English as a second language uses "small" for "little" as in the "little man" (another term is probably "the common man") arouses the most ridiculous outrage from the "small-minded" man, yet Sarah Palin can insult that same "little man" or "common man" as Joe Six-pack and people love her. Loosen up, people, the guy speaks English better than many native-born Americans, and far better than any single person commenting on this can speak Swedish, or Norwegian, or German, or any other language they weren't raised with. How sad that not an instant of understanding was given to him.

[ellensmithee]

Did these people learn nothing from Marie Antoinette?
One day, the poor will rise up against the rich and bring them down. It'll be the French Civil War all over again.

[gerryrigger]

BP's Lord Svanberg: "Did I say small people? Several times? Oh, I'm sorry! I meant those poor, sun-baked, slimy, fishy smelling peasants who have to eke out a pittance from the gulf. Okay can I get my life back now?"

[Cycoblitz]

His "small people" remark wasn't offensive to me, who lives far and away from the gulf. Not so for my cousins who lost everything and are worried how they will feed their kids without a paycheck. The fish are dead, the water impassable, and there is no relief in sight. Do they want to be seen as "small people?" No, but right about now, they are feeling pretty small and it didn't help for the CEO millionaire to remind them how small they are. Talk about "toughen-up their skin?" People who have not had their worlds destroyed by a company's blunder cannot really say how they would feel would they?

[toldyouso21]

Another word for "small people" are people whose lives and contributions do not matter--INSIGNIFICANT people--the kind of people who are not missed when they are gone and whose problems--no one cares about. THAT is the meaning of "small people"

[smoknmirrors]

Don't make angry small people angrier by calling them angry small people. They'll bite your ankles.

[bpgulf]

Regarding Today's (Thursday June 17, 2010) Broadcast of BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg...Mr. Svanberg Proved His Intelligence Level and The Early Show Did A Fantastic Job Minimizing His Faux-Pau. "Greed Breeds Stupidity"...(Quote/UnQuote From 'Simon's Helix'By GLLOYDBRUCE). Golbal Economic Entrepreneurs and Investors Know Language. He Spoke Where His Head Is At ... Thinking Or(?)Not! What Is Happening In The Gulf Of Mexico Is Devastating! Every Shareholder On The Date Of The Disaster Is Accountable For The CleanUp. It Seems BP Has Been Selling Shares At A Less For Profit Amount And The Owners Of Those Shares Have Been Paid (?)...To Escape Liability(?)... In Retrospect Each of Them Had A Reponsibility And An Ownership At The Time Of The Disaster And Each Is Accountable. Let Us Not Skirt Around The Financial BlowOut And Most Importantly And HeartBreaking...The Loss Of Good Lifes - Stand Accountable! Be Real!In This Global Economic World!!! The Gulf Eats Oil...With No Profit.

[I_am_me1953]

You know I have been reading many of these comments and all I can say is there are a lot of sensitive idiots in this world. Foreigners don't have an extensive knowledge of the spoken American English any more than Americans do of other froeign languages. A simple comment in English may be a something that can get you tried, convicted and executted in a foreign country. Time for some folks around this country to toughen-up their skin. The comments made by this man were not intended to insult anyone. Get a grip and a life.

[Cbonedaddy]

AMEN! Seems that Americans are turning into a bunch of complainers. Sure would be nice to put those "idots" in BP's shoes for a day and see how they would react to all of the pressure. It is a terrible thing that happened in the Gulf, and I feel that BP is trying to correct the situation. I feel sorry for the exec's. Let's give them some time, what else can we do.

[tomanyt]

People just love to be offended.

[I_am_me1953]

Yes they do, Thanks especially to being PC.

[Cassarit]

Isn't this the kind of behaviour they chastise folks like Al Sharpton for?