Oil Spill Solidarity

As images trickle in of oil-soaked birds and oil-glazed waters, I hurt because I know that we are not seeing the worst of it. BP's extensive cover-up efforts are restricting media and scientist access to the worst scenes of the spill, and BP's scant clean-up efforts are mostly for show not for real effect.

What hurts me more is the silence I am witnessing from many people who surround me. Some, I think, are silent because they buy the PR campaign and don't see anything much to be upset about. Others are silent because they hurt so much they don't know how to process what they do know. This latter reason I can understand, even as I am frustrated by it. I can understand not knowing how to deal with the pain. However, the silence of the hurting adds to the silence of the indifferent, and just creates a lot of silence.

Some friends of mine and I decided we needed to do something. Posting articles and stories on facebook is one way of speaking out, but we wanted to do more. So, we are organizing an event (and a movement) out of solidarity to those who are most effected by the spill.

Our first action will be to stand outside of a local BP (in Asheville, NC) holding hands. We will be organizing a boycott BP movement in town, as a gesture of solidarity and outrage. This will be an emotionally satisfying act, but it is just a starting point. We hope to organize weekly events in town, each different in type and scope (including such things as flash mobs, etc). Along with events like these, that could be emotionally cathartic and meaningful, we will share information about how to speak to local, state and national representatives and demand accountability and media transparency, how to directly help those in the Gulf, and ways to decrease oil dependence. We will hopefully work with groups like Transition Asheville to create a lasting movement of re-localization and reduced oil dependence.

I sincerely hope that this tragedy (and other similar ongoing oil spill tragedies in the world) will be a turning point for human culture. Humanity's problems are deeply interrelated and all have to do with power relationships. Raping the Earth for smaller and smaller amounts of oil is related to the rape of women in a war-torn country (and not just because we may have been in that war for oil). As long as we see the world in terms of power-over (the earth or other people), we all lose. Once we can begin to see all life as interconnected, we can create something entirely different. This is why I think it is important to stand together in solidarity with those who are facing the consequences of our addiction to oil. BP is screwing up, badly, but they are doing so because they know we continue to pay for the oil that fuels our lifestyle. It's our reliance on fossil fuels that is creating this problem, and if we stand together, maybe we can make the shift that humankind has so long been needing to make. I think the consciousness shift will be built from a place of connection and love, and even as we stand in witness of destructive corruption, we are standing together, in support of our common survival.

If you are interested in checking out our work, go to http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=126004460766702

You can join the group even if you are not in Asheville. I think this model could work for any community. : ) Drop us a line if you want to think about doing what we are doing. I'd love to see other communities try the same thing!