Reflections From a Murky Pond

As I’ve commented before, if one has a message that is in protest against someone or something, one should be cognizant of the imagery one uses. It does little or no good for one’s cause if the imagery you use to get attention actually provides a “positive” image of what you’re protesting.

Such was largely the case with the Surfrider Foundation’s 2011 “Oil Bikini” calendar.

Sorry, as much as I love the oceans and take issue with the wanton destruction of our maritime environment, this calendar is just not making me angry about the Gulf Oil Spill. If anything, the thought of pretty young women wearing nothing but oil strikes me as a “golden lining” in the situation, at least at the hindbrain level.

From Surfrider’s earlier Press release:

Last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico left a deep impression in people’s minds. To remember this catastrophe, we have a created a calendar with photos of young naiads covered in oil…This calendar, which will be offered to all members of Surfrider Foundation Europe, is also designed to help recruit new volunteers

By way of mitigation, the calendar was marketed as stress relief to current members of the organization; it wasn’t designed as a public push campaign. On the other hand, as proven by my posting of this, everything goes onto the internet and parts of it will stay there long after any thought of context has faded away.

Tags: Activism | Babes | Big Oil | Bikinis | Gulf Oil Spill | Marketing | Nature | Society | Surfrider Foundation | The Environment | Women

This entry was posted on Friday, July 29th, 2011 at 9:12 am and is filed under Art, Society, The Environment. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

It seems many of the Liberals are outraged that President Obama included Professor Jonathon I. Katz in his “dream team” of scientists, mostly leading physicists and engineers, who’ve been charged with going  to the Gulf of Mexico to work with BP to stop the oil leak that’s contaminating the Gulf waters.

What is most telling is not that the Left is outraged but what specifically they’re outraged over in this matter.

What should be able to be considered strangely, the issue isn’t with Prof. Katz’s admitted lack of usefulness in dealing with the spill or its cleanup.

I was honored to be invited and enjoyed the experience. Did I have anything much to contribute? I think I have some ideas for how to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future, but I don’t have anything very specific to offer on the present problems. It is very much in the hands of the real pros.

— Professor Jonathan I. Katz
St. Louis Beacon Interview

If Prof. Katz’ lack of qualifications to deal with British Petroleum’s catastrophic failure was the reason for the Liberal’s outrage I would take no issue with it. From the above quote I would guess that Prof. Katz himself would not gainsay their opinions. But the Liberals’ wrath and condemnation is not about Katz’s credentials or skills; it’s about his ideology and the fact that it doesn’t match their own.

Tags: Al Gore | Big Oil | BP | Climate Change | Gay Rights | Global Warming | Gulf Oil Spill | Katz | LGBT | Liberals | Obama | Oil | Politics | The Environment

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 at 2:42 pm and is filed under Politics, The Environment. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.