16 November 2008

some people are a sickness on this land. they're killing, they're stealing, they're taking whatever they can.

EXXON TigerMart Pump, Mouth of Wilson, VA

He certainly looks friendly enough, especially with gas prices temporarily on the decline, but when you consider Exxon's net profits (not revenue) for the past year surpassing the total economies of 125 of the 184 countries ranked by the WorldBank (including a record 14.83 billion during their last quarter), and you consider the human rights and environmental abuses that have taken place to ensure those profits (look on the Amnesty International page), Tony starts to look a little more sinister. Of course, that's old news. I certainly hope we move toward establishing alternatives to our dependence on oil during Obama's tenure, and it would be nice (though probably not realistic) if those alternatives were more democratically controlled.

This post probably already suffers from the odd contrast in tone between the whimsical tiger and the writing, but this is what I happened to be listening to on the day I snapped the photo (and there are no good youtube videos of Bill Callahan's "Day"). If you can find the album, Frisco Mabel Joy, I highly recommend it. It's an underappreciated classic.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Mark, I don't know what to say...
Your perspective on the world around you is beautiful and honest.