A SINGLE WORD TAKEN TO HYSTERICAL PROPORTIONS

The United States, having English as its most commonly spoken language, is a country founded by immigrants who appreciate freedom and come from all parts of the world looking to pave their way to the American dream. They all bring various languages and cultural traditions that
slowly weave into our communities and become part of our culture and heritage.
We know this to be a part of who we are as a nation and it can certainly be heard in our language, especially when it is spoken as a second language. One can experience the melting pot first hand, in New York, for example where 177 different languages are spoken and English spoken with probably 177 different accents, interpretations and literal translations. So they way people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds express themselves in English and use the language varies and can easily be misinterpreted. Words out of context or misused are common, but the Americans understand this and appreciate the effort and willingness of others to fit into their culture. Americans are skilled communicators and they welcome the opportunity to interact with and learn from persons from other cultures. 

Until, that is, the other day, when a Swede, the chairman of BP, stated in a media conference that his company cared for the “small” people. This statement started a media frenzy in the US!

Carl-Henric Svanberg is Swedish and his comment was an unintentional slight. Believe me, I know,
because I am a Swede too. We speak English as a second language and I know, as I’m sure
others know, that Svanberg meant well. Look at his body language during the press conference.
He is humble. He wants to help. His remark about small people followed a joint press conference
with President Barack Obama, who referred to the small business owners, the fishermen and the
shrimpers, affected by the spill. He used the same words as the President because he thought that
this is the right thing to do.

The media focused on this single word to hysterical proportions rather than to comment on the
important issue, namely the $20 billion BP has made available to fund the efforts of the people most
impacted. In a later statement he said the following, "What I was trying to say is that BP understands
how deeply this affects the lives of people who live along the Gulf and depend on it for their livelihood
and 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".

Are the American people more sensitive then others? I don’t think so. They are upset and
rightly so! The oil spill has devastated the area surrounding the Gulf and it will be a
long time before things are back to normal. They are mad at BP. I fully understand and agree
with Americans on that. But the way the US media misused this statement is just wrong. So
much of the media today has become “junk food” media, focused more on the entertainment
factor and making sure they have their highly valued ratings. It has a significant impact
on people’s ability to remain calm and maintain objectivity on a matter during a media frenzy,
such as the one we witnessed last week.

Thankfully most people will listen at first, absorb and appreciate the information and move along with their daily lives. News organizations should perhaps try to understand the patterns of human nature and rethink their model.