How Dare Tony Hayward Say He Wants His Life Back!

I hope BP goes under.

I hope every single penny of its $6 billion dollars in profits in the first quarter of 2010, and all of its assets, are seized.

These should go to pay off the families of the 11 people who died when the rig blew up.

These should go to every person whose business was ruined.

And these should go to restore the Gulf of Mexico—to the extent that it’s possible whenever the oil stops spewing.

But that’s not all.

Tony Hayward and the other executives of BP should be tried in criminal court.

For manslaughter, for destruction of property, and for criminal negligence.

When someone sets fire to the neighbor’s house and kills eleven people, and the fire then destroys lots of businesses, you can bet that person would be tried to the fullest extent under the law.

BP did all that—and more. It’s poisoning an entire sea.

Finally, after six weeks, Barack Obama and Eric Holder are coming to their senses and are opening a case against BP.

Between that case and the myriad of private claims against BP, the company should be sunk.

As it deserves to be.

Tony Hayward can whine about wanting his life back.

What about the lives of those who died on the rig? They’ll never get them back.

Nor the shrimpers.

Nor the pelicans and gannets and cormorants.

He wants his cushy life back. We want our Gulf of Mexico back.

Matthew Rothschild is the editor of The Progressive magazine.