The Daily Campus

Issue date: 6/12/06 Section: Commentary

"The relationship between the energy industry and the government could be described as incestuous at best," said Paul Comeau, a founder of Bikes Against Big Oil, with disgust. "We need no further proof than the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan to see that when business and government interests become too closely intertwined, the poor and working class people suffer while government officials and corporate executives profit."

Despite being cynical of market and state, Comeau nevertheless affirms, "Working both individually and collectively is the most effective way to change the society around us to reflect our ideals of a progressive community free of all social injustices." Envisioning a population unmoved by the authority flags and solitary persons unimpressed by the influence dollars, these activists are peacefully taking up arms against two hierarchical institutions that seem to only present contrived illusions of acceptability.

Accordingly, Comeau does not expect much when he hears corporate slogans promising advancement or the words of President Bush proclaiming some contrived nationalist pursuit for alternative forms of energy. Comeau asserts that "most cause-related marketing campaigns are merely attempts to maintain an air of social responsibility in the eye of the general public, without actual effort toward modifying existing business practices. GE's creation of toxic Superfund sites, while at the same time maintaining a campaign promoting 'going Green' is but one of many examples of such marketing campaigns in action."

In the end, however, the real purpose of Bikes Against Big Oil goes beyond simply chastising the forces of old and evil. Like all similar forms of protest, the purpose of this bike trip is to ignite a shared hope for genuine positive change - truly revolutionary progress. As Comeau has noted, "Ideally, by wiping out the root causes of our dependence on oil - suburbanism and suburban sprawl - we would seek to develop environmentally sustainable communities where cars are both impractical and unnecessary. It is not so much about prosecuting the big oil companies for their crimes as it is about building alternatives to their system of profits and environmental exploitation."

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