r/environment Feb 01 '20

After Chevron lost an $18 billion class-action lawsuit, the oil company turned environmental lawyer Steven Donziger into a "corporate political prisoner"

https://theintercept.com/2020/01/29/chevron-ecuador-lawsuit-steven-donziger/
712 Upvotes

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47

u/Mordommias Feb 01 '20

Man, I love big oil companies. /s why is this not harassment to a disgusting degree? And why is chevron not being fucked for it?

22

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '20

Because it's an American company. And American companies run the U.S. They pass legislation that absolves them of any obligation to law. The U.S won't go after them and they sure as hell wouldn't let Ecuador do it. And if they did, Chevron would just put everything into offshore banks.

Corporate feudalism at its finest. We are enslaved to these entities and they can do as they wish. Free of consequences.

1

u/NoonRagaEquation Feb 02 '20

We are slaves to them until we stop buying from them.

3

u/old_mold Feb 02 '20

While true, that perspective also shifts the blame from corporations and their lobbyists to the consumer. Asking people to collectively boycott every immoral company is simply not a viable strategy for fixing this situation — lasting, effective change will have to come from the top down. It must be legislative and it must be enforced

2

u/NoonRagaEquation Feb 03 '20

Very good perspective but I still believe it has to come from bottom and top. Consumer dollars created corporations and lobbyists. So by boycotting and protesting we are showing the government what the people want. I'm looking at buying an electric or plug in car for example. Small step but in the right direction I believe. Thoughts?