Editorial: If you won't buy gas, at least buy something

Goodness knows, there's more than enough reason for outrage.

Since the April 20 explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Coast's ocean waters and inland marshes have been flooded with millions of gallons of oil. The spill has brought ecological and economic devastation to the shores of this country on a massive scale.

On a daily basis, news reports from the region feature wrenching stories of the staggering toll the spill is taking on the lives and livelihoods of Gulf Coast residents, and on the fish and wildlife that call the Gulf and its environs their home.

Not at all surprisingly, as MarketingWeek reports online this week, Americans are beyond frustrated with BP. MarketingWeek notes that, "(a)ccording to U.S. research firm Vision Critical, almost half of Americans hold very negative opinions of BP and describe the business as 'idiots,' 'arrogant' and 'secretive.' YouGov research also shows the majority of consumers feel BP has handled the crisis badly."

No doubt adding to the seething anger of the American public are the clear inability of BP and the federal government, after nearly three months, to develop a workable plan to stop the gushing oil, contain the damage caused by that oil, compensate the economic victims of the spill, and at least begin addressing the environmental damage caused by the spill.

It's little wonder, then, that any number of people are finding ways of venting their frustration regarding the oil spill by boycotting - or worse, vandalizing - the many convenience stores and gas stations selling BP-branded gasoline.

As just one local example, a Wednesday story in this newspaper detailed the travails of the operator of a BP-selling convenience store on U.S. Highway 29 North. Stanley Saeed of All American Food Store No. 2 said that, in a

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