Congress has been holding hearings this past week about the consequences of BP’s deep water drilling disaster and the oil industries lack of preparation for such disasters. Joseph Cao — the first Vietnamese American to be elected to Congress — and his constituents in Louisiana’s 2nd District (which includes most of New Orleans) have a direct vested interest in the oil spill, so it comes to no surprise his anger over the BP matter.
So much so that Representative Cao goes so far as to suggest to BP America CEO Lamar McKay to commit hari-kari — ritual suicide — like in the days of the samurai.
To be honest, I’ve always been amazed and even impressed at the level of personal responsibilities that Japanese corporate CEO’s have taken in accepting responsibility for their company’s failures – to the level of some who actually have committed suicide in the past. Contrast that to the too often case where American CEO’s and senior executives shrug responsibility for their own criminal actions. Just take a look at Jon Stewart’s commentary on the oil executive blame game.
