It Ain't Luck

Elsewhere, the same paper recorded that a Manchester man had been jailed for 18 months for handling stolen goods (a 37in TV) in the riots. No one has accused [former BP chief Tony] Hayward of criminal behaviour, whatever the record of his new company's president, but the contrast in the consequences of two successive summer outrages is a striking one. The Deepwater Horizon crisis made Hayward the focus of American loathing in 2010, just as this year's looters had Britain's public and politicians calling for punishment and revenge.

But capitalism has encouraged Hayward to "move on" in a way it won't be doing anytime soon to anyone found with a stolen TV in the boot of their car. Public disgrace – the fact of it, whether justified or not – no longer presents an obstacle to powerful careers.
~ from The Titanic Disaster Meant a Life of Shame For Its CEO. Not So BP's Tony Hayward by Ian Jack ~

In this article, Jack relates that Hayward left BP with millions of dollars in compensation and his newly-formed company now stands to reap millions more through a Kurdish oil deal. Regardless of his legal or moral culpability as BP chief, Hayward has landed on his feet big time and is singing all the way to the bank.

On the other hand, petty criminals (like the one Jack mentions) routinely are sent to prison for crimes that impact the few. Think about this for a moment. Hayward's company caused billions of dollars of damages plus wrecked an ecosystem for a generation and he gets off scot-free, but steal a television set or sell somebody a dime bag and you can expect to spend some time in the big house!

Some people might say that people like Hayward are lucky, but luck has little to do with it. Our system is set up to excuse egregious acts by the well-to-do (unless they victimize other well-to-do individuals or corporations -- then they too MAY get in trouble) and to put the hammer down on everyone else. It keeps the masses scared and preoccupied knowing that the law could scoop them up at any time.