Vilifying BP also gets in the way of identifying other culprits, one of which is the government
"Vilifying BP also gets in the way of identifying other culprits, one of which is the government"
here,"get in the way of"is a standard expression?how to use it?please help explain it with examples,thank you!

Question

Vilifying BP also gets in the way of identifying other culprits, one of which is the government
"Vilifying BP also gets in the way of identifying other culprits, one of which is the government"
here,"get in the way of"is a standard expression?how to use it?please help explain it with examples,thank you!

Answer

Both BP and the government can be blamed for the problem.
"Get in the way" means to obstruct. Literally, if I stand in the sidewalk so you can't get past me, I am in the way. "Could you please get out of my way?" is what you might say to me..

Here, by focusing attention on BP's faults, it reduces the attention paid to the government's faults. The vilification distracts people from thinking about other culprits.