Zeno Swijtink
05-27-2008, 07:13 PM
Has anybody been angry or seen anger at the gas pump??
https://www.mediamagnet.com/images/catalog/comps/d/d777f499-ebe1-4638-ad3e-72075b730a16.jpg
On a list I am on I saw these stories
Here in L.A. at least, people hardly ever talk to each other while filling up at gas stations -- they tend to stay quiet and ignore each other just like men in public restrooms.
But recently I've seen a unusual change in this pattern. People are loudly cursing, making unsolicited comments to other nearby patrons (e.g., "Bush and the GOP did this to us!" -- "Damn those %$%@(## oil companies!" -- "$80 #(@G! bucks to fill the tank!" -- "Screw [insert public figure and/or foreign oil producing country here]" -- and so on.
This isn't just happening occasionally -- I'm getting an earful of these every time I've been at a pump of late.
I've lived in L.A. my entire life, and I've never seen reactions like this. Even during the Oil Embargo, long lines, and odd/even rationing way back, I didn't hear this kind of public anger, mostly directed at government leaders.
and
Granted that I only buy gas at a station in rural New Jersey (yes, there is such a place), the only anger I’ve heard is directed equally at commodities speculators and environmentalists, with politicians being criticized—but not angrily--for allowing speculation on 5 percent margin and for “caving” in the 90’s on drilling in Alaska and the continental shelf. Things may get testier when citizens get heating oil bills.
Are we sliding off in anger?
https://www.mediamagnet.com/images/catalog/comps/d/d777f499-ebe1-4638-ad3e-72075b730a16.jpg
On a list I am on I saw these stories
Here in L.A. at least, people hardly ever talk to each other while filling up at gas stations -- they tend to stay quiet and ignore each other just like men in public restrooms.
But recently I've seen a unusual change in this pattern. People are loudly cursing, making unsolicited comments to other nearby patrons (e.g., "Bush and the GOP did this to us!" -- "Damn those %$%@(## oil companies!" -- "$80 #(@G! bucks to fill the tank!" -- "Screw [insert public figure and/or foreign oil producing country here]" -- and so on.
This isn't just happening occasionally -- I'm getting an earful of these every time I've been at a pump of late.
I've lived in L.A. my entire life, and I've never seen reactions like this. Even during the Oil Embargo, long lines, and odd/even rationing way back, I didn't hear this kind of public anger, mostly directed at government leaders.
and
Granted that I only buy gas at a station in rural New Jersey (yes, there is such a place), the only anger I’ve heard is directed equally at commodities speculators and environmentalists, with politicians being criticized—but not angrily--for allowing speculation on 5 percent margin and for “caving” in the 90’s on drilling in Alaska and the continental shelf. Things may get testier when citizens get heating oil bills.
Are we sliding off in anger?