Has anybody been angry or seen anger at the gas pump??
On a list I am on I saw these stories
andHere 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.
Are we sliding off in anger?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.