"Gas Out" Mumbo Jumbo

[Rodney Crater]

I received an email that had the same theme I have been seeing year after year. Below is a copy of the body of the email and following it is my response to the matter.

-------------- The email ---------------

Subject: Fwd: No Gas on May 15th

Don't pump gas on MAY 15 th

In April 1997, there was a "gas out" conducted nationwide in protest of gas prices. Gasoline prices dropped 30 cents a gallon overnight. On May 15th 2007, all internet users are to not go to a gas station in protest of high gas prices. Gas is now over $3.00 a gallon in most places. There are 73,000,000+ American members currently on the internet network, and the average car takes about 30 to 50 dollars to fill up. If all users did not go to the pump on the 15th, it would take $2,292,000,000.00 (that's almost 3 BILLION) out of the oil companies pockets for just one day, so please do not go to the gas station on May 15th and lets try to put a dent in the Middle Eastern oil industry for at least one day. If you agree (which I cant see why you wouldn't) resend this to all your contact list. With it saying, ''Don't pump gas on May 15th"

-------------------My response --------------------------


It seems that an even better response to the situation would be, since everyone is soooo concerned, to start riding bicycles to work and school. I have seen daily commuters riding up to 40 miles or so one way, day after day, even in bad weather including snow. So what is everyone else's excuse for not riding, is it that they just want something given to them involving no effort on their part? It seems more and more people want a cheap free ride through life where they can rush to and fro to save a couple of minutes just to sit on the couch and watch in a trance the drone of repetitious, non-intellectual babble spewing from their television sets. Now tell me, what in the world makes anyone think that they "deserve" anything. You were not born with the alienable right to "deserve" anything you do not put some effort into obtaining or keeping. Personally, I think everyone should have to spend one day in the shoes of our earth's poorest peoples. That would certainly wake everyone up to the cold hard realities of life and wrench them out of the mumbo-jumbo fairy tale perspective that seems to be perpetuated for the sake of herding human sheep.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Rodney

[wheel]

CNN Headlines ran the same thing...
They stated you should boycott for a whole month and told them to use alternate transportation.

[Roody]

There have been other BF threads on this non-event. The consensus has been that the gas-out won't have any impact unless people actually refrain from driving, rather than just put off buying gas for 24 hours.

Also, they are just protesting the price of gas, but show no understanding of the reasons for the high prices or the real solutions. They just want cheaper prices so their happy little motoring habits are not inconvenienced. It's a joke.

I'd like to know the basis for the supposed 1997 gas boycott. I don't remember it and i'm pretty sure it's just an urban legend.

[pmseattle]

I received an email that had the same theme I have been seeing year after year. Below is a copy of the body of the email and following it is my response to the matter.

-------------- The email ---------------

Subject: Fwd: No Gas on May 15th

Don't pump gas on MAY 15 th



So what do they think will happen on May 16th ?

[scottyk]

Needs to be much longer than one day. Maybe one week, one month, even one year that a significant number of people don't buy gas.

[Roody]

Needs to be much longer than one day. Maybe one week, one month, even one year that a significant number of people don't buy gas.
Agreed. A longer boycott would also demonstrate that most people could cut their driving drastically at no cost to their lifestyle and activities.

[kc9eog]

I'd like to know the basis for the supposed 1997 gas boycott. I don't remember it and i'm pretty sure it's just an urban legend.

Well I remember May 1997, I was graduating from high school and gas was consistently around $1.00 per gallon. We certainly didn't think it was expensive, and this is teenagers who didn't have any money. I also remember thinking how shocked I was in spring of 2000 when gas went up to $1.50. We are currently very close to the price during the katrina crisis which was less than 20 months ago.

edit for spelling

[scottyk]

Well I remember May 1997, I was graduating from high school and gas was consistently around $1.00 per gallon. We certainly didn't think it was expensive, and this is teenagers who didn't have any money. I also remember thinking how shocked I was in spring on 2000 when gas went up to $1.50. We are currently very close to the price during the katrina crisis which was less than 20 months ago.

OMG, gas went up 50%? How can we afford to pay $1.50 a gallon? What's that? Its currently $3.09? :D

[cerewa]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/nogas.asp

Snopes says that the first time this sad scheme actually happened was 1999, not 1997. And that the claim that it ever has or will affect gas prices is also just urban legend.

They say these schemes are "reminders that 'protest' schemes that don't cost the participants any inconvenience, hardship, or money remain the most popular, despite their ineffectiveness."

Quite right, snopes.com

[Rodney Crater]

Very Nice reference link cerewa. Thank You.

[bike2math]

This is yet more evidence of how bad our schools are doing at teaching:

mathematics (if you need 2 gallons of gas today and you burn 1, you will need 3 gallons tomorrow, unless you change something fundamental in the problem)

economics (demand drops one day/week/month and rises the next for a net, of you guessed it, no change in demand over the week/month/year )

and a little physics (conservation of energy and conservation of mass).

It reminds me of the comercials for miracle diet pills on TV, you know the ones that begin, "This miracle pill actually works!!!" :rolleyes:

[Roody]

Snopes says that the first time this sad scheme actually happened was 1999, not 1997. And that the claim that it ever has or will affect gas prices is also just urban legend.

They say these schemes are "reminders that 'protest' schemes that don't cost the participants any inconvenience, hardship, or money remain the most popular, despite their ineffectiveness."

Quite right, snopes.com
Thanks cerewa. I forgot about snopes, one of the funner old web sites. :)