----- Original Message -----
From: "Kyle Mcallister" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <vortex-l@eskimo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 8:37 PM
Subject: Re: Gasoline panic has begun in Atlanta
---- Original Message -----
From: "Jed Rothwell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <vortex-L@eskimo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 31 August, 2005 01:30 PM
Subject: Gasoline panic has begun in Atlanta
<snip>
I told her "serves you right for driving that big car!" It serves the
whole
damn nation right. I am sorry, but I have zero sympathy for people who
drive gas guzzlers. They should have known this was going to happen
sooner
or later.
You go too far here. I'm sorry, but I am sure I am not the only one here
who
is getting a little tired of the holier than thou tirades. You drive a
Prius, that's great. Enjoy it. I'm happy for you that you are happy with
it.
But guess what? Not all of us make as much money as you do. I am a full
time
Class A mechanic in the nearly jobless Buffalo New York area, bringing
home
a little over $12,000/yr. That, to say the least, sucks. Especially here
in
the "great" state of New York, where everything is illegal, there are cops
out to get your money to offset Albany's stupidity and the Erie county
budget crisis, etc, where insurance is ridiculously expensive, etc. I
barely
get by. Most of the people here do. Do I just need to work harder? How?
You
try lugging around transaxles all day long, for 40-42 hours a week, see if
you can work harder! Get it straight, now: I CANNOT AFFORD A GOD DAMNED
HYBRID!!!!!
All I can afford are old, used cars, which are your hated gas guzzlers. I
work ~15 miles from home as well, you want me to bike there? In the snow
drifts? Not to mention that the buses here are DREADFUL, never on time,
and
half the time don't stop for you, they just keep going. Wake up, there is
nothing else I or a large part of the working class can do about any of
this! You want me to drive a ULEV/Hybrid? Then you get someone to sell me
one for a price I can afford. And at $12k/yr, it better be damned cheap.
If
you have no alternative for those of us who work our rear-ends off for so
little, then I suggest you kindly lay the hell off. And by the way, as far
as SUV's go, I hate the damned things, because they are built like &%^$. I
work on these things daily, and they are overcomplicated junk.
If only I could find a nice, old diesel Dasher......50mpg would be nice.
Guy
down the street sold his a while back for $1500. If I'd have known, it
would
be mine now. The Prius is new....I am waiting to see what happens when the
windings get fried by the salt environment of good old Buffalo.
Anyone ever hear the phrase "shit happens"? That's what this storm is all
about. I'll bet dollars to donuts that this has nothing to do with "global
warming", which whether it is really that big a deal or not, whether we
are
the root cause or not, is the catch all for every problem in this day and
age. People have to blame something, and to feel like it is our fault, and
we can do something about it (whether we choose to or not) makes people
feel
much better than having to say, "you know, we can't control
everything...there are forces greater than ourselves, and sometimes we
just
can do NOTHING."
I am sorry if this offends my fellow Vortexians, I am not in a good way
right now. My hometown is Ocean Springs Mississippi, a 15 minute drive
from
Biloxi, and my family is there. No communications with them.
--Kyle
I just want to add that I too do not want to see people hurt by these price
increases. I know many people are struggling. What I would like to see is
pressure put on Washington to change our energy paradigm so we don't have
these gas crises anymore. If Washington and the auto companies had pressure
to produce more efficient vehicles, then even those of us, including myself,
who buy cars in the used market would have more options to buy more fuel
efficient used vehicles. Let's face it, we wouldn't be in the gas shortage
pickel we are in today if we as a nation pursued more fuel efficient
vehicles since the original gasoline crises in the 1970s. We got lazy as a
nation and now everyone is paying the price. That is what I meant about
waking up. I know individuals are often limited in their choices by
financial considerations.
-- John C
