This sounds idyllic to me...keep all of your B.S. modern technology, and fast paced stress.

Here in South Carolina, I was 2nd in line to buy gas yesterday. I bought enough gas to get me home and to work today. I watched the guy next to me fill up his truck, then jump in the bed and started filling gallon milk cartons. People are stupid when they are this fearful. By next week they will have all this gas sitting around their house and the supply will most likely be coming back. I did feel bad for the people with out of state tags looking like they just hope to make it home because of this mess.

The liberal Island Packet newspaper here (SC) today has instructions on how to store gasoline...apparent attempt to add to the fear? The only reason I still get this stupid paper is that our dog lives to run down to the end of the driveway and bring it in every morning!

How to store gasoline?

Is it more difficult that putting it in a fuel safe container, adding a fuel stabilizer and keeping it out of direct sunlight? If so post a link to the article. I'm clearly missing something and now I'm afraid.

If you subscribe to the fear driven social system, by extension you would say fear makes me wear motorcycle riding gear. Fear makes me wear my seat belt and fear makes me keep to my side of the road.
What I really fear is conspiracy theorists. I have trouble with people who are led to a conclusion based upon false or incomplete data and then proclaim it to be truth instead of what they wanted to believe all along.

Best
Les

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There’s a big difference between mitigating risks that are present in our daily lives and blinding fear. Most people emotionally respond with blinding fear that causes them to do stupid crap like hoard gasoline in milk containers because they saw it on tv. The media of course fuels this fire because the sheep keep watching when they are afraid so they can be told what to do and what to be afraid of next.

You can look up today’s Island Packet on line if you wanted to see the article. It’s mostly about how some stations in SC are limiting the amount you can buy, but then the last two columns of the article are about safely storing it...safe containers, where to and not to store it, etc. Basically encouraging hoarding it. Sorry I scared you.

I was having a conversation with my daughter about gas prices yesterday. She was concerned about prices going up and wondering if she should go fill up. I told her "If prices go up from 2.95 to 3.05 overnight it just cost you $1.50 more on an empty tank. Is $1.50 really worth running to the gas station for? Even at 3.15 it's costing you $3 more, is that worth it?" She said "huh! never thought of it that way" I said "If you're really worried about $3 added to your cost for gas, pick up an extra hour at work"

Point being, everything will be okay. Don't panic.

I don't think it's only the media at fault when an anecdote about one guy filling milk jugs with gasoline leads you to conclude, "Most people emotionally respond with blinding fear that causes them to do stupid crap ..."
(The emphasis is mine.)
Sensationalism isn't only for the media.
Most people are pretty smart. If that weren't so the news would be about someone acting rationally for a change, not the occasional wackos acting like they're off their meds.

No one trusts what you post because it is both incorrect and crazy.

Speaking of which, tell us more about the covid "molecule"...

Any advice from John is good advice. RIP.

Most people are neither pretty nor smart.

Something I have learned is that smart people are 5% rational and 95% irrational.
It goes down from there.
Above 5% rational and someone is a psychopath.

There are a very small handful of people that might make it 7.5% rational and not be a psychopath, but rare.

I think my GF may have been part of the survey.

I don’t agree. Why did people clean out the stores of TP when Covid hysteria started? Why do they clean the shelves at grocery stores of milk and bread every time there’s a forecast for severe weather? Why do they rush to gas stations and wait in lines for hours when the news says prices are going up? Why do they take to the streets and burn down their own neighborhoods when they get angry? People, particularly in large groups, are prone to fear and overreaction, at which point rational thought goes out the window.

Rational thought didn't go out the window in that moment, it just found a way to evidence to you in a way that is very obvious.

People are fundamentally irrational; but through brainwashing the inputs tend to create outputs that get along with other people taught similar values.

Americans were brainwashed to get along; and now are getting brainwashed to not get along.

Matt, I think there is a misunderstanding of the term "most people ". If a few hundred people in a neighborhood of several thousands rush to the stores to panic buy, that is not most people.
People who riot in the streets or storm the Capitol are not most people. I don't deny such behavior occurs, but most people do not take part.
The sort of hyperbole we are seeing in threads like this is similar to what we accuse the media.
Most people will watch from the sidelines.
Maybe that's where the term "silent majority " came from.

Best
Les

You have a more optimistic view than I do Les, good on you.

Of course everyone can't load up on toilet paper as the first few to do it leave an empty shelf...

Which seeing that empty shelf, will encourage more to do so the next time the shelf gets restocked.

Which continues as a standing wave for some time.