Thursday, May 29, 2008
Apocalypse: Now? Part Two
A month ago when I penned the first of these updates I had paid $3.53 a gallon for gas, and (now laughably) I was a bit appalled. Last week I slammed on the brakes for $3.76 at a bargain basement no name joint in Norristown and today I read that gas is now over $4.00 in over 150 gas stations in Philly, although the official average is holding at $3.99.
The media continues to feed us a diet of human interest crappola about 'those darn prices', and gas has become not just a gimmick (as in Power 95FM selling gas for .95 for one hour at some station off of I-95) or sales ploy (as in buy a new Dodge and get $2.99 gas for two years guaranteed), but its now the actual prize itself. Sweepstakes are offering gas as the payout, and HotGiftZone.com is raffling a chance to win the prize of gas for filling out their online surveys.
But amongst this business-as-usual-in-the-US-of-A drumbeat, there's a definite air of unease, mostly in the form of a dystopic nostalgia. The lead article in today's Inky recalls the Levittown gas riots of 1979. Not only was nearby Levittown one of America's first experiments in post-war suburbia, but it was the site of "the first gasoline revolt in American history." It was a two-day mass protest and riot that drew thousands, left one station demolished, 200 injured and 100 arrested before it was all over.
Back then the flash point was when gas went over the unheard of price of $1.00 a gallon. That of course, is in 1979 dollars. The $4.00 a gallon we're paying now in those 1979 dollars would be $1.35.
Burn, Baby, Burn.
A month ago when I penned the first of these updates I had paid $3.53 a gallon for gas, and (now laughably) I was a bit appalled. Last week I slammed on the brakes for $3.76 at a bargain basement no name joint in Norristown and today I read that gas is now over $4.00 in over 150 gas stations in Philly, although the official average is holding at $3.99.
The media continues to feed us a diet of human interest crappola about 'those darn prices', and gas has become not just a gimmick (as in Power 95FM selling gas for .95 for one hour at some station off of I-95) or sales ploy (as in buy a new Dodge and get $2.99 gas for two years guaranteed), but its now the actual prize itself. Sweepstakes are offering gas as the payout, and HotGiftZone.com is raffling a chance to win the prize of gas for filling out their online surveys.
But amongst this business-as-usual-in-the-US-of-A drumbeat, there's a definite air of unease, mostly in the form of a dystopic nostalgia. The lead article in today's Inky recalls the Levittown gas riots of 1979. Not only was nearby Levittown one of America's first experiments in post-war suburbia, but it was the site of "the first gasoline revolt in American history." It was a two-day mass protest and riot that drew thousands, left one station demolished, 200 injured and 100 arrested before it was all over.
Back then the flash point was when gas went over the unheard of price of $1.00 a gallon. That of course, is in 1979 dollars. The $4.00 a gallon we're paying now in those 1979 dollars would be $1.35.
Burn, Baby, Burn.
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