Gas prices and Hummers

[Analog]

Not everyone makes a ton of cash... 50 cent per gallon is alot. Especially to some people. I am ok now $-wise, and i can pretty much afford it, but i'll never forget where I came from...

Zoo Tech is my bud on this forum, but I'll have to pretty much disagree with most of the stuff he said on this thread.

One of the great things about this country is freedom of speech and opinion, and that's what mothman exercized when he gave the hummer a thumbs-down... No big deal there. -- If I don't like that pink shirt of yours, I might give you the thumbs down for it.... well.. probably not, but I could if I felt like it...

[Kal]

When the $6/gal comes, those already driving metros will be in more of a pinch, and most of those driving Hummers will laugh.

I suspect you are right, we are already paying an average of $6.25 a US gallon...

Which is why I am happy I can do nearly 30 miles to the pound!

[ZooTech]

Granted, and I'm not challenging Mothman's right to free speech or expression, I'm just challenging his logic. It's so easy to go after the government and the rich every time something like this happens, yet we live in the land of opportunity. There's no reason why Mothman can't drive a Hummer and laugh at $4.00 gasoline if he really wants to, so why judge and insult those that have taken advantage of our freedoms and earned a more-than-comfortable living in the process? Then, to make matters worse, he paints a mental picture of these "eco-destroying capitalist pigs" driving around laughing at those who can't afford gas right now and making plans to drive to New Orleans and run over corpses for fun. We live in a land where anyone can succeed, but instead his mentality is that of someone who wants to tear down the have's and bring them down to the level of the have-not's, thus leveling the playing field. They have a term for that...it's called Communism. When I see a dozen Hummers rolling down the highway, I see the free market in action...alive and well...and I'm proud to live in a country where those opportunities abound. We already know what Mothman thinks.

[mysta2]

...There's no reason why Mothman can't drive a Hummer and laugh at $4.00 gasoline if he really wants to, so why judge and insult those that have taken advantage of our freedoms and earned a more-than-comfortable living in the process?...

... ... are you even reading his posts? or do you just like the view from left field?

The point would be the same if Hummers cost 5 grand and came with free gas coupons... it would actually be worse.

[ZooTech]

...There's no reason why Mothman can't drive a Hummer and laugh at $4.00 gasoline if he really wants to, so why judge and insult those that have taken advantage of our freedoms and earned a more-than-comfortable living in the process?...

... ... are you even reading his posts? or do you just like the view from left field?

The point would be the same if Hummers cost 5 grand and came with free gas coupons... it would actually be worse.

Assuming he is truly referring to the "blatent misuse of limited resources", which I doubt he is because the left rarely says what it truly thinks, even that is a big farce. We are not at a point of rationing gas and the bleak picture he paints of Hummers trouncing through a meadow of endangered plants while the neighbor down the street rides a bicycle to work since the Hummer drank up the last of the gasoline is a post-apocalyptic outlook I just can't embrace. Like I said, 'round here in the Midwest it is business as usual. It's Friday night, the beginning of Labor Day weekend, and the freeways are abuzz with traffic, the gas stations are all topped-off, and gas prices appear to be the furthest thing from anyone's mind. I was paying a little over $40.00 to fill up, and now I'm paying a little closer to $50.00. I have to go to work, I have to go to school, and I sure as hell ain't sittin' around the house all weekend when it's all done, so gas prices be damned I'm goin' somewhere! I bet gas would have to hit $5.00 per gallon before any significant changes to driving habits materialized.

[mysta2]

honestly I don't really care... being from the great green northwest where everything's an environmental issue though I can't help the twinge of
revulsion I get at the sight of them.

I more just found it amusing that you were bickering over two unrelated issues.

anyway it's not a solid logical issue any way you look at it. The disgust I feel for hummers is an emotional thing directed at what they stand for... not what they actually are. The baller wannabes leasing both the truck and the rims at prices they can't afford, the real baller idiots that buy them because they're the latest I-pod accessory, the huge body gaps, the acres of plastic trim, the hideous interior that's bigger then my livingroom but still manages to feel tight, along with the nonchilant 8mpg which is more of a symbol of negligence then a true driving force behind rising gas prices.

[The549]

...Assuming he is truly referring to the "blatent misuse of limited resources", which I doubt he is because the left rarely says what it truly thinks, even that is a big farce. We are not at a point of rationing gas and the bleak picture he paints of Hummers trouncing through a meadow of endangered plants while the neighbor down the street rides a bicycle to work since the Hummer drank up the last of the gasoline is a post-apocalyptic outlook I just can't embrace...

Are you talking about me?? If you are, I don't know why you're twist the words so....but I guess now I'm a communist (sigh).

My problem with the whole Hummer deal is from the same principle as "You DON'T have the freedom to burn your own house down if it burns down your neighbor's house as well". You have the freedom to buy whatever is available...but when it starts to become a health problem and starts to deteriorate the environment that is a property of all, it becomes more of an issue than "Well I'm rich and this is a free country."

There should be more of a balance than that.

[ZooTech]

Man, the same can be said for mohawks, tattoos, nose rings, mink coats, Italian loafers, suede couches, or anything gaudy and extravagant that doesn't meet your individual taste or style. Hummers are not my cup of tea, either, more because they're too damn slow and way too wide for my taste, but to each his own. Besides, there are dozens of vehicles on the road that get bad fuel mileage, so why pick on the Hummer? I rarely see them on the road so I doubt their impact on the fuel "crisis" is all that profound. That’s why I believe this is more an issue of class envy than the misuse of resources. After all, gas prices are up because of obstacles in the supply chain, not because we are now burning the last few barrels of oil left on earth. This will all be over soon and we’ll be telling our kids about it like our parents talked about the one in the 70’s.

[ZooTech]

Are you talking about me??

No.

[The549]

Man, the same can be said for mohawks, tattoos, nose rings, mink coats, Italian loafers, suede couches, or anything gaudy and extravagant that doesn't meet your individual taste or style. Hummers are not my cup of tea, either, more because they're too damn slow and way too wide for my taste, but to each his own. Besides, there are dozens of vehicles on the road that get bad fuel mileage, so why pick on the Hummer? I rarely see them on the road so I doubt their impact on the fuel "crisis" is all that profound. That’s why I believe this is more an issue of class envy than the misuse of resources. After all, gas prices are up because of obstacles in the supply chain, not because we are now burning the last few barrels of oil left on earth. This will all be over soon and we’ll be telling our kids about it like our parents talked about the one in the 70’s.

Class envy....I'm sorry, but that's waayyyy off. Seeing diamond rings don't get me envious, and seeing pointless gas guzzlers similarly don't....but one negatively affects me in a big way, and the other doesn't. The Hummer was the simple example in this case....if you want to point that out to me as to why I'm wrong then that's kinda shallow.

Tattoos don't pollute the evnironment, so I could care less about em. In fact, I think there are way too many laws restricting things like appearance and stupid liberal laws that bug me.

It'll be interesting to see how the shortage ends up, and hopefully gas will remain something that we can use for recreational vehicles such as bikes in the future. It'll just be much more expensive...