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Title: America is laughing at Oregon for having to pump its own gas
Source:
Detroit Free Press
URL Source: https://www.freep.com/story/news/na ... oregon-gas-pump-law/999611001/
Published: Jan 3, 2018
Author: Brian Manzullo
Post Date: 2018-01-05 11:22:45 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 1468
Comments: 20
Jan. 1 was a monumental day in the state of Oregon, and not just because it rang in a new year. A brand new state law went into effect that day, and it's a big one. It's a first for the Beaver State. And it's sending shock waves across all 98,000-plus square miles and all 4 million residents as we speak. For the first time — in counties with fewer than 40,000 people — Oregonians are allowed to pump their own gas. Reread that last sentence. Take a moment to process it. Oregon didn't pump its own gas. And it still won't in its major counties. The only other state that doesn't allow you to pump your own gas is New Jersey. For Michigan — the birthplace of the automobile — this is unthinkable. Heck, for the rest of America, this is unthinkable. What's so complicated about pumping gas?! It gets worse. At least several Oregonians are freaking out about the new law. Case in point: KTVL CBS 10 News in Medford, Ore., posted this Facebook poll on Dec. 29, asking followers if Oregon should allow self-serve gas stations statewide. Here are some of the, um, more concerned responses, and they're all quite serious: ♦ "Not a good idea, there are lots of reason to have an attendant helping, one is they need a job too. Many people are not capable of knowing how to pump gas and the hazards of not doing it correctly. Besides I don't want to go to work smelling of gas when I get it on my hands or clothes. I agree Very bad idea." ♦ "I don't even know HOW to pump gas and I am 62, native Oregonian.....I say NO THANKS! I don't want to smell like gasoline!" ♦ "I've lived in this state all my life and I REFUSE to pump my own gas. I had to do it once in California while visiting my brother and almost died doing it. This a service only qualified people should perform. I will literally park at the pump and wait until someone pumps my gas. I can't even" So, to recap: Pumping your own gas is too difficult. It's too hazardous. It's too unsafe. And, heaven forbid, you might end up smelling like gasoline afterward. (Somewhere out there, Brian Fantana is smiling at that last one.) To be fair, these Oregonians have a point: Pumping gas is a pretty difficult task, right up there with scraping your windshield and turning the heat on. And the fear of smelling like fuel is all too real when there isn't enough time in the day to shower. Look, Oregon, if you're reading this, we're here to help. Here's a handy guide from roadandtrack.com on how to pump your own gas. It's only 13 steps long. In the meantime, while the rest of us point and laugh, maybe don't proclaim you're a better state than Michigan for a while. Okay? Oregon passes a state law allowing self-service at rural gas pumps, which some residents fear is too 'hazardous' and may cause them to smell like gasoline
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 13.
#2. To: Deckard (#0)
I am weeping over the tragedy in Oregon.
A damn shame he's not wearing his MAGA hat.
He's next to a car. If he's actually disabled (spinal cord injury site according to the image's URL), then who helped him get out of the car and into his wheelchair so he could pose for this picture? More importantly, did he have to beg someone to help him get his chair out and then beg them to help him to get into it? The poor man doesn't even have a selfie stick so he probably even had to beg someone to take the photo of him by the gas pump with his little sad-pity signage. That's a lot of begging.
Thankfully, I have greater mobility than he does.... Despite having lost my left leg above the knee (not to mention a heart defibrillator implanted in my chest), I can use my walker to help me hop from the driver's door back to the trunk where I store my folding wheelchair. Then after using the chair to pump gas and/or pay the clerk in the so-called "convenience" store, I return it to my trunk & use the walker to hop back to the driver's seat, (The walker folds & stores on the passenger's side... or in the back seat if I have a passenger.) It's an awkward & tedious procedure that I avoid in crappy weather or when there's a lot of other customers needing gas... But then if I don't do it myself, just who the fuck is gonna do it for me? My 90-year-old mother? Yeah, I'm a crotchety old fart... I can remember when you'd actually get some goddam SERVICE at a service station... The attendant would not only pump the gas, but also check your oil, tires & clean your windshield.... all that and gas only cost 27 fucking cents per gallon... MAGA my ass... America has been reduced to a bunch of fucking libertarian dickheads who laugh & mock crippled & elderly people who may have difficulty pumping their own gas...
You could just patronize a station that pumps gas for you. I'm fairly able-bodied but I patronize a small full-service Sinclair station. Mostly because they offer pumps with pure gas instead of that crappy corn-gas. This is farm country and lots of us think that corn-gas is pretty lousy for engines and saves very little money when you cost it out. I bet you have choices in your area to pay a little more to get your gas pumped.
I would be hard pressed to find such a station, if I were so inclined.
#15. To: no gnu taxes (#13)
You might be surprised. Even more true if you live outside a metro area. But perhaps we're more old-fashioned here than I realize.
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#3. To: Tooconservative, MAGA lamer (#2)
#4. To: hondo68 (#3)
#7. To: Tooconservative (#4)
More importantly, did he have to beg someone to help him get his chair out and then beg them to help him to get into it?
#10. To: Willie Green (#7)
Yeah, I'm a crotchety old fart... I can remember when you'd actually get some goddam SERVICE at a service station... The attendant would not only pump the gas, but also check your oil, tires & clean your windshield.... all that and gas only cost 27 fucking cents per gallon...
MAGA my ass... America has been reduced to a bunch of fucking libertarian dickheads who laugh & mock crippled & elderly people who may have difficulty pumping their own gas...
#13. To: Tooconservative (#10)
You could just patronize a station that pumps gas for you.
Replies to Comment # 13. I would be hard pressed to find such a station, if I were so inclined.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 13.
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