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
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?
#1: Tooconservative To: Deckard (#0)
Review this frightening security footage. And stop pumping your own gas before you kill us all!
Tooconservative posted on 2018-01-05 11:39:30 Reply Private Reply
#2: Tooconservative To: Deckard (#0)
Tooconservative posted on 2018-01-05 11:50:37 Reply Private Reply
#3: Hondo68 To: Tooconservative, MAGA lamer (#2)
A damn shame he's not wearing his MAGA hat.
Hondo68 posted on 2018-01-05 12:18:45 Reply Private Reply
#4: Tooconservative To: hondo68 (#3)
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.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-01-05 12:27:50 Reply Private Reply
#5: Pinguinite To: Tooconservative (#2)
My response: "Too Late".
Pinguinite posted on 2018-01-05 14:30:14 Reply Private Reply
#6: Pinguinite To: Tooconservative (#2)
Pinguinite posted on 2018-01-05 14:32:35 Reply Private Reply
#7: Willie Green To: Tooconservative (#4)
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...
Willie Green posted on 2018-01-05 16:13:38 Reply Private Reply
#8: no gnu taxes To: Deckard (#0)
If you can flush a toilet, you shold be able to pump gas.
no gnu taxes posted on 2018-01-05 16:16:59 Reply Private Reply
#9: no gnu taxes To: Willie Green (#7)
As almost all gas stations are now just convenience stores that also sell gas, I doubt you can expect much service there.
Do you really think some cashier making minimum wage is going to come out and check your oil? These stores don't make any money selling gas. It's just a way to get people to come there and buy real money making items such as overpriced cups of coffee.
no gnu taxes posted on 2018-01-05 16:26:28 Reply Private Reply
#10: Tooconservative To: Willie Green (#7)
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.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-01-05 16:59:04 Reply Private Reply
#11: Tooconservative To: no gnu taxes (#8)
Yup. Almost as stupid as state-owned liquor stores like in PA.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-01-05 16:59:54 Reply Private Reply
#12: no gnu taxes To: Tooconservative (#11)
They also have that here in North Carolina.
no gnu taxes posted on 2018-01-05 17:04:14 Reply Private Reply
#13: no gnu taxes To: Tooconservative (#10)
I would be hard pressed to find such a station, if I were so inclined.
no gnu taxes posted on 2018-01-05 17:06:53 Reply Private Reply
#14: Tooconservative To: no gnu taxes (#12)
More dumbasses. No offense. ; )
Tooconservative posted on 2018-01-05 17:26:43 Reply Private Reply
#15: Tooconservative 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.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-01-05 17:29:04 Reply Private Reply
#16: Stoner To: Tooconservative (#4)
I don't know about the guy in the photo. But a friend of mine uses a wheelchair just like that one. He was a State Trooper, 26 years ago, he got shot in the back. He still has a bullet they were afraid to try to remove. He drives a small car that sets low. The chair disassembles / reassembles easily. Stores the parts behind the passenger seat. From the drivers seat he can assemble the parts, use hand hold handles, and swing himself into the chair. When he returns, he can swing himself up into the drivers seat, and disassemble the chair and store the parts behind the seat. And he can do it quickly. I am still amazed when I watch him do it. His legs are worthless, but he has amazing strength in his hands, and upper torso. He has dealt with his disability much much better than I thought he would. Many of us were really afraid he would commit suicide. We are really glad he has learned to deal with it.
Oh, he usually buys gas at full service stations, but he can do it himself if he needs to.
I would imagine the guy in the photo is like my friend, he is determined, strong willed, and has overcome !!!
People like that are to be admired & respected !!!
Stoner posted on 2018-01-05 18:41:07 Reply Private Reply
#17: no gnu taxes To: Tooconservative (#14)
Well, I certainly had nothing to do with the practice.
It seems like every State I've lived in or been to has different practices about how and when liquor can be sold.
no gnu taxes posted on 2018-01-05 19:48:07 Reply Private Reply
#18: Tooconservative To: no gnu taxes (#17)
Bad enough for the states to impose sin taxes. But then they want to introduce you to the joyful efficiency of the DMV just to buy a little wine or liquor?
It's creepy with a nasty statist vibe. Repugnant.
I think Oregon and New Jersey are dumb with the full-service requirement but state-owned liquor stores aren't just dumb. They really are creepy. I also dislike the concentration of power and wealth between the state and the liquor companies. There are countless venues for bad results and corrupt practices, far more than the other 48 states could ever have with private liquor sales.
This kinda stuff is what we actually mean when we say the states are "laboratories of democracy". That whole democracy thing is kinda overrated.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-01-05 21:43:56 Reply Private Reply
#19: no gnu taxes To: Tooconservative (#18)
The Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC) stores also only sell liquor. They don't sell wine, beer, soft drinks, snacks etc. So they aren't very convenient.
no gnu taxes posted on 2018-01-06 13:37:22 Reply Private Reply
#20: Tooconservative To: no gnu taxes (#19)
So the inbred dumbassery runs deep and will take some years to correct.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-01-06 14:55:27 Reply Private Reply