Oregon Is Freaking Out About...

[OJsDad]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/people-in-oregon-are-freaking-out-about-the-thought-of-pumping-their-own-gas-under-a-new-law/ar-BBHN9B6?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

Click on the link to see twitter statements from those who cannot handle the thought of pumping their own gas.

People in Oregon Are Freaking Out About the Thought of Pumping Their Own Gas Under a New Law

The new year is but two days old, and already we've got a nasty online debate on our hands. But don't worry, this isn't about politics. No, follow along to the Pacific Northwest, where the fine people of Oregon are having themselves an internet freak-out for the ages over the prospect of having to pump their own gas. The horror.
Research

Up until January 1, 2018, Oregon was one of two states—the other being good old New Jersey—that required every filling station be staffed by attendants who pump your gas for you. But last spring, the state legislature passed a law allowing gas stations in rural counties with less than 40,000 residents to abandon the full-service model and let customers man the pumps themselves. The new law went into effect on Monday.

We should stop here to point out a key word above: Allowing. Station owners are under no obligation to ditch their attendants, nor are they required to let drivers pump their own gas. It's just an option. The full-service gas station seems to be a surprisingly strong part of the Oregonian identity, and the Associated Press could only find a "handful" of stations who were planning on making the switch to self-serve.

But that's not enough for the angry online hordes, who can smell a slippery slope from a mile away. When local CBS affiliate KTVL posted an online poll asking residents if they thought the law should be expanded statewide, the comments blew up with Oregonians aghast at the thought of having to dirty their hands with the dangerous work of pumping gas.

Their complaints and concerns range from smelling like gasoline to spontaneous combustion, but they're all hilarious in their complete disregard for the fact that the vast, vast majority of drivers in the world manage to fill their own tanks on a regular basis without dousing themselves in fuel or setting their car on fire. Have a look below:

That last one is our personal favorite. "I don't even know HOW to pump gas... I say NO THANKS!" Fear not, concerned Oregonian. If the reactions of your compatriots are any indication, full-service in your state is still here to stay—law or no law.

[Steelgrave]

I remember my first trip to Oregon....I was shocked that I couldn't pump my own gas.

[airboy]

Oregon and New Jersey deserve the prices they pay for fuel.

[DoctorQuest]

I remember my first trip to Oregon....I was shocked that I couldn't pump my own gas.

Had the same reaction in NJ. WTF????

[Barthheart]

What was the original reason for requiring gas be pumped by station employees? Maximum employment after the war? Some other economic reason? Public safety?

Hard to find stations up here where they will pump for you, most stations don't offer it at all.

[Greybriar]

What was the original reason for requiring gas be pumped by station employees? Maximum employment after the war? Some other economic reason? Public safety?

Hard to find stations up here where they will pump for you, most stations don't offer it at all.

I was so used to filling up my car's gas tank that I pulled in a gas station and began to pump my own gas but an attendant stopped me. He said it was against state law for me to pump my own gas. When I asked him why, he told me it was unsafe. I didn't argue with him but I always thought that was B.S.

However, knowing how sue crazy people are nowadays, I can see why the law exists.

[Sir Slash]

I assume politicians and Hollywood celebrities are exempt from this law. Who would trust either of them with a gas pump anyway.

[GDS_Starfury]

 ]

[airboy]

I read a business case on this years ago.  The law was to "protect" independent gasoline sellers from horrible conglomerate competition from the national gas sellers.  This law came out (if memory serves) about the same time the anti-competition laws in grocery stores at the State level were launched against A&P (which nobody under 40 even remembers anymore).

Today, this is done to gouge consumers and enrich a special interest - those owning gas stations.

Other reasons can be given for this (safety, stupidity, whatever) but today they exist as a barrier to entry of businesses undercutting the pricing of retail gas sales.

[trailrunner]

I was so used to filling up my car's gas tank that I pulled in a gas station and began to pump my own gas but an attendant stopped me. He said it was against state law for me to pump my own gas.

Same thing happened to me the first time I went to NJ.

Oregon and New Jersey deserve the prices they pay for fuel.

What was even more surprising to me than the mandatory full service, was that the price of gas in NJ was cheaper than in northern VA, at least the part of NJ I was used to go to (near Picatinny Arsenal).  For me, it was a win-win: full service gas at a cheaper price.  (Yes, I realize that it would have been even cheaper if they were self-serve.)

[BanzaiCat]

Funny. The last time I had someone pump my gas was way back in 1989, at a gas station near the mall I worked at, one I never got gas at but was in need that one night. I remember the guy running out as I pulled up and thought he was going to tell me they didn't have gas, or to go away, or whatever, so I was a bit shocked when he asked what gas I wanted.

[Steelgrave]

I read a business case on this years ago.  The law was to "protect" independent gasoline sellers from horrible conglomerate competition from the national gas sellers.  This law came out (if memory serves) about the same time the anti-competition laws in grocery stores at the State level were launched against A&P (which nobody under 40 even remembers anymore).

Today, this is done to gouge consumers and enrich a special interest - those owning gas stations.

Other reasons can be given for this (safety, stupidity, whatever) but today they exist as a barrier to entry of businesses undercutting the pricing of retail gas sales.

What? You're saying it's not to protect trees and Mother Earth and the middle class but rather to enrich campaign donors gas station owners? Oh, the horror....oh, the inhumanity......that just can't be true in a Gaia-loving blue state such as Oregon!

Almost sounds like the liquor store lobby here in deep red Oklahoma. They don't even pretend the anti-competition laws are for the good of the citizenry   8)

[mirth]

[bayonetbrant]

hahahahahaahhaha

[Steelgrave]

LMAO!