Sammielee, your rant aside, who do you really think is more harmful to these farmers you have posted about? Me - someone who uses public transportation regularly, shops at the local farmer's market 1 1/2 blocks from my house twice per week, household that has one car that barely drives much? Or, a typical exurbanite, driving 35 miles or more one way to work, in a household with 2 or more vehicles, at least one an SUV or truck, that shops at supermarkets like WalMart, and waters / fertilizes their 1/2 acre lot of grass? Who competes more for those resources farmers need like gas, water, and fertilizers? Who buys locally? Which one puts more pressure on developers to buy farmers out and turn into cookie cutter housing, and the resulting strip malls, roads, and highways on the fringes of cities thereby driving up land / agriculture costs?
First of all - you assume far too much. Not every person out there is driving a big truck or SUV. Secondly, it's the presumptive arrogance that some people seem to have in that they feel they must elevate themselves to the status of superior beings, simply because they walk instead of drive, or use cloth bags instead of plastic or drive a hybrid instead of gas fed, average car. The bottom line is that for anyone to say that their fervent wish is that gas increase to the point that it would drive people out of their businesses, out of their homes, out of their jobs - the fact that some people would sumgly declare that 'they could care less' about the impact on people by implying that people are somehow stupid or lazy or inept, is mind boggling. The fact that rising gas prices equal rising heating costs for people that don't have a choice and that someone could say they could care less - well, the lack of comprehension, compassion and compromise is astounding. The fact that rising gas prices mean higher food costs for struggling families when there are 17 million people in this country already going hungry - and someone can say that they still hope that gas keeps rising - well what can I say about those sort of people? Their words speak for themselves.
My 'rant' was against the callousness of the comments - quite obviously I, like everyone else, hope the day comes that the governments take seriously their role in motivating and legislating solutions to the energy problems in all ways - but in the meantime, I will recognize the capabilities and abilites of the majority of the people as they try to make it through some difficult times.
I walked to work for 10 years, have never owned an SUV nor a truck - doesn't make me special, doesn't make me better - most certainly it doesn't make me gleeful over someone else's misery. I don't wish hard times on any person and I certainly am not about to blame every person out there for driving what they do. Those who can afford it will simply cash out and buy something else - those at the bottom will suffer for the lack of leadership in their respective countries. sammieswife.
