"no one buy gas on sept 1st" email, would it really work?
 

Have you gotten those emails from friends and family... the chain mails that tell people that "if no one buys gas for just one day, it would be a huge financial loss to the gas companies" blah blah blah.

First off, I hate chain mails as it is.

But I got to thinking... financials aside, does this really make any sense? I mean, so everyone tries to aim for this day to not buy gas... so what? They fill up the day before... the day after?
Does it really mean they'll consume less if they don't buy that day or will they just have to buy on a different day the same amount they would have anyway?

Perhaps it's just me, but this sounds like a rather stupid idea and a great way to get a chain mail around on sheer gullibility of the human race.

Thoughts?

Stupidity and worse yet it relies on human nature. People will still buy the shit because they think others are going to anyways so they might as well not suffer.
Then yes people will fill up the day before. And I really do not forsee the gas companies even noticing nobody buying fuel. Specially since most gas stations are independantly owned and operated and well they buy gas every few days or weekly.

That would have absolutely no effect. You need a much longer boycott. You'd need mass buy in. You would have to effect demand in the long-term to disrupt current price issues.

Is it reasonable to assume that any friend or family member who's sent this on to me is not firing on all cylinders?

For them to send it to me, they must have thought "hey, great idea!" and sent it to everyone they know.

Fuck no! I mean really, are ALL these people not going to buy gas on that day?? I think that the "only going to one gas station" approach would be better, but no one could organize that nation wide.

so everyone who doesnt buy it on that day will fill up the day before or after.

:1orglaugh

all that email is for is to harvest active emails

Won't work because most people don't watch the news. Plus, you've got the 9-5ers who may need gas at the last minute

Gas stations buy their gas about twice a week, on average, from the oil companies. The oil companies would never even notice

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/nogas.asp

And to answer another chain mail you've probably gotten:

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/gasout.htm

People tried doing it before. Don't think it really worked

i'll remember to fill up all my gas tanks that day

Of course it doesn't work. The ONLY thing that will have a financial impact is if people drive less... Jesus.

it really doesnt work if you think about it.
people will fill up the day before (or after), prices MIGHT drop for a day or two (in a panic), then boom...not only are the prices high again, they'll be a few cents higher to counter-act the one day strike.

in the long run, its just not gonna work.

By boycotting you are not going to hurt the oil companies, but the small owners who can barely make money with their convenient store/gas station

I had the same thoughts, Stuart. It's amazing what people will forward in emails while trying to be 'helpful'. Whenever I get something like that, I just reply to the person icily and give them the link to the letter on breakthechain.org or snopes and tell them to do their own research before forwarding on false information.