Gasoline supply difficulties bring out certain character traits. The profiteer, the good Samaritan, the cautious… In a caricatural and humorous way, Aleteia has endeavored to sketch different portraits in the face of this unprecedented situation.
Do you know that Aleteia can only survive thanks to the generosity of its readers?
Aleteia really needs you
In the context of the current geopolitical, social and ecological crises, Emmanuel Macron had evoked, on August 24, the “end of abundance”. This was without taking into account the oil refinery strikes which are beginning to seriously disrupt the lives of many French people. An unprecedented situation that brings out different reactions and character traits. Don’t we say that it is in adversity that personalities reveal themselves? From the profiteer to the good Samaritan, passing through the creative and the paranoid, discover, with a smile, these new ways of approaching the gas pump.
The profiteer“Shall we take your car? »
The profiteer hides his game well. With a super detached air, as if gasoline was flowing freely at the moment, he takes out his card at the last moment: “A trip to Honfleur? Great idea, right? Shall we take your car?! “No way to get out of it, we would pass for a coward, a coward or a stingy. The profiteer pretends not to profit. No thanks, no kind words. “How much does your car have on the meter, it drags, doesn’t it? “The profiteer does not lack air, and takes advantage of it… until the end: “Will you drop me off? My legs are full of it, and then it’s on your way” (although not at all).
The Good Samaritan” I’ll pick you up ! »
The opposite of the profiteer, the good Samaritan. Chivalrous, he tirelessly pursues the Scout ideal and thinks of others before thinking of himself. In these times of oil scarcity, it is he who only makes a quarter full to leave some to the next ones. Or who offers his car for a trip with friends: “I’ll pick you up” he says to everyone, without counting the kilometers of detours… Except that by dint of good feelings, his car only has a autonomy of small mouse. They won’t get far, but such down-to-earth considerations don’t come into play with holiness.
the optimist“We’ll find a station with gas!” »
Shortage or not, the optimist is always serene. He doesn’t look at his gauge, and doesn’t limit his movements, neither for work nor for leisure: “We’ll find a station with petrol! “. When an optimist shares his car with a cautious one, relations become strained quickly. “We’re not going to deprive ourselves of a weekend in the countryside because there are a few more people than usual at the service station! ” For the optimist, everything is always easy: ” Just check the app and be a little patient, there’s nothing to worry about! What the optimist usually forgets is that often it’s the prudent who will fill up.
the prudent“I prefer to save my gasoline”
It is the squirrel of modern times. He collects but does not spend. He stocked up, both fuel in a jerrycan and jars of mustard. Because the cautious don’t know what tomorrow will bring. He is pessimistic about the negotiations between unions and oil refinery employers. He even foresees shortages of everything, since there are no more trucks to transport finished products and raw materials. And besides, he is pessimistic about the future of France in particular, and the planet in general. So when we offer him, to change his mind, a visit or a trip, he replies: “I prefer to save my gas, you never know”.
the stoic“We are talking about gasoline here, not about a vital need”
The stoic does not allow himself to be affected by ambient stress. He barely watches the news and cuts off the radio when journalists comment on supply difficulties. However, he really likes to give advice: “I finally take the bike, or transport! We are talking about gasoline here, not about a vital need”. His detachment is envy, or irritates. And then by digging a little, we realize that he does not have a car, or that he has a priority professional card.
The creative“I make my own ethanol”
The creative does not let himself be put down for so little. He has more than one trick up his sleeve. More gasoline? Never mind ! He will make it himself. He went through all the websites and immediately started his own production of ethanol from organic waste. “It’s very simple! You take rotten fruit, mash it, add water and yeast, ferment, distill with a still, find it on the internet, and you’re done! And what’s more, it’s eco-friendly.
The paranoid“Too scared to have my tank siphoned off”
A rare commodity arouses covetousness, it is well known. And the paranoid is more than convinced of this in these times of uncertainty. He who has filled up honestly and patiently, fears having his tank siphoned off. So he returns his car to his garage every evening, scans the surroundings, stares at passers-by, even leaves his home every hour to stand guard near his vehicle which holds the precious liquid.
The pragmatic“I get up at 5 a.m.”
The pragmatist does not ask 36,000 questions. He is not looking for those responsible for supply difficulties, nor for explanations. ” It’s like that “. He opts for concrete and effective solutions: “I get up at 5 in the morning, there are fewer people at the pump”. Point bar.
the choleric“All irresponsible”
For the past few days, the angry man has not lost his temper: “The government, the unions, the strikers… All irresponsible people who are taking an entire country hostage! He spits his anger at whoever wants to listen: his spouse, his colleagues and even the baker who can’t do much about it. He is angry, very angry. And yet, he is not the first concerned: he does not have a car.
The negationist“There weren’t more people than usual”
“Don’t believe everything the media say.” The negationist’s leitmotif. He didn’t notice anything. It filled up as usual: “There weren’t more people than usual”. For him, it is not a question of a shortage: “Immediately, the big words! but a defect in the supply chain.
Of course, any resemblance to actual people or situations is purely coincidental. These are deliberately caricatural portraits. The human soul is far more complex and nuanced. Some profiles, for example, combine several character traits. We thus meet creative good Samaritans, angry profiteers, or even optimistic Holocaust deniers… The good news is that everyone is called to enter the Kingdom, the real one, not that of the gas pump.
From good Samaritan to profiteer, the fuel shortage reveals the characters