New law passed in Oregon

Alethea Thompson wrote: .....Wow....how little people understand the value of this law.....

One of the reasons this law was good, was because it forced gas stations to hire more hands to do the job. The more jobs you have, the lower your state's unemployment.

The law has been around for so long, it's not outside the realm of possibility that people would have no idea how to pump gas. If the stores were intelligent, they would keep the hands available to instruct their customers. The comments I would be the most concerned with are the ones that believe there will be an increase in "crime of opportunity".

I do not value a law the takes choice away from people or forces the creation of a job that I could do and not pay for if only the law did not prevent it. There is nothing that keeps these jobs from staying right where they are. The repeal of the law does one thing and one thing only which is let the people decide if they want a service or not.

Plus the people making fun of this are more making fun of the reactions that are being made public rather than the law itself. I mean to me it's like the people that freak out over the latest conspiracy theory. I can't help but chuckle. The world will not end, the sky will not fall if you have the CHOICE to pump your own gas.

I lived most of my life in NJ where service attendants pumped the gass. I moved to Louisiana in 2000 and had to make the switch to self service. It was no big deal. The pumps have instructions right there. I'm surprised that this would be a real difficulty for anyone. If you've traveled out of state, then you must have encountered self service stations already. I think our media has gotten very mean spirited and the reporting on this issue has taken a few unfortunate instances and used them to paint our Oregon brothers & sisters in a bad light that is clearly undeserved.

And here I thought self service was how it always worked once leaving the "Old era" to the old It is indeed interesting to hear of service pumping - ive been to oregon - never seen that before though....

I totally get the idea of creating more jobs.

I just don't understand how the payments work. Id hate to spend - what is gas now? $50+ (I don't drive so i dont know) + service fee's....Or is there no service fee? Or is gas just more pricey to pay for service fee's via paychecks or......

Either way. I don't live there and I don't know there culture and blah blah blah.....so im not going to judge. I just know that I learned how to pump gas when I was a kid helping dad with construction

:Points and laughs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7wtNOkuHo

Dumb Oreganos

I remember the first time I went through Oregon and how badly I freaked out when I went to the gas station and someone walked up and touched my car... About lost it until they explained that they had to pump my gas. I really flipped though, having someone approach my car and lay hands on it felt like a violation until I knew what the reason for it was.

I think it would be just as much of a wtf moment for someone who lived the majority of their lives having the service performed for them and then it was taken away. It is good to hear that it is at least still an option for folks though, not an over night change where you have to pick up a new skill (complex or not) in one day.

I am gonna share about a neighbor of my parents in north Idaho for a minute... this guy has had the same (little rust bucket s-10 looking thing) since I have known him... he is a bit on the unusual side but he could not figure out how to gas up his new car... because the filler neck was on the other side. He had to call my dad and having him drive to town to show him how to do it. This being said, I have no trouble accepting that some folks might be having a bit of adjustment trouble.

You'll all be pleased to know that since we don't know the difference between your states, on the world stage this just looks like "Dumb North Americans" (we also can't tell the difference between the USA and Canada)


On another note

I understand wanting to keep jobs for people, that much makes sense. But everywhere else in the country (other than New Jersey) gets along without this extra (and unnecessary) job. If getting rid of one simple, entry-level position in ONLY rural areas with low population is going to increase unemployment to a harmful level then the state of Oregon likely has a much larger problem with their job market than keeping those jobs will fix...

I won't bother quoting it, but madhatter said something about pointlessly creating jobs that he has to pay for.


I like service jobs. I think we need more of them. I think service jobs keep our humanity.

I can pay for my fuel on an app before I even get to a station, fill up and drive off and never ever talk to someone.

Magical.

Also, inhuman.

It's not about money, it's not about "creating jobs for the sake of it" It's about keeping us human.

I don't really need the extra, what, 90 seconds in my day? Walking to the store front, talking to some people, conducting a transaction doesn't inconvenience me in any great way.

If you take out all the little interactions in your day, what the hell kind of person do you end up being?



Anyway, do what you got do, get your groceries delivered, don't talk to any staff. Don't ever meet a butcher (or a cow) and have no idea how or why you exist in the world.



(I really don't care to hear random exceptional examples like "I have chronic pain and walking to the store front uses a spoon" - I get that it CAN BE BENEFICIAL, but I also get that it has problems people don't necessarily instantly recognise, and you might wonder, just as the Oregonians are now, in 5 or 10 years time, where all the people went, and why you're a heinous disaster of a human. Like a dog raised in isolation, than barks at all the other dogs in the park...

JamesSand wrote:
I won't bother quoting it, but madhatter said something about pointlessly creating jobs that he has to pay for.

If you take out all the little interactions in your day, what the hell kind of person do you end up being?

Like a dog raised in isolation, than barks at all the other dogs in the park...

In failing to quote me you take what was said out of context be that deliberately or mistakenly. I never said the jobs were pointless so please do not attribute words to me that I never said. What I said is I do not support the forced creation of something I can do myself for free. For example, I can do most computer repair for myself, that does not mean that PC repair jobs are pointless. What I am against is not the job but being forced to pay for a service I do not want. Just like I would be against being forced to take my car to a mechanic to replace a spark plug or to hire a personal shopper to walk with me and pick the items off the shelf for me, or a chef to cook for me.

Further, it is silly to the extreme to pretend that socialization happens with service people on a regular basis or that lack of this socialization will somehow mean we never get socialized at all. Most people tell the service person what they want and that is all that is it. I can tell you that from working service jobs many times in my life in many different locations.
Further, we socialize with our friends, family, coworkers etc. So not having service jobs is not the end of socialization. To use your own example this is not a dog raised in isolation, this is a dog being told I know you have your pack and your favorite activities but you WILL go pay to hang out with this dog over here like it or not.

In failing to quote me you take what was said out of context be that deliberately or mistakenly. I never said the jobs were pointless so please do not attribute words to me that I never said.

Oh settle down, I'm not attacking you - I'm just throwing my opinions around, not trying to win the presidency.

For what it is worth the quote would be

I do not value a law the takes choice away from people or forces the creation of a job that I could do and not pay for if only the law did not prevent it.

onto other matters (here's a quote)

Further, it is silly to the extreme to pretend that socialization happens with service people on a regular basis or that lack of this socialization will somehow mean we never get socialized at all. Most people tell the service person what they want and that is all that is it. I can tell you that from working service jobs many times in my life in many different locations.
Further, we socialize with our friends, family, coworkers etc. So not having service jobs is not the end of socialization. To use your own example this is not a dog raised in isolation, this is a dog being told I know you have your pack and your favorite activities but you WILL go pay to hang out with this dog over here like it or not.

We must differ here.

I socialise with all my service folk (and customers, if it comes down to it)

I find the whole "script" of mundane human interactions incredibly distressing (and it is possible that some people find me not following the script and socialising during mundane interactions distressing, who knows)

I guess I want to live in a world where we're not just transactions to each other.

I love my community, and the people in it, and I will pay extra (in fact, I do pay extra) to interact with, and support the people and businesses in my community.

I guess that's why the person I buy my coffee from (in fact, even the person I buy my fuel from) asks me about my property and my day and my bikes and so on, and doesn't just take my money and give me a receipt. (but then, I live in a relatively small town, a long way from the Big Smoke. It seems easier to be friendly and social in these parts than in the cities, where it is all acronyms and machines and hurry hurry we need to be somewhere but we're not sure where or why....)


From a more...profit centric point of view.

Knowing people is valuable.

Your attendant might notice you've got a flat tyre, or they might have a contact who can get you new speakers for your sound system, or they might be able to lend you a trailer for the weekend, perhaps they have home-brewing recipes you like.

A strong infrastructure of "allies" is not just cool from a lame social, lets all understand each other and be nice wishy-washy "jedi" sort of angle, it is also a form of power and influence.

James first you make many assumptions. I am well acquainted with the service people I see regularly. However, that does not mean one should support force interactions. Further, not everyone can afford to pay the extra you do. When I was just out of the Navy I would have been without a PC if my computer broke and we had a law about PC repair like they do about pumping your own gas. Finally, a Jedi is against forcing people into things they do not wish to be involved in. That would include forcing you to buy something you cant afford such as pc repair that you can do yourself or to speak to someone you may or may not be up to.

You can be for getting to know people all you want, heck so am I. BUT where I will be against your view is when you demand via force of law which is the threat of a government gun that people get to know each other. If someone wishes to be a hermit they have that right and should not be forced to pay extra for something they do not wish to have and can do themselves

James first you make many assumptions. I am well acquainted with the service people I see regularly.

So do you chief,

1 - That I'm discussing you or your habits personally at all. I'm just using your quotes as frames for ideas. I'm not arguing with you to change your mind, or even really assuming where your mind actually is.

2 - that I care at all about the laws in oregon.

I fill my own car (and service it), so I'm all for Oregonians doing the same thing.

My...I guess "leaping off point" for this idea was that our driving need for change to a process is convenience and minimising the amount of time we spend dealing with each other.

There is no "government gun" in Australia forcing people to pay for their fuel via "app" instead of with the attendant (or with the attendant instead of the app), but I do find embracing convenience we don't need and faceless technology instead of human interaction a bit sick.

My town can't really support an Uber-Eats type industry, but lets pretend it can - I would still rather a human deliver my dinner than a drone.



Social side aside, there are economic benefits to these jobs.

in my world, every teenager cuts their teeth in a relatively non-technical service type job - Maybe it's fast food, maybe it's retail, maybe it is a car wash.

If we automate all these processes, what do these people do? Where do they learn to work? where do they learn financial literacy?, where do they get their money to buy girls ice creams and movie tickets? and, ( this is a big nancy regan) what keeps them off the streets and the bath salts? ( )



(if we want to talk regulation, I'll assume some more and assume we agree that "Laws" created to protect industry and force consumers to use services they don't want to is absolute bulldust. We can raise a glass in toast to that.

On an oddly similar topic - my government just prevented a "merger" of petrol stations as it would have unfairly reduced competition in the market and adversely affected the consumer. So. Yay Team. sometimes the system kinda works for the little guy)