Don't Buy Gas on May 19th
Netlore Archive: Yet another variant of the 'Gas Out' chain letter, this one urging consumers to avoid gas stations on May 19, 2004 to 'send a message' to the oil companies
Description: Email protest / Chain letter
Circulating since: May 2004
Status: Ill conceived / Ineffectual
See also: 2007 version - Don't Pump Gas on May 15
Email example contributed by A. Jackson, 12 May 2004:
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Subject: FW: Don't buy gas on May 19th IT HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE IN THE UNITED STATES DID NOT PURCHASE A DROP OF GASOLINE FOR ONE DAY AND ALL AT THE SAME TIME, THE OIL COMPANIES WOULD CHOKE ON THEIR STOCKPILES. AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH A NET LOSS OF OVER 4.6 BILLION DOLLARS WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE OIL COMPANIES. THEREFORE MAY 19TH HAS BEEN FORMALLY DECLARED "STICK IT UP THEIR behind " DAY AND THE PEOPLE OF THIS NATION SHOULD NOT BUY A SINGLE DROP OF GASOLINE THAT DAY. THE ONLY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE IS IF YOU FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TO GET THE WORD OUT. WAITING ON THIS ADMIINSTRATION TO STEP IN AND CONTROL THE PRICES IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REDUCTION AND CONTROL IN PRICES THAT THE ARAB NATIONS PROMISED TWO WEEKS AGO? REMEMBER ONE THING, NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE OF GASOLINE GOING UP BUT AT THE SAME TIME AIRLINES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES, TRUCKING COMPANIES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES WHICH EFFECTS PRICES ON EVERYTHING THAT IS SHIPPED. THINGS LIKE FOOD, CLOTHING, BUILDING MATERIALS, MEDICAL SUPPLIES ETC. WHO PAYS IN THE END? WE DO! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IF THEY DON'T GET THE MESSAGE AFTER ONE DAY, WE WILL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN. SO DO YOUR PART AND SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND MAKE MAY 19TH A DAY THAT THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES SAY "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" |
Comments: With U.S. gasoline prices at a 13-year high, it's understandable that consumers are fed up and hankering for relief, but it's fair to ask whether mass-forwarding yet another "boycott gas" chain letter will achieve the desired result. Based on past experience, the answer is: not likely.
There are two glaring flaws in the approach:
- A successful boycott requires a sustained, organized effort by a large number of participants; randomly circulating a chain letter amounts to no organization at all. And we know from past attempts that no matter how many people jump on the bandwagon, actual participation in email-driven boycotts is spotty and ultimately negligible.
- It's illogical. Refusing to buy gasoline on one particular day of the month won't affect the oil companies' overall sales or profits. Why not? Because everyone who skips buying gasoline on May 19 will be filling their tanks on the 20th. An effective boycott would require consuming less fuel, not just buying it on one day instead of another.
The claim that a one-day boycott would result in an industry loss of over $4.6 billion is a pure fabrication, by the way. According to Euromonitor International, the total sales of petroleum products for all U.S. gas stations in 2002 was $205 billion, which works out to just over a half-billion dollars a day.
Sources and further reading:
Whose Pocketbooks Are Hit by $2 Gas Prices
Christian Science Monitor, 13 May 2004Gasoline Station Retailing in United States
Euromonitor International, October 2003U.S. Retail Gasoline Prices
Weekly updates from the U.S. Dept. of EnergyA Primer on Gasoline Prices
Fact sheet from the U.S. Dept. of EnergyEmail Urges Boycott of Fuel from Exxon Mobil
San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 March 2003Americans Use the Web for Gas Price Beefs
Dow Jones News Service, 19 October 2000Internet-Fueled Gas Boycott Fizzles Around Bay Area
San Francisco Chronicle, 1 May 1999
Last updated: 05/08/07
