I’m not sure who to feel most sorry for here; the politicians (yes, really), the media or the public, but the panic buying of fuel and the chaos that has been caused over the last few days has left me bewildered. So who will get my Plonker of the Week award this week?
The media are in the frame as the worst of the lot because they just want to make a big story out of anything, but why do they do it? They do it because the public laps it up; if we were indifferent to the hype they wouldn’t bother and would find another way of attracting viewers or readers.
The public deserve to be in the frame because of both the previous point and because they panicked and caused havoc blocking roads in their efforts to grab a few more litres.
The politicians are in the frame because they have made some stupid statements for the media to pass on and fuel (pun intended) the stupidity. On that subject it was interesting to note the furore around the chap who suggested storing fuel in jerry cans; how times change, for this was common practice for many of us for years, and we also used to drive around with a spare can (or two) in the boot. It wasn’t so much safety reasons that stopped that as the greater availability of fuel, but I digress.
So who wins the award this week? Well, the media only feed a market, and who was it who elected the politicians? Yes, that’s right, on both counts it can only be us, the great British public and so we are the worthy Plonkers of the Week.
The Voice of the Bloke at the Back 