Denial

The price of petrol down here is now pretty much double what it used to be a few years ago and because of that rising oil costs are now a common conversational topic. Because of this I have stopped being careful about how I bring up the subject of the coming crash and have accidentally confronted a few people with the idea.

In some ways it’s been fascinating because without exception everyone I have spoken to has gone into immediate denial. I’ve never been witness to such a clear example of the sub conscious mind steering the conscious mind – it’s kind of like there’s a gravitational force that pushes the conversation away from scary topics.

I wasn’t completely confrontational either. One couple I spoke to exist mostly in the fringy world I do, they’re good vegetarian, home-schooling, co-sleeping, alternative types but nonetheless the mention of the crash was immediately dismissed. Another person I talked to was someone I respect greatly who had just bought up the subject of the ‘end times’, we spent a couple of minutes with him coming up with alternative fuel solutions and me pointing out their flaws before I stopped when I realised he was starting to get a bit grumpy – something I have never seen him do before.

Another common response was to refer to a documentary that had been on TV a week earlier about the oil sands – it seems to have served as a reassurance that ‘things will be OK’ for a lot of people and must therefore stand as a truly masterful piece of PR/propaganda.