In Czech republic ...
8,5 $/G

Stop complaining, your petrol prices are at most half of what we pay in Europe. You always have the choice of buying a smaller car.

I live in Czech republic, Europe.
And I am paying 7.5$ per gallon (based on today's exchange rate).
So don't whine! ;)

Blame your respective governments and stop complaining about us complaining.

I would gladly pay $8 a gallon for fuel if we had universal health care like in Europe.

i have always hated the retort, 'shut up, i'm worse off than you' it is so incredibly rude and insensitive. my husband does it when i complain about being tired from work - i work in an office and he runs a landscape company. people in different countries do it over every conceivable topic. . .
if i break my leg, it will hurt; if you break both legs it will hurt. how is your pain in any way related to my pain? it's not. instead of trying to win the 'who hurts more' game, we should be trying to just make each other hurt LESS.
people should behave respectfully and be considerate of other's problems. your's do not make mine less valuable by any factor.

@Read Daniel Quinn

"How much gas do you use?" is the next logical question.

Liz, letting people wallow in self pity is not doing them any favors. High gas prices are not a broken leg. They will not heal until people decide to us less gas. Right now, Americans need some of the tough love they are famous for handing out to other. It is time to use your creativity to figure our solutions on how to drive less rather than figure out excuses why you can't. The worse thing you can do is let people continue to underestimate themselves.

I'm a little confused as to why Europeans so often feel the need to toss American complaints back as if we were complaining to them about it and taking something from them merely by acknowledging that times are hard for us. Your gas is expensive for you. Ours is expensive for us. It's not a competition to see who is worse off and if it were, no one wins.

yes, there is an upside in that public transportation may see more investment but until that actually happens, it's a little hard to say don't drive or find a job closer to home when pursuing those options are much easier said than done.

If voicing their pain and hearing other peoples makes people feel a bit better, then let them. It doesn't hurt you any.

"Right now, Americans need some of the tough love they are famous for handing out to other."

Funny; I don't recall handing out any tough love lately.

And our country hands out billions for humanitarian aid, at a time when we're broke. Barely half the people in this country voted Bush, and less than 20% approve of the direction the country is going...and I'm going out on a limb and guessing the other 20% are the real "Nazi sympathizers."

American oil is heavily subsidized by the government so everyone has to pay regardless of whether or not they use any. We spend over half a trillion dollars for a military which safeguards markets for the oil companies, thousands of our soldiers die for this oil, these companies bribe politicians to do nothing, and in exchange we get the appearance of lower gas prices.

Sure, I'd gladly pay a higher price for gas in exchange for peace, fewer military funerals, public transportation, universal health care and politicians not paid off by Big Oil. But I suppose my proper response, as guided by the person on the top of the forum is, if you don't like our imperialist corporate military then shut up.

Nobody likes to hear someone constantly complaining, and it is a relative thing. Since US is always complaining about our "high" gas prices, it only makes sense that Europeans get sick of hearing us whine on about it.

liz: Have you ever been in the same situation with someone that won't stop bitching about it? How about when you're doing twice the work? Pretty much drives you nuts, doesn't it? What is the fastest and most effective way to silence them? Point out how their situation compares to others even worse off who are not bitching. Does your husband complain about being tired after work often? More or less than you? Because I can tell you as sure as the sunrise, if the guy with two broken legs (in the wheel-chair) hears the guy with one broken leg (on crutches) bitch too much and too often about his predicament, he's going to roll over there and smack him with his own crutch. Same as that motion people do with their fingers (rubbing thumb and forefinger back and forth, signifying a tiny violin playing) when people are bitching too much, vying for sympathy from the wrong crowd. If it's a rare thing, then yes, sympathy/empathy/understanding are in order.

I've only ever heard from Europeans about high gas prices IN RESPONSE to our seemingly incessant complaining.

Richard,
self-pity is not the same as acknowledging pain. being considerate and respectful is not the same as "letting people wallow in self pity." is it really helpful to be an a**? no, it is never helpful, just hurtful.
I don't like paying high gas prices, but i don't cry about it - which isn't to say i don't feel the pinch, either. "finding ways to drive less" is great if you can afford to move or have the time to spend 2 hours each way to get to work on public transport. most people can make small changes but moving is often not a realistic option.
and yes, a broken leg is "the same" as high gas prices for the purposes of this example; just like that broken bone, eventually we will recover from high gas/food/etc prices. Hopefully, this injury will heal straight - meaning we won't fall back into foolish ways but will be more careful and pay better attention in the future.

Greennovator
who has not been in a situation like that? the point is, rudeness is never an appropriate response.
yes, he complains, and wants me to do all sorts of things for him - which i gladly do, he works hard and i love him - all i ask in return is he not belittle my job as being "easy" because it's air conditioned.
i am, by no measure, perfect but i try really hard - and if i think one of my children is just going on and on, i don't smack them, i talk to them. i ask them to tell me about their problem and why it's so bothersome that they must complain so much. then i ask them to offer me solutions and we work together to find the best one.
if i'm working twice as hard and someone else is complaining about their workload, i'm not going to "play a tiny violin" i'm going to wonder what else is going on with them that THIS task feels like so much. I can't see every part of any person's life but my own, there are always things i can't see that could be making a simple problem feel huge.
i don't really understand all the negativity in response to a 'be nice' comment. . .
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there is more than one person in any given country so lumping all Americans as whiners or loud is just as foolish as calling all Iraqis terrorists or all Japanese as super ambitious or all of any people by a simplistic label.
if a million people complain about high prices (or any issue), you might have to hear about it a 10 or 20 times. just try to keep it in perspective - there are nearly 7 billion people who weren't complaining, you just can't hear the silence for all the tiny violins. ;)

oh, i know, i talk a lot, huh? i just wanted to say one more thing on this topic - i wasn't meaning just that everyone else should be respectful and considerate of American's complaining about high gas prices, but that EVERYone should be respectful and considerate of EVERYone. - doing so makes it easier to work towards solutions which will satisfy everyone's needs, not wants, needs.
ok, that's all. i'll be quiet now.

Nice is good.
I'm not suggesting you "smack" your kids, just making a point with an extreme situation, and tried to make it funny (come on, the visual of a guy in a wheel chair smacking a guy on crutches for complaining too much IS funny).

Your analogy with Iraqis or Japanese doesn't fly. When the high gas price issue is SO pervasive in media, comments, forums, etc., it IS a general and perceived actuallity. I did not say ALL Americans, I implied that generally speaking -- we are perceived as such. My whole freaking point was that Europeans only react this way when they too often see that Americans bitch about it. OH NO, I just made 2 more generalizations. Not really, I observed some trends. Let's see if the Czechs above want to hold our hands and dig down to find out what's really bothering us?
We've made our own beds, now we must lie in them. When we (collectively, as perceived from abroad) bitch too much, it is delusional to expect sensitivity and hugs. The analogy that comes to mind here is ofreasoning with a long-time heroin addict.

I was merely pointing out the reasoning for their sometimes impatient and curt remarks towards our gas price woes. It should be expected.

America and other countries are moving away from petroleum/petrochemicals towards solutions like renewable energy and biomimicry.

Passing shame-based blame around will never guide anyone into making wiser choices.

Creativity, courage, unconditional love, and mercy are the characteristics that make up a people who will treat this Earth with the humility it cries out for.

Go and study. Then come and teach us.

The point of my remark was not that we Europeans "are hurting harder" so you should shut up. The point is the high European petrol prices don't really "hurt" us, because we are adapted to it. For example: our cars are not so ridiculously large as the ones in the US, our city planning is not totally centred around the car etc.

To stay in the leg-analogy: In the US the artificially low petrol (and other energy) prices have been an unnecessary electric wheelchair that made you lazy and your legs weak. The battery of your wheelchair is running on empty now. So time to stand up and practice those legs again!

Hey, don't like rising gas prices? Great!

1. Protest the Big Three Automakers to raise their fuel efficiency standards and don't take any excuse that they will say because they don't have the technology to do so.

2. Instead of voting against any bill that will expand or create any form of Rapid Mass Transit, vote for it! Also, demand that the FTA gets more funding.

3. Demand that the FAA implement their plans more quickly to improve the nation's air traffic control system.

4. Don't just ride a bike to work, demand that your city fund bicycle commuter networks whether they separated from or merged with car traffic.

In short, don't just gripe about high fuel prices, DO SOMETHING!

Americans are foolish to think others who have it worse should pity them when they have to pay a more for gas but still pay 1/2 as much as everybody else does. Why should I be upset when I (an american) have less DISPOSABLE income when I am relatively still on the top? I only am upset when I lack a broader perspective.

Nobody feels bad if Enron Execs complain that their losses prevent them from buying island nations and now they have to stay in a lousy 5 star hotels. I'm shocked how many posters LACK perspective and are grumpy because they can't afford to stop 3 times a day at Starbucks for their yuppie fix and take it out on us realists.

Who Cares that you are paying 8 dollars a gallon in gas. Thats where your country gets most of their tax revenue anyway, while here in the U.S. we get taxed in several diferent ways such as federal tax, state tax and or sales tax. We also have a tax on fuel too but its barely anything compared to what other countries are paying out.

Who Cares that you are paying 8 dollars a gallon in gas. Thats where your country gets most of their tax revenue anyway, while here in the U.S. we get taxed in several diferent ways such as federal tax, state tax and or sales tax. We also have a tax on fuel too but its barely anything compared to what other countries are paying out.

@Kenneth: For your Information:
In Europe we also have income tax and sales tax (V.A.T). Fuel tax only pays for a small part for the state budget of European nations. Overall we pay much more taxes than you do. (Except for the very rich) we don't mind so much, because we get social security in return, and the differences between poor and rich are not so extreme as on the other side of the pond.

In general: You in the US have the highest energy use per capita in the world. Partially due to the "American way of life" (i.e. the right to spoil the resources of the whole world), but mostly because of your low energy prices. As individuals you can financially afford not to care about your energy use. The stupid thing is: the technology to lower your energy use without reducing your comfort is there! You just choose not to use it. As an individual you can shrink your energy bill, even when prices are increasing.

I think my main point is: it is not about the price of energy it is about the cost of energy.

I find the "you can always buy a smaller car" response incredibly ridiculous. Sure, let me sell my three year old car for a fraction of the price I bought it for and buy a brand new shiny one. Most people don't have the luxury of dumping a bunch of money on a brand new car!

I find the "you can always buy a smaller car" response incredibly ridiculous. Sure, let me sell my three year old car for a fraction of the price I bought it for and buy a brand new shiny one. Most people don't have the luxury of dumping a bunch of money on a brand new car!