Spire customers in St Louis received letters from Spire explaining the situation to them. I notice that the reason for the imminent shortage/disruptions seems lost on those customers. It’s not that leftwing customers are ignoring the cause outlined by Spire due to bias; rightwing customers seem just as ignorant as to the facts of the cause, even after having read Spire’s warnings. It could be normalcy bias, or simply that the average person is bereft of the capacity to grasp the cause outlined by Spire or the implications of Spire’s warnings. Whatever the reason, the reactions I’ve encountered in St Louis involve mild concern and confusion. Beyond that, I would describe St Louisans as apparently apathetic toward the situation.

I’ll be interested to see how citizens of St Louis respond to rolling blackouts of natural gas this winter, amid skyrocketing rates. I’ll also be interested to see if they begin complaining to or protesting against the government this winter, when of course they should be doing that now, before the effects of the government’s intervention negatively impacts them.