but nobody admits to doing it or knowing anybody who has - at most, they fess up to buying a little extra toilet paper (rice, peanut butter, soup...) after they got word they'd have to "shelter in place" or they noticed empty shelves at their local store.
When I point out that it sure sounds like there wasn't much widespread panic buying, they go "Oh, just look at the shelves!"
The thing is, while it's self-evident that widespread hoarding and panic buying will lead to empty shelves, the converse doesn't follow. Empty shelves can be caused by lots of things, most simply, everybody in an area independently deciding to buy one extra package of toilet paper etc. or choosing to go shopping every month instead of twice a week. In the first case, nobody is buying much more than usual, but because EVERYBODY is buying a small amount more than usual, the shelves empty. In the second case, people making the entirely rational choice to stay home as much as possible are getting dinged for purchasing exactly what they need to do that. And, I'm sorry, but I don't think anybody can honestly say they think that having two, three, or four weeks worth of food and toilet paper in the home is evidence of a hoarding mentality. Not even during usual times.
Empty shelves can also indicate the actions of profiteers who have decided to stock up and sell later. This IS hoarding, I suppose - but it's not panic buying. It's profiteering.
Empty shelves can also indicate issues somewhere along the supply line, but in the US at least it doesn't look like we're there yet.
The trouble is, once people see empty shelves they make the entirely rational decision to stock up a little more than they'd already planned, thus causing the crisis they want to avoid. This is a troubling cycle, but it's not irrational either.
So unless you can point to an actual person in your area who bought out a stock of staple goods "just in case", more than they could reasonably use in a month or twice their normal shopping period, whichever is the greater time period, please stop talking about the stupid crazy irrational panic shoppers who are keeping you from eating pasta. (Eyewitness evidence of somebody making multiple trips to buy the same product don't count unless you spoke to this person and confirmed that they're not, say, running errands for elderly or otherwise vulnerable people who should not leave the house at all if they can help it.) Bonus points if that person did it before shelves emptied where you are.
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