January 22, 2016
Brian Hickey/PhillyVoice
The ShopRite at Bakers Centre in East Falls was packed with panic buyers (like me and my son) on Thursday night.
There were three items on my supermarket-shopping list on Thursday afternoon: Cheese, bread and ice cream.
By the time my lad and I left the Brown’s ShopRite in Bakers Centre, there was more than $85 worth of products in our cart. Ribs. Dr. Pepper to marinate those ribs. Burgers. Hot dogs. Bagels. Cream cheese. Gatorade. Seltzer. Et cetera.
Hauling the bags from car to house, after the cart locked up in the parking lot since our car was far away from the store, one question danced in my head: What the heck just happened?
It didn’t take long for the best answer to arise: You are just like the rest of the sheeple.
That’s the type of profound realization one reaches after getting caught up in the annual snowstorm frenzy that replaces brain cells with panic signals.
Mock those “Getcha bread/eggs/milk OR ELSE!” sirens as we are wont to do, many of us end up doing so anyway. This, despite the fact that many of us live in a city with all survival needs within a plowed-street stroll away.
Maybe we get caught up in the communal emotion of stay-woke preparations for a looming “threat.” Maybe it’s a physiological need to make sure our families are comfortable amid potential weather madness. Whatever it is, panic shopping is for real.
“Clearly we’re responding to emotions and crowds, and our brains are a few steps behind,” explained consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow to Time. “It’s not so much a thought as it is an impulse that hits, and it’s associated with the caveman parts of our brain that take over when we perceive we might be in physical danger. We are prewired to fight for food when we sense that resources are scarce.”
In other words, we fall victim to devolution in moments of crisis – even when those moments of crisis may not be crises at all. That’s a humbling realization, but it’s also one that won’t make me sweat embarrassment for too long.
You know why? Because even though I unnecessarily panic spent at the supermarket on Thursday, it’s gonna be a lot of fun to grill those ribs, burgers and dogs during the nor’blizzard. Heck, that grill's going to do some work even if the power doesn't get knocked out in the house on Friday night or Saturday.
Oh yeah, I’ll be sure to post #PHLSnow Grub pics on Instagram, too. Otherwise, what’s the point?
