this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2024
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Americans have already started noticing a decline in toilet paper rolls in their local stores as customer apparently bulk buy - despite the majority of paper being produced domestically

Toilet paper ‘panic buying’ has been reported in parts of the country, as Americans fear the impact of the ongoing port strike. 

Roughly 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association walked out on Tuesday morning after their contract with the ports expired. News that the strike could impact 36 ports appears to have led some consumers to buy rolls upon rolls of toilet paper in a panic, with shoppers posting pictures of their local stores with empty shelves. 

Social media users in New Jersey, Colorado, Virginia and other states reported shelves cleaned out of toilet paper.

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[–] krelvar 70 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I'd rather see people panic buying toilet paper than ammunition

[–] FlyingSquid 27 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, but I can tell you from COVID that when you're getting close to running out of it, all the people panic buying toilet paper that didn't need to make you a little bit cross.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Take solace in the fact that all the people that bought thousands of rolls with the intent to scalp them basically lost all that money after inventory caught up a month later.

[–] EmpathicVagrant 11 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Sounds like a trailer park boys story arc honestly

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[–] dual_sport_dork 63 points 2 months ago

Morons don't even understand that toilet paper is domestically produced, not imported, so a dockworker's strike would have fuck-all impact on the supply of it anyway.

[–] chronicledmonocle 61 points 2 months ago (5 children)

I just buy toilet paper from Costco once every one to two months and I'm fine.....these people are insane, stupid, or both. Seriously WTF does toilet paper have to do with survival? Just get a bidet if it gives you this much anxiety FFS.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Yeah it hasn't even been 5 years since this shit happened during COVID and people can't remember how ridiculous it was back then. How much toilet paper is even being shipped here from overseas and not manufactured using the billions of trees we have here in North America? Shit like this, or people panic buying gasoline and filling up trash bags with it, gives me a little bit of insight as to why the ruling class treats us like cattle.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

God that was so fucking stupid. I hated it so much since I usually buy one of those 48 rolls packages to last me awhile. Well, I happened to be down to a few rolls when the panic happened, so I looked like one of those assholes.

God I hate people. Why is that the thing everyone panic buys?

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[–] gibmiser 10 points 2 months ago (2 children)

There are people who benefit financially from these panics. The companies selling the goods, and the news who have a good news story. And politicians.

[–] chronicledmonocle 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Sure, but it's still fucking stupid.

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[–] EmpathicVagrant 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I buy the bulk packs of super thick type and hardly need any so it lasts me like 3 rolls a year.

I’d love a bidet anyway but i refuse to do anything the landlord might get huffy about

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

the cheap ones are so easy to connect and disconnect that i don't think you could possibly fuck up enough for them to notice you did anything

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] MegaUltraChicken 25 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Hell yes. Installed bidets last time this nonsense happened and I will never go back.

Anyone not enjoying the luxury of a bidet doesn't know what they're missing.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Anyone not enjoying the luxury of a bidet is pooping like a Neanderthal

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (4 children)

The moment I finished using a bidet for the first time, I had this revelation… my entire life, up until this point, I’ve been walking around with a filthy disgusting paper-wiped ass.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It was exactly the same for me.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)
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[–] robocall 43 points 2 months ago (1 children)

We have truly learned nothing

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Glad we bought a bidet after the last wrath of morons did this.

[–] Crackhappy 17 points 2 months ago (1 children)

"wrath of morons" has a nice ring to it.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)
[–] FlyingSquid 27 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Is this the new America? Disaster is looming, so buy toilet paper?

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago (2 children)

It's not even a disaster, like, the port workers wouldn't strike so long as to actually threaten the country, they live in it. It's only a disaster if you're trying to avoid paying them more

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

It's only a disaster if you're trying to avoid paying them more

So, it's a disaster then.

[–] FlyingSquid 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I would say it's a looming disaster in terms of the average price of goods for consumers when they are already living paycheck to paycheck in many cases.

I am on the side of the port workers, don't get me wrong, but the fallout from this strike will hurt people.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

As long as the right people are held accountable for that damage. The mainstream media does not have a good track record of reporting on the side of striking workers.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Well, maybe the company should give the workers what they want then.

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[–] skeezix 10 points 2 months ago

Yes but not just disasters. Toilet paper got sold out before the last solar eclipse. Americans buy toilet paper because it’s one of the few things they can still do with agency. It makes them feel like they accomplished something

[–] anonymous111 25 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Didn't we learn from the pandemic that most toilet paper is produced with country borders due to high shipping costs?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

Didn’t we learn from the pandemic

No.

[–] Buddahriffic 4 points 2 months ago

I think most of the general pop stopped paying attention by the time that was clear. Hopefully more idiots will try to scalp TP and stores will refuse their returns when the scalpers realize any shortages caused by runs (heh) are temporary.

IIRC, the shortage in 2020 was only in stores and warehouse storage didn't even get fully tapped out before things stabilized.

I also remember going to the stores and being surprised there was still tons of pasta while people were scrambling for TP. I didn't use a bidet at that time (do now though), but even then my thought was "even if we run out of TP entirely, you can just start taking a shower after shitting, but there isn't an easy alternative if the food runs out". The pasta runs came later, but I was already stocked up.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 months ago (2 children)

This a problem for people who don’t have a bidet. Gross people.

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[–] CodexArcanum 20 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I truly do not understand my fellow countryfolks' minds. Why toilet paper, again?

A quick search can tell you what goods might be affected, and paper products don't even make the list! https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/transportation/2024/10/01/strike-at-the-port-of-ny-and-nj-what-imports-are-affected/75468183007/

Imports into the Port of NY and NJ

  • Furniture
  • Appliances, machinery and parts
  • Plastics
  • Beverages, spirits and vinegar
  • Electric machinery and parts
  • Apparel and accessories, knit
  • Rubber
  • Vehicles and parts
  • Iron and steel
  • Toys, games, sports equipment

So as you'd expect: cars, furniture, electronics, fast fashion, some raw materials

In other words, very little that is essential or that you'll miss in the next few months, but a lot of luxury things that cheap importers make a lot of money on.

Honestly, we'd be better off as a country if we permanently stopped importing a lot of this shit and went back to making it outselves.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

we'd be better off as a country if we permanently stopped importing a lot of this shit and went back to making it outselves.

Of course.

But there's more short-term profits to be made for a select few if we close even more factories where they have to pay (more-or-less) a living wage and outsource to low wage countries.

[–] Feathercrown 18 points 2 months ago

Don't they already have a stockpile from last time?

These people need to be banned from doing this lmao

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Labor power has apparently scared the shit out of us to such a degree that no amount of toilet paper will ever be enough to wipe it up.

[–] Clinicallydepressedpoochie 17 points 2 months ago

Why always the fucking toilet paper? Time to finally get the bidet.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

As someone watching from outside (and a born and bred bidet user), this is hilarious.

[–] Dohnuthut 11 points 2 months ago

My area appears to have been hit with a paper towel shortage first. Attempted to get some at Costco today because we legit needed it, but they had none. Went to Lidl and they were running low, but was able to procure some.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

So we learned nothing. Neat.

[–] soupguy 9 points 2 months ago

I never understood this behaviour. I will starve before I run out of things to wipe my ass with.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

If it starts to disappear again, check out a company called Who Gives a Crap? We never had a supply issue during the pandemic.

[–] plz1 7 points 2 months ago

I learned my lesson from the early days of covid. Buy that good stuff i bulk as a habit, not as an emergency reaction.

[–] thesohoriots 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

With that much toilet paper, you’d be silly to stop wiping when it turns red!

[–] FlyingSquid 4 points 2 months ago

Just keep wiping until you get all the way to the top.

[–] saltesc 4 points 2 months ago

Hahaha, this again. I'm starting to think big TP sows dissidence in society, trying to cause any form of logistics service to be disrupted, so long as it's not their trucks.

But also I love seeing how many people don't know how to clean themselves at home if they have no TP.

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