iodide in case small amounts of radiation blow over to the US. In
similar panic-induced, illogical behavior, rumors have been going
around in China that if the seas are contaminated with radiation, that
salt production will stop. Never mind that most salt comes from mines, or
inland salt wells, not from the sea, or that even if the seas around here did
become radioactive, salt would probably not be the most important
thing to worry about. But if you've ever tasted a real Chinese dish in
China, you know that salt is considered pretty essential (along with
the oil, and the MSG, and if you're in Sichuan or Chongqing, the hua
jiao/la jiao combo).
Richy and I took a walk to the nearby E-ling park today to get some
exercise and see some blue sky on an usually clear day. We had a rare
horizon to horizon view of the city with virtually no fog. It was
peaceful. On the way home, we stopped at our local Yonghui grocery
store for some peanut butter. The store is usually packed and chaotic,
especially on the weekends, but today, instead of the crowds milling
through the aisles, they were strangely lined up from the back of the
store (where the spices and oil are shelved) all the way out the front
door. Essentially a wall of people had been built between the deli and
the produce section. The women and old ladies were a little aggressive
about their spots in line when we tried to pass through them for
regular browsing, and the grocery staff was flustered trying to keep
everyone orderly. Some people had whole empty baskets and carts as if
they were going to fill them with salt packages. I went ahead and
looked at the produce to see if there were any cheap apples (holding
back a little tear at the sight of imported Washington state apples
selling for more than 12 kuai/jin - that's $2/pound, whereas normal
Chinese apples are less than 1/2 that price), while Richy stood and
watched the line for a while, confirming that they were, in fact,
lining up like that just to buy some extra salt. They were.
The funny thing about it, is that people are causing a salt shortage
simply by freaking out about it. The salt shortage becomes a
self-fulfilling rumor. Despite the governments best efforts to assuage
fears, people do what people do: panic.
I can understand that watching the news about Japan gets your
adrenaline going. Watching people lose everything makes you think,
"What can I do? What should I be doing? Can I help someone? How can I
keep horrible stuff from happening to me?" When someone says "Buy
salt!" or "Buy potassium iodide!" it makes sense, it fulfills that
human need to do something. It's tangible, and when you get to the
store and there's a huge line, it makes sense to line up too.
Unfortunately it's not really the kind of thing that will really help
anyone, it just creates a new problem. It seems that the better
courses of action, donating to the Red Cross, preparing an emergency
kit, demanding stronger building codes or going over plans in case of
an earthquake or nuclear wind, don't carry the same kind of emotional
pull as standing in line as a community and enjoying some salt-less
self-pity.
Richy and I made our way to the checkout lines with our peanut butter,
some regular dairy butter and some yogurt. The lines were shorter than
I had ever seen them. Thanks salt shortage.
