Some of the problem is that they are so used to having everything working and so little used to any inconvenience that when something like this happens they have no clue what to do. And they expect someone else to do it for them. People that had as the most important part of their life getting their cell phone charged and their electronic devices on line. They can't get to work because the roads are still blocked, but they can fight to get in line for gasoline and have no place to go. And tehy expect that someone else will have the same expectations for their personal comfort that they have. The power company is going to go to those places wher they can get the biggest results first and then to those places with smaller returns for the effort. Having been through a couple ice storms and a few blizzards (I grew up in western NY and moved to south Texas just in time to enjoy hurricane Dolly) it is my opinion that most of what we see is folks having to confront the reality that they really have very little control over their lives or environment. Really is shocking to have to admit our own insignificance when the things over which we have no control come in and smash everything we have placed out trust in. What happens when I am confronted by my powerlessness? I can either scream and yell and whine for someone to rescue me, or I can sit back, take stock and readjust my thoughts and ideas to the reality that does exist, rather than the reality I imagine. The fights over gasoline were not because of a need for gasoline, but because they could not handle the idea of their own insignificance. That, and the very fact that the thought of just cillin for a few days drives them screaming bonkers.