It was an innocent question born of human procrastination.

On Tuesday, I was standing at the counter of one of those little stores that offer every mail service short of courier pigeons when it occurred to me that I needed some 2-cent stamps.

As most Americans should know by now, the cost of a first-class stamp increased this week to 39 cents. Like many of you, I still had some 37-cent stamps and plenty of bills to pay.

I looked up at the young clerk and asked, “Do you have any 2-cent stamps?”

Immediately, she backed away from the counter and raised her hands as if she’d just been greeted by a ghost. Granted, I was a middle-aged woman wearing a ponytail and no makeup after spending the last 10 hours doing nothing but writing and gulping French Roast coffee. But still.

“I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head as she took another step back. “We’re all out. The post office down the street is all out, too, and that’s where we usually buy them but they don’t have any more and it’s not our fault and I wish we had more but we don’t and I’m not sure when they’re getting any more but it’s not our fault.”

Hmm.

I stared at her for a moment and noticed all the telltale signs:

Nervousness.

Darting eyes.

Long explanation for a teeny-tiny question.

Yup, rankism, pure and simple – that nasty American habit of turning somebodies into nobodies so that we can heap all our frustrations on their undeserving heads.

“Have you been getting that question a lot today?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yesterday, too.”

“What do customers say when you tell them you’re out of stamps?”

She shook her head and sighed.

“They’re pretty mad. Some people yelled. They pretty much blame me.”

This is no way to start the new year.

The U.S. Postal Service confirmed for me that some branches have indeed run out of 2-cent stamps. To add to this national crisis, it appears some are plum out of 1-cent stamps, too.

The Postal Service also confirmed that none of this is that clerk’s fault. In fact, it’s not the fault of any clerk working at any mailing shop, nor is it the fault of the post office clerks who’ve been getting an earful from cranky customers lately.

This is apparently quite a news flash for those of you who think hourly wage earners set national policy. That is why you yelled at them, right? You didn’t take it out on them just because you could. Right?

Right?

I have good news. Intrepid reporter that I am, I found out exactly whom you should blame if you were unable to buy 2-cent stamps in your neighborhood:

The post office branch manager who was in charge of estimating how many 2-cent stamps should be ordered.

And you.

Yes, you, as in you who waited until the last minute to buy the extra postage.

You, who ignored all the stories, fliers and announcements warning you for months that postage would be increasing.

You who, as it turns out, are just like me.

How scary is that?

“It’s kind of like the hurricane syndrome,” Jim Quirk told me. He’s a Postal Service spokesman, and he said the same thing happens every time there’s a rate increase.

“It’s like when a storm is coming and people buy up all the milk, batteries and other essentials,” he said. “Suddenly, everyone’s afraid they won’t have enough 2-cent stamps and they buy more than they need.”

And those clerks who have to tell you no? They’re, like, not to blame.

You knew that, right?