High gas prices are hurting worldwide.

And they've spurred protests in many forms, including some in Europe that have seen thousands of truckers slow their vehicles to a crawl and deliberately block the flow of goods. Fed up with fuel prices, the truckers are ready to curb commerce if that's what it takes to force change.

Along with clogging traffic on major roads, the truckers also helped generate lengthy lines at many gas stations as drivers rushed to fill up.

The protests involve many self-employed, independent truckers seeking minimum, guaranteed haulage rates to offset rising fuel prices. They fear that the soaring price of fuel will squeeze them out of the market as larger trucking firms can transport for less cost.

While their strategy has drawn attention, the unfortunate fallout is in penalizing people who can afford it least. Along with annoying other motorists also bearing the burden of soaring fuel prices, the truckers' acts promise to threaten food markets there.

Other protests have been even more absurd and uncalled for, such as one from a woman in California who allegedly set fires at two gas stations and a coffee shop, then told police she wanted to do something about high gas prices. No one was hurt, thankfully, and the woman now faces arson and other charges.

Frustration is mounting, and for good reason. Reports of the billions of dollars in profits raked in by Big Oil companies, and predictions of $5-a-gallon gas this summer only fan the flames.

Still, protests and other angry outbursts won't bring relief to consumers and businesses being punished at the pump.

It's an election year in the United States, and the pressure is on Congress to do something. The first step has to be addressing the real issue of supply and demand by breaking an impasse that's seen Republicans drag their feet on alternative energy and conservation strategies, and Democrats balk at offshore and Alaskan oil drilling.

Making progress on those fronts will take time. As we resign ourselves to the fact that no quick fix for higher fuel prices exists, one thing's certain: Staging protests and lashing out in other ways that hurt people are making a bad situation even worse.