I've driven EVs for about 6 years, and if I had a dollar for every time I've encountered people blocking chargers I'd outperform the tax credit. Most of the time it's ignorance. Sometimes it's malice. Occasionally it's just outright narcissism. Almost got in a fight with a guy who parked his Land Rover in the only EV charging spot when the rest of the parking lot was empty. He couldn't be bothered to park one spot further away, everyone else be damned. I called him out on it, and he immediately got in my face. So yeah, being an EV driver is being somewhat used to this frustration and occasionally even prepared to de-escalate conflict. I don't blame these folks for being a bit defensive.
But here, that's part of the fun. The misunderstanding tends to breed curiosity about the 4XE in all but the staunchest environmentalists (I mean, our Jeeps aren't very efficient with their EV power after all).
There will still be some intentional dirty looks from the ranks of the Leafs (Leaves?) and e-Golfs of the world, just like the "Jeep wave" there tends to be an unspoken class system in the EV community about who is more deserving of that plug. I've certainly seen EV folks throw looks at PHEVs because they don't need to charge on the go and because generally, they charge slower than full EVs. I'm guilty of getting a little annoyed when driving in my full EV badly needing a charge, and seeing the only plug in the area taken by a Volt (or worse, a Volt that isn't even plugged in). In those moments I have to summon my better nature and remember that's part of the moment we're in, and we should all need to be pushing for better networks so there's enough to go around.
In any case, friendly reminder to have good plug etiquette. Only park at the plug when actively charging, obey the posted time limits if there are any, and consider being considerate if there's someone else waiting in need of a plug to get where they're going.
