3 days from Anarchy (Page 2)

Has no one been watching Revolution?  One day, someone will decide to turn out the power, and look what happens!!

People will help in most situations, and even in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, no matter what disaster, help will be most common.

For any prolonged disaster, if there is dwindling hope of any return to normal life, people will be less willing to help and a new "normal" will take over.

I think there was also a show on Discovery or National Geographic that depicts what would happen if everything just stopped (doomsday type scenario).

No, it's cool, I have a pendant.

I agree with cardenas1 and NXS.

CNN's news reporter:  "Syrian: I never imagined living under olive trees".  Article about Syrian Refugees that are living now in poor conditions.  Lack of clean water, food, shelter with makeshift camps of around 5000 people per camp.  Fever is breaking out, insect bites are covering children, diarrhea rampant in the camps.

What caught my attention was there was a English speaking man that managed a KFC living in the camps.  Basically went from a well taken care of life to succumb to this new chapter of his life.  Basically, it can happen to any of us.

I don't want to be the one reporting my living conditions of my family during another disaster (hurricane, tornado, civil unrest, emp etc), nor burry my head in the sand like the English speaking man in this story to think that something like this couldn't happen.

Yeah, geez.....I wonder how my Grandparents managed during the Great Depression? How did our country survive?  

What, exactly, would "get ugly"?  Attacking me or my family?  Or you?  How long do you think decent, armed, people will put up with that?  An hour?   And what do you consider a "large scale"? 

I give people exactly the credit they deserve.....and the credit I give them comes from watching amazing acts of kindness and helpfullness during times of trouble.  Those people who don't want to play nice get dealt with, just like always.

Look, I'm no Liberal.....but those kind of comments make me understand why they think we have some screws loose.

The members of our society have always taken care of each other and dealt with those who could not get with the program.....that will change because we don't have electricity?  That's ridiculous. 

I don't pray for the best....I expect it from people.  I'm rarely disappointed.

Yes, let's now compare what is happening in what is basically a third world country to what might happen in the United States.  

Perfect.

It's not often that I agree with Left Brain, but here I do. Not only is Syria a third world country, but it also has a long history of living under oppressive dictatorship. When I was in Nepal a few years ago, there was literally NO government, as they were in a transitional period after the issues with their marxists was settling down. Despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, people generally were helpful and civil, not just to the tourists but in a day-to-day fashion to one another.

Fine, call me crazy.  I believe we are less civil now than we we in the 1930's.  Just read the news or walk into any Burger King and watch when someone's order is wrong.  They are so ugly to the person behind the counter that served them.  People in L.A. rioted when they didn't like a jury verdict, looting after Katrina, and looting after Sandy.  Places in cities that people avoid like the plague, warning signs by the police when entering Detroit, hell people riot when their sports team either wins the big game or loses.  Boy, I can't wait to see how nice people will be when something really bad happens. 

We just have to different views of society, I hope we don't find out who is right.

Yes, your right, because America is so perfect.  And actually its not a 3rd world like you would with some parts of Africa and Asia, its more like a 2nd (if you want to call it that).  Isn't that where America is heading?  No?

Since I am in agreement with Left Brain on this one, I would point out that one of the flaws in your reasonings is that it seems to see those areas of the the country (basically inner cities that are failing) as being like pus-filled tumors, just barely contained and ready to explode all over the rest of the country.

I live near one of the poorest cities in the country, with one of the highest crime rates in the state. There is a failed educational system, high rates of substance use, high rates of unemployment, and the city is essentially operating under receivership since it is bankrupt, and has been laying off police which surely cannot help matters. Despite the fact that I could walk into these areas from my house within an hour or so (literally walking - the drive is about 3-5 minutes from walking out of my door to go to "bad parts of town"), I do not have significant fears for my safety now or indeed most of the time. Even when there have been power outages, flooding, or other disasters, there was not some sort of roaming zombie horde of criminals erupting from the city to my neighborhood.

You don't need hyperinflation to make money worthless - if there is no money to be had, it might as well be worthless. And the town where I live is very well off for the most part - it theoretically would make economic sense for the criminals to come over during the day and commit mass robberies or other economically driven crimes. And as I said, the "obstacle" is only a short walk of a few miles. Yet while not non-existent, such crime is relatively uncommon in my town.

Perhaps if you live somewhere that you do not trust the people around you, you should consider (a) whether you should be living there in the first place, and (b) whether you are part of the problem. Whenver I hear a parent tell a child that their friends are a "bad influence", one of the things I think about is that the friends' parents could just as easily be saying the same thing about the child in front of me. I think the same principle applies here - do your neighbors assume the same things about you that you assume about them?

There you go trying to be logical about this. 

In comparison to the 1930's we rely on "the matrix" a lot more today than we ever did back then.  Our urban areas are considerably more dense and whatever issues arise are amplified quickly in big cities from a resources standpoint.  I think the poor relies on the government a lot more today then they did back then as well.

My contention is that if there is a disaster that keeps the matrix down for 3-5+ days and the disaster is a large enough scale to prevent the government from coming in to help; desperate people will do desperate things.  We as a society have been conditioned on the government being there to bail us out which is fine, but if that bail out doesn't occur then what?  It's not isolated to poorer parts of the city, but in general I'd say the poorer parts of the city would be the least prepared.  If there was a scenario where the poor area's near you were without food/water for 7+ days with no outside assistance I will assure you they will come looking for resources.  Most will be peaceful, but some likely will not.

Fortunately the odds of any of this happening are low and that everything will be fine, but I figure the only down side is I have a great excuse to buy a lot of cool stuff. 

magic - 2012-11-13 8:28 PM

tuwood - 2012-11-13 6:28 PM

This is a very good read that explains the phases of our societal collapse during a disaster.  It rings true to the old saying that "we're just 3 days away from Anarchy".

The Anatomy of a Breakdown

 

Their top ten list is missing somethings. 1. Food and alternative ways to cook food 2. Water 3. Fuel for generators, cooking stoves and mantels, charcoal for outdoor grills 4. Batteries 5. Generator 6. Emergency lighting 7. Ice 8. Medical supply 9. Baby formula 10. Sanitation supplies Missing AR-15 and 1000+ rounds 12 Gauge + buck shot and rifled slugs Hand guns plus rounds Wife that is an ER Nurse

I can't spend all that money on prepping, when I spend everything on tri-ing.  

How long would civility last if something like this happened?  http://empcommission.org/

Is it a small possibility?  Perhaps.  But there are those in the defense community that see the possibility growing as time goes on, some believe it's an inevitability.

Shall we merge this threat with "Why do you have assualt guns"?  The it can't happen to me folks are toast but some will want your stuff.  Yes I prepared.  I'm prepared to not let them have it.  And stocked beyone 2 weeks. 

Now Im tying to figure a way to get my bike trainer to gererate power for my tv so I can watch a white noise screen and feel good about having power.

Fixed.

Military?  Branch?

73's

Here ya go

I haven't been on BT in a while, but when I saw the title I thought we were talking about the awesome FX TV show about bikers.

Now I have to go back and read the whole thread, because this topic interests me greatly.

Go Navy!!

But you do not need a EMP from a bomb, a mass solar ejection will do much worse and they happen every hundred years or so... and we are over due. There are actually plans to shut down the entire grid to protect it before the storm hits. There is no telling if we will get it back. Supposedly everything with a chip will be fried. So even if all out transformers do not melt down, we have no idea if we will be able to start back up. That should be a real hoot. Depends who is facing it when it comes.

I have been gone for 3 days at a swim meet for my kid....as such, I'd like to revise my previous posts:

Have enough beer for at least 3 days.....everything else will take care of itself.  That's really all you need to know to survive.