Did you see......

[NCLee]

the people in the streets of Chile fighting over packages of toilet paper? Or see the stores being looted of electronics?

Said this morning, there's now a curfew from sundown to 10:00 am to try to hold down the looting and buildings being torched.

Sigh....

Lee

[momma_to_seven_chi]

In a situation where basic survival is paramount, the mores of society become irrelevant. Something inside of people just wants to live and thrive. It's easy to believe that "we would never act like that", but in truth anyone anywhere will act like that in times of extreme crisis. Scary. And even more scary when we realize that our best friends, relatives, neighbors would act like that if the situation were bad enough. It's just human nature.

[CapeCMom]

It's a sobering reminder of what could happen anywhere when people believe that authority has broken down and that there are no longer laws they have to live by-anything goes. It is also a reminder to all that prepping is a practical and sensible way to live your life-

Although, as usual, some people seem to be looting stuff such as TV's and clothing.

[Travis]

Thus another reason to be prepared. Even small things like toliet paper is worth gold. Problem with Chile like Haiti you could have been the most prepared but if your house comes down then what? Everybody should have a plan B.

[Phillip]

Everybody should have a plan B.
And a plan C...

[CountryGuy]

I think as we all know 99% of people do not prepare in any way. When I saw the looting the other day of people taking food and water, I thought to myself that at least I can respect their intentions, after all they are just trying to survive. When I saw the A#%holes stealing TV's and the such, I thought now there is a person who needs shot. I had a flash back to the video of people in New Orleans looting stereos and TV's.

To me this is why it's important to have other plans. As much as all of us hope to be able to hunker down and wait things out on our "homesteads", whether that's a condo in the city or a 100 acre farm with gardens aplenty, we just never know what the situation might be. Earthquakes, floods, tornados, mudslides, fires, etc could destroy everything no house no supplies no garden, just what you can get out with. No matter how much we think we've thought of everything, I gaurantee Murphy will jump up and slap you. I mean it's very plausable that some of those folks in Chile had stock piles up until the point that those supplies got burried under their house.

The reason I mention all this is that it seems like there are 2 distinct camps amongst most of those involved in the "prep'd lifestyle". Those who plan to grab their bug out bag and run for the hills and those that plan to barricade them selves and not leave home. I just think we have to be ready for both scenarios.

[jonvee]

We discussed this at my CERT training class tonight, and re-emphasized the need to have stores of food and water.

Wonder how many people watching the news will heed the signs and start prepping? Inow my neighbor, who takes the class with me, hasn't done a thing. Makes me wonder why she's taking the class.

[Travis]

Watched the news and a phrase that kept coming up that I thought was very important was

"where is the goverment, we need help"

This sent a clear message to me that in a disaster the govt. will respond but they may not respond to your area, or may not repond fast enough or they may not have enough for all.

So yes be prepared and have several plans and be plan for the best but prepare for the worse.

[CountryGuy]

Does anyone know if Chile is a Socialist society? I ask because I'm wondering if many there are used to having their gov't take care of them thru welfare, handouts, food, etc... Maybe this explains so many begging for their gov't to save them.

It seems like there is a common thread with those used to living on welfare. It's all about them and when is the gov't riding to their rescue. When Katrina hit the majority of those they showed whinning about where was the govt seemed to be a lot of the welfare leeches. I'm sure others have said it in this forum but why do you think you never see this sort of behavior when an F5 tornado hits a farm town in the midwest or a flood in the upper Mississippi valley wipes out a town? To me it's deep instilled pride in doing for ones self and work ethic.

[WileyCoyote]

...I'm sure others have said it in this forum but why do you think you never see this sort of behavior when an F5 tornado hits a farm town in the midwest or a flood in the upper Mississippi valley wipes out a town? To me it's deep instilled pride in doing for ones self and work ethic.

And part of that, too, IMHO, is that in the midwest and rural communities, they know the ones who always have their hands out, and basically practice a form of 'shunning'. But when others are in trouble of ANY type, even when cancer or sudden injury strikes a family, there are always people lined up to help. Pulling together to make things better - even if there is a lot of family or neighborly infighting in the 'quiet' times! - seem to be the overriding attitude. Also IMHO, preparation for the future is common in people who raise animals or plants for a living. They don't expect immediate gratification or fulfillment; whether it is a 5 day blizzard, flood, drought, or tornado, most folks who have lived through one are more prepared the next time, and the next.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Also IMHO, preparation for the future is common in people who raise animals or plants for a living. They don't expect immediate gratification or fulfillment; whether it is a 5 day blizzard, flood, drought, or tornado, most folks who have lived through one are more prepared the next time, and the next.

I think too, people in more rural areas are just blessed to have the knowledge of how to raise and milk a goat or cow or plant a garden. Some of the people in cities have no idea how to sew, bake bread, butcher rabbits, etc. They just lack both knowledge and incentive. When people moved to cities back in the 20s,30s, a lot of simple knowledge was just lost. Few people living in NYC even know how to drive a car. How could they ever have the skills to survive when so much was lost to them and their ancestors decades ago?

[lowetom65]

I think it is interesting to see how the general population reacts to situations like Chile. I imagine it will be X10 here in America if the electricity fails or the trucks stop deliveries to stores. It will be much worse due to the dependency the majority of the US population has on government aid and modern conveniences.

If (when) tshtf it will be a bad day.

[bltjr1951]

Didn't they almost have a riot over a basketball game lately??

[CountryGuy]

I think it is interesting to see how the general population reacts to situations like Chile. I imagine it will be X10 here in America if the electricity fails or the trucks stop deliveries to stores. It will be much worse due to the dependency the majority of the US population has on government aid and modern conveniences.

If (when) tshtf it will be a bad day.

Totally agree. Our country in general is completely "soft". How will they manage to feed themselves when they are not able to turn on a faucet for water or grab something from the freezer and pop it in the microwave?

I'll bet there are millions that have no clue how to even start to think about how to go about getting clean water to drink. They'll end up getting desperate and drink unsafe, contaminated water and end up very sick or more likely dead with no medical help around.

[Idaholady]

It always makes me upset when I see the affects of an earthquake or hurricane and people behave the way they do. I wonder how I would deal with it if it happened in my little town or if things turned really bad and there were roving bands of thugs, going house to house to steal and kill anyone in their way.

I think the grocery stores should have just opened their doors and said 'go for it.' People get hungry and they'll do anything to feed themselves and their family. The govt. in Haiti stalled incoming shipments and medical supplies...it is completely unorganized; a total and unnecessay mess.
What a shame they couldn't have acted quicker to get some relief to those people; what a corrupt and immoral government!

And there will always be groups who will take advantage of a situation and steal whatever isn't nailed down. i.e. t.vs. etc. You notice it happens all over the world. Haiti, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Chile.

[WileyCoyote]

IdahoLady, I think if that grocery store was all I had to depend on for the past 10 and next 10 years to feed my family, and people were demanding that I provide for free everything I had gone into debt to put on those shelves, I would not be able to just throw open the doors and say, "have at it". People are not by nature kind and thoughtful, especially in mobs that are stirred to a frenzy by fear and the normal resentment of "WHY did this happen to ME?" People pounding on doors and shattering glassfronts are not the kind of folks you can gently tell, "Sure, come on in, help yourself". People driven by hysteria or any emotion are not likely to listen to reason - and are more likely to harm the people in their way, gentle and kind or not.

When we went to Charleston SC after Hugo, the police chief had told the cops - "There's no more room in the jails - if you see someone looting, BEAT THEM until they drop it, then let them go!" He caught a lot of flak for that, but it worked - folks would help the cops take away the looted goods, and the looters would run. Whole neighborhoods were protected by the neighbors with sticks and shovels.

Many looters are not hurting for anything yet - they simply are small-time criminals who seize any opportunity to take what they want. My friends in New Orleans told me that when the prediction went out for Katrina to hit land there, that the two days prior to landfall had buses from as far away as Detroit and Chicago pulling into downtown New Orleans, and people were swarming into the city with the stated intent to loot!

On the other hand, a friend who evacuated for two weeks came back to find her house broken into, all the food gone, the beds slept in - and a five pound bag of pot left on the living room table. Apparently they thought that was a reasonable 'rent'!

And yes, you can see the propensity in the cities here for the same type of "They can't stop me, I can do what I want and never get caught!" behavior that lies just underneath the barely civilized veneer.

[pcrowder]

I think the grocery stores should have just opened their doors and said 'go for it.'




oh -- You mean kind of like "Redistribute the wealth"??



What a shame they couldn't have acted quicker to get some relief to those people; what a corrupt and immoral government!



sorry, but there is no way that ANY gov't can preplan and prepare for a disaster of this magnitude. It does NOT make them corrupt and immoral. They actually did alot better than Haiti because of their more modern society and because of improved building codes after the other massive earthquake they had in the 1960's.

I'd much rather be self-sufficient and depend on myself than go crying and whining and demand big gov't to come "save me".

[WileyCoyote]

I'd much rather be self-sufficient and depend on myself than go crying and whining and demand big gov't to come "save me".

And that one sentence right there sums up, I think, why the news ISN'T covering the massive blizzards and snowstorms that left much of South Dakota without power - some places for more than three weeks! - just last month; or why the news crews quickly left Iowa after the floods last year. The people there DON'T want government to 'come save me!" - they can survive on their own, TYVM, and don't respond too well to overdressed news crews asking, "How do you FEEL?" :mad: while they are trying to shovel through mud or snow to get to what used to be their homes, or trying to rescue and feed the animals that are their livelihood.