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To the OP, I think it does make a difference what kind of disaster people are preparing for. I'm definitely left of center and live in a rural part of NH. We've been without electricity for an extended period more than once, so we have enough food and water to last a week, also a generator and some gas. Never would I mock anyone who prepares for a natural disaster. That is just good common sense.
Now about those people who are convinced that the world is going to come to an end, who were all worried about the Mayan calendar, rapture and similar, frankly I think they have a screw loose. So if they are preparing for that reason yes I might have trouble suppressing a smirk. Similarly those who seriously think that there is goig to be government takeooer, unrest etc, I would like to say "get real" and go visit a country where the citizenry REALLY have no civil liberties. There are people who play their war games out in the woods and frankly they worry me because I think a lot of them are not playing with a full deck.
I think so too. You brought up a very good point! Maybe those "patriots" are also in fact hoarders. Hoarders are people who feel tremendous fear, and terror of being without "stuff" crowding their homes. They feel comforted hoarding. That's not such a long stretch from the people who are expressing terror that "something might happen."
Thank you for pointing this out. I hadn't even made a connection. You might have hit on something big here, seriously.
I think the fear-based instinct to prepare for irrational reasons probably comes from prefrontal cortex much like hoarding, or at least it would make sense to a non-medical professional like me.
It actually bothers the hell out of me when I hear people talking about some wide-spread anthrax attack, or alien takeover, or invasion by the Chinese, or even race wars. Because there are legitimate reasons to prepare, and those aren't included, and I think that is where the ridicule stems from.
I guess pretty similar to how the crazy republicans have ruined it for the rest of them.
To the OP, I think it does make a difference what kind of disaster people are preparing for. I'm definitely left of center and live in a rural part of NH. We've been without electricity for an extended period more than once, so we have enough food and water to last a week, also a generator and some gas. Never would I mock anyone who prepares for a natural disaster. That is just good common sense.
Now about those people who are convinced that the world is going to come to an end, who were all worried about the Mayan calendar, rapture and similar, frankly I think they have a screw loose. So if they are preparing for that reason yes I might have trouble suppressing a smirk. Similarly those who seriously think that there is goig to be government takeooer, unrest etc, I would like to say "get real" and go visit a country where the citizenry REALLY have no civil liberties. There are people who play their war games out in the woods and frankly they worry me because I think a lot of them are not playing with a full deck.
Those are the ones I'm talking about. Those right wing weirdos that live out in the sticks accumulating guns and ammo for some event they keep hoping will happen.
I think the fear-based instinct to prepare for irrational reasons probably comes from prefrontal cortex much like hoarding, or at least it would make sense to a non-medical professional like me.
It actually bothers the hell out of me when I hear people talking about some wide-spread anthrax attack, or alien takeover, or invasion by the Chinese, or even race wars. Because there are legitimate reasons, and those are included, and I think that is where the ridicule stems from.
I guess pretty similar to how the crazy republicans have ruined it for the rest of them.
You're pretty amazing, Random Guy. I hadn't even thought this had to do with hoarding, but you've made it clear.
And yes, these people are scary. They're likely to do anything.
I think those "patriots" are few and far between, probably about as common as those people you see on the A&E show, "Hoarders".
Most people value the peace-of-mind they get when they know they have enough supplies to last their families through any emergency.
Rare, but overly represented on this board.
You made a point earlier that I agreed with to a certain extent though--we DO need to update our power grid in this country and do it quickly. Our current infrastructure and technology is antiquated, and as our weather patterns become more extreme we're going to see more and more longer term disruptions of service. The way it stands now it's also a prime target for a terrorist attack because of the widespread domino effect that the destruction of energy infrastructure would have in some areas. I think everyone should have a plan for a power outage that lasts more than just a day or so, at the same time that we need to get serious in this country about doing some reinvestment in technology.
I think so too. You brought up a very good point! Maybe those "patriots" are also in fact hoarders. Hoarders are people who feel tremendous fear, and terror of being without "stuff" crowding their homes. They feel comforted hoarding. That's not such a long stretch from the people who are expressing terror that "something might happen."
Thank you for pointing this out. I hadn't even made a connection. You might have hit on something big here, seriously.
You made a point earlier that I agreed with to a certain extent though--we DO need to update our power grid in this country and do it quickly. Our current infrastructure and technology is antiquated, and as our weather patterns become more extreme we're going to see more and more longer term disruptions of service. The way it stands now it's also a prime target for a terrorist attack because of the widespread domino effect that the destruction of energy infrastructure would have in some areas. I think everyone should have a plan for a power outage that lasts more than just a day or so, at the same time that we need to get serious in this country about doing some reinvestment in technology.
Yeah, the grid is definitely antiquated, especially for rural customers. However, California is a great example of a grid over capacity, yet, seems to be running into bureaucratic red tape as they scramble to update/expand.
I wish I could find the report, but it was actually by the FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) where they flat out explained that our grid is a sitting duck, vulnerable to all kinds of sabatoge, but mainly, a cyber attack.
It actually bothers the hell out of me when I hear people talking about some wide-spread anthrax attack, or alien takeover, or invasion by the Chinese, or even race wars. Because there are legitimate reasons to prepare, and those aren't included,
You're wrong. If you think the world is a "happy" place or a place wherein America is universally loved or that - more importantly - America has a harmonious culture within, you're the one with the screw loose, with all due respect.
You have an even bigger one loose if you think the American government is some altruistic institution that cares about its citizens. Simply not the case.
I just call a spade a spade - call me a wacko all you want.
To the OP, I think it does make a difference what kind of disaster people are preparing for. I'm definitely left of center and live in a rural part of NH. We've been without electricity for an extended period more than once, so we have enough food and water to last a week, also a generator and some gas. Never would I mock anyone who prepares for a natural disaster. That is just good common sense.
Now about those people who are convinced that the world is going to come to an end, who were all worried about the Mayan calendar, rapture and similar, frankly I think they have a screw loose. So if they are preparing for that reason yes I might have trouble suppressing a smirk. Similarly those who seriously think that there is goig to be government takeooer, unrest etc, I would like to say "get real" and go visit a country where the citizenry REALLY have no civil liberties. There are people who play their war games out in the woods and frankly they worry me because I think a lot of them are not playing with a full deck.
Well, I'm definitely right of center and I live in a somewhat rural area of Texas. I've lived my entire life in areas along the gulf coast that are to some degree prone to hurricanes or tropical storms. We prepare for those types of natural disasters just like you do, generator, gasoline, drinking water, food, etc etc etc. In addition to that we prepare for the social aftermath of a disaster like we're talking about above. Katrina was a perfect example of what I prepare for. In addition to preparing for the storm itself we prepare for the people who aren't prepared and get desperate. We prepare for looters and thieves, something that is fairly common after a storm.
I'm not preparing for alien invasion, the return of christ or anything else like that. I do however prepare for civil unrest which I've personally seen take place a couple times in my life due to natural and non-natural events that have taken place.
Those are the ones I'm talking about. Those right wing weirdos that live out in the sticks accumulating guns and ammo for some event they keep hoping will happen.
In your opinion just what kind of event are they "hoping with happen"?
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