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Old 12-04-2011, 10:53 AM
 
Location: Cody, WY
10,420 posts, read 14,544,206 times
Reputation: 22016

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It would be interesting to watch events unfold if a power failure were to strike large areas of the less savory parts of the Los Angeles metropolitan are. Without electricity it would be virtually impossible to prevent widespread lawlessness. The events in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina would pale in comparison. New Orleans is tiny compared to Los Angeles. There were two major power failures in New York City during the early to mid Seventies. During the first there were few problems; people seemed to help each other and made the best of roughing it. The second was a different story. The underclass left their dens and rookeries with crime in mind. After a violent night Consolidated Edison was able to restore power. If they hadn't the results would have been far different.

The elderly are prime victims. Predators see them as weak and generally defenceless. Gray hair does attract criminals even in normal times. Elderly people living in large cities are inviting trouble. It doesn't matter how well an individual has armed himself or secured his propery. The mob will eventually destroy the best fortifications.

I have chosen to live in an area with a low population density and large rural areas. There is no underclass so I can probably defend myself and my property from the evil hordes. The best defence is to locate far from the sources of trouble.

Consider your safety. Should problems arise it will be too late to leave the city. But if you're established in the country, you can likely resist successfully even if you're the typical worn out liitle old lady or garrulous old gentleman.

 
Old 12-04-2011, 05:43 PM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,923,032 times
Reputation: 15773
Quote:
Originally Posted by Escort Rider View Post
Thanks for your good wishes. My own power was out for about 15 hours, so I am lucky compared to some. The situation is highly variable depending on the exact location where one is. The hardest hit area was actually not within the city limits of the city of Los Angeles, but in the San Gabriel Valley area, which is part of the greater Los Angeles metro area east of the city of Los Angeles. (The best known city in the San Gabriel Valley is probably Pasadena). The pasdena school district (a relatively small one with four high schools) was entirely shut down for two days, as were the school systems of several neighboring small cities. Pasadena lost 450 street trees, not counting trees on private propterty or trees in city parks.

As far as I am aware - and the Los Angeles Times has had detailed coverage of this - no one was killed or seriosly injured. There has been a lot of inconvenience in addition to the electrical power outages. Major intersections become four-way stop signs with inoperative traffic signals and traffic backs up pretty badly. Also, various businesses, libraries, etc. were closed for varying amounts of time.

More than you wanted to know, probably, but thanks for asking.
The LA wind event seemed to mirror our Halloween snowstorm in which many of us lost power from 5 to 10 days or more. Luckily I have a wood stove but that only solved the heating problem. A full month later our streets are still piled high with tree debris, which the cleanup crews are desperately trying to pick up before the next serious snow. I would imagine a huge municipality like LA could have quite a complex set of problems, given that so much of its transport is on superhighways. I'm so sick of seeing the downed trees and their debris that I'm wondering about how it would be to live in a place like AZ. And our winter has not even begun yet, so my full rant is forthcoming....
 
Old 12-04-2011, 05:54 PM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,923,032 times
Reputation: 15773
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming View Post
It would be interesting to watch events unfold if a power failure were to strike large areas of the less savory parts of the Los Angeles metropolitan are. Without electricity it would be virtually impossible to prevent widespread lawlessness. The events in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina would pale in comparison. New Orleans is tiny compared to Los Angeles. There were two major power failures in New York City during the early to mid Seventies. During the first there were few problems; people seemed to help each other and made the best of roughing it. The second was a different story. The underclass left their dens and rookeries with crime in mind. After a violent night Consolidated Edison was able to restore power. If they hadn't the results would have been far different.

The elderly are prime victims. Predators see them as weak and generally defenceless. Gray hair does attract criminals even in normal times. Elderly people living in large cities are inviting trouble. It doesn't matter how well an individual has armed himself or secured his propery. The mob will eventually destroy the best fortifications.

I have chosen to live in an area with a low population density and large rural areas. There is no underclass so I can probably defend myself and my property from the evil hordes. The best defence is to locate far from the sources of trouble.

Consider your safety. Should problems arise it will be too late to leave the city. But if you're established in the country, you can likely resist successfully even if you're the typical worn out liitle old lady or garrulous old gentleman.

Marauders will hit the countryside too, where there is little or few and far between police protection. I feel safer within my town than I would rural, where I have lived when younger. Lawlessness is not confined to cities, so I guess it's a good idea you're armed.
 
Old 12-04-2011, 06:02 PM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,923,032 times
Reputation: 15773
Back briefly to the issue of very old folks driving....

It's time to give up your keys when....[click]


Chat Thread-oh-no.jpg
 
Old 12-04-2011, 08:44 PM
 
Location: Cody, WY
10,420 posts, read 14,544,206 times
Reputation: 22016
Quote:
Originally Posted by newenglandgirl View Post
Marauders will hit the countryside too, where there is little or few and far between police protection. I feel safer within my town than I would rural, where I have lived when younger. Lawlessness is not confined to cities, so I guess it's a good idea you're armed.
I don't believe that we've had marauders in this country in a long time. I'm not describing nor expecting a return to the time of the Civil War; are you?

It is a fact that crime rates are proportional to population density. You may check profiles of cities on this website to verify that information. It is more difficult to find statistics on violent crime only but the rate in densely populated areas dwarfs that of areas of low denisity. There is a plethora of information available. Crime exists everywhere. But it's wise to find areas of low crime to the extent that we are able.

Being armed is no guarantee of safety. But armed or not, the likelihood of being a victim is lower where the crime rate is lower. I may be able to defeat an attacker or attackers in an armed confrontation; but I'd prefer to avoid that confrontation.

I believe that few would enter a large urban area where there were a widespread power failure unless real necessity demanded it. A rural area without power doesn't look much different from one with power.

Power failures are hardly the only concerns. Think of the Rodney King riot; think of the first Watts riot of 1965; think of day to day living in a place where there is ever any element of danger. If your dog started barking in the middle of the night would you be concerned?
 
Old 12-06-2011, 03:34 AM
 
Location: Texas
14,076 posts, read 20,476,558 times
Reputation: 7807
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming View Post
It would be interesting to watch events unfold if a power failure were to strike large areas of the less savory parts of the Los Angeles metropolitan are. Without electricity it would be virtually impossible to prevent widespread lawlessness. The events in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina would pale in comparison. New Orleans is tiny compared to Los Angeles. There were two major power failures in New York City during the early to mid Seventies. During the first there were few problems; people seemed to help each other and made the best of roughing it. The second was a different story. The underclass left their dens and rookeries with crime in mind. After a violent night Consolidated Edison was able to restore power. If they hadn't the results would have been far different.

The elderly are prime victims. Predators see them as weak and generally defenceless. Gray hair does attract criminals even in normal times. Elderly people living in large cities are inviting trouble. It doesn't matter how well an individual has armed himself or secured his propery. The mob will eventually destroy the best fortifications.

I have chosen to live in an area with a low population density and large rural areas. There is no underclass so I can probably defend myself and my property from the evil hordes. The best defence is to locate far from the sources of trouble.

Consider your safety. Should problems arise it will be too late to leave the city. But if you're established in the country, you can likely resist successfully even if you're the typical worn out liitle old lady or garrulous old gentleman.

So a loss of power brings lawlessness only in those "unsavory" parts of town? So long as you're surrounded by "decent" people, it won't happen?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your "security" is based upon a false stereotype.

Yes, a thief will find more opportunities to steal in the darkness, but even good people will revert to their true, human nature when civilization collapses around them. Survival is a powerful motivation and nobody is immune to doing dreadful, evil things to survive. I saw it in New Orleans after Katrina and I saw it in the upscale neighborhoods on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain. I've seen it in other places, here and abroad. Disasters bring out the best, and the worst, in everyone and no socio-economic class is "better" than another under extreme conditions.
 
Old 12-06-2011, 03:35 AM
 
Location: Texas
14,076 posts, read 20,476,558 times
Reputation: 7807
Quote:
Originally Posted by newenglandgirl View Post
Back briefly to the issue of very old folks driving....

It's time to give up your keys when....[click]


Attachment 88090

Oh, that's good!
 
Old 12-06-2011, 06:29 AM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,923,032 times
Reputation: 15773
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming View Post
I don't believe that we've had marauders in this country in a long time. I'm not describing nor expecting a return to the time of the Civil War; are you?
Hey you never know. Certain conditions could cause countryside stuff to happen. Not predicting, just saying. Sometimes there's safety in numbers.
 
Old 12-06-2011, 08:59 AM
 
Location: State of Being
35,879 posts, read 77,204,447 times
Reputation: 22751
Quote:
Originally Posted by newenglandgirl View Post
Hey you never know. Certain conditions could cause countryside stuff to happen. Not predicting, just saying. Sometimes there's safety in numbers.
I worry more about quick healthcare access/response than crime in a rural situation.

And yes, sometimes there is safety in numbers . . . and sometimes being isolated makes one a target (I always think of Capote's "In Cold Blood," based on a real situation in rural Kansas).
 
Old 12-07-2011, 03:23 PM
 
Location: State of Being
35,879 posts, read 77,204,447 times
Reputation: 22751
Today is Dec. 7th. My dad's birthday. He turned 12 the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. His dad was on a carrier in the Pacific (Navy). FDR said Dec 7th was a day that "would live in infamy" but I wonder how many kids today even know what happened (or why) on this date.

http://www.time.com/time/photogaller...101677,00.html

Last edited by brokensky; 12-07-2011 at 04:06 PM..
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