I have recently decided to read everything I can on the Y2K bug and everywhere I look people on each side of the issue keep referring to people panicing. What are people going to panic over besides food and such necessary things. And what kind of panic should I expect.

Ginny M.

-- (maynardgy@teleport.com), January 06, 1999

Answers

My own belief is that the first big panic will be bank runs. I think that this will occur in April of this year, once people see what happens in places like New York State that begin Fiscal Year 2000, and then experience problems. This will finally "click" with John Q. Public that Y2K is real and will affect everyone, its just a matter of time. Going to the bank, standing in line, to take out everything in cash will be the panic response.

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.net), January 06, 1999.

Ginny, I live in hurricane country. At least two or three times every year we get a scare. Everytime its the same. The grocery stores are emptied. WalMart, KMart, Home Depot, etc., are hit hard. Gas stations lines. Food, fuel, camping supplies, candles, batteries, lamp oil, gas cans, generators, plywood, tape and so on. Tempers are short, rudeness abounds. The grocery stores are more civil than the gas stations. Road rage kinda thing.

A couple of years ago, I was standing in line at the grocery check out and the guy behind me with a case of beer says, "What's going on here"? Surprised by his lack of awareness of the approaching storm, I asked, "Haven't you heard? A hurricane is approaching." He just laughed and said, "Yeah, but its still two days away". I shrugged, knowing that in a couple of hours the store would be empty. Luckily, that time the storm passed us by.

As I prepare for Y2K, I often think about that guy. I feel good knowing that I will NEVER be in that line again.

MoVe Immediate

-- MVI (vtoc@aol.com), January 06, 1999.

Other panics predicted will be no electricity, no water, no sewer, civil unrest, martial law, Executive Orders put into place, home invasions by gangs, and no way out of your situation because you haven't anywhere to go and no way to get there even if you did. So, to diminish the potential troubles that could come your way, prepare for all the above.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), January 07, 1999.

Another potential panic is spiritual panic. As security and comforts crumble and the fabric of life as we know it unravels, some people will grapple with the deeper meanings of the purpose life and living.

-- Ron Southwick (southwick@macconnect.com), January 07, 1999.

"Panic" is a word that we all use as if we shared a common understanding of the term....

When I think "panic", I imagine Mr. Zipski running down the street in his boxers scaring passersby with a meat cleaver (thanks Woody Allen).....

Didn't we all have our own y2k "panic"? What was that like? A cold, deep fear that left you in shock and paralyzed, wasn't it?

Not too many of us ran amok into the streets, pulling our hair, and shouting that the end was nigh....

Knowing a hurricane is coming (a couple days or hours ahead), getting food you know you will need is not a panic. Stores run out because they don't have a storeroom anymore. Becoming cranky and irritable and acting childish is not a panic -- people who do that are probably on-edge a lot of the time anyway, just not in your face.

What the feds and authorities fear as "panic" isn't true panic -- it is action in the face of a threat...just like getting food before a hurricane isn't a panic, it is a prudent action.

I think what the authorities fear as a "panic" is actually a massive test of the systems of this nation, a sudden and unprecedented pressure on delivery and supplies.....and our authorities expect those systems cannot tolerate that pressure.

That's not the same as Mr. Zipski, by any means....

Anita Evangelista

-- Anita Evangelista (ale@townsqr.com), January 07, 1999.

Gasoline....my son just came in and said the Shell station isnt working AGAIN....he asked got the "computers are down saga" They said it has happened now 3 times in 2 weeks, they are now using manual for store type purchases and CAN NOT access gasoline at all. It appears to me that we are already beginning to see lil bits of the bug...At Atlanta airport where I was 'stuck' the power went out...Scarey....A bunch of lil things are happening now...If I were anyone, I would NOT count on waiting to April to withdraw my money, but would do it NOW...I am not a fear monger, but I believe it wont be much longer...

-- consumer (private@aol.com), January 07, 1999.