How can any of us possibly tell someone that Y2K is going to be bad when we don't really know for ourselves what the events will be? It's anyone's guess. Why do we want to scare people? Why do we want to put fear and additional stress into people's lives? Does it give us purpose? And this is no troll talking either.

-- Unknown (Unknown@Unknown.com), February 04, 1999

Answers

If you see a problem and it can adversly affect many people it is common courtesy to advise people to the same. Common sense, common courtesy.

So what if people learn to become more independent in the process. The only ones who don't like that are bankers and bullshiters, (politicians).

-- freeman (freeman@cali.com), February 04, 1999.

There's all kinds of information out on how one contracts AIDs, but does that stop anyone from having unsafe sex? AIDs is an epidemic. Why should I warn anyone about any catastrophe when the information is there for anyone to get?

-- Notatroll (Notatroll@serious.com), February 04, 1999.

There is enough evidence out there to conclude, it will cause problems and they could affect power. Even if you think the chances of something like no power for one week are only 10%, this should be enough reason to prepare and warn others that it may happen and let them decide for themselves how much to prepare. Keeping it to myself is only adding to the problem that was created by years of people not taking this problem seriously and keeping the information from the public so we can deal with it. Just MHO.

-- Lora Ereshan (artemis45@hotmail.com), February 04, 1999.

"How can any of us possibly tell someone that Y2K is going to be bad when we don't really know for ourselves what the events will be? It's anyone's guess."

If you are standing in the middle of the street, talking to someone, and you see a truck heading right for you, you don't know that the truck will actually hit you. But, if you are a human being, you'll warn the other person to get out of the way.

"Why do we want to scare people? Why do we want to put fear and additional stress into people's lives?"

That's not the idea of warning them. Understand, "Unknown," that anyone who doesn't understand about Y2K will be harmed if things are as bad as I expect they'll be. When the river is rising and you knock on the door and tell the people they'd better get out of the house before it floats down stream, you're not trying to scare them, or to put additional stress in their lives. The river rising will do that. You're trying to save their lives. When you warn people about Y2K you shouldn't be trying to scare them -- per se. You should be trying to convince them to take responsibility for their own lives and prepare:

* worry about heat, now, while there is time to do something about it.

* worry about how they are going to have access to fresh water -- now, while they have time to decide what to do and to do it.

* worry about whether or not there will be food on the shelves of stores -- while there is a surplus of food, at low prices and they can stock up should they decide to do so.

In other words, if a Y2K effect will be a problem, deal with it now, while you have a full infrastructure, while you can buy water filters and barrels and bags and bleach, while there is food on the shelves at your grocery store, while you can still get a kerosene heater and a barrel of kerosene, while oil lamps are still available somewhere.

Know, too, that once you've dealt with these problems there's no longer a lot of fear. The fear comes when you don't have options, when it's 10 below at night and there's neither light nor heat in the house. Fear comes when you think the person ahead of you is getting the last whatever it is and you realize that you will have to do without. Once you realize that you've done your best you're past fear.

"Does it give us purpose?"

I don't know what gives you purpose. I have two very simple motives for warning people:

1. Prepared people can work through this thing without killing each other. If my neighbor has food I don't have to worry about him taking mine. If you prepare that's one less person who is going to need help when TSHTF.

2. s a human being, I owe it to fathers and mothers to warn them to protect their children, I owe it to sons and daughters to warn them to take care of the old people, and I owe it to every person I come in contact with to let them make a decision, their own decision, the same decision I made, to prepare.

Now, some won't do a thing about it. Others will call me a kook. That's OK. That's their decision -- but at least they've had a chance to make it. If I let you stand in the middle of the road until the truck runs over you, you haven't had a chance to make you own mind up.

That's what it's all about. No fear -- just prepare.

-- De (dealtonX@Xconcentric.net), February 04, 1999.

notatroll, you are a troll.

-- De (dealtonX@Xconcentric.net), February 04, 1999.

Oh fiddley dee, I'll worry about that tomorrow.

-- Scarlet (Scarlet@Tara.com), February 04, 1999.

I haven't talked to very many people about this. Of those I've tried to tell about Y2K, about half shrug it off, most of the rest listen with interest, don't refer to it afterwards, and go on with their lives as before. Very few get it, and see what has to be done. Two of my grown and married sons are in the 'shrug it off' category. Wish it were otherwise.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), February 05, 1999.

a. it's not "anybody's guess". That's one of those meaningless phrases used by people who are attempting to avoid responsibility for their actions.

b. who wants to scare people? scared people react irrationally, while knowledgable people have a much higher chance of reacting rationally and in sufficient time to protect themselves. I want to help people become knowledgable so that they have that time and can react in a rational manner.

c. No, God gives me purpose. But touching on that a little further you might also consider:

"But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not sound the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require of the watchman's hand." -Ezekiel 33:6

in other words GIs who are conservative Christians really don't have a choice - we must at least make the attempt to warn others.

Arlin Adams

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), February 05, 1999.