: They Won't Prepare, But They'll Remember Link: http://www.uexpress.com/ups/comics/ad/ieindex.html Comment: Click through. Click the down arrow on "Select a New Date." Click 04/05/99.

You will not laugh.

Link: http://www.uexpress.com/ups/comics/ad/ieindex.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- eatin'myfeces (foamingyourdonite@yourdon.com), April 30, 1999

Answers

He neglects to mention that there's more in that garage than just food & water... like, say, guns & ammo.

-- come (and@get.it), April 30, 1999.

Not worried about it. We are of course being quiet about our prep activities. We are prepared to defend ourselves, our home and our supplies.

-- Buffalo Bob (buff@hal.com), April 30, 1999.

Let's see if this displays it:

-- Doug (Doug@work.now), April 30, 1999.

Your first preparedness item should have been the means to retain your second and third items. I planned ahead for the ones I love and tried warning the ones I did not. I am not charitable to fools.

-- Armed N. (Ready@alltimes.com), April 30, 1999.

Excellent post. The most successful hens will not have asked anyone for help in the first place. Just working quietly, flying below the radar.

-- Prometheus (fire@for.man), April 30, 1999.

This is an issue i agonized over for awhile. Finally have more or less come to terms with it. I've tried to get info to those who want info. those who don't- can't help that. I figure that info on Y2k is available more or less to just about anyone in this country at least. If you're too lazy, dumb or busy watching the boob tube to check into it- that's your problem. Might sound harsh, but that's what I've decided upon. that has nothing to do however with working with those who are concerned about y2k and sharing info, tools and whatever. That's fine with me. I just have come to realize that i have no way to feed the world, only a small part of it(very small). I'lldo what i can and hope for the best.

I have close family and friends in the DGI/DWGI category too-don't like that but not much I've been able to do there either. There is that quote someone used on this forum awhile back about coming to accept that one can change the things they can change and can't do everything and need to know the difference. don't remember the exact quote but I think of the context of it often.

Not being the violent sort, I hope that force will never be needed to protect what is ours. If it came to that however and I had to chose between my family starving or not- I'd do what I had to do I suppose. I just hope it doesn't come to that.

-- anita (hillsidefarm@drbs.com), April 30, 1999.

I have no problem being armed and ready to protect my wife, kids, and elderly grandparents. My problem is the fools and idiots that choose to do nothing being the rest of our families. Some very hard decisions will have to be made. It will be a cold day in more ways than the weather.

-- Martin L. Kirby (axemansrv1@aol.com), April 30, 1999.

Anita and other pussilanimous "I'm not the violent sort(s)." The human problem is, that America (and every other country) IS NOT VIOLENT ENOUGH.

If we were more violent, this would be a much more polite society (remember, "Smile when you say that, pardner!") This would be a much more free society (In a short time, every tin-horn bureaucrat, politician, cop, busybody, or thug trying to stomp on you and/or your rights would be blown away, leaving only those who mind their own business and have some manners.)

-- A (A@AisA.com), April 30, 1999.

bold off

-- a (A@AisA.com), April 30, 1999.

In answer to "A"

"Anita and other pussilanimous "I'm not the violent sort(s)." The human problem is, that America (and every other country) IS NOT VIOLENT ENOUGH. If we were more violent, this would be a much more polite society (remember, "Smile when you say that, pardner!") "

I remember watching old westerns on TV. A guy would walk down the street and a woman would come out of a store and he would tip his hat and say' "Howdy ma'am". Then, another man would happen by and he would say, "Mornin' Pardner"

I marvelled at how polite they were. Then I realized...

THEY HAD GUNS STRAPPED TO THEIR LEGS.

When you wandered among armed individuals, you minded your p's and Q's. You kept your nose in your own business and you kept your mouth shut.

Gun control??? Bullshit. The reason we have so much indescriminate violence is because we don't use our weapons ENOUGH. I am not talking about shooting someone for glancing at you the wrong way. And I am not advocating the senseless kind of violence of gunslingers looking for another notch. I am talking about appropriate SELF-DEFENSE.

If you look at murder and crime statistics, you will find that there was far far far less crime then than there is now. Steal a horse. Hang him. In public. You develop a lot of respect for human life when you see it forfeited like that. You realize that you ought not do that 'bad thing' or you will forfeit your life.

Notice that I say FORFEIT and not 'taken'. When a criminal commits a capital offense, his life is not 'taken' from him. He FORFEITS his own life HIMSELF.

-- Paul Milne (fedinfo@halifax.com), April 30, 1999.

At the risk of sounding like I agree with Paul (eeeeeeek, not ENOUGH violence?!) his actual point, buried within those semantics, is valid.

I know a fellow who is an 8th degree black belt of a formal japanese family/school. Very, very, very formal. The test for 8th degree in this school (unlike American stuff) sees very few pass it -- the rest are dead. When he came back to this country (he's a big burly blonde American btw, so it's not like American culture seemed foreign to him), he said what he really noticed is that the culture here was highly affected by the complete lack of consequences. People did not take responsibility, was half of it, but people were not FORCED to take responsibility, was the rest of it. He said, in the formal culture he'd been in, which had some similarities to the old dueling culture with swords for example, you did not just sleep with some guys wife, or slander him to coworkers, or any number of things that are fairly common and hardly blinked at today. Because if you did, you would probably be killed. You thought before you spoke or acted because you saw the consequences of people who did not. Now that there are no consequences, there is no responsibility, and the behavior, oddly enough, is dramatically worse instead of better.

You know, people joke about the response, "Oh, well if it's bad, I'll just come to your place." I cannot tell you how many times people have actually SAID that to me. They won't bother to buy so much as one can of food to prepare for themselves, but you'd darn well bet they'd insist I shared mine when the time came.

Short of nuclear war, which could skew us into a good "10" on the Y2K scale irregardless of actual Y2K consequences, I think (somewhat unfortunately) things aren't going to be as horrible as Milne and others predict -- or rather, they WILL be in certain areas of the country, and in big areas in lots of other countries -- but in general it'll be so varied the country overall will probably balance out to a 4 or 5. I consider that almost a bummber. A disgusting economy, getting worse for years, is frankly harder to deal with than just a devastating blow that sees survivors rebuilding with hope after 12 months. The reason I bring this up is:

If it's an 8-10 on the scale, the law is going to be a little bit hard to find and a little bit 'frontier' oriented. If it's anything less, the only thing shooting someone trying to steal my food is going to do is get me sent to prison for years. That would suck.

PJ in TX

-- PJ Gaenir (fire@firedocs.com), May 01, 1999.

I forgot to add, Paul, that in martial arts, killing an opponent who challenged/attacked you is considered "his choosing to commit suicide at your hands."

PJ in TX

-- PJ Gaenir (fire@firedocs.com), May 01, 1999.

Sure coulda used you earlier today, Paul...............

-- Lisa (lisa@work.this_is_bullshit), May 01, 1999.

saying "in martial arts" is like saying "in human culture". "martial arts"mean fighting tecniques with philosophy.philosophy differs from art to art.

-- zoobie (zoobie@att.net), May 01, 1999.

PJ of Texas said, 'Short of nuclear war, which could skew us into a good "10" on the Y2K scale irregardless of actual Y2K consequences, I think (somewhat unfortunately) things aren't going to be as horrible . . a 4 or 5. . . A disgusting economy, getting worse for years, is frankly harder to deal with than just a devastating blow that sees survivors rebuilding with hope after 12 months. If it's an 8-10 on the scale, the law is going to be a little bit hard to find and a little bit 'frontier' oriented. If it's anything less, the only thing shooting someone trying to steal my food is going to do is get me sent to prison for years.' PJ in TX NOW that IS a scary thought. signed, Jr.

-- Junior (Junior@Duck.NC), May 09, 1999.

Jr, you may or may not have the right to defend yourself depending on where you are and what your state laws are. In other words you are overgeneralizing. While a few of the more socialist states (CT, NY, MA, etc) have laws structured to hinder victim defense, most states do not. For instance here in Virginia a person has no requirement to retreat if an intruder enters the home. That was also true a number of years ago when I was living in Arizona. I'd recommend you check with a competent attorney in NC to find out what the exact requirements are with regard to self-defense and defense of your home.

Arlin Adams

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), May 09, 1999.