Hurricane Floyd Psychology Experiment in Progress!

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We've got a thread going over at Free Republic ridiculing preparations for Hurricane Floyd as an obvious Y2K satire piece. Almost nobody gets it, even after they've been told. This is an interesting example of how difficult the challenge of getting through to people on Y2K can be.

Check it out at Hurricane Floyd is a JOKE!"

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), September 15, 1999

Answers

They are about to lynch Paul Hepperla, who is a contributor to this forum. It's funny, and depressing at the same time.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), September 15, 1999.

It looks like some of the contributors aren't going to get the joke until it's painted on with an industrial brush and a bucket.

I'm glad that Y2k scoffers are quicker to catch on than the hurricane scoffers, so we're past the persuasion stage, and all focussed on preps, instead.

-- bw (home@puget.sound), September 15, 1999.


I read through much of the thread . . . quite amusing.

Food for thought. In the same way that there are those who believe that Y2K can't be fixed, i.e., there is a degree of inevitability about what will take place January 1, 2000 and beyond . . . do you think that there is also the inevitability that people will remain DGIs . . . despite the warnings, etc. . . . that no matter what happens (even with after January 1) that people still won't get it.

-- Randy Poon (rhpoon@bigfoot.com), September 15, 1999.


My favorite: "Floyd will give an excuse to do upgrades." "Yeah, well it upgraded the hell out of the Bahamas!"

-- bw (home@puget.sound), September 15, 1999.

Free Republic is a conservative site. You'd think the vast majority who absolutely loathe the Clinton Administration would be skeptical of the government spin on Y2K. But the vast majority have swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.

This indicates to me that either there will be a short panic late in the year, or perhaps in early January.

Or maybe Americans will just sit around in stunned disbelief.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), September 15, 1999.



Dog Gone:

I don't know. Floyd may be a hoax. I just got an e-mail from relatives in SE North Carolina. They can't see a Hurricane. They said that the clouds were too low and the wind too high to see anything.

Best wishes,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), September 15, 1999.


Proving the truth of a couple of my fave quotes:

"Satire is what closes Saturday night." --- George S. Kaufman

"Vituperation -- Satire, as understood by dunces." --- Ambrose Bierce

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), September 15, 1999.


"Americans will just sit around in stunned disbelief"

Woof, that's what I think too.

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), September 15, 1999.


Heck, the Floridians who stayed are proving the Pollys right. See, hurricanes are nothing. :) Houses and communities can be rebuilt...or upgraded as we prefer to call it. :)

-- Paul Hepperla (paulhep@terracom.net), September 15, 1999.

Why prepare and plan? Those people have been through hurricanes before, they know the drill and they know the government will take care of them. So why worry?

-- ~~~~ (~~~@~~~.com), September 15, 1999.


I guess if one really DWGI, one won't GI, no matter how much information you have! One merely looks at data which supports one own opinion/conclusion.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), September 15, 1999.

Many years ago I used to be in sales. A bit of sales dogma is applicable to what is being described here: "People buy on emotion and justify with logic." FWIW, I, too, agree with Dog Gone (above) that Americans will sit around in "stunned disbelief"-- but just for the short term after TSHTF. When people's stomachs, and those of their children, are on empty, I think the stunned disbelief will wear off and will become stunned desperate belief. And desperate people do desperate things. Then, too, they will act on emotion ("My kids being hungry makes me feel desperately like a poor provider") and justify with logic ("We desperately have to eat and it's logical that we do WHATEVER we must to eat.) THAT'S when things in society will really get dicey. . .

-- Dewer Dye (qwerty@!!!!.net), September 16, 1999.

"Stunned disbelief" - like when your chute fails to open!

Got a reserve on?

-- (snowleopard6@webtv.net), September 16, 1999.


FWIW, this is from the Team Florida 2000 web site http://www.state.fl.us/dms/tf2k/index.html -

Put together your Hurricane Kit - and don't eat it until March of 2000!! Every Floridan is encouraged to stock a hurricane kit. This kit should contain between three and seven days' worth of several items (not just food and water) and you should be prepared to draw down from in the event of a hurricane, Y2K, or any other potential calamity. The American Red Cross has a Disaster Supplies Kit which is an excellent guide for preparing yourself and your family.

Another interesting link on Team Florida 2000's web site is The Center for Y2K and Society at www.y2kcenter.org. Grade your community with their Y2K report card at http://www.y2kcenter.org/planning/index.html

-- (Too Shy @ tosay.com), September 16, 1999.


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