For all those of you that were disappointed or surprised that NBC's movie didn't stir up the masses into a frenzied rush on the supermarkets: you should have known better. By this late in the game, people fall into three categories: 1) Those concerned about Y2K, 2) those not concerned with Y2k and 3) those who are totally unaware of the issue (very small percentage). The only one of these three groups that was likely to take drastic action based on what they saw is group #3, and if they were unaware of Y2K up until now, they probably were also unaware of the movie showing.

-- Randy Kochler (getused@toit.com), November 23, 1999

Answers

Randy:

Disappointed that the movie didn't cause a panic? Are you a troll provocateur? Only a mentally unbalanced person would wish for panic. Just what are you trying to say? That anyone who has considered preparing is wishing for societal anarchy?

-- haha (haha@haha.com), November 23, 1999.

Movies don't cause panic. Never did. Never will.

The NBC movie also has no bearing on the number or nature of Y2K failures. How could it? The movie could not even accurately portray what will happen after rollover, since we don't know what will happen.

The most it could do would be to portray a well-constructed scenario. They could have started out with a set of rational assumptions and shown how a particular set of outcomes grow logically out of their chosen starting point. A really well-constructed plot has the feeling of inevitability to it that grows naturally, like a thunderstorm.

But that would have required a talented writer.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), November 23, 1999.

Dissapointed? Nope. Surprised? Nope. I certainly don't want to see a panic, doomer though I might (sometimes) be. Personally I think the public has been "disastered-out". I doubt the masses will panic until (and assuming) their own lives are effected. THEN you'll see "drastic action" aplenty. If the rollover symptoms are not that acute, the panicking will be isolated and sporadic. And if the chronic issues are slow in developing as well, we might not see any panicking post-rollover at all. We'll see.

-- Ludi (ludi@rollin.com), November 23, 1999.

In fact, I do know of one person who is now at least somewhat prepared due to this silly movie. This is an acquaintance I've talked with a few times about making at least miminal preparations as a precaution. He has been rather politely disinterested. After seeing the movie, he was worried that other people might panic and clean out the grocery shelves. Of course, thinking he's way too smart to be caught in a last minute panic like that :-), he went out yesterday and bought everything he could get his hands on.

-- (RUOK@yesiam.com), November 23, 1999.

RUOK,

Same thing happened with 3 people that I know. They watched the movie and it got them to start prepping. One lady told me that she had no idea it could turn out THAT bad. lol

I have never even mentioned anything to them about y2k. One of the ladies did tell me that the movie scared her. She said that she had never heard anyone say anything negative about the date change. She was under the impression that it would only cause a few computers to not function properly.

As Diane types...*sigh*

-- Kallie (kallie125@hotmail.com), November 23, 1999.

Two distractions, Thanksgiving and Christmas. After Christmas the gloves come off.

-- squid (Itsdark@down.here), November 23, 1999.

squid - isn't it likely that the gloves will come off just BEFORE Christmas as Joe Sixpack tries to buy just a little extra. Ya know, like just in case some OTHER Joe Sixpack is dumb enough to buy that computer geek crap. But yes, definitely between Christmas and New Year.

-- Colin MacDonald (roborogerborg@yahoo.com), November 23, 1999.

This post got me to thinking about an experience I just had at the local Grocery Outlet store. While packing my items on the conveyor the lady in front of me and the checker were ridiculing the Y2K movie, hahaha wasn't realistic, etc. I could understand that. Then the lady went on to ridicule a friend of hers that was prepping. She said she has propane, water, food, medicine, etc and what a dumb person she was, the checker agreed. Well it went on like this for a while, until I couldn't stand it any longer, so I asked them: Why is it OK for various businesses to prepare and it is called prudent, but if a normal citizen does any preparing it is 'loony'? That kind of threw ice water on the fun fest, but then they continued to talk about 3 days of stuff (no big deal) and nothing is going to happen. I then asked them if they had noticed the new Genset at the local courthouse? No, they didn't know about that, but their answer was 'we'll just go there to warm up', I said OK, you go for the different diseases that will be spread around in such a crowded place, do you think our entire county could be put up there? Anyway, I was not rude (I knew the checker personally), but just couldn't stand them making fun of this poor woman who is trying to do for her family. I should know better, but dagnabbit, can't help myself sometimes.

-- Sammie (sammiex0@hotmail.com), November 23, 1999.

Way to go, Sammie. I would have just stood there, not wanting to get into it with them.

-- semper paratus (always@ready.now), November 23, 1999.