An event at my grocery store.

reply to post by TeddiRevolution


Wow, irrational human stupidity in the face of the slightest disruption to their self-centric and unrealistic expectation of what reality should be.

What a shocker!!

People are stupid.


PS: Whoever has the planet-blower-upper, can you push the button now?

Thanks.

I've been following this thread today. I decided to post something now. I don't know where the poster lives. I do recall the major flood that effected Iowa shortly after Katrina hit in the south. The reports that came from Iowa were so very different than the reports from the Katrina hit areas. Yeah, maybe, the horrors weren't the same. But the citizens of Iowa came together and worked together and, together, they saved themselves, with no federal aid, either.

I, and many millions of people experienced devastating ice storm in Kentucky in January and February of this year. There was no looting. There was no federal involvement. There was very little state involvement. National Guard did some things, but they were limited and I never saw them for the first two weeks. Myself, I had no electricity for 13 days. A very few people in some pockets had electricity. And they opened up their homes to others. We shared food. We shared information. Like, how to cook coffee in a woodbuning stove that is safety rated, so that the top doesn't get hot. heh. There are ways. We gathered together, those of us that were able and had the equipment and began clearing roads of the great masses of debris from the fallen trees. Stores weren't open. Roads were closed. Those people that had vehicles, like me, with a Jeep Wrangler, would collect gasoline from others and gather together supplies for those less fortunate and deliver these things. I got really ill during this time. I gave my keys to a more fortunate person and he used my jeep to deliver aid. And even though I was ill, I still maintained a fire in my stove to warm food and coffee for others, sleeping little. And as I was lying on the couch, coughing and hacking and keeping the fire going, while the rest of my family was delivered to a safer and warmer place, and making sure my animals didn't freeze to death, the old guy who lives down the road from me, came to my house and worked all day using my chainsaw to cut out up all the downed trees and branches, cutting them into peices that we will all be able to burn next winter should the same situation happen. My community pulled together. And I happen to have a radio that can be cranked and it will play for about 20 minutes. And I kept it cranking for 2 weeks, to get the news and the information about others much less fortunate than us. I guess it's just a matter of what sort of community people live in, and who makes up that community.

I bought that Jeep in the spring of 1998, following another devasting winter storm. I was safe and happy in my home. I had heat from wood. I had food because, well, I just keep food for such things. And I had a radio and I listened to it during the times it was my turn to feed the fire, and I said then, I will buy me a vehicle that will allow me to help other people in these situations.

We're not all animals out here.

reply to post by TeddiRevolution


This reminds me of that Twilight Zone (The Monsters are due on Maple Street) or something like that.

Part one opens up to a scene which was must like your grocery store before the power went out.

Maple Street, USA. Late Summer. A tree-lined little world of front porch gliders, barbecues, the laughter of children, and the bell of an ice cream vendor. At the sound of the roar and a flash of light, it will be precisely 6:43 PM on Maple Street.

Something happens, and they don't know what it is.

This is Maple Street on a late Saturday afternoon. Maple Street, in the last calm and reflective moments...before the monsters came.

The power goes out.

People start to freak... a young kid mentions flying saucers from his comic book, another man who's always tinkering with a radio becomes suspect, one man goes looking a couple blocks away to see what's going on, and gradually the sun sets.

At some point in the process, someone has a gun, and another man gets shot.

And then they pan out to a couple of aliens, who have only shut off their power. One says to the other... that's all ya gotta do. They will destroy themselves.

The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices. To be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill, and suspicion can destroy, and the frightened, thoughtless search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own: for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things can not be confined to the Twilight Zone.

Ahhh!

The mindless drones in panic, must have been a sight!
People are so helpless without modern tech.
I would have just put the food back and walked out and came back another time.
There's no sense in freaking out, it just shows how dependent you are on modern tech, and how weak you are.

You sir, just saw a glimpse of what's eventually to come.

"The more you know"

americans have been bred toward this inadequecy by the very government we relied our lives on. chemtrails, water flouridation, demoralizing media and spirit crushing corporations. the poisons are surrounding us so that most can't even see it infront of them. i can honestly say my video gaming perfomance increased dramatically when i started drinking reverse osmosis water, i feel way less depressed now that i've moved to a place without any chemtrails. these take a bit of an effort especially moving away from chemtrails but you can start by turning off that stupid stimulation box called t.v. i'm even beginning to believe that they're infiltrating the gaming industry.

reply to post by poedxsoldiervet


This right here is exactly why I'm glad to live in a rural kentucky city. When Ike came through and left us without power for weeks, we came together...when our area was crippled by an ice storm 6 months later for over a month, we took care of each other. Lending cash to people in line when the debit system didn't work, sharing out generator hookups, giving gas around, even sharing our homes to others who didn't get power back yet. I am so glad to be this lucky, and I feel for anyone who lives in a bigger city in a "SHTF" scenario.

As I said before, a friend said her mom was rich. I said cool, can we go see her gold or money? She said of course not, it is tied up in investments. I said, ok, so someone else is rich, and she has an IOU.

Basically people have no money, and they are so busy running around spending money they do not really have, when the music stops playing they realise they got not chair to sit in.

I believe if you live in an area that can experience power outages and ice storms, you prepare for short term power outages and if one does happen for a few minutes, it's no big deal. I was in a grocery store that lost power for a few minutes. People waited first for the power to come back on and then several more minutes for the cash registers to start working properly. It was annoying but that was it.

I would not want to be in Walmart though. That place can get so busy at times and the morning of Black Friday is a madhouse. I was there tonight thinking it wouldn't be that crowded with so many people out shopping during the weekend with the no tax weekend here. There were people all over the place tonight. I think alot of people were college age kids getting ready to attend the local college. A new store opened up a week or two ago in town. I read they already had the most sales of any store in the region.

Now those people in the area that had no power for over 2 or 3 weeks due to an ice storm, they had it plenty cold. Having some way to make some heat and lots of blankets goes a long way. Plus the grocery stores and large sections of the nearby towns were pitch dark. I didn't realize how dangerous it was driving around at night. You can go through intersections without even realizing it with no lights on anywhere. I live in western South Carolina and there was a major ice storm in the area a few years ago.

There was also a gas shortage in this area within the past year so I know what it's like to not find gas anywhere. I spotted a fuel truck at one station and got gas that morning. It doesn't take long to want to start hoarding things or get as much gas as you can because you don't know when it will be available again. This was when gas was about $4 a gallon too. One of our neighbors went and bought several gas cans and filled them all up. $4 a gallon means nothing compared to the thought that you may not have any gas to get to work or the grocery store within a few days. Things stabilized after a week or two and were completely back to normal after a few months. Premium gas was in short supply during that time but I didn't use that grade. I remember some gas stations had long lines when the news got out they had gas. I know what it feels like to worry about being out of a necessity after I stopped at over 12 to 15 gas stations while driving home from out of town and not one station had gas. Some people were even following the fuel trucks and camping out at gas stations in their vehicles. Then rumours start up, like such and such a city is completely out of gas and they are all coming here to get what gas is left. Crazy.


[edit on 11-8-2009 by orionthehunter]

I've got the perfect example for a scenario.

Let's say a large power plant is having a problem keeping one of its main generators online. One day this generator fails and knocks the power out. Once the generator goes offline, it could only be a matter of minutes before other systems go offline if the other power companies around the affected provider go off. Keep in mind that this power grid itself serves anywhere between ten to twenty million people on a daily basis. However, if the other power companies do not close off their connections to that grid. I mean you knock out just one or two power grids with one failure, you have more than likely put close to a hundred million people without power.

When this happens, it is certain that all hell will break loose. You will have mass rioting in cities like New York, Chicago, and Boston. Then you will have the looting going on that could go on uncontrolled. Therefore, mass panic would set in and no one would have any idea as to what is going on. This could happen if people start spreading rumors about how it went off. You have that happen, and people will start mishearing what is said and they will tell it in a whole different way. However, during the 2003 Blackout in New England, it did not seem that much lawlessness did not rear its ugly head. Same can't be said for the blackout in 1977 though when looting was rampant in some parts of New York City. I have this sinking realization that if something like this were to happen again. Most people would not know what to do in this certain situation. Unfortunately, there are people in this world today that could not get by without the use of some sort of electronic or mechanical device.

As for me though...

I do have manually powered tools that I use whenever something needs fixed around the house. I do carry cash instead of credit or debit cards so that I don't have to worry about ATMs.

reply to post by TeddiRevolution


Last year, I gave up all of my cards with the sole exception of customer loyalty cards that provide regular and tangible benefits - and those have to be for free too. Otherwise, I use only cash. I pay whatever bills via online banking.

I don't know how things are in the US presently, but in the EU, you must have ID even if you want to deposit cash into an account. If the account isn't yours, they charge a €6 fee. Can you imagine that?! It's CASH! Things have gone too far. We only have ourselves to blame for it. We are the only ones who can make them change systems that aren't good for us. Think about all the hoops we jump through because some wise-ass somewhere decided that "this is the only way it can work" when we all know that's utter rubbish.

Start using only cash. Wash it too, eh? The stuff is filthy. Seriously! Throw the bills into a laundry bag and wash it with your towels or jeans. Wash the coins in the dishwasher in a sieve. Let's start cleaning up this mess we've made.

Originally posted by randyvs
reply to post by RolandBrichter

 

If you've ever wondered how quickly some people will turn to animals

can i ask why you have such a low opinion of animals?

I dare say animals would behave better than people under these circumstances. LOL

Also, people really should stash some extra cash in their home.

If the power went off of a length of time, the banks would certainly lock their doors against the hoards of people trying to get some cash out of them.

Another problem, if the power went out for weeks or months (gasp), is that once the merchandise in the stores is gone, it's gone. If delivery trucks can't fill up their tanks, nothing gets restocked. And God help any poor delivery truck that came to drop off supplies. I can imagine the grabby goos and panic of 'getting one's share' might look like.

If you can't afford to stock up much, at least do what you can. Stash some dry goods now and then, ones that have a long shelf life, and try to put a little cash away. That way you won't get your hair ripped out at the grocery store for a can of beans.

reply to post by TeddiRevolution

Funny you should mention this...

Possible lengthy nationwide banking shutdown

The kicker is that insiders say the US embassies overseas are being told
to stock up on currency other than dollars and pound sterling to last a year.

Schultz Letter is the same one that called the Oct. 2008 crash so
they do have at least one correct prediction under their belts.

reply to post by TeddiRevolution


This is what happens when everyone comes to rely on modern technology so much!
I've been in places where they have even had to shut shop because the tills weren't working, so it wouldn't have made any difference if you had cash!

this is similar to what the latest batman films hidden message is.

if you take away what society takes for granted it will self destruct.

The mere fact that a thread like this has had so many responses along the lines of "typical humanity, what else would you expect", disappoints me.
The disappointment here is not in the reactions of the people in the supermarket when TSHTF, but in YOUR reactions and judgements of others.
They say a man's character can be judged by how he talks about others... well, ATS, I'm ashamed of the responses in this thread.

Shame on you all.

If you think about it, your money exists in electrical form. No electricity, no cash.

I'm not sure what would happen if my bank had a power failure when I wanted to take out money. Since this bank has thousands upon thousands of branches, I seriously doubt whether my information - signature card, etc. - is in all branches in hardcopy form. I'm pretty sure it would be electronic.

Of course, if the power failure was local, no problem. Just go to another branch. But what if the whole city got hit, or the whole country? No money.

But I'm wondering, too - most grocery stores I ever see (I'm in Chicago) use scanning to get the prices. The prices aren't even on the merchandise. Without electricity, they wouldn't even know how much the stuff cost, nor could they add it up without doing it by hand.

I never thought about that before, but our whole country relies on electricity, not just for things like refrigerators, but also for all its business transactions. Even cash transactions, most of the time.

reply to post by TeddiRevolution


Don't be fooled, we are just animals. When the veneer is removed all we are are hungry animals.

Originally posted by TeddiRevolution
Now the fake smiles and annoyed chatter had disappeared and reality struck for a lot of people, they had no way to access their money, they had no way to pay for their food. Those who unloaded their carts were completely stuck and the ones waiting in line didn't want to give up their spot to go to the bank. People became vocal very quickly.

"There's no way the whole system can go at once!"

"What the Hell do I do now?"

"I'm not leaving without this food."

People started pointing fingers at the cashiers, THEY must have done something. When the manager tried to explain it was not the cashier's doing, the company was to blame for making such a flawed system. Soon enough, with no knowledge of how the system actually worked, people began blaming others for buying too many groceries in the first place. In the span of a few minutes, perfectly calm, content people turned on those around them and eventually each other because food and money weren't immediately available to them.

About that time the manager announced that the debit and checking was back up, and the ATM unfroze and people got their money.

All of the things mentioned could have been causes for the glitch, but how the customers reacted was stunning to me. I can't say what would have happened if the problem hadn't resolved itself, but I know that in a situation where other variables were involved such as a national crisis or mass panic, there would have been chaos.

If people react in such a way when a small wrench is thrown into the works, what reactions would come from a multitude of things going wrong all at once? After what I saw last night, I wouldn't want to be near a public place should the house of cards topple over, and I don't recommend anyone planning a trip to the store that day.

Dear OP.
Do you pay your employees by checks or debit through a bank or you pay them with hard cash?
Do you pay them after a days or a weeks end or do you pay them once or twice a month meanwhile depositing your earnings through a bank?

Why do you complain? If you don't pay them like you would 30 or 50 years ago, and if nobody is using the old methods of paying up other peoples labor then you are a part of the slave credit system. These things will happen and you are a part of it. Break free, use the old ways.
I bet you would be reluctant to do this wouldn't you?

Everyone should be preparing to "cash out" from the slave credit system in case its going to be brought down. It is not the paying customers fault for this behavior. These people "customers" used their time and efforts and even their own resources as labor and they did the most logical thing they would do, they demand their money to be available when they need it.
What is wrong with demanding your own money since you have worked hard for it?

For everyone else that is taunting the phrase "People are just animals"

Well, people are not animals. Try to slave any mammal for an x amount of time and then deprive his food and let it free making it sure it understands that you are above everything else in the world the one responsible for his food then you will see how animals really are, that is if you get out of this process alive meanwhile. Humans can be talked out from killing someone else even in a condition of hunger and despair, animals can't and won't, they will just use you as food. Humans in most conditions won't. So be happy and thankful that indeed we are not animals.

[edit on 11-8-2009 by spacebot]

In fewer words, you cannot demand the labor rules Capitalism supports while at the same time you favor and use the Communist like rules of paying back for the labor you receive from other people.
Above all, employers are the most responsible for the slave credit system, because they have to use the big brother, the bank or the state (a bank even if it is a private one, is in most times protected and sponsored by the State as we have become witnesses in the latest economic crisis). There is always someone stronger than you you come to for help in paying labor that you receive. Employers do not use their OWN money from their own ventures to pay up hard cash to their employees. They just send them to the bank while they come up for better uses of the immediate cash they received, like buying more houses or better cars.
NO!
Use the cash to do what you supposed to do. Pay the labor you receive at a labor days end and then keep what is left for you.
Don't feed the bank.

Be a capitalist all the way through and through. require no big institution to "protect" you.

ELSE DO NOT COMPLAIN!

[edit on 11-8-2009 by spacebot]

Here we go. Does anyone know how any of this $hyt works?
S+F




[edit on 11-8-2009 by FIFIGI]