The Other Side Of Doomsday - A Warning About 12/21/12

Some say a comet will fall from the sky
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves
Followed by fault lines that cannot sit still
Followed by billions of dumbfounded......

Some say the end is near
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure you use a vacation...

Tool Aenima

The Other Side Of Doomsday

Hello ATS.

It's The End of the World As We Know It - And I Feel Fine

One memory that has managed to stay with me over the years is still very clearly embedded within my mind. I can remember being maybe fifteen or sixteen years old and thinking about the 2012 "Mayan apocalypse". I don't recall where I first learned of this subject. Possibly TV, a movie, a book of some sorts, or even a comic book. But I can recall considering it a possibility - albeit one that, back then ('81 or '82) seemed nearly as valid concept as thinking about owning an Imperial Destroyer one day. Still, I thought about it. The thought I had back then, that sticks so clearly in my mind, was "If I live that long, I'll need to make sure that I am primed, ready, physically fit, and well armed when 12/21/12 rolls around. Just to be safe."

Just the kind of vague, ego filled, nonchalant type of thought one would expect from a teenage mind. Those were the days when apocalypse films were coming into vogue. I cannot really recall if "The Terminator" was out yet or not. But I am positive that "Mad Max" was - and that I'd seen it. So, in my youthful mind, I pretty much saw the apocalypse as a chance for me to be a total badass and to impress all of those poor surviving women who would need protecting by a guy with, well, badass skills. In my own minds eye, I simply figured that if Max Rockatansky could do it, then so could I - and that was that. I would be just like Mad Max - and that was just awesome as far as I could see it.

Fast forward thirty or thirty one years and here I am. Less than three days away from what was once such a distant and abstract concept... The arrival of 12/21/12. As it turns out, I had survived all of those big dates that those of my genertion tended to look forward to. I lived through 1984 - and passed the Orwell benchmark. I did party like it was 1999 - getting the last laugh on Prince and his Revolution. I even lived long enough not only to smile at Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke in 2001 - but once again in 2010.

Those, my dear friends, were all of the date based "benchmarks" that I can recall existing in that fifteen year old version of myself. All of the future dates that held a teenage "me" in awe. All save one. This final one. The day that we can refer to as the Mayan Doomsday.

Of course, these words, or that date, doesn't mean the same thing to everyone who reads these words. Not by a longshot. There are multiple interpretations of what relevance this date might hold. Opinions spanning the entire width and breadth of human imagination and belief. Some, like myself, believe that it's just a day and nothing more. We believe that nothing of significance will happen. I can actually sense my fifteen year old self seething at me for this. He was a wild one, that kid, and he'd have wanted his shot at being Mad Max. Sorry kid. You grew up and, well, thanks to the STUPID things YOU did, your older self is a bit worse for wear and probably wouldn't survive too much Mad Maxery, before needing a bottle of aspirin and a good masseusse.

Still, there are those who believe differently. The Niburu club - and their broad range of theories:



The nuclear doom brigade and their particular favorite Horseman of the Apocalypse:



The Police State cheerleaders and their vision of the FEMA camp NWO, Illuminati world to come:



The ascension folks, and their myriad of variations upon the idea of humanity being enlightened, shifted into a new dimension, or raptured to Heaven:



Some believe that it will be the date that ET finally uncloaks and drops in for a visit!



Those ( like the fifteen year old version of me ) who feel that a general dystopian apocalypse or decay will occur:



And, last but not least, another of my favorites... The zombie apocalypse fans!:



If I have neglected your personal favorite, please forgive me... But there are so many variants and so little time.

The general point is that there are a LOT of people, to varying degrees of belief, all focused upon a single moment, a single date. A singularly eminent date. One that comes in less than 72 hours.

This, of course, is not the first time in history that such an event has happened. After all, humanity survived the year 666 AD, which probably ruffled more than a few feathers at the time. We got past 1,000 AD - which also was a magical number to people, and probably caused a bit of panic. We survived the year 1666 AD - which history tells us did cause a bit of ruckus. And most of us here can recall all of the hoopla over Y2K

In addition to these "commonly frightening" numerical dates, we have also endured countless cases of prophets declaring a date as the end of the world, or the date of the rapture. Sadly, quite a few, over the years, have been convinced, or even forced, to buy into these predictions at the cost of their lives.

Still. We've persisted.

To me it is obvious that there is an underlying energy surrounding the 12/21/12 date. I don't mean this in a supernatural sense at all - though we are all free to interpret things as we choose to - I mean in the sense that the tension is palpable. The most recent Presidential election is one example... the hyperbole, division, and hatred that just about everyone seemed to get so wrapped up in. The spate of recent spree shootings is another indicator of this collective anxiety that seems to be laying beneath the surface of the skin of humanity. Leaders all over the world engaging in absolute stupid acts of posturing and provocation. Tempers flaring, tolerances failing, and patience lagging - it seems that we are all a bit emotionally and psychically chaffed by the shared stress of the coming date - even if we, ourselves, do not see it.

The entire human race, currently and collectively, is behaving not unlike a child who is just old enough to be pretty darned sure there is no monster hiding under the bed... but just immature enough to not have the guts to check for certain, by looking under it.

Even if we, ourselves, don't buy into magical thinking, or hogwash of any kind - we have to admit that we can easily see these trends of late. We can sense that others are stressed. And that stress is contagious. I'ts effecting us all.

12/21/12

Ironically, this date? The one we are all fixated upon? It does not worry me in the least. The collective anxiety that seems to exist may, or may not, rear its ugly head again over the next three days ( give or take a few hours ). There's no way to predict where the weak points are, in the human chain, nor how strong any given link is. We may well see another eruption of fear and anger between now and the given moment we are currently discussing.

I also cannot rationally preclude that an individual ( or group of individuals ) might not manufacture some sort of horrific event come that moment. Terrorism is, after all, a tactic of opportunity - and what better way to make headlines ( and spread terror ) than to rush out onto a stage that much of the world is already watching?

Aside from that, however, I don't think any apocalypse will occur. In fact, barring some tragic and opportunistic act - I think that 12/21/12 will be a total let down for a lot of people. THAT is what scares me.

Consequences of an anti-climax

Let us suppose ( and pray ) for a minute that 12/21/12 goes by without some kid shooting up another mall, some idiot hijacking and crashing a plane, or, God forbid, some organized group managing to set off a dirty bomb or small nuke in a major city. Let us suppose that a single person, or a few, do not deliberately seek to fulfill this supposed Mayan prophecy... this collective expectation. No zombie hordes, no dimension shifts or raptures, no global thermonuclear war, no planet X or brown dwarf star, no aliens, and no Mad Max.

What if 12/21/12 comes and goes without so much as a hiccup?

One of the things I am good at, naturally, is abstract thinking. I'm talented at seeing trends and making general predictions based upon my impressions of what one might call the "collective subconscious". My posting history shows this, I believe. I'm not infallible. But I do pretty well. In all of my years on ATS I can only recall making a single bold prediction. The night of this past election, I predicted Obama would win. On the one hand, I had a fifty/fifty shot at being right. Not exactly an earth shaking display of intuition.

On the other hand. I did call it. I felt confident enough in my reading of the nations "pulse" to do so.

Now I am, again, confident enough to make another prediction. It is not 12/21/12 that we need to fear. It's the 90 days following it that are going to be difficult!

If we are currently seeing people stress out over the coming date - which I believe to be the case. Then what is going to happen to all of that pent up stress and fear once the date passes and we're all still here? What emotional and psychological effect is that going to have upon as, as a collective?

Think about it. There are people out there who flatly and totally believe that they are going to die/transcend/evolve/be fulfilled in the next 72 hours. What is going to happen in their minds when nothing happens at all? What happens when literally years and decades of collective fear and worry simply amount to nothing?

Where does all of this stored energy go?

Maybe the zombie apocalypse fans were the closest to right - because come the morning of the 22nd, I think that a large cross section of the worlds population are going to effectively be zombies. They'll be confused, disenfranchised, let down, and lost.

Even those who don't believe in anything at all? They're still going to be frantically watching the news ( and ATS ), thinking that surely some nutjob, somewhere, is going to try and manifest their ideas of "destiny" in some form or another.

The morning of the 22nd is going to arrive with a segment of the worlds population utterly and completely lost, and the rest of us with a massive anxiety hangover. A planet filled with unspent, mostly negative energy and nothing to focus that energy upon at all.

I think that is going to drive some people over the edge. Maybe to the degree we've recently seen with spree shooters. Maybe even folks with more are their fingertips than just an assault rifle.

What I do know is that those in power are smart and they employ a LOT of experts in the fields of sociology, psychology, and social engineering. THOSE people, like me, are sitting around, even as you read this, trying to figure out how to use all of that energy - and that lack of release - to their benefit. That is a LOT of untapped potential just waiting to be redirected into something else. A lot of fear and lack of focus to capitalize upon.

For me the question, regarding this aspect of it is not "if"? - it's "how" and "how quickly"? You all know the mantra... Never let a good tragedy go to waste.

So... While most of ATS is firmly fixated upon 12/21/12 - either waiting for their favored scenario to play out, or with their mouse fingers poised to click the "HAHAHAHA I TOLD YOU SO!!!!" threads that they've spent the last two weeks writing - I'm focused upon the weeks after that date. I think the first week or two will be almost eerily quiet. Then?

Then, I fear ATS, that all Hell will break loose.

Let us hope that my intuition is wrong this time around. For once? I don't want to be right. If there is a storm on the horizon? Then we must ride it out, together, alert, vigilant, and undivided. Tomorrow is a gift, not a certainty. Should it come, and should we find ourselves still a part of it... then we must all cherish that blessing and assume the mantle of responsibility inferred. We're all in this boat together, for better for for worse.


never lose it.

~Heff

I was just looking up that tool song on ats to see what kind of responses it got before you posted this, also see MUSE UPRISING. Strange that you would post those lyrics just now.

Good comments as usual.

I am a little more concerned for the date due to it being self fulfilling.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

P

you sir hit the nail on the head. i too have felt this and cant really put it into words, and you described it the way ive been thinking it, thank you for that. my one and only thread (thus far) has been about my belief that something will happen, and something along the lines of non apocalyptic, but something that makes us all wonder, all think. my point is ive felt the real "horror" comes after this friday, in the days and weeks to follow. i still feel deep down something will happen, but something very subtle come friday. and to make your theory even worse than nothing happening, suppose something like a mass ufo sighting happened, and the world wanted answers? but im really glad you took the time to write all of this, it really sums up alot of what i believe. because many folks (myself included) have put alot of hope into this date, letting things pile up in anticipation, and upon realizing there is no climax, thats where it gets dangerous. im glad im not alone in my thoughts like this s and f

edit: also just thought, was there any civil unrest or similar things occuring after y2k? that may be a different topic as the world 13 years ago isnt what it was today, but still great theory and i agree with all you said!

Well my world will end when my credit card is maxed out

reply to post by Hefficide


For me I already missed the date. I figured it out a bit ago. I already went through my let down, so I'm good and ready, but Now you are scarring me Heff.

By the way Im a shifter. Specifically the natural shifter... Sort of an accelerated change brought on in exponential information exchange on the internet. I really do think the world is becoming a nicer place.

Meanwhile the NWO is after me, so I'm in that FEMA crowd too. haha...

I guess you just added my third one...

The "Bored American Zombie Apocalypse" thousands of Armed Preppers with nothing to shoot, and nothing to look forward to. Could people really want it so bad they would manufacture something?

What is the fascination though? The Idea of "The End!" Has always been in my head since I was around 3.. Some deep seated Human archetype? A collective unconscious memory of a Great Flood?

And Now I'm feeling let down again.

reply to post by Hefficide


I thought that song was eerily coincidental, I actually posted a thread here in (2012), before using those lyrics. As for the presidential election, do I get brownie points for not only predicting who would win upto a year ahead of time, but also knowing that Romney would be the opposition? Come December 24, provided nothing happens, I'm moving on to start a new life off the grid in Colorado.

I had thought perhaps that as December 21 past it might bring a collective sigh of relief whether any scenario comes to pass or not. But as it draws near, spot on Heff, my hubby and I were discussing this last night and feel the same way. The next 3 months are going to be a hell on earth.
Many were hoping this date would bring an end to the despair on earth even a catastrophic one and hopefully a new beginning. I fear it will be far more drawn out and difficult than that.
I predict far more violence, depression economically and mentally,homelessness, suicide rates to sky rocket, and a worldwide feeling of giving up.
I hope I'm incredibly wrong.

Can't wait for this day to be over.

So much subconscious stress. I mean I even dream about it pretty much every night.

But honestly so many things it could be.

Things I tend to think about never happen.

It's the things we least expect.

This has to be the best 2012 thread I've read so far.

I think a lot of the 2012 hype just stems from the fact that this world is utterly disappointing and is getting progressively worse. People want something new, anything, even if it means the end of the world. After all, an apocalypse would be exciting, going to work from 9-5 isn't. People want something to happen for the same reason they spend time playing MMORPG's, for the same reason we all love fantasy movies, and supernatural fiction. We want an escape from this miserable reality where news is manufactured, shopping is the meaning of life, and basic survival is a commodity.

If something new or exciting happened on the 21st, I would embrace it with open arms. However, I have my real life in order and know what I'll be doing for the next few years; something that I know makes me happy. If anyone reading this is expecting something to happen on that date, I strongly advise you to have a plan in order for your life if and when you are let down.

As one of my colleagues previously stated:,

You can run, but you can't hide.

Well, so you are saying, OP, that something will happen right? If something happens because of the "nothingness" of 21 dec, isn´t that still an effect of the 21 dec, and in a way something did happend after all.

Merry Christmas to you too Heff !

Thanks for that.

Ed; You may have even topped Scrooge on this one ...


Ed; Star and Flag - for sheer effort.

Hefficide,

Is it possible that DEC 21 is actually holding civilization together?

I think you are onto something if nothing happens, people are only holding on because they expect a great change to occur. When all that energy fails to be released on dec 21, could it be the beginning of the end for civilizations? When the fiscal cliff hits and people need to start sacrificing even more things, what will happen?

Maybe this is what the prediction of dec 21 is about, maybe this is what they meant by the end of time. If civilizations occur in cycles, and judging by all the monuments from previous civilizations that no longer exist, I have to say they definitely do come in cycles, then perhaps, the mayan calendar marked the end of this current civilization? It's quite strange seeing as our recorded history only goes back 5000 years. Why do we have no idea what happened before 3000bc, with any accuracy? All the ancient monuments could be from a previous civilizations, before 3000BC, because we cannot actually date how old the pyramids are. Maybe they rose and fell and recorded it all, and tried to tell future civilizations what happened to them, and when it will happen again.

2013, is going to be a very interesting year, because there are more comets than usual, we have the fiscal cliff to deal with, and all the disappointed people when nothing happens on dec 21. I am one of the people expecting something to happen on dec 21, although, I have no opinion on what that might be. I wouldn't be surprised if nothing happens. But I am certainly not closed off to something happening. I find this date surrounding with mystery, and I look forward to whatever is to come. We cannot change it, we simply must accept whatever it is.

What will happen to the new agers when their oneness, and love and peace, fails them completely on dec 21? That seems to me like suddenly there will be an influx of anger on the planet. What does it mean, time will tell. I still hope for some kind of mass enlightenment. I have had my share of amazing spiritual experiences, and I cannot deny that the new age movement definitely knows what they are talking about. There is definitely truth to what they say. But as for a major event occuring on a specific day... .I guess we'll find out in 72 hours.

I am concerned for the future, because if nothing happens on friday, regardless of the disappointment people face. We are destroying this planet, there is no denying that. We are using all our resources, we are using greed to make a few wealthy while the rest of us slave, and where does that end? We will destroy ourselves before long unless we have some sort of major paradigm shifting event.

Lastly, if nothing happens on dec 21, that is a hell of a lot of people wrong, its huge. I still find the lack of media coverage disturbing. Watched the news tonight, they talked about friday, and kids getting out of school for xmas, they talked about the weather, like it was any other day, no one mentioned anything to do with the calendar, or doomsday or anything. Then it went onto sports. I have yet to see anyone in the msm acknowledge dec 21, even with skepticism, besides nasa. I want to see it reported on the news, i want to see them say, we have no idea what to expect, but heres a fun fact, the mayan calendar runs out this friday. People already know this, but the news has never been sensitive to people's feelings before, why suddenly start now? They reported y2k, they reported, may 21, 2011..... But the biggest date of them all, silence......eerie silence.

Originally posted by Nettlas
Well, so you are saying, OP, that something will happen right? If something happens because of the "nothingness" of 21 dec, isn´t that still an effect of the 21 dec, and in a way something did happend after all.

I'm saying that if no nutjob, or pack of nutjobs, seeks to try and fulfill a 12/21/12 prophecy on their own - then I think that there likely will be some sort of emotional backlash.

Have you ever been in a movie theater when the lights did not go down exactly on time? Within moments, people start grumbling and shifting nervously. Eventually one or two will start yelling "IT'S TIME. HURRY UP ALREADY!. If that doesn't illicit an immediate reaction then, suddenly, those one or two voices suddenly become contagious and the majority of the theater patrons will become indignant, yelling, changing, throwing things at the screen, and acting like idiots.

All it takes is for the lights to dim and the rash of mass hysteria falls silent.

11:11 PM GMT on 12/21/12 is showtime. Who's going to be the first to scream that there is no show? Who will join that chorus? What will the analog be for throwing drinks and popcorn at the screen?

More over... who will dim the lights to settle the crowd. What will that act entail? And how profoundly will it change the world we live in?

~Heff

Originally posted by Hefficide

Originally posted by Nettlas
Well, so you are saying, OP, that something will happen right? If something happens because of the "nothingness" of 21 dec, isn´t that still an effect of the 21 dec, and in a way something did happend after all.

I'm saying that if no nutjob, or pack of nutjobs, seeks to try and fulfill a 12/21/12 prophecy on their own - then I think that there likely will be some sort of emotional backlash.

Have you ever been in a movie theater when the lights did not go down exactly on time? Within moments, people start grumbling and shifting nervously. Eventually one or two will start yelling "IT'S TIME. HURRY UP ALREADY!. If that doesn't illicit an immediate reaction then, suddenly, those one or two voices suddenly become contagious and the majority of the theater patrons will become indignant, yelling, changing, throwing things at the screen, and acting like idiots.

All it takes is for the lights to dim and the rash of mass hysteria falls silent.

11:11 PM GMT on 12/21/12 is showtime. Who's going to be the first to scream that there is no show? Who will join that chorus? What will the analog be for throwing drinks and popcorn at the screen?

More over... who will dim the lights to settle the crowd. What will that act entail? And how profoundly will it change the world we live in?

~Heff

Surely there is only the smallest amount of people in the whole world that even care. The rest of the world see it as a sideline joke. Emotional backlash? Disgruntled punters? If someone was to shout out and voice their dissatisfaction pretty sure when they stand alone no one else will be standing by their side. People are sick of lunatics

I'm not overly concerned myself. I have never been convinced the "date" was an accurate translation to begin with. The original fears of this sprang with the idea that the calendar stopped so "time ran out". There was no doom or gloom prophecies associated with the calendar round or the 13th baktun. Everyone just made that sh!t up as a way to justify or explain "end of time"...

I think as the date has gotten closer, a lot of what used to be fervent believers have backed off and come to realize it is just a date...it has zero power that you yourself do not give it. I think the percentage now of hard core believers has drastically fallen off and they are looking further down the road for their next "doom" fix.

It's true, there may be some out there that are so unstable that if it appears nothing is going to happen, they might be compelled to try and "help things along"...I certainly hope not.

I will say a prayer for those believers as the day and the hour approaches that they hold their grip on reality and do not fall over the edge into insanity...

As I said in a much longer version of this post, which I decided to toss because it was way too rambling....

"Angst isst die Seele auf"

(quoted from a movie of that same name by Rainer Werner Fassbinder--actual movie title "Angst Essen Seele auf")

Fear eats away the soul.


I've had my fill of fear, I'm over it, and so 12/21 has no affect on me personally.

I'm with heff on this one....his little candle in the OP...that little flame in the dark? Yeah....that's more my focus right now.

HOPE, cause god knows we have enough fear to go around.

The cycle will simply continue to repeat itself. I honestly believe this is a way for many to seek release from this #ty. Experience we are all having world wide. We as a civilization have given up so much. Some cultures and societies more than others, but all have given up a part of their soul (which in this sense should be interpretted as morals and responsibility) in hope that such a sacrifice would return a better outcome. We continue to seek these doomsdays events because as a collective they would vendicate and confirm that our sacrifice of freedoms and human rights are just. We are as a whole, seeking a release so that we might have our second chance at rebuilding society and in essence our human civilization into what we all know it can be. I also believe most of the built up emotions are a single concept that we fear expressing, that concept is shame. As a whole the majority of the human race feals ashamed for what we have allowed to transpire. with every passing year our shame grows, as we put off that which we collectively know: Something large and paradigm shifting must occur before any true progress can be made.

I am certain that many have acquired an ego in their lives that will stand up for them and deny this shame, as if feeling it is a direct insult to their very innermost being. But whether you and I admit to it or not, we are shackled by our shame. Shame breeds fear by seeking to hide itself deep within us, fear breeds anger as a shield and a sword. This anger destroys us and those around us through violence and hate.

So yes I too agree that a large amount us the population will feel as though society as well as themselves have let him/her down and for some the shame/guilt/fear/anger/hate will need to be released, some will find a new addiction possibly drugs, sex, or alcohol (likely a combination of the three), some will abuse the ones around them they care most about, some will destroy themselves in their workplace or break themselves money wise, and then there will be others that were never taught how to accept blame for their own actions and will project their hate filled blame at innocent lives. Hopefully there will soon come a day when we all see that we do not need a doomsday to change our world but a HopeDay. Where and when this will come is all up to us.... if it ever does come.