Posted on 09/06/2012 4:05:06 PM PDT by djf
Being somewhat of a video nut, I've accumulated quite a few VHSs and DVDs. One of my personal favorites is the complete collection of "The Twilight Zone", the original series broadcast on CBS in the late 50's, early 60's.
One of the episodes from the first season is entitled "The Monsters are due on Maple Street". It is a speculative look at what happens to a small town neighborhood and the people when the lights go out and strange things happen like machines spontaneously turning on and off.
Bow some of the people remain pretty cool-headed. But some are suspicious, and obviously very out-of-joint from the start. As time goes on, the crowds become more mobbish and accusatory, violence ensues, and near the end of the show, there is almost complete breakdown and no one is safe.
The final scenes are of an alien presence summing up what happened:
"Understand the procedure now? Just stop a few of their machines and radios and telephones and lawnmowers, throw them into darkness for a few hours, and then sit back and watch the pattern. They pick the most dangerous enemy they can find, and it's themselves".
Now for a while, there has been a history of what some might call "prepper" threads on FR. A natural result perhaps of the fact that FR came into prominence in the time leading up to the Y2K scare. Additional reasons might be the as far as I am concerned, FR is one of the most pre-eminent breaking news websites in the entire Interverse! As such, news of earthquakes, hurricanes, possible epidemics, is able to reach a large number of people fairly quickly, and hopefully has a positive effect on outcomes by warning people of dangers and helping them overcome the situations.
I couldn't count on my fingers and toes, even if I had ten hands and ten feet, the number of times I have heard or seen breaking news on FR first, many times hours before anything shows up on any of the mass media.
Add to the above that FReepers in general tend to be independent, conservative folks, perhaps older in general, and while some might say that that doesn't mean "wiser", I can attest to the fact that often if you need advice or help with something - you go and ask the old guy - he's the guy who ALREADY made the mistakes, and can give you advice based on experience, not conjecture.
The threads dealing with prepping receive pretty standard responses. Many, many FReepers heed the warnings. Many offer their own advice. Often that advice is invaluable, because local conditions and circumstances and resources across this vast country of ours vary widely.
But there can be - and thankfully, not often - extreme disruptions and criticisms, for whatever reasons. Usually these end up being "Boy who dried wolf" criticisms that you can take with a grain of salt. Other criticisms happen (I've had people try to imply I was in the business of selling something, which is total BS!).
My point here, and what I think needs to be said, is that the prepper threads are a good resource, and the criticisms are unwarranted. Isn't that kind of like the partying grasshopper making fun of the toiling ant just before winter starts?
If The Monsters are due on Maple Street, isn't every single person who has stocked up ONE LESS PERSON THAT MIGHT BE TRYING TO BREAK DOWN YOUR DOOR?
I've read estimates that in the event of a major collapse, I mean the kind of event that strips the store shelves, 80% of the population might disappear. And not necessarily in a nice way. I imagine in that scenario, many preppers would be affected just as much, all their prepping in vain.
But hopefully, cool heads can prevail. Hopefully, we can be adults and try to make the best of a bad situation, determined that whatever caused it will not happen again.
Hopefully, the Monsters that are due on Maple Street are not we, ourselves!
Thank goodness I live on Oak St.
Lol!
Hey, the bedbugs are due on Oak Street!
It’s always something!
“The Monsters are due on Maple Street” is a big fav. Every time I get complacent about prepping and staying alert and on top of things I watch it. Brings me back to reality (even tho right now that pretty much sucks) real quick.\
Get ready.
/johnny
If I’ve bones to pick with preppers it is both that they tend to over-generalization, when they need specialization, and that they miss out on a lessons learned opportunity.
In the former case, the Pentagon love to war game. For this reason they have a vault of potential problems both likely conflicts to “Iceland v. Vanatu” unlikely.
And while there is some degree of commonality with such plans, the top 10 or 20 that are both ongoing and have a strong likelihood of happening, are the plans under almost constant review, looking for any little details that were missed and updating and revising it at intervals.
This is the entire world they are planning for.
If you look at the typical prepper, they would be pretty good at estimating what to do in a particular disaster, taking their location, manifest, age, and other planning elements into account.
But if it was a significantly different kind of disaster, most of the rules might change, so do many of the details.
This is where lessons learned would come in real handy.
Think of it as a hierarchical website, for “do it yourself” prepping. Following a flow chart of great ideas of things to do and get ready for.
In essence a contingency plan generator for a dozen or more potential disasters, so in short order you could make the preparations you need, omitting stuff you don’t need to make room.
I prefer Videodrone.
Well, no one can prep for everything. I’m pretty well situated if the grid goes down for a week or less. But if a 130 foot Doug fir or an asteroid decides to hit my house, I’m SOL!
There are, though, basic procedures and things that are common to almost all situations. Ya still gotta eat. You will still get thirsty. It’s kinda nice to stay warm, and if you’re very lucky, have a shower every few days.
So it’s a mindset of sorts. Independence. The ability to not have to rely on others, and maybe even help others in need.
Being part of the solution, not part of the problem!
Humans have to have air, heat, water, food, and shelter. Everything else is ruffles and flourishes that make life easier.
I am prepared for alien invasion, BTW, since it seems to be happening (look south).
/johnny
BTTT!
Thanx!
Couple typos, but not 2 bad!
It’s psychological as much as financial, whether we want to admit it or not Americans are pretty spoiled.
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