Why Can't I Find Anyone Who Believes Me?

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I see allll these people on this bulletin board who believe something major is going to happen, as me and my husband do, but how do I find some "real" people who do? Our families (every single last one of them) think we are kooks now (it has become the running family joke: "Did you hear they bought two cords of firewood this weekend?" HEEE HEE HO HO HO!!!!)

I tried to strike up a conversation about it with a neighbor (I am subtle--but not TOO subtle) and it went COMPLETELY over his head!

I have two programmer friends and I recently said, half-jokingly, to measure their responses, "Hey, what about that Y2K thing, huh?" Barely rated a grunt of a response with them.

I am getting really frustrated and my husband and I are feeling very isolated in our efforts to prepare. Prepare we will, but no one seems to believe there is anything to prepare for. Can people preparing for Y2K somehow come up with a secret "signal" we could use to identify ourselves to others? Sheesh.

BTW, we live in suburban Dallas.

Any suggestions? We just want to know some other people preparing!

-- Quietly Preparing (bill_n_kellie91@hotmail.com), November 09, 1998

Answers

You should thank your lucky stars that your spouse and you agree on this!!! For many of us, that is not the case!

Regarding everyone else, you may find it advisable to "cool it" regarding the details of your own Y2K preparation plans, lest you suddenly find yourself the host to a lot of unwanted guests come late next year! ("They will not prepare, but they will remember.")

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.net), November 09, 1998.

You might want to try going to: Hi,

There are a couple of things you might like to do. The first is to contact a 'people meeting people' group that can put you in touch with people around you who are also preparing. It will give you the opportunity to email back and forth and to know that you aren't really alone.

Their web site is:

http://www.webpal.org/list.htm

and they're organized by states.

Two of us who frequent this forum are coordinators for our respective states.

A second thing you might try is:

http://y2kwatch.com/y2kman.htm

This is the Y2K Weatherman's site. Browse there, and subscribe to the email update. He is based in Dallas and attends a Y2K preparedness group when time permits. If you get a hint of an email address on the site, mail and ask where and when the group meets. That's put you in touch with others who are preparing.

Hope this helps. A lot of people are preparing, and it helps to be able to talk things through with them, and to know that you're not alone in your area.

-- rocky (rknolls@hotmail.com), November 09, 1998.


Sorry for screwing up the first sentence.

-- rocky (rknolls@hotmail.com), November 09, 1998.

I agree with Jack. Prepare quietly. Find those in your region whom you can network with on local projects. Those who are laughing now will be panicking about Sept 99.

-- R. D..Herring (drherr@erols.com), November 09, 1998.

You can't find believers because it can't happen here. Not on my block. No sirree. We're used to quick fixes. Doesn't apply here because there's nothing quick about the fix.

I agree, at least you and your spouse agree. Mine won't talk about it . The hard part is tying yourself up about those poor souls who can't see the light so you feel you have to cover for them. Chances are, you can't. Your family will show up when it all comes to pass, and I personally, couldn't tell them no. In my opinion, that's the worst case scenario. So I will prepare my best and hope for a monicum of decency from my family. (I also pray for some glitches to show up soon so they will listen to me. Finally)

-- margie mason (mar3mike@aol.com), November 09, 1998.



My husband and I are finding the same thing, with one slight difference; we have managed to completely convince my mother and father in law and my brother in law. My side of the family laughs, and the rest of husband's does too. As for neighbors and friends and acquaintances....we gave up. We stopped mentioning it. It's getting too late, and we have much left to do to prepare, and if people don't *want* to get it, then to heck with 'em. Sounds cold, but we got tired of wasting our breath. Bobbi

-- Bobbi (volfnat@northweb.com), November 09, 1998.

When the time is right, you'll be able to teach others around you. Hang in there.

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), November 09, 1998.

Karen Anderson also lives in a Dallas suburb. She has a website called Y2K for women. If you haven't seen it, give it a try. Lots of good info. and helpful tips.

http://www.y2kwomen.com

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), November 09, 1998.


Bobbi

I with you kiddo, try once or twice, then screw 'em, worry about you and yours first. (Does not apply to blood, stick with family that doesn't get it until you're hoarse) When the unwashed masses wake up you can teach them that they waited too long.

-- Uncle Deedah (oncebitten@twiceshy.com), November 09, 1998.


People are people. Some people won't believe you for the same reason people don't believe in the return of Jesus and that nothing bad could happen to them. Many people cannot understand the concept that a date could ruin their lives. It does sound incredible, looney, and downright kooky. They've never heard or seen anything like it in their lives, so what tangible evidence can you show them that this is for real? You can't, because even we do not know for sure do we? We are just preparing just in case. So I suggest that you quit wasting your breath, do what you can do to get yourself prepared, take it easy, be focused and when they show up at your door just tell them you don't have anything to offer them. In the meantime, just keep quiet about your plans.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), November 09, 1998.


Diane wrote "When the time is right, you'll be able to teach others around you".

I'm glad to hear someone else say this. It sets my mind at ease because this is exactly how I had to resolve myself to the situation. Eventually, my friends and family who haven't listened will come around. It might take a serious failure of some kind to get them to think about it.

However, I have managed to get my wife to do a 180 and she is helping to prepare and I've reached a number of others.

Like Diane said, just hang in there and do what ever you can for yourself and your family.

My best wishes.

Mike ============================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), November 09, 1998.


When the "others" wake up. Hmmmm. Would the term "critical mass" apply here? Try to find a solar panel then.

-- Uncle Deedah (oncebitten@twiceshy.com), November 09, 1998.

To Bill and Kelli, Hey, just keep preparing as you are doing and for the others ask them if they remember the story of an old man and a great big boat with lots of animals on it??? I'm very happy my wife is in agreement with me concerning this y2k situation, well she's getting a new home out of it and in the country too boot!!!. Good luck with YOUR plans.

-- Furie (furieart@gte.net), November 10, 1998.

For once I agree with D Dah, what I am saying AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (the tics again). PS it won't happen again.

-- Richard Dale (rdale@figroup.co.uk), November 10, 1998.

Am I too late?

My husband and I have agreed that we are morally bound to tell every body we know or speak to regularly about the problem. Make them aware. How much time we spend trying to convince them varies with how close we are to them, etc. Naturally our families are sick of hearing about it.

The guy who sold us our generator said "Ha Ha! Well, I'll know where to come!" Same thing from the UPS guy and the folks at the library and the Post Office. We have STOPPED telling people we're preparing, except for the ones we plan to be able to take in.

Know what has begun to get our family & close friends thinking? The Canadian military and "Operation Abacus". There's a link to a good article about it in one of the earlier threads, or you can search on "Operation Abacus". If you haven't read about it yet, do so. Print out a couple of copies and give it to the ones you love who think you're over-reacting. It will definitely get their attention.

Thanks for the links to the find-a-fellow-Y2wise sites!

-- Arewyn (nordic@northnet.net), November 10, 1998.



You know what's funny? Up here in the Pacific Northwest, they say we're due for a major earthquake any time, and we have Y2K to deal with as well. My husband, who thinks Y2K will be a fizzle, doesn't mind me stocking up for that, but if I mention 'earthquake' in front of anybody else, he poo-poos the idea of an earthquake any time between now and 50 years from now. Go figure.

-- Karen Cook (browsercat@hotmail.com), November 10, 1998.

Hi Karen Cook! Ashton & I are trained by FEMA & the Fire Depts of Lake Oswego & Portland as NET/CERT for that earthquake a'coming. But they need us for the Wild Winter of 96 Floods. Were you here during that disaster? Sandbags aplenty. BTW, Portland's NET director doesn't think Y2K will be much of anything, sort of pooh-poohed it to me, said Bonneville's just fine, silly to worry. Hhhhmmm, sounds like turf hackles to me. And absolutely no mention of Y2K, zilch, in any of the FEMA or NET/CERT mailings. We *are* prepared for the earthquake, although it it's 7-8-9 the gas lines will incinerate the cities. Nice to see there's someone else on this Forum living thru the wet cold Winters in Cascadia. x

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), November 10, 1998.

I just returned last night from my 10 day trip back home in Canada, where I just purchased a strategically located y2k small home and started preparations and stockpilling. (I live as a permanent resident in the US.)

For the first time last week, I brought up with them Y2K. I warned them that I'd be stockpiling and making preparations, and explained as best I could the big y2k picture. Most of them had already heard a bit via news media of the y2k bug. None called me a kook or made fun of me, because as one of my brothers said "Hey, if the military is getting prepared for y2k, makes sense that we do something too". BUT, although they didn't make fun of me, I still had the sense they didn't grasp the magnitude of it. When I tried to go into it, they dismissed me as being too pessimistic, which struck me as the standard responses of "polyannas" we see here on the net. I mentaly attributed this to their lack of technology background and lack of knowledge in general about Y2K. But I was still encouraged by their responses. Everyone discussed what they would do; one said he would buy and install an extra oil tank and stockpile food for a few months, but felt confident his family could weather the "crisis" and survive. They're all still very fresh and sore from the ice storm in Quebec last winter, so my points didn't fall on deaf ears, only wishful thinking. Still, I warned them all that my family would come first, and that they should concider themselves warned, and that it's their responsibility to find out all they can about y2k and prepare (I will help them by sending them all the printed data I have gathered). That when the poo hits the fan, it's my own family first, and if they haven't taken any precautions relative to their means, I would not help them then. They took my point well and agreed. (I have to admit that my family has some stuburn pride in self-suficiancy and would be loathed to knock at my door after I've warned them ;))

So Bill, my advice would be to show hard facts to your family (print it and give it to them), then warn them as I've done with mine. If nothing else, they can't acuse you then for not having been more persistant in trying to warn them when you knew. This should at least relieve some guilt off your shoulder when/if you're faced with starving extended family members knocking at your door and have to chose between your kids or thiers to feed.

-- Chris (Catsy@pond.com), November 11, 1998.


Holy mackeral! Chris..you hit on something! That's it. Thats "THE" statement to make to the disbelievers!

"...Bob, just remember, if I have to choose between feeding you and feeding my (children, immediate family), I'm going to have to choose my family. Do you understand Bob?"

You had better get a nod when you make your statement to "Bob".

Thank you Chris. That'll make 'em think.

-- (mass@delusions.com), November 11, 1998.


Wanted to thank everybody for the great responses. Actually, I am not too worried about my family *showing up* if the poo really hits the fan, I doubt they would make it to our house! They all live in VERY densely populated Dallas proper, and I can just imagine the gridlock and chaos that would ensue w/people trying to leave the city. We live the farthest out, still in a big suburb, but in a pretty remote subdivision, well off major roads. I think if TSHTF in a really big way, my extended family members simply won't make it. More worried about my *neighbors* showing up wanting food/water, etc.

BTW, we are keeping our preparations pretty quiet. Only immediate family members know about it, and they all laugh it off anyway. Everyone else--nope, they know nothing.

Anyway, thanks again. I have given up. Everyone I run into has their head in the sand.

-- Quietly Preparing (bill_n_kellie91@hotmail.com), November 12, 1998.


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