Imagine you're in Time Square at midnight when the lights go out, the trains stop running, the ATMs don't work, your mobile cuts out and the phones don't work. There's a million people standing around you all noticing the same. Chilling.

What would you do when you're world changes in a second? Would you panic? Would you loot? If a not-guilty verdict in the Rodney King case causes a city to go on the rampage - what will the middle classes do when they too are threatened. It's worth thinking about. Visualise a scenario and describe it.

-- Ben Herron (ben@jungle.com.au), March 29, 1999

Answers

Ben,
At this point being a GI for over a year and a half, I can't even imagine being in Time Square for the rollover.

It just won't happen for me or my family members. We know too much.

Mr. K
***and folks might not answer this question - we've been baited by DGI's & trolls before who just want to cite the forum for posting "doom/gloom" scenarios***

-- Mr. Kennedy (FarFromBeing@time.square), March 29, 1999.

I don't think it's helpful to think too much on this subject. If you have any sort of imagination, the possibilities are endless and horrifying, so why go there? Thinking like this only makes the whole thing too scary for DGI's and DWGI's so I don't think it's a productive path IMHO. You're welcome to lose all the sleep you want on this subject however- be my guest- I have no desire to control your nightmares....

-- anita (hillsidefarm@drbs.com), March 29, 1999.

Except for Norm (aka Y2K Pro), very few people on this forum are going to panic. First, few in this group would even consider being in NYC on Rollover. In fact, this does highlight something important. The more prepared and knowledgeable you are less likely to panic (act irrationally). The GIs of the world are not going to be in the streets running from grocery store -> to the bank --> to grocery store, etc. That is why the govt/media attacks on preparation are so stupid. If Norm/Y2Kpro is serious in his childish opposition (an I suspect he is a child) then even minor disruption could make his world fall apart. I mean consider not playing Nintendo for a whole week! Way cruel....

-- RD. ->H (drherr@erols.com), March 29, 1999.

I agree with the above posts- this scenario does not warrant much discussion. I could go into great detail about the "city" thay was built to train Rangers for what has increasingly become one of the main concerns of our government- urban warfare. Ostensibly, they are training for these scenario's in foreign citys and villages, but who really knows what they are up to? The key to survival in any situation is the ability to keep your head.... I mean that literally and figuratively. You panic and I guaranty your lunch for someone. I personally do not expect anything worse than a 5 on the yourdon scale, but if the poop hits the fan remember, PANIC KILLS!!!!

-- Charlie P. (nospamforme@maybelater.com), March 29, 1999.

Times Sq. and the lights go out? Only one thing to do: pop down into a subway and walk into one of the tunnels, ala Bernie Goetz. Just you and the rats. Only safe place to be. Either that or walk over to 43d and 9th to Cafe Madeleine for some champagne. Got attitude?

-- Spidey (in@jam.com), March 29, 1999.

"Will you panic?"

No.

No matter where I am or who/whom I'm with. Or even IF martial law is declared.

It's unproductive and a waste of energy.

BTW, only a small portion of L.A. "went on the rampage" after the Rodney King verdict. 90% didn't.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 29, 1999.

New Zealand enters the year 2000 about 18 hours before New York. If New Zealand, then Australia and then Japan have problems, don't expect many people to show up in Times Square the evening of the 31st.

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), March 29, 1999.

Diane: I think we can learn from how much destruction and havoc was wreaked by that minor 10%.

Kevin: Two comments: if those three time zones have problems, we're not going to hear about it, and never underestimate the American ego as in "see, I told you those countries weren't going to make it. Good thing we're livin' in Americaaaaa."

My sympathies go out to the public safety workers, including fire rescue and police, who will be working their hearts out to keep the other 90% from suffering from the 10% who go berserk.

Jeannie

-- jhollander (hollander@ij.net), March 29, 1999.

A message will be posted on 31/12/1999 from my machine at 24.00 reporting the situation in New Zealand.

Followup messages will be posted, all other things being equal at eight hour intervals until I am unable to post or the issue becomes unimportant.

I presume Leo or Tim will post from Australia and PNG from Japan, again all other things being equal.

Caveat: no post may NOT mean anything, no post over three eight hour periods MAY be serious.

-- Bob Barbour (r.barbour@waikato.ac.nz), March 29, 1999.

yeS!!!! dIETeR IS REadY TO gO FOr bIG PanIC!!!!! hoW MUcH FUN wiLL It bE????? .58 .59 .00... tHEn DIEteR SCreAmS aND THraSHeS ABOut UNcon- TRoLL-ABly!!!!!! DIetER wiLL THen aRIsE AND ruN THroUGH-OUT thE STreeTS LAmenTIng An BRinGIng tidINGs of wOE!!!!!! DOoM IS neAr PEOplE, ARisE And QUaKE!!!!! ARisE I saY!!!!! QUakE And shAKe!!!!! woE Is US!!!! IT iS ENdinG, cAN YoU NOt sEE It???? oH MouRN ye!!!! moUrN i SaY!!!!!! TiME tO BUrN DOwN ALL thAT IS GOoD!!!!! bE NoT CALm!!!! ROusT ThY NeIGHbORs, GeT ThEM UpSEt!!!!!! GiVE thEM matCHES!!!! SeT LooSE THe houNDS OF heLL!!!!!!

diETeR HaS TRieD TO heLp, iS ThIS WHaT YoU WErE LoOkInG FOr, mR. HeRroN?????

-- Dieter (questions@toask.com), March 29, 1999.

Lente, lente currite, noctis equi!

Dieter, wear warm clothes when you go out there.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), March 29, 1999.

Please do not buy the federal spin that panic is "the enemy". Y2K and infrastructure interconnection is the problem...the 1 percent of us that are preparing are NOT the problem....don't buy the propaganda.

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), March 29, 1999.

If the lights go out, I will sh*t my pants, because I have not prepared and will have to beg from door to door for food! Please help an idiot who was too blind to see what was coming! I thought it was going to be a 3 day storm! Just a bump in the road! I believed my Government! Oh, what a stupid jerk I was! Woe unto me!

DiEtEr PlEaSe HeLp Me!! I'm HunGRy!!!

-- Y2K Pro (Y2KPro2@641.com), March 29, 1999.

DIEteR WiLL HElp YoU NoT JACkaSS!!!!!! Why?????? HuH????? BECaUSE if yOu aRE heRE ON ThiS FOruM, YoU KNow enouGH AbouT WhaT MAY haPPeN tO HElp yOUrseLf!!!!!!!

DIEteR WiLL TAke jOY In stePInG oN The finGeRS OF "ha ha ha shamE on yoU" DGIs!!!!!!

"hELp mE Up, diETer"

suRe, DIetER WiLL HeLp yoU uP, pUT YouR FIngERs undER DIEteR'S fOot!!!!!

dietER WiLL PAniC And ruN INsaNeLY ABouT For thE SakE of thE POds tHat haVEN't absORBeD TheIr assIGNED HUmaNS YeT!!!!!! iT WiLL HeLp tHE ProCEss!!!!! SlEEp....SlEEp.....ahhhhh...... PEAcE!!!!!

GOod mORniNg!!!!!!

-- Dieter (questions@toask.com), March 29, 1999.

I don't care if YOU are prepared because you are not everyone. There will be a million people in Times Square. They will be representative of the majority of the population who either fail to understand there is a problem, refuse to believe there is one or are gonna party on the night no matter what. They will be there and if things fail it will be an interesting situation. Do not miss my point. From a pure sociological perspective, it is a fascinating situation to explore. How will people react? This is what I seek to understand and examine. I'm not interested in your own smug reclusive survival preparation. I'm interested in those who don't prepare.

Essentially I expect that we will show our heroic and social sides in times of crisis, but there will be turmoil as well. It will depend on how evolved each individual is in their social consciousness. Most of us are good and will work with each other to get through. If truly desparate we may all be animal. Throw food into a confined crowd of thousands of starving people and most of us will fight to get some. Y2K will not be that immediate in terms of pure human desparation even if it is the end of the world as we know it. The end of the world will take days or weeks as our complex society slowly fails. I sort of want to be there in the thick of it. It's gonna be such an incredible experience if it is bad. Like doind an all nighter last minute assignment at College with a couple of friends. At the time it seems like a drag but looking back it's like one of those treasured experiences that stands out.

Oh and Jeannie - your response was terrific. The sort of intelligent response I was hoping for. You can see the big picture. You can see beyond yourself.

-- Ben Herron (ben@jungle.com.au), March 30, 1999.

Jeannie,

I don't dispute the destruction. Just merely pointing out a good portion of the population will not panic either.

And the smart ones will be nowhere near NYC.

They'll most likely be celebrating the turn within local block parties, or with close family and friends, in and around their Y2K prepared neighborhoods. And because they took the time to become locally Y2K activated.

It's more than likely they'll be a volunteer back-up force for all the emergency response types as well. If they're smart.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 30, 1999.