It amazes me to see the media portray those who are preparing for Y2K problems as people who panic and are generally to be feared. It is not the prepared, "survivalists" who will be causing trouble when food, water, and other life sustaining items become unavailable. Do our Leaders and Media not see the horror they are about to call down upon themselves? When citizens who face life threatening situations unprepared recognize and remember who lulled them into walking defenseless, unprepared and trusting into such looming peril they will react most violently. Why don't they fear the desperate, who have nothing to lose by violence? Survivalists do.

-- Ann Fisher (zyax55b@prodigy.com), July 28, 1999

Answers

Your question is logical Ann. These are not logical times, and our leaders are not logical nor reasonable people.

They are emotional.

They are about self-preservation and the consolidation of power.

The citizens who will ultimately suffer at the hand of being lulled into "walking defenselessness", will heed to the call of the politicians, leaders and owners who will shift responsibility to place blame on those who have prepared in advance.

They will not remember who lulled them to sleep. They will remember the spin campaign ALREADY underway to incite anger and hatred at survivallists and the prepared for "causing" the panics and the terrorism.

They will blame the "doomers" and Millenialists and those with "apocalyptic visions" for causing infrastructure failures to make their anti-government "fantasies" come to life.

And the masses will roar for revenge.

What Hitler and Pol Pot, and Stalin did to whip up the masses against "enemies of the state", will be nothing compared to what these bozos in power may do to ensconce themselves in power, and shield themselves from responsibility.

Mark my words.

-- INVAR (gundark@sw.net), July 29, 1999.

sad to say--bible seems to predict that in the end times, "good will be thought of as bad, and bad will be thought of as good." seems like it fits this crazy mixed up time in which we live. however, since i have digressed.....americans tend to be "short term" folks (e.g., short term economics)--rarely looking at long term implications of things. our leaders are made from the same cloth and their range of thinking typically extends to the end of their term or the next election. personally i think the people that are in power will just get out when it gets bad and i think the public will put the blame on the wrong person or stew about things for a day or so then forget! look at all the amazing quotes that have been used from the 20s and 30s and the famous names attached to them. do you think those folks suffered for their errors or misleading the public? i wonder. people are sheep (sheep are very dumb and vulnerable) and that is why they need good, honest, and intelligent shepherds. problem is we have wolves watching the sheep and the shepherds are taunted as being politically incorrect. yadayadayada

-- appl (applpie@aol.com), July 29, 1999.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....

The "sheeple" will DEMAND retribution, *IF* things get really bad. The scope of that retribution will depend DIRECTLY on how bad it gets. The two groups that will be singled out are the "hoarders" and the "programmers".

"KILL THE HOARDERS! IF IT WEREN'T FOR *THEM*, WE COULD GET FOOD!!!" and "KILL THE PROGRAMMERS! IF IT WEREN'T FOR *THEM*, WE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS MESS TO BEGIN WITH!!!"

I have GUNS and ammo. Just got another 1000 rds yesterday. Have 1000 rds in the pipeline (Sept. delivery, "specialty" ammo), and will get at least another 1000 rds of "regular" as well. Have 300 shotshells, will get another 700. And two more guns. (Another Mini-14/AR-15 and a shotgun).

Get as well armed as you can. Quickly. (I had a person with whom I correspond by email tell me that he had PROOF that the gov't would suspend ammunition sales on Oct 1st. Then he went on 2 weeks vacation. When he gets back, I'm gonna want to see that PROOF. But just in case.... well, you know....)

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), July 29, 1999.

It is my opinion that the threat to "The American Way of Life" is just too much. Noboby wants to give up the codependent lifestyle we have created. Personal responsibility is gone - period. To acknowledge our error is to threaten our way of life. The emotional response is not grounded in reality. The answer is a groundswell of support for the 13-month year. Simple.

-- Tim Castleman (aztc@earthlink.net), July 29, 1999.

mohawked ex-yuppies will steal your food and rape your ass for not trying harder to to convince the then "pollys" that y2k was real.got buckshot?

-- apokoliptik (apokoliptik@large.com), July 30, 1999.