'People are secretly preparing...
asked in the TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) Q&A Forum
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Until Saturday I was concerned that people are still not taking Y2K serious and are not preparing for it. Then this week I saw some change. Two different TV Stations ran story's on Y2K in the last couple weeks. Channel 8 and Channel 4 in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
This weekend had dinner at the in-laws. Future sis-in law was over. Talked about all kinds of stuff. Then talk goes to her father and what he has been up too. She mentions that he is digging a well. In-laws ask why..? She shakes her head... Dunno. Wife and I are looking at each other with raised eyebrows.. Then she talks about her sister. Mentions that she went over to her house and she had tons of Macaroni and Cheese and other items. TONS of it. When asked she mentioned this computer thingy. Hadn't she heard that people should prepare. Everyone around the table is laughing. Crazy folks...
In-laws are serious DWGI. We have always handled life before. A little computer bug sure is not going to hurt us... lol... A computer problem messing with our life's...??? Nawwww.....
Anyway... point of this message is...
I think people are secretly and silently preparing. More than we know... It's going around... I had questions from nurses, cleaning guys and the maintenance man in the last week. They are getting it... The herd is moving... It's getting close to high noon....
We might be able to avert a panic over the long run... Ya think...???
Like Diane says... SHIFT happens...
-- STFrancis (STFrancis@heaven.com), February 22, 1999
Answers
Just one more sign. I live in a little town in southern PA. The local True Value has unexpectedly increased their inventory of lamps, wicks and oil....by 4 fold at least! They also just ran a story in the local paper about the severe shortage of generators. Washington Post article...DC is toast! There is NO WAY they're going to be ready according to GAO. Mainstream stuff. Any bets on a summer panic?
-- (rick@ina.com), February 22, 1999.
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I don't think there is going to be any panic before this fall or early winter. But more and more people are preparing. I've learned about five other local families in the last month. Some local churches are preparing. And the main branch of a local bank has admitted that they are installing an industrial size generator so they can stay open if the power goes out. That really surprised me. I didn't think any local businesses took it very seriously. One very rural county near me is being inundated with folks buying land to prepare for Y2K. At least one has buried (2) 1,000 gallon tanks of propane. This is a very conservative area. A LOT of folks are preparing, but they are just not talking about it.
-- Debra (people@preparing.com), February 22, 1999.
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I have no doubt that many in my area (northern NJ) are preparing. Given the DGI/DWGI surface mentality here, nobody's going to prepare openly for either fear of ridicule or the fact that they don't want uninvited guests WTSHTF. I believe that a sizeable percentage of the population is preparing, maybe as much as 30%. Here's one reason I think so.
A friend of mine is a meter reader for our gas company, and he goes into lots of peoples basements. Let's just say that he has seen some interesting things. Some of it right out in the open, but most of it under wraps. He doesn't really have time to look around, but sometimes its right out there, water barrels, storage food, pallets of freeze-dried foods, oil lamps, the whole enchilada. He's also noticed that lots of the homeowners now no longer just let him in and let him go down to read the meter alone, but 'escort' him.
I think that if even half of the people are somewhat prepared for January, there won't be any panic for the most part. From what I've seen and heard, I think this is the case.
-- scooter (hope@springs.eternal), February 22, 1999.
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I'm leaning towards that 30% figure, too. Here's a poll of Texans:
austin360.com
Out of 1001 surveyed, 56% (560) claim extensive knowledge of the problem. Of those, 49% (~275) plan to do SOME preparation. The numbers in the poll are confusing, but parlay that 27% of the respondees ADMITTED that some sort of preparation is in order.
And if 27% are preparing, hopefully at least half are preparing for other DGIs.. buying more than they need for just themselves. I hope.
-- Lisa (lisa@work.today), February 22, 1999.
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Scooter - I can identify with the basement secrecy. LOL. It is far more socially acceptable than a few months ago to be admitting to taking Y2K seriously. Still, if there isn't enough food, cash, generators, etc. to handle any real level of preparation, and if more people are getting a jump on preparing, then a panic could come alot sooner. These days, I don't see a bulk package of TP in someone's shopping cart without grinning.
-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), February 22, 1999.
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Hardware lady mentioned y2k to me and she, and others at the store are preparing, wifes boss is preparing her nurse friend is preparing others are talking about it and one said, "I know cabins I can raid!" I said, "Then you had better have plenty of ammo!"
Most people I run into don't want to make a lot of noise about it. They just smile and say, "I know."
-- Mark Hillyard (foster@inreach.com), February 22, 1999.
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Hopefully we'll start seeing more preparation occur at the request of city leaders (see Portland Prepares for Y2K). I sent this link to the Y2K coordinator in my small town in order to prod him along. We all desperately need this type of local Y2K leadership since we're not getting it at a national level.
Maybe the recent Washintion Post article about D.C. and this piece will start a new trend.
-- Codejockey (codejockey@geek.com), February 22, 1999.
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Local paper had a Y2K article last week: "Maybe you aren't preparing-- but your neighbors are!" First prep story I've seen that doesn't portray people as kooks. They had whole-grain recipes in the food section. A local hardware store got 39000 pounds wheat in a shipment last month, sold it all in two days. A couple weeks ago a radio host was making fun of Y2K, and every caller was a GI who reeled off more facts (not that it swayed him). Another hardware store had a generator ad in Sunday paper--"Why do you need a generator? Year 2000..." And the guy at the camping store said water filters were flying off the shelves due to Y2K people.
Now if 30% of families prepare, and they all get enough to share with two other families...
-- Shimrod (shimrod@lycosmail.com), February 22, 1999.
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I suspect that panic, when it occurs, will be very sudden and will be triggered by a shortage of some one key commodity. We've seen shortages of Aladdin lamps, then generators, then Dietz lamps, and probably Mossberg shotguns, but none of them make a difference to the average guy. Once something like toilet paper becomes in short supply, that's it.
-- Ned (entaylor@cloudnet.com), February 22, 1999.
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I know this is a radical thought, but, WHAT IF there is no panic?
Just suppose the dial keeps getting turned up slowly, and through word-of-mouth fueled by some GI neighborhood and community preparations (like Portland showing the way), people and groups keep on quietly preparing. Suppose this just keeps on rippling?
Unless there is a “large” trigger event, it could happen.
We just might get the country ready, without falling off the cliff. At least on the prep side of the Y2K equation. Some of the heavy metal and international side is still a dicey chipped omelette, IMHO.
Stranger things have happened.
Diane
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), February 22, 1999.
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