End Of The World As We Know It

I’ve been doing a little research on doomsday prophesies, so that the apocalyptic scenes in Shadow People are relatable to actual modern beliefs and legends, no matter how far out they seem.  Yesterday, trawling through television channels, I came across a show called Doomsday Preppers.  It looked relevant to my project, and an omnibus of the series was airing, so, ready to have a good laugh at some nutcases, I armed myself with things I really shouldn’t be eating, and settled myself in for the duration.

 

I didn’t find much to laugh at to be honest.  Some of the things that they were doing to prepare for what they call WTSHTF – when the *@/# hits the fan – do seem way over the top, but a lot of their beliefs in things that really could happen are perfectly understandable.

 

These people are preparing for the collapse of society brought about by economic collapse, natural disaster, or war, amongst other possible scenarios.  They are stockpiling huge amounts of food, water, fuel and some pretty serious weaponry.  Most of them have picked up impressive new skills, and seem to be having a ball with their plans.  There are clubs, and get togethers.  It’s taken over their lives.  Even if nothing happens, they have much more interesting hobbies than gardening and scrapbooking.  In the cities, people are preparing their “bug out bags”.  These are satchels filled with what they think they will need when they walk out of town, never to return.  One lady has food, knives, water, guns, and a startling quantity of condoms.  I’m wondering if she thinks that the stress of the world as we know it coming to an end, will just lead to a massive amount of bonking.

 

Another guy is preparing for an electrical grid failure after a direct hit from an electromagnetic flare from the sun.  This seems reasonable enough to me.  NASA has predicted huge solar storms for 2013, and given that this has actually happened before in the days of the telegraph, there is no reason to think that it won’t happen again.  In 1859, an EMF known as the Carrington Event, zapped the earth with such force that it wiped out worldwide communication, shocking unsuspecting telegraph operators, and setting telegraph paper and pylons on fire.  Scientists predict that if that happened today, it would take up to a year to repair the power grid in the United States, which will be a pretty apocalyptic thing to happen.

 

This man also pointed out that modern day planes, trains, cars and trucks need electrical computer systems to operate.  An EMF would apparently fry all of these systems, planes would fall out of the sky, and modern day cars and trucks would be immobile.  Power is needed to pump fuel, or draw cash from banks.  Food in any city will run out in three days.  Frozen goods would rot in freezers, and with no trucks being able to haul in any more to eat, medicines, or anything else, the millions of people concentrated in these places would be in trouble. 

 

Conspiracy theories abound, about secret services that want to “get” these preppers, which also sound silly on the surface.  I won’t naysay them though.  Too many conspiracy theories have turned out to be true.  Regardless of these though, it’s illogical to think that any government in the world will be able to help everyone in an event of such magnitude.  There will be panic and violence.

 

If these things hadn’t actually happened here, I would probably have had a chuckle.  Pre Zimbabwe meltdown, I firmly believed that no matter what happened, those in charge would sort it out.  But sometimes disasters are just too big for any big brother to deal with, so, horrible as it sounds, these guys might be on to something.  Let’s hope they’re wrong.

 

Till next time friends. xxx