I posted about 11 replies to various posts in this thread, all of which would have forced me into the untenable situation of having to ban myself for profanity, vulgarity, bad manners and excessive bile.

Now that I've cooled off a bit, I'll summarize in more neutral tones some of my perspective on the comments that this thread has generated:

1. If you don't stop for legal authorities in a life-threatening emergency, you are an idiot.

2. If you live in a fantasy "mad max" world and you see everything as a threat, you're not going to be very useful to anyone in a real emergency.

3. The correct protocol to follow for those who want to join you as you escape was developed by one Deamont Love during hurricane Katrina. See also some guy named Luke who has some perspective on the matter.

If you come expecting a battle, you'll get one. There's no looting in Japan. There's no riots. Even in Haiti, there was some unrest, but cooler heads prevailed.