Yes, the homeless and the vagrant do exist in Japan. Yes, Japan has a serious problem with illegal aliens (many imported laborers from the Middle East and from Southeast Asia with no means of going home). No, Japan is not as uniform as most people think. There are some serious class divisions and ethnic tensions even in Japan (for example, burakumin and Japanese citizens of Korean descent). The depth of discrimination against such people has no analogue in the American context unless you are thinking of the KKK. There are some very nasty things in Japan like anywhere else.

But these objections you raise are beside the point. I'm not saying we should be like Japan in all ways. But Japan just provides an example of cooperation during times of crisis. The article in the first post of this thread is a good example of how such cooperation is possible at the community level in the United States. Why must we surrender to the bad elements of our culture, when we can strive to change it? I'm not asking anyone to change the world, but I'm just asking my readers to start with themselves. There are some preppers with a very selfish, almost paranoid "me against them" mentality. As likeminded hobbyists, the first thing we can do is help others realize they're not in danger of being impaled by their neighbors. ETS has mostly very level-headed people, but some of the other forum I belong to -- well, I guess that's where work can be done.

I think hikermor, who replied in an earlier post to the thread, is realistic in his expectations. In fact, I agree with him. But we can at least try to leave a place better than we found it, even if only in small, individual ways.

Now, I'll note you seem to think diversity means lack of cooperation, and uniformity means cooperation. If so, I fear you have underestimated our human capacity to be jerks. It wouldn't be too hard to find a relatively uniform society where people are self-centered, selfish, uncaring, etc. Self-centeredness didn't develop in the US because of immigration or cultural diversity, if so, we would have had a long history of it. It came as a result of our capitalist culture, which is responsible for all forms of entertainment that appeals to our baser impulses. On the other hand, we can also underestimate human generosity in a diverse society hooked on reality shows and young actresses acting like harlots on coke. Sometimes a helping hand will reach across barriers of race, language, culture, etc., without expectations of acknowledgement or reward. Welcome to the human race!

DB