Time Magazine has a great article describing our "National Culture of Unpreparedness." Explains things quite nicely.

Craig

Thanks for the heads up. I'll check that out.

Floods, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Wildfires, Earthquakes ... Why We Don't Prepare
That's the print link so it's much cleaner to read.

And it's very interesting.
J

There were some very, VERY interesting statements in that article. And some numbers that I would like sources on.

The biggest giggle I got out of it was the 16% that was "very prepared"- I wonder if the poll gave parameters, or if the average person on the street was left to thier own definitions.

Searching around I found the DHS report they referred to.
DHS Report Summary
DHS Report Details (pdf)

Also interesting stuff. And scary in a lot of ways. Holy moly, we're a nation of big dumb animals. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

J

At the same time, I'm guessing we aren't the only nation in self-denial on preparedness.

No, it's human nature. You have to ignore the remote possibilities, or you start to isolate yourself from others. Humans are a social species- even a few months in solitary can have major psychological effects. And when you fear everyone, you're basically (a) putting your self into a solitary condition, and (b) reenforcing the native paranoia that comes from having evolved from a four foot tall primate that ate a smaller number of species than it was eaten by.

Basically, you make yourself crazy. A lot of us probably are borderline, either to paranoid, or to obsessive-compulsive.

Of course it's human nature. My comment was more than a bit tongue-in-cheek.

And I consider myself neither paranoid nor OC. I like to think that most of us are pragmatic. Of course, it's not paranoia when they are out to get you. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

You're quite welcome.

Here in Florida they are doing PSA's on TV that have the taped calls from people frantic in trying to get help during (insert any of the recent past hurricane names here). You hear these people calling and begging for help. "If you don't send someone.....we'll die...." " I'm sorry sir but we can not respond because of the storm." *silence*

Hopefully it will move at least a few people to do some preparation. Even if it is only to decide to drive far away early on.

I'll go with OC, but I have the check with the voices in my head first.

They know best.

I don't know, man- how many of us consider ourselves naked without a flashlight, pocketknife/multitool/SAK, and a firestarter of some type? How many of us ALWAYS check a room for exits the first time we enter it. How many of us carry a compass in the city, or water purification tablets?

We don't think these are abnormal behaviors. But is not sanity the delusion that most people suffer from? You know, the people we think are nuts becuase they go outside improperly dressed. I mean, they don't even have a single knife on them, much less three or four- don't they know that children might see them? Have they no shame?

But always remember that 911 is government sponsered dial-a-prayer.

My beef with that article is that is again lays the blame at the FEDERAL government. What about the INDIVIDUAL? The feds have nothing to do with personal survival in a natural disaster. At best the state government should be watching, more appropriately it should be a local issue since natural distasters are usually highly regionally specific.

I also like how they single out the US for this. I'd LOVE to see what Europeans or the Japanese stockpile. If a New Orleans level event happened to Singapore, Hong Kong, or London, I suspect the death toll would be similar, probably MUCH higher.

Well most people see preparness and disaster relief as responsibility of goverment. So it's natural for those people to blame the goverment when things go wrong.

i agrea that people should have some responsibility too. The US is going a reasonable job at trying to educate and get people involved in to emergency preparness and stuff. Much more than mine goverment is doing. Mine goverment ( holland ) is doing almost nothing to educate people about emergency preparness. One of the reasons is not to scare people too much. Personally i think ignorance would be more dangerous... Instead they invest huge amount of money to prevent things. So the chance people need emergency equipment and skills would be considerable less.

Due to the very diffrent methode of orginasation, you really can't just compare one country's system with the other.

It's like a fire department that won't respond to fires because there's a fire, and fires are dangerous. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Then why the heck do they exist.

Talk about the ultimate Catch-22.

Same at my former school. Nobody knew I carried a FAK and would actually HELP PEOPLE that were injured in stead of laughing at them.
Then a teacher passed out drunk in the class. Then they knew...... <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

"My beef with that article is that is again lays the blame at the FEDERAL government."

I must admit that I read the article very quickly, but that wasn't the impression that I received. The federal government used to be the people, but it hasn't been for a long time. Now our governments (federal and local) are made up of people whose sole interests are in getting re-elected and not making decisions that will irritate voters. Period. They're not going to do anything unless a majority of their voters insist. And no one is going to insist.

I don't know about the rest of the world, but Americans are totally unrealistic as a group. We've been trained that way. Take a really, REALLY good look at the nation's pacifier: television. Thinking isn't even an issue. All synthetic problems are solved within 30 minutes or an hour (minus commmercials). We're a nation of armchair athletes with a beer in one hand and the remote in the other. Soap operas (or whatever they're called today) are immensely popular. Un-reality shows are ridiculous. Every single "real" issue is sugar-coated, so as to be palatable to the masses.

So, why does anyone expect the Average American to do anything? They haven't had to, so far. The reasons listed in the article as to why they don't are totally accurate, IMO.

Americans have been trained to be ignorant, lazy, ineffective morons for the last 100+ years. Government learned back in the days of the Industrial Revolution that an ignorant populace was a far more easily manipulated populace. Do you really think that any govenment entity, anywhere on the scale, really gives two cents if their constituents survive ANY disaster?

(My mother repeatedly told me that snorthing in derision isn't ladylike. That, among other instruction, just never seemed to "take". <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Sue

I had something like that happen once. No one was hurt, but the two lane road had suddenly turned into one lane, so someone who can direct traffic (too many years as a flagger in highschool) was useful. My coworker actually had the audacity to yell at me becuase it made us late getting back to the office, and he was going to have to file paperwork late. I told him to go on without me, but he wasn't going to leave me behind becuase he was afraid the boss would yell at him.

I think that was the day my hope for humanity started to die.

But that's just it- how can it be a decision? It should be built it, as instinct. We're frippin pack animals! Sure, we can outthink most problems, but without also being able to outnumber them, most of them would have eaten our ancesestors. All of them.

*sighs*

Oh, and I'd rather be horizontal. You draw less fire that way. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

The reason so many people don't prepare can be summed up by something my first girlfriend in college said. Don't mean to offend anyone by talking about something personal, but here goes...

Our relationship quickly developed into a sexual one. First time for either of us. Early on, I suggested that she consider some form of birth control, as I was doing my part. She said, "I think that would make it too real..."

Most people IMHO don't want to think about preparing because "that would make it too real." As Doug mentions in "Prepared to Survive", a lot of people think it will always happen to the other guy. Chances are, at least once in our lives, we will be "the other guy".

My girlfriend chose not to use birth control while I continued to. When she got pregnant, she found out how "real" things could get.

Always assume you'll be the other guy...plan for that, and you'll be a lot better off.

I'll not soon forget what one young woman in NYC said right after that massive power outage: "Well, if we prepare for it to happen again, it's like we're admitting that it will happen again", or something very similar to that.

Stupid is as stupid does... or doesn't...

Sue

It won't happen to me

It's the Government's job to help me.

It's the "trained professional"'s job to help me.

The first is simple human nature, deny non-urgent risks. If it won't affect me today and it won't affect me tomorrrow, why worry about it, I have enough to worry about as it is.

The second and third are products of our more urban-centered attitudes. They are also a product of education. We have been "educated" that it is the government's job, via it's "trained professionals" to come to our rescue intimes of need..

We need to face facts, that's not the way the (U.S.) governemtal system is supposed to work. FEMA does not and can not ride into town on white horses to rescue us from our problems. They are supposed to respond to a State's call for assistance.... Well, I'm probably preaching to ther choir....

I need to get a soapbox.