# what would happen



## guyfour (Oct 15, 2008)

What does everyone envision happening as far as social chaos if the economy were to collapse?


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## ldmaster (Oct 10, 2008)

Mad scramble for food, it doesn't do any good to get money if you can't eat. I envision a lot of confiscation for redistribution.


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## Freedom (Oct 15, 2008)

After about two days of not being able to go to the store to get stuff,FOOD RIOTS!


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## Denny (Oct 14, 2008)

I'm not allowed to talk about religion or politics, so you all can just be amused by these smilies...


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

Instant raid on food and fuel. Then it's all depends on the worth of currency and resupply of food and fuel. Government has reserves of both supposedly.


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## EGoldstein (Oct 17, 2008)

I would say that if the grocery stores know what is good for them they have a lockdown plan for if something like that happens already therefore it may be rather hard to do a "food rush". Water may go out because people will be filling their bathtubs and other things to store it.


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## Copacetic (Oct 18, 2008)

nine said:


> What does everyone envision happening as far as social chaos if the economy were to collapse?


New here...but years ago when I was but a weee lad, I worked at Wally-World as a Sporting Goods Dept. Manager. We had a bad ice storm and trucks were down for a few days. Power was out in 10% or so of the homes and I saw first hand the dependence of our society on stores. Camp fuels, food, batteries, candles, bottled water, and many other items were gone. The trucks were only down for a few days and the shelves were emptied on the first morning. Not just in our store, but community wide. Just a small example of a situation that is much less severe than the one posed on this thread. Just my two cents.


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## wildman800 (Oct 17, 2008)

There are only 3 days of food in any American city at any given time. 

"Letters of Credit" are being issued by banks but are NOT being accepted by other banks. 

This means overseas transactions are not occurring. Thousands of ships are at anchor, worldwide, waiting for orders to go load cargoes that are waiting on the docks for them to pick up.

Goods are still being purchased in this country and those stocks are being replaced from central warehouses. The warehouses are NOT being restocked because goods are not being loaded onto ships overseas. Empty store shelves are going to start being noticed soon and then "panic buying" MAY start.

Now is the time to top off your supplies as you best can! Now is the time to conserve everything that you have in ALL categories! Now is the time to do the research and develope food and medicinal production via planned gardens/herbal plants starting in the spring. 

I'm already removing a tree and kid's jungle gym to provide maximum gardening space. If needed by this spring, I'll be planting/turning my backyard into a garden. Planting herbal plants in pots around my home. Building a chicken coop for 20 laying hens and a rabbit hutch for "Hoover Hogs" to supplement any rations that I'll be able to find/be issued.

Remember how surprised you are when you look at some gizmo in a store, and actually see the words, "Made in USA", written on the package.

Yes Virginia,,,it's going to be a very slim Christmas Season this year!!!!!!


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## Lake Lady (Oct 18, 2008)

The shelves would empty fast and people would want what you have.

I have been buying and prepping for quite a while now and know that if something were to happen tomorrow, my family and I would be able to survive very well for the next 6-8 months. 

I have already got the seeds for next years garden. This year was my first garden attempt and I learned a lot from it. I made plenty of mistakes but felt it was better to make them while I wasn't hungry than to make them when I was.

I took up canning this year so that I would know how when the time comes. I have invested in a lot in canning supplies so that when things go bad I will already have them on hand.

I have tried to get my friends to learn and prep now, but unfortunatley they just think I'm a kook. I also know that I should keep my mouth shut so they don't arrive on my door step when things get ugly, but I just can't, in good conscience, not say anything. My DH says that the only thing anyone will get from us is lead poisoning.............we'll see.

I've got some things for first aid, but will continue buying for that in the next few days.

It takes time, so for those that haven't started, get busy!! 

Pretty good for a city girl, huh 

(where's the spell check?)


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## Jerseyzuks (Oct 13, 2008)

Years ago, I worked in a radio shack in Miami.

A few days before a hurricane was supposed to hit, our district office dropped off tons of batteries and flashlights (think about how many batteries are normally in a radio shack, and we were stocking about 10x normal levels)

The day before the hurricane was supposed to hit, we all arrived at the store early. About an hour before the store opened, there was a line with about 100 people in it. 

To prevent mass chaos, we only let 5 people in at a time, and we would lock the door as soon as they came in. I remember one guy dropping about $1000 buying cases of batteries. Within a few hours, we were completely sold out of batteries, flashlights, and battery operated radios.

As soon as we went outside and announced that we were sold out of batteries, the guy who had purchased $1000 worth of batteries an hour before announced that he was selling batteries, $20 a brick pack (he just paid $8)... he sold out within minutes, and made a hefty profit.


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## coinguy (Oct 13, 2008)

nine said:


> What does everyone envision happening as far as social chaos if the economy were to collapse?


I've seen shelves in the store cleaned out in short order. I've been in line waiting for rationed gas. I was in the hospital recovering from being blown up when it was surrounded by angry gangs 'demanding justice' for Rodney King. 
And I think all of these experiences will pale in comparison.

Most of the uninformed expect that 'the gov't' will take care of them. They expect 'the gov't' to 'do something' anytime they see something they think unfair. Look at New Orleans if you don't think they will just expect help. Hungry people turn very angry very fast.

The city I live in has ordinances in place that would restrict people from being able to leave their homes and take a gun with you in a declared emergency. With the tourist population usually from 2 to 10% of the local population, we would have that many more to feed. Of course, tourism SHOULD curtail before the situation reaches critical, but who knows?

There are already food riots going on in some places around the world. Except that our gun and precious metal business is WAY up, most business here is way down. It could turn ugly pretty quick.

For me, I plan on locking down. Many think it better to head for the hills, but I think being mobile would severely limit my options. I no longer have a retreat to head to. Too many moved to the area and brought their city ways and destroyed my totally rural retreat area. Lock down and watch carefully. Don't hint that you may have stores of supplies. Don't let your kids talk about it, if there is still school. I determined some time back that the best place to hide is out in plain sight, where you won't be noticed.

G


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

We had a very, very slight chance of a Hurricane hitting us. We live about 3 hours from the Coast and people went crazy. Grocery store was wiped out, gas runs, etc. I would hate to see what would happen if something really big happened. Complete raids on food and fuel.


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## Copacetic (Oct 18, 2008)

The biggest issues in a colapse would be ignorance, fear, and the fact that many would begin to miss their 'comforts' very quickly. Never underestimate the determination of a hungry parent with hungry children. I have been taught to prepare for events be they large or small my entire life. I have also been taught to share as well. These two may not be compatible when the bad stuff comes. We, as a family, do not advertise our preparedness to our community. I fear the day that someone shows at my door with a family and requests aid. I know that I will help and fear the waterfall of new refugees in the next few days. I can see that things would start fairly slowly. We have been conditioned in the U.S. to look to Uncle Sam for our salvation in times of need. People will deplete the government and charities early on. If the colapse is widespread, many will expect their way of life to return in a few weeks tops. Again, conditioning. We watch movies and see problem, conflict, and resolution for the worst situations imaginable all happen in 1 1/2 hours. People expect that in real life. When this does not happen and the bad stuff is long-term, that is when the gloves will come off. That is when it will be the knock on the door from a hungry neighbor is replaced with theft or worse. I can and will defend my family, but I would prefer to share. I do not believe I could turn away a hungry family. Mistake...possibly. I believe that many comforts will be missed by the average person and all of this will take its toll on people that are 'entitled' to their assumed lifestyle. Remove the government and charities from the mix and you have something I care not see. If I were someone that had not prepared and had a hungry family...what would I do? I will try to keep that in mind. I will hush now, sorry for the novel.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

nine said:


> What does everyone envision happening as far as social chaos if the economy were to collapse?


I think that some movies have really done a good job of describing what the "worst of the worst" that can happen. Combine what was put onto big screen (post apocalyptic style movies) with the reality of what happened in the US southern states during hurricane season, in California during an earthquake, in British Columbia during the last fire-storm, in Africa during their drought, in the Asian countries during that last Tsunami and you will see what people will be willing to do to survive - ANYTHING!!!

The mini - level of social chaos is a localized problem - where the locals do what they can to survive a problem, but, if they travel far enough away, the problems are left behind.

The small - level of social chaos is something that reaches further than what a family can drive away from on a tank or two of gas.

A medium - level of social chaos is something that affects a region the size of a small country (or possibly half of the US main-land)

A large - level of social chaos is something that affects a large country

finally

The ultimate level of social chaos is something that would affect an entire continent. This could expand to affecting the whole world (think asteroid hit).

As a survivalist (term given to people like me from people who think that the government will take care of them) is someone who plans to live in the face of mini to small levels of social chaos. Anything beyond that, and we are at the mercy of the controllers (government, military, etc) restricting where we can go, what we can do, what we can say, what we can write, etc.

The USA is in a level of "small chaos" with the hurricanes and the restrictions that are being imposed on its citizens - and - partially still in a level of large chaos imposed on the US citizens since Sept 11 NewYork. Until the US government relinquishes their hold on the law-abiding citizens and repeals the laws imposed on travel, etc - they are all bound by the rules of "large social chaos". It might feel fine after this many years, but, tell me, in your heart, do you feel that it is right for the way that the government is controlling what you see on TV (news), where you go (Cuba), what you buy (import rules and taxes), etc.

Sorry for the book - but - what I see from world news that cannot be controlled by our local governments - we are already in a state of chaos.


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