# Are you prepared for people acting CRAZY when disaster strikes?



## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

Most of us have probably heard the story of the Staten Island mom who lost her two sons to flood waters. Now that the major media has moved on (likely because they sense the underlying craziness to this story) here are the details which are not getting much press coverage.

This family lived outside of the flood zone, higher up in elevation than those in the danger zone, meaning that the flood waters could not reach this lady's home. So what did she do? She packed up her two young sons, got into her vehicle and drove down hill to get onto a major route leading to a bridge to take her to Brooklyn. The problem is that she was leaving high ground to head towards a road down at sea level.

Unsurprisingly her vehicle got caught in the flood waters. Then her young boys were swept out of her arms. Did she jump into the hurricane ravaged flood waters to retrieve her two boys? No. What she did was go door to door in order to enlist the aid of strangers (not neighbors - this is now miles from her home) to go into the water to search for her boys. People who answered their doors refused to go swimming in hurricane swept ocean water.

Then she tried to break into someone's home and threw a flowerpot at the home. The man inside thought that this woman was a big black man trying to break into his home and so he didn't open his door to her. The next day in front of police and media she lashed out at him for refusing to help her find her sons. Now he's getting death threats.

My point: This tragedy is of this woman's own making. Horribly wrong decisions at almost every step of this tale. Leaving a safe zone above the flood zone to travel to, and through, a flood zone. Seeing the flood zone and deciding to continue to push through rather than driving back up hill and away from the danger of the flood zone. Not immediately jumping into the water to get her kids but instead deciding to go knocking on stranger's doors in the middle of a hurricane and expecting them to risk their own lives to rescue her boys. Then trying to break into homes for god knows what reason. Then blaming the homeowner whose house window she broke with a potted plant for killing her sons.

I think that this incident has many lessons for us here. We are obviously putting more thought into the disasters which might strike us than even professionals at FEMA could do on our behalf and probably 10,000x more thought than most people who are not into prepping. We can't say with certitude whether the stress of the event might make us crazy like this woman but the odds are good that most of us will remain level headed. The problem we're going to face is the crazy people all around us making bad decisions and acting irrationally and pulling us into their crazy drama.

Now how do you plan on dealing with crazy people who get in the way of your plans?


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

I think they answer this question quite well over in the firearms forum. :sssh:


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## AuroraHawk (Sep 12, 2012)

Too bad there isn't such a thing as "retroactive birth control" for those who are too stupid to be allowed to live and pass on their faulty genes.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

What if she wasn't acting crazy? Maybe she is certifiable nut case to begin with. I know people like this. 

This is what true mental illness could look like in a stressful situation. If I was in a small group of survivors and one of us started to act like this; it would be necessary to lock them up or tie them up until the sane people could asses the situation. Another option would be to let them go into a situation that could kill them, because without modern society they would have been dead years before. Just make sure they are not responsible for any other lives.


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## Indiana_Jones (Nov 15, 2011)

I think, unfortunately, this type of situation will be repeated over and over again every day in a very serious crisis in the USA. We now have several generations of totally dependent fools running around as normal contributors to our society. Many today would be completely out of their minds if their smartphone were to crash. A very sad situation.


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

I'm prepared for people who act crazy to come here and see a real crazy &%^&%%.Just hope they're prepared.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

I'm afraid if she threw a pot through my window in an attempt to break in, she would not have been talking about it on the news.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Indiana_Jones said:


> Many today would be completely out of their minds if their smartphone were to crash. A very sad situation.


My step-son is among them. 4 hours after we lost our power and internet connection to Sandy, he was moping around like a lost puppy. Told me I needed to run the generator to power up the router.  Sorry, not happening. He left first thing Tuesday morning to find a WiFi connection. Yeah, it'll be ugly.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

UncleJoe said:


> My step-son is among them. 4 hours after we lost our power and internet connection to Sandy, he was moping around like a lost puppy. Told me I needed to run the generator to power up the router.  Sorry, not happening. He left first thing Tuesday morning to find a WiFi connection. Yeah, it'll be ugly.


 He couldn't wait? After all, you do run it 3 hrs a day or so for the fridge/freezer(s), well pump, etc, right?


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

First to answer the question is yes I think so as reasonably prepared as limited funds can get me. up to and including using lethal force to stop someones crazy behavior from risking my life and those that I accept responsibility for. 

As for this lady's story I think it is full of holes. First what kind of mother DOESNT go into the drink immediately after her children. Every mother I know personally with the exception of a few hundred convicts would have been after them immediately. If she had and I somehow come to know if it I"d likely grab lights and rope and do my best to help her and maybe her children out. Yeah probably dumb but that s the way I"m put together I did't become a cop years ago to ride a power trip I actually want to help people. Not that the truth will ever be discovered but I think she was another homicidal mom and this was just the best opportunity she could think of to kill the kids and not get caught. And worst is she will likely succeed in getting away as there will be very little if any evidence left and nobody for weeks to look for it.


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## IlliniWarrior (Nov 30, 2010)

blame someone else .... take no responsibility for your actions ..... it's just becoming an all tooooooooo common theme around the US .... be as irresponsibile as you want, say what you like, be soooooo radical and off the wall that it staggers the mind ..... don't worry, the internet and some aspect of the crazed media will vindicate you .....

this all plays into today's prepping ....people don't want to prepare for absolutely anything in life ..... don't listen to anyone in authority .... someone else will fix it ..... your's is mine ..... violence is ok, it's only a video game ....


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

Yep, seen this happen.

Last Spring, an E5 tornado went through our area, the one that made Henryville, IN and other towns disappear. The neighbor's daughter knew this was coming and *DROVE INTO THE TORNADO PATH *to see if her adult kids were at home! When this monster tornado became visible to her, she left her car by the road and ran to a house to get inside, but noone was home. She hugged a tree in the front yard as it passed overhead, luckily, not hitting her.

She and the kids got together later, came over to find her Mom and Grandma who were sheltering in our basement with a granddaughter. Everyone was fine, but still crazy as a bedbug, of course, and scared out of their minds, spouting gibberish about the self-inflicted experience.

When Hurricane Ike paid us a visit a few years ago, the same gal was staying next door with her Mom. I asked if they needed to borrow our generator to run their fridge or freezer? No, they didn't care about that, but could I please charge their cell phones???? Yeah, their food spoiled....


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## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

This is why I am not worried about TEOTWAWKI. The majority of people are simply going to die. Those people are still sitting there a week after the store waiting for help to arrive. They are still waiting for someone else to take responsibility for their lives.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

you got a point kejmac perhaps the hordes coming my way from the city are a misconception based on what I would do if I was in their shoes. As it seems reasonable to go where food can be found or grown. But I continually forget that when polled most will answer where milk or eggs come from as "the store" they have no clue and as you said will likely sit there until it is too late for them to decide to try to do somthing for themselves even if they had a clue how to do it. And the proof IS right in front of our noses in teh aftermath of this storm. I notice lots of stories about in the thick where the hurricane actually hit. How are the otherwise un affected areas doing with those that did become refugees? Has the craziness started out there yet?


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## oldasrocks (Jun 30, 2012)

Interesting take on how some people answered this thread. Most are right on the money as people react in differant ways.

I think the differance in reaction is because of education, training and experiance. Common sense plays a major part too.

This poor lady had no idea of what to do and as any scared animal flight was her main instinct that took hold. I've seen this scenerio many times over the years in differant people. Stop, Assess, Plan, then React is beyond the reach of some.

The lesson we should all learn from this sad story is to train ourselves and our loved ones to keep them alive.


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

Big SUV, Probably nice house located safely above the flood zone, I think the DRAMA she wanted in her life backfired on her.:nuts:


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## sillymoo (Oct 30, 2011)

I can see my sister doing the same thing. I have actually watched her grow a rash on her face, yell at strangers incoherently, and run around in circles while flapping her arms like a chicken. And that was just because we missed a flight. Both her and my aunt jump into their cars while calling everyone they know on their cell phones and drive around when we get tornado warnings because they think they can outrun a tornado. Their lack of good judgement and ability to make their problems everyone's problems really affect the family dynamic. 

I have taken some of this into account for my preps, but I dread the day they invite all of their neighbors to my house because we have food. I'm taking steps to get that idea out of their heads, and extra food is the extent of their knowledge of my preps. It is nearly impossible to maintain OPSEC when family members see a locked door as a personal challenge!


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## mdprepper (Jan 22, 2010)

All of this has brought on such deep introspection. I am a "Reformed Sheeple". When 9/11/01 happened, I was very much like the crazy folks running in circles. My Hubby was 150 miles away. I had a 3 year old at home with me and a 10 year old at school. Hubby called me to ask what was going on, he had heard something on the radio but wasn't sure what was going on. I had been watching a Barney video and had no clue. I was shocked and appalled watching the NY coverage, then I heard about the Pentagon and PA. NY was "so far away" in my head it wasn't a worry to "my safety" PA and DC, were way too close for my comfort. I packed up my Son and my Niece that was here with me, then I went to 4 different schools to pick up my Daughter and all of my Nieces and my Nephew. I felt better to have the children with me, but "Now what do I do?" I had no plan, I had no clue if we were in danger. We live very close to a large military base, 20 minutes to Baltimore, 50 minutes to DC, 20 minutes to the PA line. Here I am with 6 kids in my van with out a plan of what to do next. Where do I go? Where is safe? What can I really do to protect them? That was a huge eye opener. 

I slowly lost my sheepleness (is that a word?). I realized that I never want to be that helpless or clueless ever again. I started making plans for different disasters. I started food storage plans. I started learning different skills. On and on the list goes. Am I "there" yet? Nope, I fear I will never be fully prepared. Am I further along then I was in 2001? Miles ahead. 

The biggest lesson for me was mind set. Make a plan, it may not be perfect but it is something. Be as prepared as you can be. Learn, learn and learn some more. Teach your family so they have the same peace of mind that you have.

Maybe, hopefully, Sandy will be what prompts folks to prepare. To change their mind set. To stop being sheeple.

Sorry for the ramble.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

mdprepper,

I really hope you are right, that Sandy has that effect. We need everyone prepared.


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

mdprepper said:


> Maybe, hopefully, Sandy will be what prompts folks to prepare. To change their mind set. To stop being sheeple.


I don't think Sandy will have that effect. People forget momentary pain and hardship. If this wasn't so then women would never have more than one child after experiencing the pain of childbirth and yet many sign up for having more children even with bad childbirth experiences behind them.

If someone doesn't have a future time orientation, is not inclined to spend resources today in order to minimize risk tomorrow, then having to live through a painful event will produce, I believe, only a momentary awareness which will begin diminishing as quickly as normality reasserts itself on the person's life.

There is a flipside though where you could be right and that is a long and sustained period of pain can leave impressions that modify behavior and can last a lifetime. The best example is the frugality of the many who suffered through the Great Depression. The lessons there were learned and lasted a lifetime because the lessons were repeated on a daily basis for years at a stretch. The pain level has to be a New Normal that colors your everyday life, like the Great Depression but not like a temporary disaster like Sandy.

The problem here is that a temporary disaster COULD get people on the right track and prepare them for a larger and longer lasting disaster scenario but there is nothing to keep them on the path of preparedness once the temporary disaster lifts. By the time that a great disaster arrives there will be fewer opportunities to reorient one's perspective and life path for one has to survive the great disaster in order to get to the point of changing one's ways and outlooks and if one is not prepared then the chances of surviving are decreased.

Which brings us back full circle, there has to be an internal drive that leads one to prepare even in the face of normality or once past the trauma of a temporary disaster and that attitude will help to better the odds of surviving a greater disaster.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

We had wildfires close to our house not long ago. While it's never a good thing to have to pack up & leave your home not knowing whether or not you'll ever see it again, there was no panic. Since the necessities were already in the fifth wheel, we simply packed up the sentimental stuff & left. We were able to supply the fire departments, all volunteer, with water, Gatorade, snacks, a generator & fuel. Hubby used our tractor to clear tracks around houses to protect theme from fire. Our truck has an extra 100 gallon tank that we used to keep the firefighting vehicles fueled up. Prepared people are able to not only take care of themselves but be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.


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