Survival switch

**panch0** · 09-12-2009, 12:43 AM

Let me start out by giving a small example. I have seen people who see a rat or snake and freeze. I see others who respond with the means to dispose of the threat. People are hard wired different. During huricane Katrina some people just sit idle and wait, some panic, and some do what they can to survive and stay calm. Some people helped others and some murdered, robbed and raped. When situations like that come about are all people able to or learn to switch into a controlled survival mode? I hope I am making sense here. Are all people able to grasp the situation or are some destined to become the foul people we saw during hurricane Katrina?

**Mountain Man** · 09-12-2009, 01:29 AM

I think preparing and thinking ahead will work for most people but I think people who are "off in their own land" will be much harder to convince or for them to realize/get a grip just by the type of people they are. I also know some people like this in day-to-day life but when it comes to a serious situation they can pull it together... it's going to very person to person.

**Ponce** · 09-12-2009, 03:32 AM

I leave the rat alone but try to cach the snake....

Katrina......they din't have water to drink but they had hundred of gallons of clean water dropping from the roof.

As always, is not what you have but what you do with what you have.

**Pal334** · 09-12-2009, 05:35 AM

At the risk of being politicaly incorrect. Generally the people that actually are gainfully employed (does not matter the occupation) grasp a changing sitiation and slowly adapt to it. THey have varying degrees of success, but do generally evolve. In the New Orleans situation, there were alot of folks who were multi generational unemployed and on public assistance. They were used to being cared for by the political system that catered to them for their votes. THese were many of the folks (not all) that we saw on roof tops, pushing floats in the flood with cases of beer. After several generations on public assistance they had and still have no desire to care for theirselves.

**crashdive123** · 09-12-2009, 06:04 AM

I believe that this relates somewhat to another thread that Rick started "Government's Ability To Respond" and the post that Sarky made in it, as well as Pal's post above. When people become accustomed to depending on others for their well being, safety and security - I believe that they lose, in most cases, the ability to flip that switch - whereas people that are accustomed to providing for their own well being, safety and security find it much easier, in most cases to flip that switch. Of course their are exceptions - just how I see it.

**nell67** · 09-12-2009, 06:28 AM

Originally Posted by Ponce

I leave the rat alone but try to cach the snake....

Katrina......they din't have water to drink but they had hundred of gallons of clean water dropping from the roof.

As always, is not what you have but what you do with what you have.

Clean water dropping from the roof?? I guess birds don't fly over and leave a mess in N.O?? THat water still needed treatment to drink/use. Alot of people still have no idea how to do that!

**Rick** · 09-12-2009, 08:00 AM

I think a natural disaster is much like a magnifying lens. Whatever type of person you are is intensified. Remember that all of us operate within our comfort zone so asking a good person to become a rapist is just about as impossible as asking a rapist to become a good person. It's not who they are and not what they are accustomed to. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of people are good folks.

**wareagle69** · 09-12-2009, 08:06 AM

i have seen time and time again in training some folks excel why? well because it ain't real its just traiining but as soon as the real time scenario hits they freeze up, now some of them you can jolt out of it others not so much, then there are the ordinary run of the mill never done nothin exceptional in his life fella that becomes the savoir of us all, its how you are hard wired, hard to change that except thru constant exposure, but isn't that true of anything in life?

**Pal334** · 09-12-2009, 01:57 PM

WE,, you may be on to something there. No offense to anyone from CA. THis person does not seem to have been in line when "hardwiring" was done.

http://www.acetj.com/videos/player.php?mediaID=3006

**Ken** · 09-12-2009, 02:06 PM

When we lost power during the last big storm we had, my biggest problem was that someone put the garlic press in the wrong draw in the kitchen the last time they used it. That sent me close to the edge, because I couldn't find it for the life of me. But I was able to calm down and improvise.

**Ole WV Coot** · 09-12-2009, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by Pal334

At the risk of being politicaly incorrect. Generally the people that actually are gainfully employed (does not matter the occupation) grasp a changing sitiation and slowly adapt to it. THey have varying degrees of success, but do generally evolve. In the New Orleans situation, there were alot of folks who were multi generational unemployed and on public assistance. They were used to being cared for by the political system that catered to them for their votes. THese were many of the folks (not all) that we saw on roof tops, pushing floats in the flood with cases of beer. After several generations on public assistance they had and still have no desire to care for theirselves.

I can only go by personal experience and a disaster always brings out the best and worst in people. To put it plain the good people don't stand a chance. Love thy neighbor goes out the window and the opportunity to steal or destroy what you're too lazy to work for moves way up the ladder. In '68 in DC the first places hit were pawn shops & liquor stores. Cops were ordered to leave them alone so they branched out to all businesses. I watched people break store windows, strip and try on clothes to make sure they stole the right size. The problems I had "getting out of Dodge" I handled myself, sure no help. Sandbagged a 50 on the capitol steps & put buses around the block touching as an extra wall around the White House but a co-worker got messed up with a brick in his face and I made it across the bridge to VA where an army of state troopers kept them out of VA and profiling was the order of the day. Pal isn't politically incorrect he's just plane ole correct.

**Ken** · 09-12-2009, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by Pal334

WE,, you may be on to something there. No offense to anyone from CA. THis person does not seem to have been in line when "hardwiring" was done.

http://www.acetj.com/videos/player.php?mediaID=3006

Pal, the woman on that video has to be one of the dumbest things on earth. There is no doubt in my mind that I would choke her to death if I was ever trapped in an elevator with her for more than 3 minutes.

**panch0** · 09-12-2009, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by Pal334

WE,, you may be on to something there. No offense to anyone from CA. THis person does not seem to have been in line when "hardwiring" was done.

http://www.acetj.com/videos/player.php?mediaID=3006

Like that video should be able to help people cause it is just the way some people can understand but the fruit trees need an encyclopedia cuase they like well its like, you know how like when we watch something and we like it and it is cool, right? Like Totally.....

Those are the people that make it out to the polls more nowadays.

**NightShade** · 09-12-2009, 03:49 PM

I've never met the lady from the video... but I ,like, totally, ummm, like, kinda, hate her!..

**2dumb2kwit** · 09-12-2009, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by panch0

Like that video should be able to help people cause it is just the way some people can understand but the fruit trees need an encyclopedia cuase they like well its like, you know how like when we watch something and we like it and it is cool, right? Like Totally.....

Those are the people that make it out to the polls more nowadays.

Yeah, scary isn't it? They vote.....and reproduce!