Why Post-Apocalyptic People Worry Me
©2016 Kari Carlisle
Several years ago, my husband and I were headed out for a camping trip in the woods. We had the Jeep pulling our 16-foot 1976 “hunters special” camp trailer. We made a quick stop at the state park just a few miles from our home before heading into the mountains.
As we were leaving the parking lot at the visitor center, my husband noticed a vehicle pulling in with a headlight out. He stopped and held his hand out the window, indicating to the driver that he wanted to say something. The woman rolled down her window, and he let her know about the headlight.
A sane person might respond with, “Oh, thanks! I had no idea!” or “Yeah, I know. I’ll be heading into town to get it fixed. Thanks!” See how both responses include an expression of gratitude?
Now, here’s how the driver actually responded. She leaned over toward her passenger side, grabbed eggs, got out of her vehicle, and started hurling eggs at our Jeep. I kid you not.
So, of course, we high-tailed it out of there and postponed our trip a couple of hours to go back home and clean the Jeep. The whole time we were scratching our heads. What could possibly have caused her to react that way? Drugs? Alcohol? Batshit crazy? And why in the world did she have eggs right there? Was she just looking for an excuse to egg someone?
Have you ever had an encounter like that? If we can have this kind of experience in modern, rural America, what can we expect after the apocalypse? Will going through an apocalyptic event drive people crazy? What if “crazy” has not eggs but guns?
I was watching Stephen King’s The Stand on TV the other day. I enjoy watching it because it reminds me of the book which goes into so much detail about how the characters survive (or not). One uncomfortable scene depicts Nick Andros, the character played by Rob Lowe, encountering a girl in a grocery store. She’s so freaking crazy, she goes cackling off when she doesn’t get her way. And kudos to the costume designer for highlighting her craziness with that goofy dress she wears. But here’s the scary part – she goes straight for a gun and starts shooting.
I would hope that people would not go crazy and instead work together in a survival situation. But the fact of the matter is people are unpredictable. We know from disaster scenarios, some people will be leaders, some will be followers, some will be less than useful, some will go crazy, and some will be outright dangerous. Never make an assumption that the stranger you meet will act in a predictable way. No apocalypse necessary.
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Several years ago, my husband and I were headed out for a camping trip in the woods. We had the Jeep pulling our 16-foot 1976 “hunters special” camp trailer. We made a quick stop at the state park just a few miles from our home before heading into the mountains.
As we were leaving the parking lot at the visitor center, my husband noticed a vehicle pulling in with a headlight out. He stopped and held his hand out the window, indicating to the driver that he wanted to say something. The woman rolled down her window, and he let her know about the headlight.
A sane person might respond with, “Oh, thanks! I had no idea!” or “Yeah, I know. I’ll be heading into town to get it fixed. Thanks!” See how both responses include an expression of gratitude?
Now, here’s how the driver actually responded. She leaned over toward her passenger side, grabbed eggs, got out of her vehicle, and started hurling eggs at our Jeep. I kid you not.
So, of course, we high-tailed it out of there and postponed our trip a couple of hours to go back home and clean the Jeep. The whole time we were scratching our heads. What could possibly have caused her to react that way? Drugs? Alcohol? Batshit crazy? And why in the world did she have eggs right there? Was she just looking for an excuse to egg someone?
Have you ever had an encounter like that? If we can have this kind of experience in modern, rural America, what can we expect after the apocalypse? Will going through an apocalyptic event drive people crazy? What if “crazy” has not eggs but guns?
I was watching Stephen King’s The Stand on TV the other day. I enjoy watching it because it reminds me of the book which goes into so much detail about how the characters survive (or not). One uncomfortable scene depicts Nick Andros, the character played by Rob Lowe, encountering a girl in a grocery store. She’s so freaking crazy, she goes cackling off when she doesn’t get her way. And kudos to the costume designer for highlighting her craziness with that goofy dress she wears. But here’s the scary part – she goes straight for a gun and starts shooting.
I would hope that people would not go crazy and instead work together in a survival situation. But the fact of the matter is people are unpredictable. We know from disaster scenarios, some people will be leaders, some will be followers, some will be less than useful, some will go crazy, and some will be outright dangerous. Never make an assumption that the stranger you meet will act in a predictable way. No apocalypse necessary.
Click here to receive the Apocalypse Observer Newsletter in your inbox
www.readmota.com
To comment, scroll down and type in your comment. Under Comment As, you can select Anonymous or Name/URL (you don't need to enter a URL). Then hit Publish.
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