When the systems fail.....

[VonNoble]

Like many people - right up until every toehold disappeared,

I was confident in a good many things I have (reluctantly) 

come to question. 

 

It is good not to have blind faith.

It is less good to become overly-wary.

 

Immediately after the Hurricane Katrina situation, I experienced

the full impact (initially) of a complete and utter failure of 

the state, local and federal government.  That is not a condemnation

- but rather a statement of fact for our area..initially. 

 

Good intentions abound.   

YOU KNOW help is on the way.

 

 On-the-way... is useless today (now.)

 Help now -  is at the end of your arm. 

 

When the system fails - where would you turn?

What is your best asset when systems fail? 

von

 

 

 

 

 

[RevBogovac]

I would argue your only asset is -as always - yourself.

[Dan56]

I agree with Rev Bogovac, when all systems fail, your on your own..

 

I was in a bad flood once, house was under water.. Government did absolutely nothing except declare it a natural disaster zone, which made me eligible for a low interest loan. No other help or aid was made available.

[VonNoble]

9 hours ago, RevBogovac said:

I would argue your only asset is -as always - yourself.

 

Hmmmm....any solution is limited then to the power of one 

 

Seems at times neighbors, friends, kind strangers save as many as save themselves......

 

i guess that works for all able bodied and fit people 

 

von

[VonNoble]

3 hours ago, Dan56 said:

I agree with Rev Bogovac, when all systems fail, your on your own..

 

I was in a bad flood once, house was under water.. Government did absolutely nothing except declare it a natural disaster zone, which made me eligible for a low interest loan. No other help or aid was made available.

I can SO relate to this.    Sorry that happens WAY too often -thx for adding a real life example

von

[RevBogovac]

10 hours ago, VonNoble said:

[...] Seems at times neighbors, friends, kind strangers save as many as save themselves...... [...]

 

True, but you asked what the best asset available would be. And that is always one's self... 

 

Fortunately, yes; we are social beings and (most of the time) work well together.

 

That cooperation, however, still starts with the individual(-s).

[VonNoble]

5 hours ago, RevBogovac said:

 

True, but you asked what the best asset available would be. And that is always one's self... 

 

Fortunately, yes; we are social beings and (most of the time) work well together.

 

That cooperation, however, still starts with the individual(-s).

 

Your response was my first thought as well.    The more I thought about it - the more I realized .... someone else did for me ....what I could not do for myself.

 

Example:  when we were young, my brother and I got into a silky game in a lake.    It was funny right up until he held me under water too long.   When he realized I was no longer struggling to get free .... he panicked.   No help there.    The lifeguard was talking to pretty girls.    So my best asset was not me, nor my brother nor the system ( life guard)....It was a sort of fat older lady who was watching us and realized I was a goner....she fished  me out.

 

Similar experience when I was trapped in building in Omaha that partially collapsed after a tornado .    I could not do a thing to free myself.    The system was overwhelmed.     Strangers eventually got me out,  I was dependent on them to get me to a point to fend for myself.....all my smarts and fitness were useless.

 

My first instinct was identical to yours till I started thinking through what was... to calculate what is likely in the future

 

Now I am abut older and fight things like steps

.... if a system fails in a high rise.... i can say I am self reliant right up till I have to negotiate steps.... I am pretty crafty 

but I can easily foresee situations where my little brain understands I need ANYbody willing to help me... to continue to survive.

 

i don't disagree a bit with your answer.   I am really just processing it until it settles for me.

 

von

67386E295FB8C3A5

[mererdog]

7 hours ago, VonNoble said:

67386E295FB8C3A5

Are you getting cryptic on us?

 

I figure you can't really plan for the sort of thing you're talking about. My best asset in that sort of situation is probably that I am used to not planning. I know how to assess and improvise on the fly.

Strangers can be a great asset, as you say, but relying on strangers is basically just relying on luck, so it is probably not a good survival strategy.

[VonNoble]

40 minutes ago, mererdog said:

Are you getting cryptic on us?

 

ha! 

If only I were that clever.    I didn't even realize I did that.

I was noting places of interest (and places to avoid) on I-10 for a friend

driving from Lafayette, LA to San Diego mostly along the I-10 corridor.

My apologies to all.  

 

The number was a link to White Sands, Missile Range 

which would does have an dooms day echo to it.   As a side note that 

would be in then "yes" column (The Thing... in Az would be in the

"no" column) as far as recommendations.   

 

Back to the topic at hand.   

i appreciate that your best asset is indeed a good one to have! 

Not just when systems fail.  That might be a good one every day. 

 

von

[VonNoble]

Your best asset might be your faith, your stubbornness in refusal to die

...your ability to manipulate others....or an amazing sense of humor at just

the right moment (I once defused a very ugly moment with a well placed

joke) (not that I would rely on that for my survival either).

 

If the systems fail - it may be that you will be in shock - and your best

asset may be some one or something other than you......it is possible. 

 

It can only BE you if you are largely in control.  If you are in a system

foreign to you, when things are not at all familiar and the things you 

rely on are gone - the scenario changes a bit. 

 

Just worth a bit of a think.

 

I saw more than a couple shocked people...and had to deal with them.

Under ordinary circumstances I am quite certain they could handle 

almost anything.   In shocking times.  Not so much.    For a short

while they were more like their own worst enemy. 

 

Emotions overtake common sense and reason in extreme moments.

 And anyone can succumb to becoming irrational, obsessed or

vengeful to name a few  At which time they are not always their

own best asset. 

 

When systems fail - it takes surprisingly little for some people to 

crack.    Even those most sure they would not   This is true too of

the cruel loss of loved ones.    The more horrible the loss,  the

greater the inability to cope/function without some time passing

for some people.  They just cease to function.  That too can be a 

primordial survival mechanism.   DOING is not always possible. 

Sometimes BEING is as good as it gets. 

 

Again, no real answer.  Just continuing to process what in the heck

my own best asset would be....

 

I want to believe I always can handle myself - if not the situation 

around me.  I want to believe I can always control MY REACTION

if nothing else.   But I fear that is not the truth.  I want it to be.

But that doesn't make it so.   

 

I have not yet given into despair.  But I have met that enemy and

it lives in every man.  

von

[RevBogovac]

16 hours ago, VonNoble said:

[...] Emotions overtake common sense and reason in extreme moments.

 And anyone can succumb to becoming irrational, obsessed or

vengeful to name a few  At which time they are not always their

own best asset. [...]

 

This is so true too... I have been on the verge of death (actually over it; I "flatlined" in the intensive care and "they" luckily revived me), I have been in war twice ('91 & '94) and I have been in (at least) 3 (severe) motorcycle accidents. I thought I was a "tough nut to crack". Right up to the point when my oldest daughter fell and stayed lying on the floor unconscious... I couldn't even remember the emergency phone number (the equivalent of the US's 911, in Europe that's 112). Just froze.  

 

But that still doesn't change the "average"... and on "average" one is always his own best asset. But fortunately we have people around us (or, at l east, we should have) for those "outlier" moments.

[VonNoble]

On 9/30/2017 at 8:26 AM, RevBogovac said:

 

This is so true too... I have been on the verge of death (actually over it; I "flatlined" in the intensive care and "they" luckily revived me), I have been in war twice ('91 & '94) and I have been in (at least) 3 (severe) motorcycle accidents. I thought I was a "tough nut to crack". Right up to the point when my oldest daughter fell and stayed lying on the floor unconscious... I couldn't even remember the emergency phone number (the equivalent of the US's 911, in Europe that's 112). Just froze.  

 

But that still doesn't change the "average"... and on "average" one is always his own best asset. But fortunately we have people around us (or, at l east, we should have) for those "outlier" moments.

 

First, I am happy that both you and your daughter made it through those crisis moments! 

 

I have been mulling this over for awhile.   I still think us being out own best resource is somehow not quite right. 

I WANT it to be that.   Then again, the easiest person for me to deceive is me.  So how reliable is my evaluation that 

I am the greatest be?   

 

The person to my left or right might think faster, act faster or just naturally be smarter than I am. 

Often (I may be a freak of nature) but too often MY instincts were not that great.    Sometimes doing nothing can be the best solution.   

I might WANT to (usually out of fear) get up and get moving - but sometimes not listening to me and holding for a few more seconds doing nothing is more effective. 

 

Still working on this one.  My gut says you gotta be right at some level but there is something that tells me - I am never

as great as I wanna believe I am.       (reality check:  Anyone married for a long time has a partner more than willing to keep egos in check) 

von

[RevBogovac]

On 10/16/2017 at 4:43 AM, VonNoble said:

[...] I still think us being out own best resource is somehow not quite right. 

I WANT it to be that.  [...]

 

Maybe it's somewhat of an "interplay"; let me illustrate: if you are a "nice" person, people will be more inclined to help you... 

 

Get's to the point of a chicken/egg discussion; which came first? Were (those) people helpful to begin with or did you persuade them to help you because you were nice to them....?

 

The one thing I do "know" is that you have to start with yourself if you want to "improve" the world. So start by being a nice person most of the time, and probable (at least I like to think) most people would like to help you. 

At least, that's the way I choose to look at the world. My perception, yes. Have I been "burned" (was I nice to people who eventually harmed me)? Yes, several times. But "on average" most of the time it was a pleasant "two-way-street". And if nothing else, I - at least - have my own - pleasant - perception of the world around me...

 

[VonNoble]

2 hours ago, RevBogovac said:

 

Maybe it's somewhat of an "interplay"; let me illustrate: if you are a "nice" person, people will be more inclined to help you... 

 

Get's to the point of a chicken/egg discussion; which came first? Were (those) people helpful to begin with or did you persuade them to help you because you were nice to them....?

 

The one thing I do "know" is that you have to start with yourself if you want to "improve" the world. So start by being a nice person most of the time, and probable (at least I like to think) most people would like to help you. 

At least, that's the way I choose to look at the world. My perception, yes. Have I been "burned" (was I nice to people who eventually harmed me)? Yes, several times. But "on average" most of the time it was a pleasant "two-way-street". And if nothing else, I - at least - have my own - pleasant - perception of the world around me...

 

 

Actually that is logic I can both accept and feel comforted by.  Actually - that DID help to settle things for me.    I think you managed to knock the sharp edges and smooth them a bit.   My thanks.

von

[RevBogovac]

On 10/17/2017 at 4:58 PM, VonNoble said:

 

Actually that is logic I can both accept and feel comforted by.  Actually - that DID help to settle things for me.    I think you managed to knock the sharp edges and smooth them a bit.   My thanks.

von

 

That is nice to hear, you're quite welcome!