“In preparation for the apocalypse, Sam Sheridan decides to learn skills necessary to survive TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It). Shooting, hunting, wilderness stuff, arctic wilderness stuff.
The most important chapter, to me, was the last. Basically, it explained a lot about what happens when disasters go down in current times. It’s really fucked up. There’s a great piece about what happened at the Superdome when Hurricane Katrina refugees were stuck there. Basically, the news of the time would have us believe that it was a gang-controlled, ongoing riot of rape and death. In reality, though conditions were far less than ideal, the level of violence and actual crime was very low. Reports to a doctor headed into the dome said he should be prepared for 200 bodies. The actual total was 6, 4 from natural causes, one from a drug overdose, and one soul who pitched himself over a railing and committed suicide. In all fairness, there were 4 more bodies outside the Superdome as well, one of whom DID appear to be murdered. Doing the math, the actual number of dead was 4% of the number being reported.
What’s total bullshit about all this? Let’s see.
Here is a nonsense, irresponsible piece of crap journalism by someone who normally covers Real Housewives of Fuckall: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/08/28/superdome-katrinas-haunted-symbol.html
Here is a story by a legit journalist. This story is CITED in the first article, and is obviously ignored: http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2002520986_katmyth26.html
Okay, so what’s the point of all this?
As Sam says in the book, the biggest danger in a disaster is probably going to be survival nuts. Not survivalists, rational people who are prepared, but survival nuts, people who hear a news reports about an outbreak of flu and decide it’s time to strap on a pistol and hit the streets.
And what’s irresponsible and reprehensible about all of this is that news folks think it’s okay to report these wild numbers and completely false statements. I’m not saying people should be “protected” from the truth by any stretch. I’m just saying that their priority isn’t to explain what’s happening, it’s to glue you to THEIR station so you can watch THEIR ads. That’s it. End of story.
So here’s what I ask, humble reader. If there’s a bad situation, a super tornado or sharknado or outbreak of zombie or whatever, let’s take it easy for a couple days. Look around, assess the situation for yourself. Turn off the TV. I’m serious. It’s not going to help you in any significant way. “