I’m fully aware this post is going to be controversial and may cause a rise in the reader’s blood pressure. Nevertheless, I think it’s a subject that needs to be discussed.
As many of you have probably heard or read, gun and ammunition sales have skyrocketed. And not just in the states where people adamantly defend the “Second Amendment.” It’s nationwide … and directly related to the coronavirus situation:
Many of us are repelled by this action. But I’d like you to take just a moment and think about why this is happening.
We have a virus running rampant throughout the world and efforts to stop it have so far been unsuccessful. In the U.S., part of this has to do with:
- An irrational belief among Christians that God will take care of them so they continue to congregate in places of worship to “pray for healing,” and
- Some individuals in authority contend the virus is not as dangerous as claimed so they refuse to put any restrictions in place, thus allowing others who feel as they do to frequent public places and rub shoulders with the general public.
In any event, many people are in a panic. Not only are they fearful they might become infected, but “social distancing” has created another layer of stress. Some have even felt an urgency to “stock up” (just in case) on food and supplies. Often to excess.
Even more disturbing is the assertion by health officials that any potential cure is months away. We begin to wonder when–or if– things will ever return to normal.
Now let’s move into the future just a bit. The virus is still not contained. More and more people are getting infected.
Suddenly, the full impact hits. Almost overnight, infections soar and the death rate becomes overwhelming. The country is forced to go into complete lockdown.
So what happens to all those people who were in denial? The ones that didn’t prepare for this possibility … who ignored the necessity of stocking up on essentials.
Two words. They panic.
Hundreds of them start running to the supermarkets in the middle of the night to buy things. The ignore the distancing precautions because they’re desperate. Food and supplies are still available, but shelves are not fully stocked as in normal times. As supplies dwindle, panic increases. And people get more desperate. Sometimes dangerously desperate.
Now think about those individuals who early-on took this pandemic seriously and planned ahead. They are the ones with adequate food and supplies.
And the desperate people know this.
Continue to Part Two.
******************************
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Nan's Notebook 
Yes I’ve already thought about that Nan. I’m with you. Think about it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am not in panic. But some people will be.
It is possible, but not certain, that people who have mild cases will become immune to further infection from this virus. And that will help to slow down the rate of spreading.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just watched a PBS Newshour that stated from an interview with the Gov. of Louisiana that just in New Orleans alone—Marde Gras crowds as well as snail’s pace preparation across the board & on all levels by state and federal authorities—that yesterday their infections increased way over 400!!!!! IN ONE DAY!!!! 😲
Yeah, tRump has assured Conservative Americans and any gullible idiots that we are all safe to go to Easter Sunday mass/worship in record numbers! HAH! Nan, I have no clue what reality that man or any of his minions, Yes-people, and political base he lives. It is beyond any human comprehension. Does the man not understand “Flatten the Curve”??? Unbelievable!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello Nan. I want to address this post before I go on to the next one in your series. The post starts out about gun and ammo sales. It then goes into the conditions on the ground. ( You do not need me to tell you this as it is your post but in case others are not following along )
I would like to stop any Texas or Southern US reasoning for needing guns or ammo to protect oneself before it gets started with two words. Puerto Rico. They suffered more than any other US places has and they got a lot worse treatment. Yet they did not devolve to violence and anger at each other. They did have justified anger at the US government for how they have been abandoned.
But in all my reading on the Island and their struggles I never seen violence nor the rush to buy guns nor ammo. Also I have lived in Florida since July 1994, and I have never heard of anyone using a gun after a hurricane to get supplies. In fact in all my years in Florida dealing with some really bad hurricanes I have never seen anyone arrested for armed robbery after the hurricane to get goods.
In fact after hurricane Charlie before we brought our RV over to North Fort Myers we were staying in our park model. We had only been in the park a week and knew no one. We had only evacuated that morning before the storm hit. Long story short we spent five days in the hotel because our park was very hard hit. What to heck does this have to do with your post you maybe thinking.
We stayed in Clewiston at a Best Western. Across the street was a Walmart. The people staying at the hotel had only one place to eat, the hotel restaurant. Not a problem as the restaurant was of good quality and the food was good. Not fancy but normal food at a price people those who stay at a Best Western could normally afford.
Our home park in NFM was on the West Coast, West Palm Beach where we were moving from is on the East Coast. Clewiston is about in the middle.
Remember we were there for five days. Also remember there was a walmart right across the four lane divided highway. The Walmart refused to sell a local restaurant next door bulk supplies, which would have been the best for everyone.
So instead ( and I give a lot of credit to the people in the restaurant and a lot of hate to Walmart ) The wait staff would go around and take everyone’s orders like it was normal, then the manager and a few others would run across a divided four lane highway to the Walmart, buy all the ingredients they needed for the meal and rush back across the road to give it to the kitchen staff to cook it. Then the same people running across the road served it. The food was great. Not once did we hear any complaints as all of us there knew what was going on, yet all of us had negative feelings for Walmart from then on if we had not before. Plus we dang well tipped those people real well.
My point Nan is no one needed a gun. No one was rushing to buy ammo. Ron and I went to WPB where we were from and bought a carload of bottled water, and drove it back across the state to our park where we gave it to the wonderful workers trying hard to clear our roads and restart the electric we all really needed. We did that for every five days. On the fifth day the work was done and the next day we returned home.
While we were staying in a hotel there were the people there on the ground who were doing all this work. Local home improvement stores were offering saws and training. Local people who had the tools and the skills were simply going from one housing development to another, cleaning the roads and power lines. Out of state electrical workers were getting our road lights up and working.
At no point in all of that chaos did anyone tell us there was a rush on on guns, ammo, or we needed to protect ourselves. Granted this was in 2004. OK going onto the next post with the hope you do not put the destroy laser on me. Hugs
LikeLiked by 3 people
Not the same is all I’m going to say.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hello Nan. I just sent you an email. If I misunderstood the question please delete my comment. I will read it again in the morning to see if I can understand better. Hugs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What I find interesting is the world has effectively been taken over, halted without a shot fired. If this doesn’t raise an eyebrow, if nothing else it shows how obedient the masses are to political announcement. I’m a little concerned that the entire world has rolled over like this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rolled over Jim? 😉 As in rolled over into record number graves and hospital beds? Or rolled over like Beethoven in social-occupational crowds? Or simply have FINALLY rolled over and no longer listening to White House Press Conferences? 😆
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just found it odd that a few people shut down the world without really even an argument. That’s all. I’m not a conspiracy theorist but this seems awfully weird—I dunno.
The more we fight nature too, the bigger the bugger will eventually be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know all the big plagues in the past, the two that come to mind are the Black Plague and the Spanish Flu. Millions of people died in both events, but there was no instant world-wide sharing of facts and notes. Today there is, and we are hardly keeping control of this plague. We are on the verge of losing control.
Is this really the time to be suspecting conspiracies? And what have the conspirators to gain, when it affects everyone equally, without reference to race, religion, politics, sex, gender, age, etc. etc. etc.
If you want to suspect anyone, suspect aliens who are weakening us in order to conduct a bloodless takeover. Science fiction predicted such a thing 50 years ago.
By the end of this pandemic, the USA will probably be the hardest hit nation in the world, because it has the worst leadership of any nation in this world right now. Safety comes first, everything else comes later.
This is my honest opinion.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I don’t think the virus is a conspiracy, nor do I think the global halt to life is a conspiracy. I just find it interesting and puzzling too, that even the gun toting conspiracy nuts (that are many times hoping for a fight) got distracted by toilet paper and submitted to losing their way of life without a fight. I’m sure if there are conspirators, that they are taking notes as to how easy this was.
LikeLike
Sorry if I misread your comment, cuz it seemed unusual to me. But I’ve been reading so many people thinking this is some kind of conspiracy that it’s getting too much to handle. Not that I like what is happening, but covid-19 is presenting a huge opportunity to change our world. I hope we can turn something horrible into something great.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I have been sort of in denial ( and not in de Nile as I live at the other end of Africa) and the next moment one reads that another 1000 have died. I say oh, well … then I read Russia has airlifted military and experts to Italy.
I take a breath , shake my head and say oh, well then read Zim nurses go on strike because of lack of adequate basics and a short time after the first Zimbabwe person dies.,
I say oh, well because after a last minute drive before lock-down to where our housekeeper lives to drop off her wages, food, and a few other essentials for her and her hubby who are in a state ‘cos their kids are in ZImbabwe, I see people thronging the street nearby ne’er a care in the world it seems, hugging , shaking hands etc only to arrive home to read that infections have gone past 900 in South Africa and are now fast approaching the first 1000.
Oh, well …. roll over?
LikeLiked by 2 people
what would you rather happen Jim? that people just go on. let those who will get the virus get it, if they die, so be it. those who survive will carry on with the work of keeping the human race alive
LikeLike
In the words of the US President, Yes.
LikeLike
I don’t know what the right answer is. At some point we have to ask; how many people will we allow to starve to death to protect fewer people from dying of the virus?
LikeLike
214. Exactly. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s better than 42.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a good question that I don’t think I have an answer for and one that I also ask.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Luxury these days is knowing you have many hundreds of toilet papers and 12 loaded semi automatics to defend them with.
LikeLiked by 3 people
and hand sanitizers! Don’t forget many litres of sanitizers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve purchased a few, small thermonuclear missiles that I’ve got in my closet. Once the panic starts, I’m nuking my neighborhood. Just the kinda guy I am.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This to me sounds like the best idea
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think maybe I might understand a bit what Jim is wondering about?
It’s not about conspiracy theories (like my mom believes) so much as a conspiracy of Trumpian proportions?
In other words, these right-wing extremist authoritarian leaders being able to alter laws, rule and regulations during these times to suit their own ends under the guise of being what is best for us, which in the short term might be but what about when this is all over?
Something like that Jim?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m still trying to figure out why this intrigues me so much. The world is actually working together to fight this—enemies and all. That’s pretty cool.
I was thinking a few days ago how we’re fighting nature, but we seldom live very naturally. Is it possible that this will become the new norm? Is the human race is so afraid to die that they would accept months of isolation every dicey flu season? I’m happy to have some Forest all around, but I can’t even put a boat in the water now that all public access is closed. We’ve been putting our hammocks up on top with a view and having a lot of picnics. It’s not all bad I guess.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jim, you ask … Is the human race so afraid to die …
Perhaps not the “human race” per se, but the individuals who make up the human race? Most definitely. It’s inborn.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If one is convinced that the entire system is about to collapse, I suppose that arming oneself begins to seem more rational. Those who have been stockpiling thousands of rolls of toilet paper will want to defend their treasure, and those who haven’t will soon be desperate enough to take it from others. Since this whole thing started, we’ve been told our food supply was fine and that our supply lines were strong. I’ve seen little evidence of this. The stores in my area have not been able to provide even the most basic types of food (e.g., rice, dry beans, pasta, oats, flour, meat, dairy, fresh produce, most canned items), and this is getting worse rather than better. People are beginning to wonder why what they keep hearing about strong supply lines still hasn’t materialized. If the food runs out, things will get ugly in a hurry.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“Two words. They panic.” I can easily see this happening if the worse case scenario you’ve described plays out. It is very scary.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I see no controversy in this. The last rush on ammo I recall was when they decided Obama was gunna come take it all away. I read a survivalist book back in the 70s (forget title and author) where he suggested buying a gun for hunting and to protect your popcorn. Seems like he was Mormon and they are supposed to be prepared for such disasters. Was at the store Tuesday, it was fine. They did a good job. Now on to part two.
LikeLike
Oh I agree Nan and haven’t read your second one yet. This is different because it’s not just Florida, but the whole US and today’s times are different with trump and his cult at the helm…much different.
Already the white nationalists want to spread the virus to police and Jews. Trump has ramped upon his base absolute hatred of the press except, of course, the state propaganda of Fox.
There is much hatred by his cult towards “normal” people. I think your scenario could definitely happen.
LikeLike
[…] I heard someone exclaim, “What the fuck?” It took me only a second to realize that it had been me. No, I told myself, I am not going to feel stupid or apologize to anyone. It was at that moment that the seriousness of this pandemic hit me for the first time. If highly educated people in administrative positions who were well aware of the dangers and responsible for protecting others behaved like this, what hope was there for everyone else? It is easy to point the finger at the college kids who enjoyed their spring break like any other, but they have the excuse of youth and the sense of invulnerability that comes with it. If people like this woman cannot or will not modify their behavior, we are in real trouble. […]
LikeLike
An interesting post and interesting comments. These are challenging times and it’s good to discuss.
If it helps anyone with kids, I have a list of 101 Homeschooling Activities on my blog http://www.homeschoolguru.org
Take care and stay safe, everyone.
LikeLike
Thank you for stopping by, Anna, and sharing your thoughts — and your homeschooling site. Many of my regular visitors are long past child-rearing age, but there may be others who “stop by” that would benefit.
The current times are unsettling — both emotionally and physically. I hope you and yours stay safe.
LikeLike
You too and yes I read through all your comments after reading the post. I can see the demographic for my site and yours are different, but still, it kills me to see how much people are struggling with managing their kids and working from home at the moment, so I thought I’d reach out just in case. I hope you are well and that we see some reduction in the numbers at some point. It’s terrifying at the moment.
LikeLiked by 1 person