As a newspaper reporter, I am looking for Y2K survivalists in Nevada, hoping to hook up with them on Jan. 1 for a story I am writing on whatever happens. Does anyone out there fit this profile? Thanks.

-- L.G. Reporter (kemmer1@aol.com), December 15, 1999

Answers

PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSE! Not another story on survivalists, rice,beans and guns! Please do some investigative work which is much harder - ie. readiness of your community emergency services; nursing homes; on and on!

-- Sheri (wncy2k@nccn.net), December 15, 1999.

Not to be rude, but Jan 1 is way premature for the cascading effects predicted. Perhaps June? Or will your paper be operational then? Hmm.....

-- Not (a@real.address), December 15, 1999.

L.G.: Why do you think than any "y2k survivalists" would want to talk to you on Jan 1?

I doubt you would be welcome just about anywhere. For you to be welcome, you'd have to bring your own: Food, water, med. supplies, and defensive equipment, and then only people who you have some relationship already would let *you* in.

Don't you get it? We view you(the press and TPTB) as largely responsible for the deaths of many people if y2k is as bad as we think it could be. It's too damn late for you to redeem yourself.

It's too late. Get it?

-- formerly (formerly@nowhere.zzz), December 15, 1999.

If I let you interview me, then can I write an expose in your Friday edition on the odds of your press failing, your employees quitting because your payroll is not compliant, the papermill not delivering because of chemical explosion/trucking problems/highways closed, your office condemned because of no heat and a foot of sewage on the floor, and a prediction of the hundreds in your town that die by freezing to death because you didn't warn them to prepare cause you couldn't be bothered to investigate rather than gobbling the spoon- fed mainstream releases?

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 15, 1999.

Check with Art Bell, I hear he is expecting the "Coming Great SuperStorm" to destroy life as we know it.

Also you might want to let KOS know if you mudwrestle.

-- Squid (ItsDark@down.here), December 15, 1999.

Hi. I'm sorry to have generated such angry response. I have written extensively about Y2K this year, as part of my newspaper's ongoing Y2K project. We've tried to include every perspective with an even hand. We've interviewed survivalists, food suppliers, new communities, etc. We've looked into community concerns such as utilities, banks and transportation. I can understand declining to speak with me. What I can't understand is accusing the media (meaning me, in this case) of refusing to acknowledge your viewpoint when that's exactly what I've been trying and am still trying to do.

Most of all, I wish everyone a safe New Year.

-- (kemmer1@aol.com), December 15, 1999.

If you have indeed been giving press to both sides of the story, then I applaude you. You are a minority in the press.

However, I don't think you have thought your current offer through...and if anyone accepts it, they are not too bright. If we are right, the last thing in the world you will be doing is interviewing a survivalist. If we are wrong, you will be doing a piece where your questions will probably center around us looking like idiots. Q1. "Gee, don't you feel stupid preparing?" If any survivalist wants to be made a fool of, sign up.

-- Not (today@but.thanks), December 15, 1999.

But survivalism isn't the point of view of most of us. Those of us taking this seriously find this type of reporting deplorable - sorry! I too am a reporter. I see that it is the final part of a lot of work that you've already done, and sorry to be critical here, but.....

Also, the morning after may mean nothing as this may not be a sudden overnight thing, but a progressive domino effect over a period of weeks, months and years. And where are you going to find these people - this isn't Disneyland that you can just go interview them the morning after.

You are not doing anyone a service by reporting this stuff. Report the serious stuff - investigate the stories out there that are happy, happy - please - and show the flaws in them! All this does is sensationalize and make it look like people who have investigated Y2K are nuts.

You are not helping the situation. Those of us taking this seriously find this type of reporting deplorable - sorry! I too am a reporter. I see that it is the final part of a lot of work that you've already done.

The morning after may mean nothing as this may not be a sudden overnight thing, but a progressive domino effect over a period of weeks, months and years.

You are not doing anyone a service by reporting this stuff.

Report the serious stuff - investigate the stories out there that are happy, happy - please! All this does is sensationalize and make it look like people who have investigated Y2K look like nuts.

-- Sheri (wncy2k@nccn.net), December 15, 1999.

I don't know why anyone would feel foolish. I've done a fair amount of preparation myself (food, water, batteries, water filter, etc.) and, at the least, I figure I'll be prepared in case of any future natural disaster. What's that saying: hope for the best, prepare for the worst, or something like that.

-- (ljgorov@aol.com), December 15, 1999.

L.G.,

Eek...you got flamed. You're probably angry and didn't understand why it happened. By now you've most likely caught a clue.

The folks here include many, many professionals from all walks of life: government, health care, IT, engineering...you name it. The threads abound with excellent reference materials from credible sources that substantiate the premise that government and industry are witholding, if not vital information, at least personal opinions that are in sharp contrast to what their PIO's are releasing to a press that simply rubber stamps the information.

Though its too late to prepare a helpful feature article you should ask yourself the question that has been talked about in our community for years: How is it possible that tens of thousands of Y2K remediation projects can all be completed on time with no problems - not some but all? If nothing else, didn't a single IT manager die and leave the company in a bind? But the major print and broadcast media tell the public that each and every government agency (federal, state and local)and every large company is 99%+ ready. Lynda, if they were that good there never would have been a Y2K problem to worry about.

So - stick around; read the posts; post your thoughts - and prepare for Y2K, not a severe three day winter storm

BTW I live in Southern california. I have no idea what a severe winter storm is. It snowed about .001" here twenty years ago.

-- Darby (DarbyII@AOL.com), December 15, 1999.

LOL, a TEOTWAWKI gold digger! How crass.

-- A survivalist in (Laughlin_NV@for.now), December 15, 1999.

L.G.; It is too late to worry with the folks in Nevada. They have long ago decided that the press wasn't going to get it. You see the real problems are going to start when the herd stampeeds which should be happening in another five or six days. They will stampeed because the press is finally getting it. CNN's more recent reporting is an example. It is unfortunate that reporters only look 24 to 48 hours ahead, it really is unfortunate. In just a few days we will have arrived in a new world, it might even be fair to call it the LOOKING GLASS.

I won't speak for others here but personally I could care less what you report. You are way late and way short.

G'day.

-- (...@.......), December 15, 1999.

L.G.,

*Most* (though not all) posting here are in favor of prudent preparations rather than survivalism, per se.

Personally, I favor the idea of camping... at home for Y2K.

The San Jose Mercury News just did a whole Y2K prep section recently for Silicon Valley. You might want to look into their story angle. Or not.

;-D

Diane

Links found here...

Y2K Home Preparation: Officials Worry That Residents Are Not Ready (San Jose Mercury News)

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 001vpd

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 15, 1999.

Looking for "Y2K survivalists"... sounds kinda like.. looking for "bigfoot". Would like to interview bigfoot sighters, alien abductees and UFO pilots. All interested please apply.

I'm afraid you hit a "hot button".

Labeling people who have done a ton of research over many months and have come to the conclusion that Y2K poses a risk to their JIT lifestyle, and have decided to take prudent steps (referred to by bunker-building gov't czars as "contingency plans" when applied to businesses) to mitigate risk as "survivalists" trivializes a very complex issue and changes the focus from the very real technology problem to the people at risk from any breakdowns.

Since when did a will to survive become something weird or newsworthy? Since the spinmasters DECIDED to label it as such.. same as they decided to label Y2K concerns as hoax and hype.. very early on. Last I checked Insurance companies were doing very well, thank you, and their only product is "contingency plans".

Until only a couple of generations ago families would never think of going into the winter season without a full larder and pantry. Do a story on how being lulled into a JIT way of life puts people at risk from so many problems.. not just Y2K.

Do a story (or a dozen) on the Senate and GAO reports, and why they received little to no coverage by the major media.

Do a story on how the GAO found that compliance statements in the health care field were wrong (i.e. lies) 50% of the time.

Do a story on how much of the happy-faced reports rely on company press releases that have had no independent verification and are likely to be at least as inaccurate as in the health care field.

Do a story on the spin given to the joke of NERC "tests".

Do a story on the Rendon Group and why they are involved in the government's Y2K effort.

Do a story on a local nursing home... are they prepared in case the lights and heat go out, or medications aren't available?

Do a story on how the fear of a banking crisis has driven the spinmasters from the beginning.. keeping them from encouraging prudent preparations long ago (which would have made panic much less likely and would have resulted in a population much better prepared for whatever happens come rollover). I mean, really... an ABA SERMON... thats gotta be at least as rare and newsworthy as a Bigfoot sighting or an interview with a "Y2K survivalist".

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), December 15, 1999.

If I were a Nevada survivalist, a reporter would be the last person I would talk to, look what they did to Paul Milne! I would love to do a story on reporters who twist, turn and lie about the story they are reporting. What motivates you to lie? I suppose you are a survivalist in your own way, trying to keep your job that is. Do you lay awake at night thinking up ways to twist a story to sensationlize it? Do you run the story through your mind adding tidbits on ways to destroy the person's credibility and make them look like a total fool? A true "survivalist" is way too smart to be interviewed for a story. Why don't you go and ask John Koskinen, and the president why they are keeping the real Y2K story from the American people? Ask them about their stockpiles, bunkers and contingency plans. Most people here are just average folks with a little bit of water and food put a way, JIC.

-- ~~~~~ (~~~@~~~.xcom), December 15, 1999.

The mostly liberal print and tv media has performed an excellent job of demonizing their political and cultural "enemies." If you don't think giving jobs or promotions based on race or sexual orientation is correct you are a racist. If you don't wish to have active teaching of homosexuality in grade school you are a homophobe. If you attempt to show any proclivity to Christianity you are an "extremist" bigoted non thinking bible thumper. If you have decided that the possibilities of some disruptions in infrastructure could occur at the date change and maybe even build beyond you are a;

1. "Militia" member 2. end of the world meteor gazing wacko 3 A survivalist armed to the teeth waiting to heap destruction 4 A mindless non-thinking robot who spends to much time on the internet

This persona of the individuals who choose to prepare instead of relying on the grace and generosity of the government is a operation of control. The government has decided that minimizing preparation is the best way on containing any pre-event panic. Think about this closely, the government obstensibly "by the people" has decided that the people are not to be trusted to make a rational choice and must be helped by our government to do what's right.

Any "survivalist" please step forward. Your introduction of the term your occupation has chosen to demonize and make jokes about is as telling as someone who would make a reference to a black man as "boy" or a conservative as an extremist right winger. Your bias is leaking through as though it was a flood. Even if you have no intention to portray a survivalist in a negative light you carry the baggage of your occupation. To truly provide independent respectable coverage might start letting the interviewee tell the story not provide fill for Your story.

Good luck and have a nice day.

-- Squid (ItsDark@down.here), December 15, 1999.

Any "survivalist" please step forward. Your introduction of the term your occupation has chosen to demonize and make jokes about is as telling as someone who would make a reference to a black man as "boy" or a conservative as an extremist right winger.

I do not live in Nevada so am disqualified from the inquiry the gentleman from the press is making but I am a survivalist. I've been one for twenty years and I'm not ashamed to say it. The term is in every dictionary printed in the last ten years that I've been able to find and it's pretty clear cut, basically "someone who places a high emphasis on survival." Not a murderous psychopath, not a lunatic, although there are such people who also can be called survivalists just like there are such people amongst journalists, university faculty, computer professionals and any other area of human pursuit there is.

I don't have anymore clear idea of what's coming with the turn of the year than anyone else in this forum, I'm not looking forward to the end of civilization nor even the fall of the US government. I'm a survivalist because in reaching the age of my majority it became apparent to me that there is no absolute security and the prudent man would be wise to act accordingly. All of these folks who are preparing just because of Y2K have missed the entire point.

Not that anyone really cares other than myself but when New Year's rolls around I'll be at home with my wife and probably a few friends having a damn good bottle of champagne and listening to some excellent big band swing music. This is unusual for me in that I don't ordinarily celebrate New Year's at all. If nothing happens I won't be any more upset than I was when we didn't have a nuclear war in the eighties, didn't have a meteor strike, didn't have a whole host of other scenarios happen that also concern me.

Survivalism is only a means to an end, not an end unto itself.

........Alan.

The Prudent Food Storage FAQ, v3.5

http://www.providenceco-op.com

-- A.T. Hagan (athagan@sprintmail.com), December 15, 1999.

I really don't think the lady meant to inflame anyone with labels or anything of the like. I think she really is interesed in speaking and interviewing someone who takes the stance that this could be a devastating blow to our fundamental way of life. I do not consider myself a candidate for this interview and I wouldn't ask anyone to step forward for such either, I just think she deserves a break here for an honest request for the opportunity to visit with someone and ask some questions.

Besides, look at it this way. If you are "sharp", you can make the interview very professional and actually (possibly) shed some positive light on what you stand for. Like I said, I am not the candidate here. Just consider giving her a break. She didn't intend to set spark to a volatile topic. For what it's worth.

-- Rob (maxovrdrv51@hotmail.com), December 15, 1999.