vendredi 23 septembre 2016

By George Thompson


Most of us have come across online communities that share stories and information about what could happen when the grid goes down. It is frightening to face life without the usual comforts of electricity and availability of food. Industries have been created around this scenario, and many people are already growing gardens and preparing for life without central air.

Unfortunately, many people become militant in their thinking when it comes to what they regard as an apocalypse. Television shows have convinced us that there will be zombies to kill, or bands of unscrupulous individuals bent on death and destruction. Gun owners create stockpiles of weapons based on the assumption that trespassers will come, and they must kill or be killed.

Some level of panic will always govern the behavior of some humans in a crisis, but the panic only worsens when people hear gunshots. For those who are not run out of their homes, firing upon a crowd of trespassers without knowing who they are or what they want is unforgivable. Things only become worse when each and every human approaching is regarded as an enemy.

While we cannot always count on law enforcement or the military to protect us, we still have to use some basic common goodness when regarding other people. Most refugees travel in family groups and are more than willing to identify themselves to anyone they approach. The Great Depression taught us just how people come together and help one another in a crisis scenario.

Anyone owning firearms should maintain a personal understanding that no round should ever be fired unless they can clearly see who they are shooting at, and clearly know why they are firing the shot. An overzealous gun owner may wind up firing a shot that they will regret for the rest of their lives. Most people wandering the countryside in this scenario are probably traveling in family groups, and they simply seek food and shelter.

To deny food and shelter to a group of people simply because they are not family is cruel. It's important to remember that these periods of collapse are always temporary, and a family is not likely to starve to death because they helped a stranger in need. Most approaching strangers pose no threat, and should violence ensue, murder is still murder at the end of the day.

It would be foolish not to assume that a traveling group is totally unarmed. What could have become a helpful friend all too easily becomes a deadly foe once the shooting begins. Without cool heads prevailing, opportunity to help those in need can become an even worse tragedy, and nobody wins when bullets are wasted on defensive measures rather than hunting.

When a group of refugees is taken in and fed, it grants an opportunity to find out what kinds of skills or assets they might be able to bring to your table. How we handle crisis situations can define us as people, and it is important what history says about us. Rather than seeing a group as an unnecessary group of refugees, one might take the perspective that they are the start of an independent community.




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