HOW EASY IT IS TO PANIC AMERICANS
Some things never change.
Posted on 08/22/2023 6:40:07 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
I am writing this column on a beautiful sunny day in Southern California. It is a Monday in mid-August, so it is not a national holiday, yet in Los Angeles County, where I live, all the schools and all government offices are closed.
Why?
Because, for the past week, the National Weather Service, state and local authorities, and national and local media have been ceaselessly warning that a tropical storm would hit Southern California on Sunday night and Monday with a "life-threatening" intensity not seen since the last tropical storm hit California in 1939, 84 years ago.
On Saturday, CNN reported, "California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday proclaimed a state of emergency Saturday for a large portion of Southern California, as the state prepares for a historic hurricane expected to cause extreme rain and flooding."
Time magazine headlined, "Tropical Storm Hilary Could Cause Life Threatening Flooding."
The National Weather Service warned that residents in the Southwest are bracing for "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding ... with the harshest impacts expected on Sunday into Monday."
On Sunday, The Los Angeles Times headlined, "L.A. Unified closes schools Monday to ensure campuses are safe after Hilary."
And Sunday afternoon and evening, every cellphone received this message about every two hours:
"!Emergency alert: Severe
"National Weather Service: A FLASH FLOOD WARNING in effect for this area until 3:00 am PDT.
"This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order."
Sunday night, when the worst of the "life-threatening" storm was supposed to hit, my wife and I drove across Los Angeles from near Pasadena to Simi Valley and back, a two-hour round trip. The last time I saw so few cars on a Los Angeles freeway was in the first weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Apparently, many people were just as spooked as they were in 2020.
But this time, they had much less of an excuse to panic. Unlike the invisible COVID-19 virus, the reason for panic this time was completely visible. All these people needed to do was walk outside of their home or hotel -- or just look out the window. Had they done so, they would have seen that steady but moderate rain was falling. Just rain. No high winds, no downpour, no storm, not even thunder or lightning.
The reason my wife and I drove to Simi Valley on Sunday night was to attend a friend's wedding. How much people panicked was made sadly evident there. During the meal, the groom mentioned to me that 40 expected guests had cancelled at the last moment.
I was stunned, and to be honest, angry -- maybe even angrier than the groom, who, at least on the outside, good-naturedly shrugged it off.
There is no more important event in people's lives than their wedding. Yet 40 people, about one in every four guests, didn't show up to a wedding they had committed to attend.
And for no good reason.
No schools open, no government offices open, dire emergency warnings -- all about almost nothing, certainly in Los Angeles County.
Apparently, many Americans learned nothing from the 2020-2021 lockdowns. All the lockdowns did, as Sweden, without lockdowns or closed schools (for students under the age of 17), proved, was inflict terrible damage on the nation's economy, the world's economy, and the education and psyches of vast numbers of young people, and lead to the loss of a vast number of middle-class businesses.
It also seems clear that many Americans continue to trust their well-being to "experts" and to the government. Apparently, it is impossible for the government to cry "wolf" too often.
The sheeplike behavior of many Americans is something entirely new in our nation's history. A people that thought of its country as "The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave" no longer does.
The government knows this.
As we may learn again this fall.
The pronouncements of approaching apocalyptic rainfall were everywhere. Be afraid!! Be very very afraid! Good Lord. It rained. Heavily in some places. The usual locations flooded. Media struggling to pay for operations peddles hysteria.
The far-left meatheads in the DNC’s mainstream media own the ignorant John Q. Public. If it’s on the news or TV, IT MUST BE TRUE! IT MUST BE!
Hold on.
That is their function; to warn people. Hurricanes often peter out. If they did not warn people and the hurricane killed people; what would you say then?
Skeering California leftists is a whole lot different than us in flyover country. It’s going to take zombies in the streets to even listen to the MSM/gummit etc. Let those retards self-destruct on their own. Also see a conflict brewing here, Xiden is on way out both politically and of the earthly life and if Newsome is waiting in the wings he’s got quite a bit of ‘splaining to do.
Well, I said in another thread that this hurricane is getting too much attention, compared with the ones that strike the east coast. How much of the hype is because liberals think California is the most important state?
i have to disagree w/DP. flash flooding hit certain parts of SoCal with a vengeance - particularly Cathedral City, Palm Springs/environs. that could have been Van Nuys or Simi if that had been the storm track which one only knew when it hit. reSunday night Angelenos were told to stay off roads due to drainage issues possibilities of accidents on roads due to hydroplaning on oily roads. i’m the first one to complain about government action or lack thereof but feel this time to err on the side of caution was the sane approach. if it hadn’t and rain had been more torrential in population centers, condemnations would have been many. unfortunately MNature didn’t file her flight plan w/the Mayor or Gov ahead of time. how inconsiderate lol.
My father was listening to it - he was 14 - didn’t panic. He told us the story many times.
Since the most historic situation happening right now is the Hunter/Big Guy story... I'm surprised there aren't more postings. It's the story people will still be talking about in 500 years.
I was in TN two weeks ago and they had a line of thunderstorms pass through. Evidently, some cells produced hail. The local weatherman came on and talked for over 30 minutes about the thunderstorms. I was watching a movie, which ended while Dufus was telling me how hail is formed.
I think a lot of TV stations, MSM outlets, and gov’t agencies use minor events to warrant keeping their funding or think such broadcasts serve “their public interest” mandates. A two minute warning with updates is probably more effective than over 30 minutes of some weather hack droning on about the same thing. Indeed, I wonder how many switched to another channel after a few minutes.
Agreed, kinda. The hyperbole was really something to witness. Over the top Fear Porn. I’d be fine with “A major tropical storm is headed our way. Please take any necessary precautions, and avoid low-lying/flood-prone areas.”
It’s not just that many folks are easy to fool.
The bigger issue is until very recently, the public was able to believe what these authorities had to say.
It was rare that we would be lied to on a massive scale of deception. Then Ebola happened, followed by Zika, followed by Covid, followed by The Great Election Fraud of 2020, soon to be followed by Trans Rights.
Any chance we can keep L.A. locked down permanently? ;)
Yes proof the fox always goes after the slow sheep.
Then where did all those scary-looking photos come from?
The Democrat enemymedia will portray Newsom as the hero who prevented much loss of life.
🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑 Thank you sir may I have another?
Don’t forget the news of the 84 MPH gust (not mentioned it was on the top of a mountain).
I hope they got away from the drainage system as those giant ants can be a menace.
You’d think all that water would have made the giant ants leave the drainage tunnels.
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