<story><title>If America Lost Its Electricity: An Electromagnetic Shock</title><url>http://worldif.economist.com/article/13526/electromagnetic-shock</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>legulere</author><text>Having weapons makes it more likely for violent acts to happen. Additionally there&amp;#x27;s a high risk that you will hurt yourself. And then there&amp;#x27;s the effect on the society: a society based on trust is more productive and safe than a society based on mistrust.</text></item><item><author>tryingagainbro</author><text>If all it takes is $4 billion to secure it and we don&amp;#x27;t, we kinda deserve it to happen. The same country has and is spending trillions in Iraq and Afghanistan..&lt;p&gt;On the other side, someone mention Pascal&amp;#x27;s Wager: storing a few basic needs and self defense weapons (were legal), costs practically nothing now but it could save your family&amp;#x27;s life. It&amp;#x27;s not a sure way but it&amp;#x27;s much better to have them then not.&lt;p&gt;Even in cramped apartments you could store stuff for a week or two; in private homes, you&amp;#x27;re talking months. IIRC, tap water in dark areas with a drop of bleach for liter will last for quite a while. Think 55gallon drums, replaced every so often.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>morganvachon</author><text>And not having weapons makes it more likely you will be attacked and killed for your provisions if the shit hits the fan. In other words, armed or not, violence is a given when it gets bad enough that people are scavenging for food. When it&amp;#x27;s so bad the police and military aren&amp;#x27;t there to protect you, you either roll over and die, or fight and possibly live another day.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m not saying you&amp;#x27;re wrong, just that we don&amp;#x27;t live in a perfect world with everyone following the rules even in the best of times. I would love it if your ideal world where we all trust each other existed; it would be true paradise. But, we&amp;#x27;re only human and even the very best of us are flawed creatures.</text></comment>
<story><title>If America Lost Its Electricity: An Electromagnetic Shock</title><url>http://worldif.economist.com/article/13526/electromagnetic-shock</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>legulere</author><text>Having weapons makes it more likely for violent acts to happen. Additionally there&amp;#x27;s a high risk that you will hurt yourself. And then there&amp;#x27;s the effect on the society: a society based on trust is more productive and safe than a society based on mistrust.</text></item><item><author>tryingagainbro</author><text>If all it takes is $4 billion to secure it and we don&amp;#x27;t, we kinda deserve it to happen. The same country has and is spending trillions in Iraq and Afghanistan..&lt;p&gt;On the other side, someone mention Pascal&amp;#x27;s Wager: storing a few basic needs and self defense weapons (were legal), costs practically nothing now but it could save your family&amp;#x27;s life. It&amp;#x27;s not a sure way but it&amp;#x27;s much better to have them then not.&lt;p&gt;Even in cramped apartments you could store stuff for a week or two; in private homes, you&amp;#x27;re talking months. IIRC, tap water in dark areas with a drop of bleach for liter will last for quite a while. Think 55gallon drums, replaced every so often.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>tryingagainbro</author><text>&amp;gt;&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;Additionally there&amp;#x27;s a high risk that you will hurt yourself.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Probably a lower one than starvation, rape or a violent death in the hands of another desperate person.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt;&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;And then there&amp;#x27;s the effect on the society: a society based on trust is more productive and safe than a society based on mistrust.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Nice one. What would happen, today--with all the infrastructure in place--if cops &amp;#x2F;soldiers stayed home for 36 hours? Now add starvation plus desperation and try again.</text></comment>