1/ This story is really, really worth reading and reflecting on. It really is a pretty close match for the set-up of Lord of the Flies: six boys marooned for over a year on an island in the South Pacific. It was in the 60s, so a bit later than LotF, but not by much. And yet ...
2/ “by the time we arrived,” Captain Warner wrote in his memoirs, “the boys had set up a small commune with food garden, hollowed-out tree trunks to store rainwater, a gymnasium with curious weights, a badminton court, chicken pens and a permanent fire ...
3/ ... , all from handiwork, an old knife blade and much determination.” While the boys in Lord of the Flies come to blows over the fire, those in this real-life version tended their flame so it never went out, for more than a year."
4/ "Sometimes they quarrelled, but whenever that happened they solved it by imposing a time-out." 🤗
I am currently fascinated by the total divergence between some preppers' views of what would happen in a pandemic or other disaster, and what we see now.
I am currently fascinated by the total divergence between some preppers' views of what would happen in a pandemic or other disaster, and what we see now.
5/ The idea that once civilization is put under stress, we will see roving bands of looters searching for people to rob, etc., etc., is everywhere in prepper culture. You are not supposed to tell people about your supplies, since if you do, YOU WILL BE A TARGET.
6/ It's the same idea as Lord of the Flies: that the veneer of civilization that keeps us from killing one another over tiny things is very thin, and will crack under the slightest pressure, revealing the monster within.
This is not what we are seeing now.
This is not what we are seeing now.
7/ If anything, people are generally being really decent. They are mostly staying in, helping others, getting together at 7pm (local times may vary) to salute the first responders.
8/ There are, of course, people who are not like this. Mr. Hand Sanitizer Destroyed My Country, for instance. But in their case, it's not that the thin veneer of civilization has cracked. It's the culture THEY accept that is the problem.
9/ It is, I think, only culture, not what lies beneath it, that would lead someone to see a request that people take being asked to take a simple step to help themselves and others as a Threat To All We Hold Dear.
10/ It is culture that makes people think: wearing a mask to protect others is not an act of simple decency, but UN-AMERICAN.
Hunter-gatherers would, I imagine, be baffled by the MAGA folk. They would be a lot less baffled by the woman who put a tulip on each of the dead.
Hunter-gatherers would, I imagine, be baffled by the MAGA folk. They would be a lot less baffled by the woman who put a tulip on each of the dead.
11/ Anyways, read the story, and be heartened. 🤗
