(no subject)

Some quote from some article or other: "These disasters bring out the best in most people and the worst in some other people." Not an exact version of the quote I saw, but enough people have said similar things that there's probably a public official who did say those exact words.

Crisis brings out the best in people if and only if they feel connected to other people and a sense that community will help them get through the crisis.

Disconnection from larger community, a belief that someone else's gain is your loss, or a belief that others see you as less than human and are more likely to attack you than to help you, bring out the worst in people. Despair, any kind of sense that things will not and cannot get better, will bring out the worst in people.

Folks in the disaster zone who still have some kind of phone service, internet connection, or maybe ham radio seem to be remarkably brave and balanced in the crisis. There are likely connected lunatics out there who I haven't heard about yet (there always are), but those are also likely to be people who felt under attack from the larger community before now. The outside world has many people pledged to help out however they can, and those folks on the inside who realize this are being buoyed up by the support, no matter how hopeless their situation might seem otherwise.

And other groups of people in the same city shoot at rescue helicopters, probably convinced that The Man is out to finish the destruction Mother Nature started. Otherwise good-hearted folks who started out helpful who are encountering the victims who still think they're under attack will tend to lose their faith in humanity themselves. Civilization in some places has simply collapsed.

This is all very interesting to watch. From here, it still seems like dystopian science fiction come to life. (I expect interdictor's journal to be released in book form at some point, seriously. Hopefully there will be no zombies in the later chapters.)

For those willing to help in some way: mynn keeps this post updated. If you're concerned about donating to groups whose beliefs or actions you may disagree with, there is a post on dark_christian distinguishing between aid groups who overly proselytize and those who don't: "It rather sucks in a way this has to be done...". (If you disagree with the poster's ideas of who are "good guys" and who are "bad guys," don't bother to argue. Simply check out the organizations yourself and donate to the group or groups you believe will do the most good.)