dystopia « Robin Writes

I said yesterday that I’m sick of hearing about Ferguson, etc., so this is it. Next week, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

A news story the other day was about a woman who’d been blinded by an officer firing a bean bag gun. She’s pregnant. Sounds horrific, right?

Well, there’s a little more to it:

It happened in the wee hours of the morning; shots were fired at a gas station, the lot was crowded, police were called. This pregnant woman, who said she was out riding around “respecting Mike Brown,” was in a car driven by the boyfriend. When police arrived, the dude decided to drive around or directly at the police. Doesn’t matter, when the cops show up, you sit tight and follow directions.

So the shot was fired and it entered the passenger side window, where she was sitting, and hit her in the left eye. I still don’t get that part—wouldn’t it have been her right side next to the window? Anyway, she was interviewed outside the hospital and her sister added that they just want “justice.”

Let’s take a look at this situation—we already know the boyfriend was kind of an idiot, right, but also there’s now a warrant for his arrest. So let the police deal with him.

The girl, though—first, if you’re expecting a baby, what the hell are you doing riding around in a car in the middle of the night? Second, how is this “respecting” Mike Brown?

Go to church and pray, talk with others about what a great guy he was, put flowers on his gravesite. THAT is respect. Look it up.

Third, her sister wants justice. Oh, crap. Are we tired of this, or what? It was AN ACCIDENT, that occurred at least partially because the girl was dumb enough to be out in this mess and has really bad taste in boyfriends. I’ve also heard she had two children at home, but I haven’t confirmed that.

Now, if I can see, from my TV, all the stuff going down in Ferguson, why couldn’t she? What would possess someone to go out there? I’m truly sorry it happened, and yes, it’s terrible, but come on. Justice? Again?

Justice comes down to right and wrong. The Ferguson decision WAS justice—the grand jury decided not to prosecute, based on the evidence. There’s your justice. The protestors are still screaming for justice, but what they really want is revenge. They want Officer Wilson hanged from the highest tree. That’s not justice. They got justice already. But not the answer they wanted.

The sister of this young woman also wants justice—but you know what? Sometimes, no one “pays.” Sometimes it’s an accident, sometimes it just happens. Even if she hired an attorney and they sued for damages, the jury will still consider how much of it was her own fault. Bet she didn’t think of that. And if Mike’s family files a civil suit, they might want to think of that too.

Based on the events of the last few months, I’m starting to wonder if I’m mentally tough enough to handle SHTF. Three months of protests, some violence, lots of rumors. Rumors perpetuated by the media, hell, even started by them . . .

I’ve written a lot of articles on stress and its effects, and let me tell you—I’ve lived it, too.

But Robin, someone will say, you don’t live in Ferguson!

Nope, but my son goes to school very, very near those city limits and the whole thing is happening about eight miles from our house. As the crow flies, but who thinks a mob would limit themselves to the highways?

Social media doesn’t help. Back in the old days, we’d watch the evening news and shake our heads, probably getting a little tense, and have some discussion. Maybe burn up the phone lines. Now, with Twitter and Facebook, et al, we hear everyone’s thoughts, opinions, news stories, and flat-out made-up crap. Repeatedly.

It’s enough to drive me to drink. Wait, that’s a good idea. Hang on a sec.

Disclaimer—I’m writing this Saturday evening, not at 6:00 a.m. when you’ll be reading this.

And “the” media, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, etc. I’ve often decried the state of journalism, and this holds true. They simply cannot get their acts together. At all. None of them. And it’s a constant barrage of crap.

Okay, enough ranting. For now.

But seriously, you have to get a grip when SHTF. You can be prepared, yes, that’s good. Great. Wonderful. But you’ve seen that cartoon about the little old lady, right, the one where she tells the officer that she has all these guns in her car and he asks what she’s afraid of? She answers, “Not a damn thing!”

So if you’ve prepped, you’ve got no worries, right? We have food and water; we have weapons; we have a plan to stay and a plan to go. No problem, right?

Wrong.

It’s the waiting, the not knowing, that’ll kill you. Well, maybe not literally, but the mental stress and emotional angst will certainly lower your physical defenses. You might be tempted to sit around, doing nothing, reading the news, wandering from room to room, napping. Drinking. Ahem.

But this is a mistake. You need to eat right, and rest enough, and keep your mind occupied. Sure, keep up on what’s happening, you have to, that’s part of it all. But don’t obsess and take a break now and then.

I have to tell myself to back off, shut it down, and go do something. Preferably something physical to burn off all that extra adrenaline. Because you produce that stuff by the metric ton when you’re stressed and waiting and anticipating, and you need some physical activity to get rid of the excess.

Of course, when you stop to take a breather and check the news again, that’s when something new and worrisome crops up. It’s a vicious cycle.

You have to regain your focus, you have to discipline yourself. Over and over. And then again.