You may or may not have seen this image before. I'm not sure where it originally came from, I found it searching Google Images months back. Pretty amazing image--two shafts of light pouring into the infamous Super Dome FEMA camp. The Super Dome and Katrina disaster have since become a symbol to "preppers" everywhere, a perfect example of why you can't rely on the .gov to save your butt in an emergency.Many of the people who filled the Super Dome were those who come to rely on the government for help in other aspects of their lives, and naturally they expected someone to come along and bail them out after the hurricane hit. These are some of the same people who are still living in FEMA trailer camps, destroying their free temporary homes. They're not the kind of people who are ever going to prepare for anything or do much to provide for themselves. Its sad and disappointing, but it's true.
In non-emergency situations, it's pretty clear to most of us that we have to provide for and rely on ourselves. We're the ones who pay the rent or mortgage, put food on our own tables, pay for utilities, medical bills, and so on. Except in cases of special circumstance, it's obvious that most of us don't expect the government to step in and pay all our bills and satisfy our needs. The services that the government provides are obviously a last resort, after everything you could possibly try has failed. And they're services you can't place a lot of faith in receiving if needed.
Disaster and emergency situations are the same way. We have to provide for ourselves. We have to save our own butts, keep ourselves alive, and get the heck out of harm's way. If things get really, really desperate, maybe government forces will be there to help bail you out, but maybe (probably) they won't. .Gov help usually comes in the form of packed refugee camps--the kind of places most of us would do anything to avoid.
And hey, what if the disaster involves a collapse of law and order, the fall of the government itself? No chance of help there. Not even FEMA camps to turn to.
Plan better than that. Plan to rely on yourself, your family, and your closest friends in disasters. Prepare for the worst--and don't expect help from anyone else.
