A Little Peek Into True Human Nature

Recently, something very cool happened to me.  Literally.  And I got a tiny glimpse of what happens when societal inputs cease suddenly, and how most people react when times really get tough.

Before I get into it:  yes, I know that this was an extremely mild situation next to the 'collapse scenario' so often discussed.  I realize that, when real fear sets in, the situation becomes far more complicated.  Nothing in that lessens what happened, however.  And I have heard hundreds of cases in scenarios far more dire -- from Katrina to Darfur -- that mirror my little microcosm...and let me know that what I have seen is writ large across all our kind.

Last week, my town (Athens, GA) was hit with what can only be called a blizzard, especially when you call relativity in to play.  We got about a foot of snow in about 9 hours, which is nothing to sneeze at (or a lot to make you sneeze) no matter how you slice it.

The power went out fast.

I was at work when it started, and as I was driving home -- less than four hours later -- I saw four trees down on as many power lines.  We would be living in the equivalent of wooden caves with classy interior decoration for the next 3 days in my neighborhood.

It was all quite exciting for me.  I practice a lot of primitive survival, and so was in my element...and it was time to strut my stuff.  I collected firewood, maintained the fire, and cooked meals over the coals (which you would never know were made off of a range-oven...except that they taste a bit better... ^_~).  I know enough about edible plants, etc, to know that the power could be out for however long...and we would be okay.

But a funny thing began to happen:  People started to come together.  

I try to keep in touch with my neighbors, when they are willing.  However, they are very seldom willing.  We live in a society where virtually random things are deemed illegal, based upon the monetary power of particular 'special interest groups', and not upon the actual 'will of the people', as it should be.  This, combined with the litiginous nature of our soceity, seems to cause a severe paranoia of people peering in to our lives, and an obsession with privacy.  A couple of people near me have become very friendly, and we all help each other when it is necessary...from loaning a 'cup of sugar' to a spare rolling paper.  Indeed, it was one such (my good friend Anthony) that allowed me to borrow some wood at the outset.  I had been a little free-wheeling with mine out of overconfidence...and found myself with none at precisely the moment it was needed.  

Anthony's stash lasted only a bit, however (amazing how much wood you go through when that is your only means of heat).  By the second day, I was foraging for wood in the forest behind my house with a hatchet and my hiking wood-saw.  It was quite beautiful...moving and working in an ice-encrusted, snow-shrouded forest.  I built up enough heat breaking up wood that the cold was not a problem. 

I was left there with only my own challenge, my own feeling of accomplishment, and surrounded by rare beauty.  "This," I kept thinking, "is how it is supposed to be." 

After the first day, you started to notice something different.  Neighbors who had been, only 24 hours ago, only faces began to call out when they saw you, and ask if everything was okay.  A neighbor 2 doors down (I live in a duplex community) was pacing outside, and asked me if I knew anything about the power.  I confessed ignorance, and she informed me that she had been forced to take a hammer to an old chest-of-drawers in order to keep her and her children warm the previous night.  I immediately offered to help her gather wood.

The guy 3 doors down saw me walking around with a hatchet, and offered me the use of his woodaxe.  Later, as I was chopping up and splitting a decent sized log I had managed to unearth (the wood was wet as can be, due to the ice...this was a major problem in the beginning, and getting started again each morning; but a big help in the long-run in making more trips for wood less necessary)...anyway, I was chopping up the log when my neighbor whose axe I borrowed (Jason) popped his head around the corner, and said he needed the axe for a bit.  

I followed Jason back around, and someone had found a huge mass of construction timbers.  They wanted the axe to help chop them down to size, and said anyone that helped could take a share home with them.  Now, these timbers were pine...and you should not burn pine in a fireplace on anything like a regular basis.  The buildup of pitch in the chimney will cause a fire the likes of which you don't want to imagine (pine, and especially pine-needles, aren't referred to as Indian kerosene for nothing).  But this was an emergency, and it was just the one (very wet) pile.

So, we all passed the axe, and took turns chopping, amidst fun and friendly conversation so no one got exhausted.  And, at the end, we each took our share home to burn.

Of course, after just one more day, the power was restored...and suddenly the streets and lawns were deserted once again as people retreated into their own little iPod...but still, you could feel a bit of a change.  People who once seemed to not care now knod acknowledgement when they meet your eyes. 

Everyone knows that, if it comes down to it, the people around them have their back.

And it proves something I have long thought:  Humans will compete, when they feel they have no choice...but most of us would far rather help.

That is the true human nature.