A sign of the new dark ages?

[Easyrider]

This is not a new crime. This has been going on since metals spiked. We've had articles in the past of foreclosures being stripped of all their copper by the evicted. Lamp posts in Detroit being gutted. Someone was even stealing manhole covers someplace. This is why your 2 cents is worth a nickel.

[cecilia]

Here in South Carolina, we have had more than a dozen people killed while trying to steal cooper out of the substations and the newest thing is they are stealing the storm drain covers off the interstate. Miles and miles of huge, square and extremely heavy covers are missing from the middle of the interstate.

[4Him]

As the Roman Empire collapsed and the Dark Ages shadowed European civilization, petty thieves and common citizens began scavenging many of the empire's buildings and monuments, using the stone and marble to build their hovels and walls to protect their gardens and livestock. Is that any different from what we see today as people strip the infrastructure for metal and materials to use or sell?

Thanks for this perspective. It has been many years since I studied the Dark Ages and after your post I went back and did some reading, finding out the causes and time spans. I see so many similarities it is absolutely frightening.

[Lenno]

The odd thing is China has stopped buying scrap iron, but then Tweekers rarely check the markets.

[bbbuddy]

Is that any different from what we see today as people strip the infrastructure for metal and materials to use or sell?

No difference. It already seems a lot like the Dark Ages and it will just keep getting worse.

What is REALLY sad is that the serfs during the Dark Ages were far freer than we are today....

[packyderms_wife]

What is REALLY sad is that the serfs during the Dark Ages were far freer than we are today....

This is because the general consensus during the dark ages was, by TPTB at that time, if the tax collectors don't get the people then the plague and starvation will! Most preferred to suffer at the hands of plague and starvation as from what I've read and of paintings I've seen the tax collectors were a sadistic lot of creeps.

K-

[cyberiot]

Here in AZ, they're stealing metal vases from the cemetery. Worth about $500 a pop, apparently.

Somebody dug up about $30 worth of copper pipe from outside DH's office. Cost more than a grand to repair the damage.

[binkerthebear]

Here's an extract from the other forum on something that sounds even worse than the Dark Ages:

As a last ditch effort, discussing the following scenarios with the non-prepper may help them understand what life will be like without what has sustained them so comfortably for so long.

This is the hard reality the non prepper needs to understand:

Without power the water company cannot get water to their faucets. Without water dehydration occurs within 24 hours. Dehydration causes much suffering before death.
Toilets in homes, unless they have an incineration toilet that still need power to work, don’t flush without water. Where will they go to the bathroom and then where will they dispose of human waste?
There will be no clean water available anywhere, especially in major cities, and they cannot live more than about three days without it.
Drinking dirty and polluted water will make them incredibly sick and accelerate the dehydration process.
Polluted water must be purified and that means having a good filter, bleach or other disinfectant, or fuel and something to boil water with.
Understand just how fragile the power and the infrastructure is that pumps water to the public. A breakdown in our power infrastructure or a cyber attack against utility systems will render them useless.
A single event can rapidly lead to a cascade of other events that would certainly collapse almost, if not, everything. This is why major snow storms, hurricanes or solar events in the past have affected millions of people in an entire region all at once.
A single, seemingly unimportant event may become quite terrible as its repercussions spread; this can include a far and away disaster.
Understand that the economies of the world are so interwoven that when one major economy falls it affects everyone.
Not having any food in the house means that if the stores are emptied suddenly in a bad enough situation that there will be no food available for a long period of time afterward. Recent history during disasters around the world has shown that stores can literally be emptied in minutes.
Think about how totally horrible the feeling of being very hungry is and what circumstances would cause one to be desperate enough to eat anything.
ALL stores can be closed instantly under martial law.
Understand that you may not be able to purchase anything after it starts, especially with any credit cards.
Understand the complexity of food and water distribution; breaks in these chains can stop anything from getting to the people.
What life will be like if no toilet paper is stored?
Understand that without light sources, the night will be pitch black, often with zero visibility.
There will be no communications, other than probably martial law type of instructions over the radio, that is if they have batteries for the radio.
Other than ham and shortwave radio, any information that is available will be sent out by the government as filtered propaganda that “they” want everyone to hear.
Without power consider what it will be like to not have any heat to stay warm, or air conditioned air to stay cooler – with no way of alleviating the situation.
Travelling will likely be by foot or bicycle, as their will be no fuel and roadways may be blocked.
Realize that ANY travel outside of the home or neighborhood will be extremely dangerous as ANYONE who moves becomes a target
Non preppers will be pushed way beyond their limit because of lack of supplies.
The non prepper must realize their government does not really care about them individually, that they are a mere number and help will likely not come from them.
They have to figure out somewhere to get food. This can mean wild plants which they must know how to identify as safe, or risk poisoning themselves.
They have to understand that when we refer to “having no food” it doesn’t mean not having the food they are used to enjoying, it means no food to eat at all.
They have to understand that if they are fortunate enough to have any running water, they will probably have to bathe in cold water for lack of stored fuel to heat water.
They have to realize that the very strange and totally unexpected is going to be all around them, made that much worse because of lack of any reliable self defense stores or skills.
They might have to remain on the run constantly because of looking for water and food.
They must understand that bad will be magnified magnitudes to living misery because of lack of food, water, and other necessary items that they took for granted for so long.

Okay, now comes the “truly ugly and unthinkable” life that most, if not all, people that have failed and refused to prepare themselves will deal with. Clear vivid visualization is key here for anyone that ho hums the idea of prepping.

What horrors they will likely face after a cave-in of their nation’s economy, war, geophysical upheaval, or whatever crisis is bad enough to disturb or stop their nation from working and functioning? There are plenty of very potential SHTF events that are simply awaiting a catalyst to trigger them.

The Non-Prepper (NP) has to realize right off the bat that 911 and other emergency calls in will be met with silence or some recording telling the caller not to panic.
The (NP) that has no reliable self defense that can stop an attacker, will not get help from public services, and will become a victim of rape, assault, torture, or murder.
The (NP) that has no reliable self defense and will not only be at the mercy of criminal elements, but also have to contend with many desperate animals, some with rabies.
The (NP) that has no food will either have to find food or be ready to beg for food or worse, like sacrificing their bodies or other horrible acts or things to get a bite of food.
The (NP) will have to go through the worst, most rancid conditions of garbage to just maybe find what they should have stored up.
The (NP) will go through panic and near if not total psychosis looking for any water source right before their bodies begin shutting down during advanced stages of dehydration.
The (NP) will go through unbearable trauma when their children and other people around them are crying, screaming, and suffering with intense hunger pains in their stomachs.
The (NP) will have to deal with the awful stench of rotting wastes from many sources because they have not taken the effort to even store up waste disposal plastic bags.
The (NP) will have disease and pathogens everywhere, not only because they have no trash disposal means, but because they haven’t prepared how to deal with trash and waste.
The (NP) will have to live in very primitive conditions after things around them deteriorate rapidly, because they have neglected putting away anything to make life more bearable.
The (NP) and those around them will likely develop all sorts of infective skin rashes from the lack of insight of storing up toilet paper. Imagine the smell for a moment.
The (NP) will have to handle biting insects and other vermin that will collect amoungst the filth that will pile up. No pest control stored up along with no other supplies.
The (NP) will have no way of treating sickness certain to follow a SHTF event, no first aid and likely no training or knowledge about how to treat the ill on top of this.
The (NP) will have sick and dying people around them because of not being able to treat minor injuries. Didn’t even stock up on disinfectives. Unsanitary conditions lead to infection.
The (NP) and others around them will experience much grief as they watch helplessly as their family members literally die of starvation right in front of their eyes.
The (NP) won’t believe how desperate hunger drives them and those that mean everything to them to “trying” to eat food that taste so bad it gags them and comes back up.
The (NP) will likely have family and friends around them that have also not prepared committing suicide because they can’t take it any longer.
The (NP) will witness some of those people around them lose any sense of civilized humanity in them and behave like wild animals after some time from lack of necessities.
The (NP) and family members, maybe friends also, will at some point end up barbecuing or eating raw the family dog, cat, bird, any pet dear to everyone for food.
The (NP) will likely get into physical fights with other family members over any scrap of food available as rational thoughts are lost to wanton hunger.
The (NP) as many other (NP’s) will eventually go out of any safety of their home looking for food and or water, become disorientated and lost, and die a hard death somewhere.
The (NP) that is “lucky” enough to find some government help will likely have to almost sell their soul, probably all their freedom, to get tiny rations – just enough to keep them alive.
The (NP) will see widespread violence and barbarism that will shock them to the core and will wish that they had purchased some form of firearm and stocked up on ammunition.
The (NP) better get used to attempting to explain the children and other adults why they wasted all that money on junk, and didn’t buy any emergency food and other supplies.
The (NP), no matter how positive they are will drop quickly into depression and lose willpower as having nothing to hold on to does this, along with lack of any nutrition.
The (NP) will feel the worst guilt imaginable as they hear their family moaning in anguish from lack of anything to eat, knowing they could have done something to prepare.
The (NP) will most likely not see the rebuilding and recovery after A SHTF event. They will, like almost all NP’s, be statistics. Some will die hours or a day before help arrives.
The (NP) from lack of food, drinking bad water, no light at night, the horrid smells, no good self defense, the overall horror, will often be paralyzed with fear and despair, blank stare.
The (NP) is totally helpless after SHTF, will have to rely totally on charity of those prepared to live. They will take all sorts of desperate measures likely to get them shot. They’ll attempt to eat hazardous foods like an animal trapped in a house will do, and get sick and suffer much before dying. The (NP) will likely die (ugly and hard) as they lived, unprepared for anything.

[binkerthebear]

If that wasn't enough, watch this clip from AJ:
http://www.infowars.com/police-hunt-man-for-sport/

[doat]

And than your elected morons want to take away stand your ground?