The Early Signs of Public Unrest and Social Chaos?

Many people already know that I follow economic news as a hobby. Lately, a certain kind of story is beginning to grab my attention more frequently.

I have always said that all of the efforts we see by governments to lay the groundwork for a police state and all of the conspiracies surrounding our increasingly controlled society are preparations for the time when as a society we reach our growth limit and the inevitable breakdown of the infinite economic growth paradigm. I've outlined my theories in this post and this post among many others.

Here we are a couple of years later and I'm seeing more and more stories like the following three examples:

Cryptic Notes Left At Vandalized Bremerton Banks

BREMERTON, Wash. -- Bremerton police said four banks were vandalized early Thursday, with each incident involving windows broken with pieces of concrete that had notes taped to them...

"No entry was gained and nothing was taken, so it appears this was the delivery of some kind of message..."

Directions: Attach to brick and throw through window

Here is your brick back.

Recognize it? You should.

It is part of the wall that you, as one of the elite upper class, have helped to build between the minority ruling class, and the majority working class throughout history. By flaunting your decadence, you have made yourself a target.

Get used to it!

Social youth chaos-f___ s___ up!

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"We’ve also contacted the FBI because of the apparent political nature of the note..."

4 Luxury Model Homes Ablaze in Wash.

WOODINVILLE, Wash. (AP) — Crews battled fires early Monday at four multimillion-dollar show homes in a suburb north of Seattle, and a sign with the initials of a radical environmental group was found at the scene, an official said.

The sign, which had the initials of the Earth Liberation Front, mocked claims the luxury homes on the "Street of Dreams" were environmentally friendly, according to video images of the sign aired by KING-TV.

"Built Green? Nope black!" the sign said.

The fires started at a strip of unoccupied, furnished luxury model homes where developers show off the latest in high-end housing, interior design and landscaping. The homes are later sold.

The blazes are suspicious because they were set in multiple places in separate houses,...

Also see this thread for discussion: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Are the people of Britain readying their pitchforks?

I live in the U.K and I'm seeing more and more examples of public discontent with the current government and the governmental meddling and snooping that it has introduced into British society.

Today, I read a news article published online in the Telegraph.co.uk and was totally blown away by the public comments left to the question "How would you build the Britain of your dreams?"

Many of the comments left show a massive build up of public anger and aggression toward the current government (New Labour) and the Prime Minister (Gordon Brown).

That last one is a testament to the fact that this is not strictly a US phenomenon.

With the prospect of severe economic hardship on the horizon, stories like Middle Class May Be Subject To Food Rations, Warns UN, oil at $104/barrel, gold over $980/ounce, disaffected youth fed up with the mess the Baby Boomer generation has made of things; and add to this the almost weekly mass murder/suicide acts occurring by people who are or have been recently medicated for depression (like todays shooting at a Wendy's in Florida?) and you have the beginnings of the kind of social unrest you read about in history books.

Whatever the underlying cause, I think we are seeing the early signs of severe social unrest leading to a "civil war" between the "haves" and "have nots" with the eventual imposition of a police state.
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edit: image fixed

[edit on 3/3/2008 by Gools]

Very good thread.

I was just thinking about this sort of thing this morning looking at the recent post list.

I feel apathetic reading and growing my awareness while sitting in my home and not doing a thing about it.

As a matter of fact some days it just makes me sick to my stomach.

I don't blame people for wanting to express their angst.

People don't like repression, never have and never will.

Social unrest is inevitible if we aren't numbed out zombies!!!

I've also been reading that there've been food riots in 3rd world countries lately due to the rising cost of food. If ethanol production is used as a means of countering peak oil, than food rationing and resultant riots can only continue and grow in number.

The economic downturn is causing greater disatisfaction here in the US, as well.

I think people are also fed up with Bush and his agenda, and they're starting to get restive.

If, for example, the predictions of some sort of coup by Bush to stay in power were to occur, I think we would have violence here, too.

Economic crisis that are bad enough inevitably lead to war. Perhaps the economic crises are engineered to bring about war?

reply to post by Gools


Thanks alot Gools. I was about to sign off ATS so I could get a few things done but it seems I will be here all night with this thread.

I see the unrest eveywhere I go. Here in St. Louis the cameras are being pulled down and the Eminent Domain laws are being heatedly tested.

Austin Texas is the birth palce and training grounds for the super highway that charges local residents sizable tolls to drive the roads that were once free. I was just recently there and I was amazed at the amount of survalliance equipment at every turn and toll gate. The police presense was frightening.

Detainment camps are popping up all over Texas, the one I am most familiar with is near Taylor. I will try to find more on the camps and post.

We have military planes laying metal oxides into our skies, Mexican semis bringing drugs and chinese goods to us and halliburton companies managing our jails and this frightful war. Our pockets are picked clean in order that some executive with some utility company can have a bigger bonus.

I made a trip to an emergency room with a friend recently and had a hard time comprehending the work load this one small hospital had with the uninsured, one of the few Charity hospitals left, the sight brought me to tears.

We have become slaves to bankers and politicians and if we do not like it we may just find ourselves being fed by Halliburton in one of thier little detainment camps.

"Jingle Mail": Homeowners upside down in their loans are mailing their keys back to banks and walking out.

Homeowners are setting fire to their homes as opposed to going into foreclosure.

In a neighborhood near Orlando called Lee Vista, 40% of the homes are in foreclosure.

The gunstore across the street from me can not keep low-end firearms on the shelves. SKS, Mosin-Nagants, Hi-points, etc.. are selling so fast they are putting high-end weapons on sale to make room for the cheap stuff!

Riots in a high school in Miami and this morning on the way to work a traffic camera had clearly been shot by a paintball gun.

On the wall of the local gas station is spray painted
"Revolution is coming!!!" Somehow I do not think they mean the Ron Paul Revolution in this case

Also, every single website on the internet has posts regarding revolution. Nothing can stop it now. It only grows stronger until it physically manifests itself.

Here are a couple of links that I found interesting.

leenrage.blogspot.com...

www.prisonplanet.com...

Great thread!

I think civil war is somewhat of an inevitability, based on what we know from history. (A much wiser man would post references to historical examples...)

I think you're right that this increase in civil unrest is a precursor to a civil war, and perhaps a civil war would give us the chance to refresh freedom. As Thomas Jefferson said:

"God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion [the French Revolution]. What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."

I don't want a war, but I also don't want to continue living in fear and being a bad American because I want to be free...

Hopefully, if there is a war, it will be fought with few or better yet NO lives lost. I think, though, that most of us can expect some kind of a war in our lifetimes. Perhaps we can do something here in America to prevent it though; a kind of preemptive strike? Hmmmm....

Great thread. I agree that people are just plain tired of being herded like farm animals by the corporate and government dogs. Isn't it enough that they make their money on the sweat and blood of the working class?

I also believe that there will be a wave of attrition, people just dropping out of society. Sometimes the Grizzly Adams way of life doesn't seem so bad. And, if this revolution does happen, at least we'll have front row seats.

Sorry for all the bad spelling in my first post. I have found a few more links that explain the political moves undertaken to insure our silence.

www.commondreams.org...

www.inteldaily.com...

www.globalresearch.ca...

Originally posted by DamnedDirtyApes
Great thread. I agree that people are just plain tired of being herded like farm animals by the corporate and government dogs. Isn't it enough that they make their money on the sweat and blood of the working class?

I also believe that there will be a wave of attrition, people just dropping out of society. Sometimes the Grizzly Adams way of life doesn't seem so bad. And, if this revolution does happen, at least we'll have front row seats.

Haha, check out the "Survival" forum for more on this!

But who am I to talk? Check out the thread I started earlier today:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

More sky-is-falling bs...more making mountains-out-of-molehills. I believe about a year or so ago the situation was very volatile but I think the midterm election and this upcoming one has let a lot of the steam off.

reply to post by chromatico


That works until Bush pulls off his coup.

Never underestimate the power mad's ability to lust after power, and do just about anything to get and keep it.

reply to post by AWingAndASigh


If Bush tried to order the troops to institute martial law...I think the troops would just turn the guns on him instead. The man has no support left!

reply to post by chromatico


I wonder what the secret service would do under those circumstances?

Bush is out of touch with reality. Cheney even more so. I'm not sure how capable they are of realizing the futility of their aims.

reply to post by DamnedDirtyApes


I know many people that have already lifted themselves from all the societal pinnings. I for one pay cash for waht I need, unplugged the television and rid myself of all debt. I grow wheatgrass and a few other things and finally I am in a postion to live with out the help of banks and corporations.

My concern for the unrest, the maddening desperation that is rising is that it will be turned on the wrong people. I don't think we need a civil war or revolution. Organized efforts to force the corporations, bankers and politicians to start reinstating some rights and quality of life is what we need.

If the Greed of the Elite begins to cost them they may rethink thier big bonuses.
www.breitbart.com...

Eco-terrorists and anarchists.

These nuts are a real threat and unfortunately, their members make Islamist terrorists seem like paragons of rational thought, plus they are home-grown.

I don't know how people can lose touch with reality to the extent that they do and still function.

They are hard to catch, but when they are they should be put to death, after due process, of course.

Except for the damage they do and the disruptions to commerce they cause, I don't see this as a growing movement that would engulf the society.

How would a civil war even be possible in this day and age? I mean, the people could stand up and fight, but seriously, wouldn't they be fighting the military? That does not sound so smart.
Or I guess the military could split into the two sides, but still, this all just seems like a game the head psychologists of market research are engineering. Its not like any of this social unrest is a surprise to them, thats why there are and have been faculties to take care of such non compliant products. They would have no problem finding cells for those who chose the illegal version of sanity.

reply to post by chromatico


Are you referring to the 2006 Mid-term? If so I respectfully disagree with you. I think that has built the head of steam as much as any other provocation. The Dems were elected with a clear mandate to end the war and instead they not only continued funding they actually expanded it's scope and supported great civil liberty intrusions!

That along with our hand picked successor candidates we get to "choose" from has just made more of the mainstream population aware of what a farce our whole system is.

Random people say subtle things in passing conversation with regards to government and the system. they are quietly re-affirming the thoughts and ideas they are having by finding others who feel the same. I was in a 7-11 lookign at magaiznes when another guy made a mention of the mag I was looking at (Guns & Ammo), within five minutes there were 5 of us, all strangers, having a conversation about how far out of line the government has gone. It all ended when one guy said "maybe this is not the place to talk like this," An American citizen fearful of being overheard criticizing his governement.

It is inevitable. The people have had their necks stood on for too long. More of the peopel are starting to pay attention.

So...you are suggesting that those who are trying to look after the only inhabital planet that we know of and those that are trying to express their frustrations over bankers bleeding us with loan shark interest rates should be executed?

reply to post by Gools


Interesting premise for a thread, Gools. I'd like to add another possible early sign/symptom of public unrest. The recent rash of public shootings.

While most people here on ATS prefers to pin the blame on the excessive use of antidepressant use like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRI), I found this explanation too simplistic and lacking. It's certainly possible that they may play a large factor in these events, but I believe that they are just that - a factor and not a cause. Correlation does not equal causation and to that end I hypothesised that a bigger factor (and possibly the cause) is the society itself.

While looking for more information to support this idea, I found that I was not the only person to postulate this as a reason. It seems that someone else has also thought about it. In fact, he wrote a book on the subject.

Going Postal: Rage, Murder, and Rebellion: From Reagan's Workplaces to Clinton's Columbine and Beyond (Paperback)

Here's the editorial review:

An eye-opening look at the phenomenon of school and workplace shootings in America, Going Postal explores the rage-murder phenomenon that has plagued — and baffled — America for the last three decades, and offers some provocative answers to the oft-asked question, "Why?" By juxtaposing the historical place of rage in America with the social climate that has existed since the 1980s — when Reaganomics began to widen the gap between executive and average-worker earnings — the author crafts a convincing argument that these schoolyard and office massacres can be seen as modern-day slave rebellions. He presents many fascinating and unexpected cases in detail. Like slave rebellions, these massacres are doomed, gory, sometimes even inadvertently comic, and grossly misunderstood. Taking up where Bowling for Columbine left off, this book seeks to set these murders in their proper context and thereby reveal their meaning.

(click on the link for reader reviews)

While I have yet to peruse the book myself, the reader reviews at Amazon seem to indicate that the author has linked these violent public shooting to a population that has grown weary of oppression from the upper castes of society. This seems to relate directly to the premise of your thread.

The following two article by the same author also draws a similar conclusion:
Virginia Tech: Is the Scene of the Crime the Cause of the Crime?
Northern Ill. University: Was the Killer Crazy, or the Campus Hopeless?

Is it possible that these public shootings are a sign of social unrest? I believe so, and it seems that I am not the only one.