It's the End of the World for the Doomsday Economy

This thread is not a "I told you so" attempt. Just a little disclaimer.

Since the world continues to spin, and Australia is merrily into the 22nd of December, I think it's safe to say we can all lock up our bunkers and start eating the 50 years of MREs we all stocked up on.

What, you didnt start prepping?

The Doomsday Industry.

Some of us really get bashed, or have gotten bashed over the past couple years swatting down the 2012 doomsday "theories". And while many people claim that people who did such are: "close minded", "drinking the kool aid", "unable to see the positive/negative/spiritual/demonic changes in the world", etc... Some of us simply know what the whole game is about.

The Doomsday industry didn't pop up overnight. And for a lot of us who are skeptics about such things, we started out as pre-teen, gullible believers of our childhood doomsday theories. As George Bush says, "Fool me once shame on...." Uh, okay forget Bush.

But fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

Many experts trace the birth of the apocalypse industry to the Millerite movement, when preacher William Miller launched a well-funded campaign with its own newspaper to promote his vision of doomsday in the 1840s.

Doomsaying has a long history. I bet you could trace it back further than the 1840s if you tried. Since fear is one of the easiest attributes in the human psyche that allows us to manipulate one another.

Salem Witch Trials anyone?




If you hadn't noticed all the "prophecies" that have come out over the past ten years about 2012, they all had price tags attached to them. Whether it was million dollar bunkers, DIY kits bunkers for the frugal, MREs, water tablets, iodine tablets, colloidal silver, magazines, books, movies, donations, gifts, workshops, speaking tours, investments and I'm sure a couple more that I'm probably forgetting.

"Systematic commercialization first arose from fear of nuclear war in the 1960s with companies building bomb shelters," says Lorne Dawson, sociologist and author of "Prophetic Failure and Millennial Movements." "That showed the business opportunity, and it continued with the survivalist movement of the 1970s and the growing fear of an eco-catastrophe."

The 60's was just a fear slinging haven for doom profiteers. Think about it, a cold war with Russia, an active war in Vietnam... Millions of nukes with drunken politicians holding the footballs. Wow...

The years 2000 and 2012 have increased the focus on doomsday, and Dawson believes it taps into a basic human desire. "Simple psychology shows that people need to believe they do not live in chaos, that there is a higher purpose."

As I said, this isn't a "I told you so thread."

I know a number of proponents on here and the interweb in general were doing it for the "lulu", some for the money, some trolling because the habit just dies too hard. But I know there's a few that really believed it, that really wanted to believe it. And for those ones, just think about this the next time the doom industry gets rehashed.

Even if 2012 passes without incident, do not expect the industry to stop. "Even when a theory is debunked, a core group tends to become even more fervent," says Hudson. "True believers are locked in. You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into."

Did someone forget that money is the biggest motivator in life?

Prophecy injecting billions of dollars into Mexican economy

It may be the end of the world, but certainly not for Mexico’s economy. The Mayan prophecy will have attracted more than $15 billion in tourist revenue by the end of 2012, as millions flock to the country to discover its indigenous civilization.

Source Article.

And just for fun,

Uh oh, it's the end of the end of the world.

It's better to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

I never really thought that something would come of all this.
But, that didn't stop me from making better preparations.
All you need to lose is the power in your house for 12+ hours...
Then you will realize that being prepared is a blessing.

You see, there is no harm in stocking up for disaster.
Extreme weather will remind a person of that.
Besides just being ready for anything, survival is human nature.
Most of us would agree that we all want to see a bright future.
But the writing is still on the wall.

No one can predict the end of the world.
But there are things that we all can still prepare for.
Economic disaster has yet to come to fruition...
And I do believe it is still coming.

As I said here in November...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Now is the time to hit up Ebay and preloved etc for all the cheap survival gear.

Well I always keep my family prepared just in case of power outage, bad winter storms, Hurricane and so much more, so I was already prepped. It was just a matter of adding a few extras to the mix, once I got that I was ready for anything. So had something of happened today I would have been ready for it. However if something happens this summer I am still ready. Its never bad to be prepared for a worst case scenario just in case.

reply to post by boncho


The Doomsday Industry is far from collapse. Just because the world didn't end today, only means that this is the "beginning of the end." Look at the news and the posts on this board.

The government is a comin' for my guns!

The US economy is about to collapse!

Earthquakes, tornadoes, blizzards!

Birds falling from the sky and fish washing ashore!

No, the Doomsday Profiteers have all they need to continue to make money as long as fear continues to rule reason.

Originally posted by khimbar
As I said here in November...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Now is the time to hit up Ebay and preloved etc for all the cheap survival gear.

Why would anyone sell their gear? I hate to say it but look at Katrina, and Sandy and how people have gone without power for months?? Come on why sell what you have, that is stupid.

I was think about cruising E-Bay or Craigslist for semi-used/unused doomsday retreats/bunkers/supplies at a huge discount. Maybe in a day or two.

Wondering what the ones who spent all their money are going to do now.

Originally posted by havok
It's better to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

How about this for a hypothetical:

Dwayne Fray-De-Kat buys into all the Doomsday hysteria, starts spending his money first attending some of the conferences of people like this guy, spends money on books, DVDs, maybe even makes some contributions to some of them to help them in uncovering "the truth" about the end of the world the governments are likely covering up.

Then he goes a step further, after watching Alex Jones episodes and talk about the evil drug industries, and how fema camps are being set up, and how medicine would be scarce in a Martial Law scenario, Dwayne decides to start buying some colloidal silver and other health products marketed on AJs show.

Dwayne makes good money mind you, he brings in about 120,000 a year as an engineer. He developed a bearing used in locomotives and about 47,000 of his earnings are simply off his royalties. The rest he earns in wages from his engineering job.

Now, Dwayne sees an ad in one of his survivor/prepper magazines. There is a group out of Texas selling pre-fabbed bunkers, only 86,000!!! Dwayne has about that much in his savings. And he figures, just count some pennies and be a bit more frugal, if the world doesn't end, he'll have his savings back in no time. And if it does happen, hey, him and his family are safe!

Fast forward a few months later... Dwayne's daughter is diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of cancer that only affects .02 % of the population. The apocalypse due date has long since passed. He has no use for any of the crap that he purchased. However, his daughter could greatly benefit from experimental treatments which Dwayne, now, cannot afford.

Oh well, at least he has his colloidal silver...

reply to post by havok

It's better to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

Agreed. The problem is that some people's sense of what the worst case scenario could be far exceeds what is likely, or even possible. Having flashlights, bottled water, a few days worth of food and so forth is all that most people need in the face of the most probable weather emergencies. But how does one prepare for the materialization of an extra-dimensional planet populated by soul stealing aliens? Yet, some people's lives revolve around vague apocalyptic visions. There will always be someone who sees these people as a potential gold mine.

Originally posted by Feltrick
reply to post by boncho

 

The Doomsday Industry is far from collapse. Just because the world didn't end today, only means that this is the "beginning of the end." Look at the news and the posts on this board.

The government is a comin' for my guns!

The US economy is about to collapse!

Earthquakes, tornadoes, blizzards!

Birds falling from the sky and fish washing ashore!

No, the Doomsday Profiteers have all they need to continue to make money as long as fear continues to rule reason.

edit on 21-12-2012 by Feltrick because: (no reason given)

I agree with you. I pretty much summed my thread up in the last couple lines with that sentiment. But I wanted a catchy headline that would scare all the doomlovers into thinking they might lose their fearpr0n.

where do you stand on the the prophecy of global economic meltdown, do you feel our financial system is doing well like bernanki says, or do you feel it's a scam and soon to self destruct?

i ask this because you have economy in your title and as far as my research tells me, our economy is a potential global game changer.

Originally posted by LittleBlackEagle
where do you stand on the the prophecy of global economic meltdown, do you feel our financial system is doing well like bernanki says, or do you feel it's a scam and soon to self destruct?

i ask this because you have economy in your title and as far as my research tells me, our economy is a potential global game changer.

That is a completely fair point to raise. And I am glad you did. However, hiding in bunkers is not going to do anyone good.

During the great depression, problems were not solved by people scared out of their wits ready to shoot any stray person/government agent walking onto their property.

During the Dutch famine, they managed to keep themselves alive not by trying to burn each other at the stake.

Prepping yourself to have supplies of cheap non-parishable foods, a generator or bare necessities that you will use whether or not something bad happens, is not crazy, but perhaps wise. There is a very fine line however. And the doom that is peddled by people trying to make money off of the idea, only muddies the waters when it comes to real issues like the one you mentioned.

But as for will there be a meltdown, how long will it last, will it be the end of the world, etc?

Well...

The money markets are manipulated. So far, if you look at wealth before and after the housing crisis, there has been a sharp redistribution of wealth. I surmise another downturn will create the same thing.

Can it be avoided?

Most likely.

Will it?

Not sure.

What happens if it happens? Reality kicks in. You won't give two damns about Nibiru if you and your neighbours come together and try to make a decent life for you and your families during rough times.

Originally posted by AuntC

Originally posted by khimbar
As I said here in November...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Now is the time to hit up Ebay and preloved etc for all the cheap survival gear.

Why would anyone sell their gear? I hate to say it but look at Katrina, and Sandy and how people have gone without power for months?? Come on why sell what you have, that is stupid.

I'm not selling what I have. I'm guessing other people will though.

Oh hell, I think these doomsday predictions can get traced all the way back to when the neanderthals were flatulating in their caves to keep warm at night.

And then they discovered how to rub two sticks together and an entirely new set of doomsday scenarios came to fruition.

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." ~ Albert Einstein

Too true.
Too true, indeed.

On a more positive note regarding this 2012 stuff though...

It surely must have helped to boost the economy somewhat over these past few years. Cabelas et al no doubt made a killing off of it.

reply to post by boncho


why would having a bunker be a bad thing then? i do realize what you're saying and i'm sure many made bank on the doomsday scenario and in wrongful way, through deceit.

the markets are indeed fake and it must be strange for the people who actually plug the data, to come into work knowing the truth and spouting lies all day long, through market manipulation.

i don't think it can be avoided at this point in the game. i feel those with the wealth have set in motion their plan to stay in power to very end if need be, by any means possible. i don't feel it's going to go smoothly, this collapse, when so many realize how much they have been lied to and for many generations past.

i'm unsure of the conspiracy validity, but i will say all dung floats, so perhaps the physics of being an elite, is the same.


a new age is indeed upon us in a big way, it's now time to either remain serfs or rise above and make a better world and with people being put in a hard place more and more each day, it's now just a matter of time i feel.

you know they can only piss on our heads, whilst claiming rain, for so long.

Originally posted by havok
It's better to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

I never really thought that something would come of all this.
But, that didn't stop me from making better preparations.
All you need to lose is the power in your house for 12+ hours...
Then you will realize that being prepared is a blessing.

You see, there is no harm in stocking up for disaster.
Extreme weather will remind a person of that.
Besides just being ready for anything, survival is human nature.
Most of us would agree that we all want to see a bright future.
But the writing is still on the wall.

No one can predict the end of the world.
But there are things that we all can still prepare for.
Economic disaster has yet to come to fruition...
And I do believe it is still coming.

i hail from paterson, nj, and i was in the dark 128 hours due to sandy. then another 18 from the 2nd storm. i was well stocked on wood for fireplace, canned food, water...

Originally posted by CranialSponge
Oh hell, I think these doomsday predictions can get traced all the way back to when the neanderthals were flatulating in their caves to keep warm at night.

And then they discovered how to rub two sticks together and an entirely new set of doomsday scenarios came to fruition.

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." ~ Albert Einstein

Too true.
Too true, indeed.

"ROk-TOk is going to end the world!"

"What do you mean?"

"What?! You don't know?! RAg-MAg found an old stick, with five notches in it... After ROk-TOk started making the sun power out of different sticks! So that means in 5 suns from now all the sticks in the land are going to turn into sun power! We will all burn like Mastadon meat on hot rocks!"

"Oh no, what do we do?"

"Give me all your wives so I can appease the sun. I will do a naked sun dance with them."

"Thank you BAk-MAk!!! You are going to save us!!!."





Still a better storyline than 10,000BC had.

S..w...e...a..r........t...o......g...o...d

www.imdb.com...

reply to post by LittleBlackEagle

why would having a bunker be a bad thing then? i do realize what you're saying and i'm sure many made bank on the doomsday scenario and in wrongful way, through deceit.

Why is one person more important than the other in a crisis situation? How is the person who builds a bunker to live by themselves in a zombie apocalypse financial meltdown any better than the elitists they claim they hate?

Excuse me, but if the economy collapses, and services are shut down and my country is living off rations. I will be doing something useful for my friends and family, my neighbours, to try and get our community back on its feat. If everyone around me goes down, I will go down along with them swinging. Not hiding in a hole in the ground basking in my selfishness.

Originally posted by CranialSponge
On a more positive note regarding this 2012 stuff though...

It surely must have helped to boost the economy somewhat over these past few years. Cabelas et al no doubt made a killing off of it.

I guess... And still less annoying than Tony Robbins.

I am still thinking about starting the next end of the world. I'm thinking books, audiobooks, ebooks, merchandise, movies, radio shows, TV, workshops, seminars, anxiety retreats, armageddon investments, a nutrient line...

I honestly believe I could bank a million off it if I put the effort in...