To educate sheeple or not educate sheeple...

allenwrench · Intermediate Crude Joined: Apr 23, 2008 Posts: 728

To educate sheeple or not educate sheeple...that is the question?

My wife says I should not educate the sheeple. She complains when I put PO bumper stickers on my car. She could not give me a good answer as to why - she may be worried about making others mad.
My feelings are I would rather other people prepare the best they can, grow food, plant fruit trees, downsize and don't make commitments they will be sorry about.

I am very grateful for someone telling me about PO, so I just return the favor and putting a few stickers on my car cost me almost nothing in money and no time to educate others.
How do you feel about educating the sheeple?

zeke · Heavy Crude Joined: Dec 07, 2007 Posts: 174

I have tried, and continue to try, to talk about this with friends and loved ones.
In return, I've gotten anything from polite listening to ad hominem attacks.
Now, I can live with all of that. My friends and family know that I mean well, and while I can sometimes spout, I know when to stop yapping about it.

What I am not interested in taking on are actual physical attacks from "Kill the Messenger" types who might see that bumper sticker as a sure sign that you are part of, quite possibly even the leader, of an anti-american, anti-car, anti- whatever that person loves, group bent of denying him/her their "right" to squander oil, and that what you need most is a good thrashing...or stabbing...or shooting..

Things are calm now, relatively. But in time, people are going to want somebody to blame. They will NOT blame themselves, or examine their own lifeways.
They will want to focus on the person(s) who they believe, or are told are the cause of all of their pain.
You go waving your Peak Oil banner, so to speak, you're going to attract the attention of those who are just looking for the right object of their anger.

One example I think of is a video I saw on the news about 10 years ago, taken by a security camera, of a woman - a Christmas shopper - at a store being told by a clerk, that the store was fresh out of that year's hot toy.
Well, the customer took to beating the snot out of the store clerk.
And to think, that was just a TOY!
zeke
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zoidberg

Given the unprecedented runup in prices most people with the curiosity to find out why, have. Those who dont, dont really want to understand why. No point in agitating them unnecessarily. It'll neither help them or you, if they're not ready to figure it out. Spot gasoline outages should be the next big signal that'll bring in a bunch more people to understanding. The process cant be forced while it's still ignorable.

mrobert

As long as there is someone else to blame and hope the problem will be solved that way ... people have no intention in admitting they are part of the problem.
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grampybone · Tar Sands Joined: May 31, 2008 Posts: 82

I have tried in the past to tell people about peak oil, but to no avail. No longer do I waste my breath talking to these people. We will see when tshtf who is better prepared for it.

Rage · Tar Sands Joined: May 06, 2008 Posts: 25

I contemplated heading down to the iPhone line-ups and spreading the word, but just couldn't bring myself to be seen near that line-up.....

Ayame

When I first tried to explain peak oil to my father he laughed in my face as if I was an imbecile. Now as he sees fuel prices going up and up and up and with me still going on incessantly about the whole thing he has shifted his outlook somewhat, in the car he sometimes mutters 'back to horses I guess'. I have explained to him the seriousness of the situation we will face in the future and yet no preparations are made. My family is of the opinion 'we'll deal with it when we get to that bridge' unfortunately they will probably get shoved off 'that bridge' when shtf. I have this horrible feeling they will all turn to me and say 'so what do we do now?' at that point.

CarlinsDarlin · Moderator Joined: Jul 02, 2004 Posts: 1376

I tend to agree with Zeke. While I still talk to a few people, I'm not as "preachy" as I used to be. I figure the signs are everywhere for those who care to look. These days, I don't have to look for an opportunity to talk about peak oil. It comes up in everyday conversations. As I said, the evidence is everywhere.

That being said, I don't think I'd wave a banner and become the PO poster child. One, for the reasons zeke mentioned, and two, because everyone and their dog will be showing up at your house when they realize (too late) that they should have prepared and didn't. I don't have enough to help out everyone.
K

BigTex

Considering that it is a classic sign of mental illness to believe that one has special information that others don't possess regarding the imminent end of the world, it's probably wise to tread lightly around the uninitiated. I was thinking the other day about how I might describe to a therapist why I have been a bit sullen lately and the story sounded a little wild.

"You see doctor, I have recently become convinced that a dramatic die-off of the human population is going to occur within my lifetime. I also have reason to believe that the entire global financial system is poised to collapse any day. I also have reason to believe that everything the government tells me is a lie. I am also virtually certain that fossil fuel depletion is going to be in the vanguard of the calamities that will more or less signal the end of the world." I can just see the therapist taking a deep breath and replying: "So, BigTex, how long have you been having these feelings?"
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eXpat · Intermediate Crude Joined: Jun 08, 2006 Posts: 861

Unlike previous years, sheeple is about to be educated by another teacher, is call "reality". Reality is a harsh teacher and it doesn´t tolerate very much mistakes from slow students.
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Pretorian

doodlebug2 · Tar Sands Joined: May 25, 2008 Posts: 40

I agree with Mrobert. I think this whole thing is for a person or group to blame.
The sheeple want to blame enviromentalists that we are running out of oil. A person told me enviromentalism = communism.
Like the enviromentalist started peak oil.
No the sheeple will never learn anyway, they choose not to.

VMarcHart

allenwrench · Intermediate Crude Joined: Apr 23, 2008 Posts: 728

hardtootell

the first line in the book "the long emergency" said it all:

"People cannot handle too much reality"