Do you guys ever feel superior?

[Defender]

 I'm not accusing anyone here of this, but it's something that's been knocking around in my head for a while...
 Do you guys ever have to clamp down on feeling that you're superior to the folks who don't know about P.O. and are generally clueless about how screwed up things really are?
 I've only known about it for a few months, but I already feel like screaming, "Are you guys freaking stupid?! Do you not see the massive everlasting shitstorm heading your way?!"
 Any thoughts?

[Nicole]

There are MANY PO'ers who come off as superior and arrogant.  And I suppose one can't help but see the rampant stupidity in our society in a new light once you accept the reality of PO.  I think it's wise to keep a lid on it, though -- none of us know how this will turn out and who will actually survive.  Some of those stupid people may turn out to have skills we need and won't we feel silly when the "stupid" are doing better than us?

The other day, someone was saying that people who could really picture PO were not very well integrated into society.  I think that was a very valid point.  Through most of evolution, fitting in was critical to survival.  The lemmings of the world are exactly what evolution has dictated.  Those of us who are one foot in and one foot out are the ones who in some ways are the failures.  It just so happens we might be the ones which survive this challenge better... or maybe not.

[Defender]

I think I understand...
Thank you for the edification, ma'am.

[realitycheck]

I feel frustration much more than superiority.  And then I wonder if it is intelligence (strategic thinking) or seeking a validation of a sense of economic doom or depression that drives me to even focus on these issues. 

I don't want to damage relationships so I try to be gentle with PO information-- usually talking up diversification in investments(e.g.local investing and metals), permaculture vs. rising food and energy costs.  Energy vulnerability as a national security issue. There are losts of crossover topics.

Yes, I want to tell my peers that the stock market will likely vaporize before we retire and it is likely that 4 BILLION people will be dead within a decade (or 2) and if we will live it will likely be in a police state.

I know people with the means to mitigate local issues: e.g. set up neighborhood wind power/local grid, put in a fruit orchard...but they won't.  And that is what really drives me insane.  We are squandering unprecedented wealth and opportunity that could mitigate PO ramifications.

And then there's living day to day.  It's the rainyseason and the tread is wearing.  Should I bother with expensive new tires? 
(I will buy the tires...maybe I can make planters out of the old ones.)

[OldHorseman]

Do you guys ever have to clamp down on feeling that you're superior

   Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble,
   When you're perfect in every way...

   I can't speak for other PO-aware folks, but mostly I think that I'm just wired differently than normal people.  In the 20th Century, this made me a bit of an outsider.  In the near future, it may become a distinct advantage.

   One of the key features of Natural Selection is that there are some individuals with unusual traits.  In times of sudden environmental shifts, even if the bulk of the population is wiped-out, those who happen to have the traits that fit the new environment survive and prevent extinction of the species.  It's not good or bad, superior or inferior... Just fitness for the new reality.

   We're about to be reminded that homo sapiens is still subject to Natural Selection.

   Oh... But none of the above stops me from looking out over a sea of ticky-tacky McMansions and wanting to scream "Have you people all lost your forking minds?!?!?

[JurisDoctorOfDoom]

 Do you guys ever have to clamp down on feeling that you're superior . . .

Only when I look below my belt.

[Defender]

Well...that was interesting.
I agree with OH about how not fitting in can help the species survive. It takes unconventional people to solve unconventional problems.
I'm also going to pretend that I didn't see Juris Doctor's post...
(eew...)

[Wednesday]

I've always been a bit of a weirdo, most artists are. RIP Frida Kahlo.

Someone once said "It is not a sign of weakness to be maladjusted to a sick society"

To answer your question..no, I don't feel superior. I do feel frustrated with those who are too blind to see. I find that they seem to be the ones who feel "superior". In some cases, I have suffered ridicule at the hands of people like this. That's when I get up, shake the dust off my feet and move on. It's also a big part of the reason I find comfort in this forum.

[Wednesday]

 Do you guys ever have to clamp down on feeling that you're superior . . .

Only when I look below my belt.

HAHA Matt. You crack me up. 

[oliver.rochford]

I've always felt superior, regardless of PO

Only when I look below my belt.

Hairiest genitalia?

Reminds me of a joke.

A landowner rides on his land and sees a fairy drowning in a ditch. He helps her out so she grants him three wishes.

For hist first wish he says ' i wish I owned everything as far as the eye can see'

The fairy says 'So be it!'

His second wish:'I want to be irresistable to women'

The fairy says 'So be it!'

For his last wish he says, 'I want my genitalia to be like my horses!'

And the fairy says 'So be it!' and *poof* she disappear.

The guy rides back to his landhouse and sees a maid. He jumps off of his horse, pulls down his pants and the maid runs away screaming 'Oh my God!!'

He's feeling chuffed with himself, and rides towards the stables. Arriving there, he hands his horse to the stable boy and says 'Look at this and be amazed'. he pulls his pants down again and the stable boy cries out 'Woah, what a big fat pussy!'


Ollie

[Defender]

*Winces*
Holy crap, Ollie, I thought you Brits were supposed to be all genteel-like!
How do you think the British would handle PO?

[oliver.rochford]

Holy crap, Ollie, I thought you Brits were supposed to be all genteel-like!

Very common misconception, based on the fact that traditionally only the genteel folk was allowed to leave the ship/barracks and roam.

The avererage brit is far from genteel.

I also have 3 other nationality quarters, so it may be the polish/german/irish coming out in me

How do you think the British would handle PO?

Very badly. Hence I plan on moving relatively soon to Germany.
Ollie

[Ponzu]

I'm naturally a modest person, I'd give someone else more credit than myself, 9 times out of 10.  There are times though, that I encounter some pretty stupid people, and I'll at least say it makes me feel a lot smarter.     What I mostly feel isn't superiority, but envy.  I remember the feeling of security and peace I enjoyed before becoming aware. 
I'll never have that back, but the sheeple still do and probably always will.  Even when TSHTF, they're still going to be clinging to their fantasy world, talking about when it'll all blow over and they can go back to driving their SUVs again. 

[SabreKai]

I dont think I feel superior so much as more aware. A fellow named Ayub Hassan (SP?) wrote a book called "Stress Fire" in which he describes the way people walk around. This is how I paraphrase it ( I read the book ages ago and don't have a copy):

Condition White: Head up your ass, not a worry in the world
Condition Yellow: Concious of your surroundings, paying attention once in a while but still pretty brain dead.
Condition Orange: Fully aware of your surroundings, what is going down, assessing events and planning.
Condition Red: The hair on the back of your neck is standing up, Things are going rapidly to shit and you are completing your plans.
                    Constantly evaluating and updating your personal situation. You can smell the wood burning and see the smoke.
Conditon Black: The shit has hit the fan, you are acting pretty much on auto pilot (training and planning) while rapidly getting clear of the
                     danger area in your asbestos underware (Get outa town gear).

I feel Im in living in condition orange pretty much all the time while those about me are in white.

Sabre
 

[Defender]

Ignorance is bliss, I suppose. But these guys are going to pay out the ass everything goes to hell in a handbasket. Think Katrina victims here. They're going to be lost, traumatized, pissed-off, and hungry. I think that a little peace of mind is a fair price to pay if it means I can avoid that, or ameliorate it to some degree.