FEMA Camps and Civil Unrest
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
January 6, 2009 4:43am CST
The urban legend goes that the government is setting up FEMA camps all over the country. These camps are to house people in the case of Civil Unrest after natural disasters, economic breakdown or a boatload of other reasons why.
While I'm no fan of the thought of FEMA camps, I have a question...
If our society breaks down to the point that there is that level of Civil Unrest, what would we want our government to do about it?
Would we want law enforcement to simply allow the riots to go on until the rioters simply decide to stop? Would we be ok with rioters going from house to house, killing, raping and pillaging at will, with no fear of reprisal, consequences or justice?
Most of us aren't willing to prepare for even the most basic needs in case of emergency. Even fewer are prepared to repel rioters, or defend our homes and families from invaders, even if we really wanted to. We know that all we have to do is dial 9-11 and help is on the way... but what about if we call 9-11 and the line is busy, or down completely because the disaster was just that big?
We pay our Emergency Management officials to do just 4 things... Mitigation, Preparation, Response and Recovery. That means we are paying them to reduce threats where they can, prepare for threats that can't be prevented, be ready to response when they do, and return us to our lives already in progress.
So, wouldn't creating temporary housing for us to stay while our thugs are burning and pillaging be part of it all?
I'm not defending the idea of FEMA camps, I'm just posing the question for discussion here.
4 people like this
6 responses
@Fortunata (1135)
• United States
6 Jan 09
Mmmm..I think things would really have to be bad for the government to step in and create these camps. This stuff has been around for years, sometimes someone on Coast to Coast radio show will bring it up. Seems like every time we get a democratic president this topic becomes popular-I recall this stuff being brought up when Clinton was in office. Janet Reno was such a militant attorney general, no wonder! I think there are plans in place in case there is an emergency, that much I think is true.
1 person likes this
@CarlKnittel (692)
• United States
9 Jan 09
Under Clinton the fear was national martial law due to Y2K. The fact is that martial law extending over an area larger than a municipality such as a town or city is against the constitution and the law and has been since the Supreme Court ruled against Lincoln for declaring martial law in the state of Delaware. The justices saw the potential viability of martial law to quell riots on a local level but larger uprisings were not to be quelled with military force. It may be the one time the supreme court recognized the right of the people to rise up and abolish the established government in favor of one more suited to serving their needs as the Declaration of Independence stated.
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
6 Jan 09
I'm a bit skeptical about the whole fema camp thing myself. I have checked out a few that are suposed to be near me and they are nothng but old wwII pow caps, a few ruins on a patch of dirt. I have seen others in other forums debunked as warehouses or other industrial facilities. I think more likely what would happen in the event of wide spread national civil unrest is that a declaration of martial law would be imposed or if only pockests would be initiated at the state level and the national guard used to quell violence.
*find a FEMA camp near you*
http://www.rense.com/general17/statebystate.htm
1 person likes this
@laglen (19759)
• United States
6 Jan 09
I believe that we get the government we deserve. If a family does not take precautions to help themselves, why in the world should our government. The scenario that you sketched out is a good reason for people to be armed. I am not a mormon but hey these guys have the right of it. They are stocked with enough food and water for 6 years at a time! I wish we had more storage here, we are stocked for about a year. Plus we grow our own produce in the summer. I think everybody should be prepared. Water and canned goods are a good start! Lots of ammo is a good idea too. I think that when you start depending on the government, that is when they have FULL control. This scares the bejesus out of me!
1 person likes this
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
6 Jan 09
Well, I certainly don't like the sound of it. FEMA camps sounds a lot like POW camps. Still in the case of a major disaster, they might come in handy. They didn't have much civil unrest in New Orleans but they certainly could have used places for people to live. Come to think of it there wasn't much civil unrest after 911 either. Are these camps being formed specifically for civil unrest or are they just supposed to provide housing for people after a catastrophe. Frankly, I think the idea of major civil unrest on the level that the national guard would not be able to handle borders on hysteria and probably is not going to be the major concern in the event of a disaster.
1 person likes this
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
28 Feb 09
Not in the way that FEMA camps are normally described, no. That is...with lots of bars, pens, and prison esque dimensions.
I'd concede a walled "village" of some sort...because that's much more practical.
Saying, "Yo everyone lets live in a prison"...not so much.
Considering that they're now talking about the village idea, I suppose people's fears for the last few years weren't completely unfounded. I'm still iffy, but until I'm given bad info about the idea they're considering...I can't really condemn it.
Mind you, walled villages are the sort of thing you'd expect to need if you thought the world was going to hell in a handbasket. So it's rather disconcerting that they think that's a possibility -- though not at all unwise, considering their job is to be prepared for disasters of all kinds.
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
28 Feb 09
An edit: wow, I got this discussion of yours in my inbox today! Mylot's glitching O_O
To my previous response...I guess they can consider this my way of admitting that I was probably misinformed xD
And this response is slightly more up-to-date, now...but whatever. _
@celticeagle (168327)
• Boise, Idaho
6 Jan 09
I think if they can prevent some of the unrest and foresee this coming then all the better. I don't like to see them either but they must be relatively sure if they are setting them up. Reducing threats where they can sounds like a good thing.
1 person likes this
