21 May 2011

I'm still here

I wasn't taken by the raptor.

To me the saddest part of this whole episode was a report I heard on NPR about two weeks ago.  They interviewed a young couple who were so absolutely convince of what would happen this day that they disposed of all their belongings and calculated carefully so that they would run out of food - and money - on May 21.  If I remember correctly, they had at least one small child.

I can't imagine the despair of those young people waking up this morning to find themselves totally destitute and possibly "left behind."

This on a lighter note a set of FAQ written by a professor to his students-
Q: If my mother/father/grandfather/grandmother/favorite aunt/etc. is chosen, will I be excused from the final so that I may mourn his/her loss?
A: No. They have not died, but been granted eternal life, thus this does not count as a case of a death in the family.
(More of the FAQ)

13 comments:

  1. It's really sad. Religion and superstition have a lot to answer for.

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  2. Ah didn't you know? It's supposed to be at 6pm tonight! As far as what time zone...I can't help you there, I'll be out looting.

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  3. They are as much a victim as those swindled by a savings and loan scam or the millions of foreclosure victims. If only someone had explained that Pascal's Wager applies to this world too.

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  4. I heard midnight Jerusalem time. But I could be wrong (unlike Harold Camping, of course)

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  5. Interesting,though this guy (Harold Camping) has predicted a similar end date... in 1994. Wiki has an interesting article on the 2011 prediction as well as the other failed predictions for end times:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_end_times_prediction
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfulfilled_religious_predictions
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_of_the_end_of_the_world

    Also noting the interesting fact that the CDC has released a plan in case of a zombie apocalypse: http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-cdc-zombie-apocalypse-20110519,0,6704265.story

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  6. stonemaven, it was supposed to be in every timezone at 6pm. The international dateline should have had the rapture about 14 hours ago. No sign of it.

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  7. The timing is just too convenient to avoid another layer of mythology - he died that we may live.

    Repent, sinners! ... and snap into a Slim Jim!

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  8. Nobody's going to think they were "left behind," because the Rapture is supposed to involve gigantic earthquakes all over the world. It isn't as though the rapture-ready are going to be able to float off without anybody noticing that anything is amiss.

    Slate.com had a pretty good piece yesterday about how folks preparing for the apocalypse in the past have reacted when it didn't happen. Generally speaking, they did just fine, quickly came up with rationalizations to resolve the cognitive dissonance and adjusted without much problem.

    The financial situation for people like the couple you mentioned is another kettle of fish. That'll be tough to deal with, but at least according to this Slate piece, the psychological despair aspect shouldn't last long. They'll figure out why they were entirely justified in doing what they did and just pick up from where they left off. Hopefully charity and aid of various sorts will be available to tide them over.

    --Swift Loris

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  9. In support of "Family Radio"

    When so much of radio listening feels like self-flagellation, and the stories seem to chosen by how much they can upset the nervous system

    When no violent incident seems too meaningless for BBC to breathlessly go on and on about

    The smarminess of "All Things Considered" has one nauseated

    The arrogance of the bloviators makes you feel like you're being raped

    The music all sucks

    Ohh...yes...there it is..."Family Radio"

    It hits like mainlined mexican tar heroin - wiping the world away

    Ahh...the soothing explanations of how just about everybody but us are going to be toasted in hell..the poor fools...the brilliant penetrating insights of "Beyond Intelligent Design," putting logic in its rightful spot; and the late Dr. Duane Spencer (yes, an actual Dr., so listen carefully)

    And, when nothing happens, all they'll have to do jostle the numbers a bit and it'll come out to 2017, another six years! Yeehah!

    ps I ask the lord for a eternal pardon for my grammar and punctuation

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  10. ‎"If you can't think up a good original rapture joke, don't worry. It's not the end of the world."- my dad

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  11. Perhaps he's a Redditor...

    http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/hg6sb/if_you_cant_think_of_a_rapture_joke/

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  12. He died so that we might still live. Thank you, Mr. Savage for jumping off the ropes and delivering some pain. That picture is fantastic! ...and now for some Diana Ross. (cue music) At first I was afraid...

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  13. If only that song was by Diana Ross...

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