Sri Lankan here. I personally experienced this last year and was very surprised. We Sri Lankans love to criticise ourselves for our wonky moral compasses, so when the early protests started, I stocked up on food and installed an extra CCTV camera, expecting widespread riots and looting. They never came. There were many organised protests, and protesters did clash with riot police around government buildings, but people overall were unusually helpful toward each other.
Several times, I had taxi drivers refuse to accept fare when they picked me up from a bus stop late at night (both petrol/gasoline and buses were in short supply for a while). Once a motorcyclist literally stopped by and handed me his spare helmet saying "If you're heading my way, I can take you". Many people (including my wife and I) drove around distributing food and supplies to folks we felt were in need. It's hard to describe what came over us, but it seemed like a common phenomenon that affected a lot of people.
I still think if food became really scarce, selfish, violent behaviour would have emerged. But fortunately it never came to that and the country managed to go into a debt restructuring program with the IMF.
My spouse and I both had a short part of our childhood in a poor and wonky South Asian country. We both feel that people (and ourselves) are far less helpful to our neighbours and strangers in the west vs. back home. It actually felt different in the 90s vs. today. I recall being in the west and someone offering me a ride when the subway was closed (like 25 years ago). I just can't see that happening today. Just too many MLM schemes have been pushed on me, and too many reports of crazies on the news .. I dunno.
Thanks for sharing. That reminded me of another experience: around 2012, the front left wheel of my car ended up in a ditch by the side of the road. I was considering calling a tow truck, when a crowd gathered and told me to get in the car and hit reverse when they gave the signal. Then they proceeded to literally lift the car out of the ditch. I had barely enough time to mumble thanks before the crowd dispersed as quickly as it had assembled.
On the other hand, once in the New York subway, I was running toward the closing doors of a train, and some of the folks inside tried to keep the door open (which was not really possible) and clapped when I made it in by a hair's breadth. But then again it was a Friday night and many passengers at that time were a bit sloshed and quite friendly.
The car and ditch thing is still very common in the Midwest when it snows. I swear the pastime there is to hide in the snow waiting for someone to get highcentered in an u plowed parking lot given how many people appeared out of nowhere to push.
> I stocked up on food and installed an extra CCTV camera, expecting widespread riots and looting. They never came.
Turns out, most people aren't psychos and at one extreme, some would rather end themselves than hurt others.
> I still think if food became really scarce, selfish, violent behaviour would have emerged.
That does emerge, as you said, but it needs to be SUPER extreme. By SUPER extreme I mean gulag or shipwrecked crew on an island with no food. In human history these scenarios are very rare, probably since the dawn of agriculture.
And, I mean, we could implode that badly, but we're talking regressing 3+ thousands of years. It looks more like a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland or Earth being hit by an asteroid than a "regular" economic meltdown.
“But here's the main point: 'Preparing' for the disaster really didn't do anyone much good. Those who 'prepared' ate a little better for a while. They stayed warmer for a few extra days. They enjoyed the radio for a while longer (via batteries.) But in the end, they ended up hungry, cold and bored too, just like the rest of us. Guns and weapons helped no one directly and were even of little to no use in the defense of Sarajevo, since they were toys compared to the shells, bombs and high-powered armaments of the attacking forces. The worst parts of war were psychological - the fear, anxiety, boredom, loneliness, paranoia, bad dreams. Respite from those things came with sharing food with a neighbor, finding a piece of clothing that would fit someone you knew, commiserating with others in your position, figuring out how to make make-up from brick or french fries from wheat paste and spreading this newly-acquired war knowledge around the mahala.
We knew who had extra food and supplies. For the most part, they weren't attacked or hassled or bothered. Contrary to what these survivalists say, those in dire times generally hold on to their personal sense of pride even more than they do in normal times. I'd take a bite of a friend's salad without bothering to ask in normal times. I'd never have done that in wartime, no matter how hungry I was.
Within the domain of those trapped in the city, civility greatly increased.”
Pretty much back to normal as far as tourism is concerned. Although you might want to wait a few more weeks if you prefer the sun and sand -- it's been rainy or overcast for the past month.
Several times, I had taxi drivers refuse to accept fare when they picked me up from a bus stop late at night (both petrol/gasoline and buses were in short supply for a while). Once a motorcyclist literally stopped by and handed me his spare helmet saying "If you're heading my way, I can take you". Many people (including my wife and I) drove around distributing food and supplies to folks we felt were in need. It's hard to describe what came over us, but it seemed like a common phenomenon that affected a lot of people.
I still think if food became really scarce, selfish, violent behaviour would have emerged. But fortunately it never came to that and the country managed to go into a debt restructuring program with the IMF.