Americans , how would you feel if this happened (a quick survey)

Started by eiselmann, September 19, 2014, 09:08:44 PM

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Oniya

I believe the Szcz is pronounced 'Shch' (something between the 'Ch' in Church and the 'Sh' in 'Share', not like the 'Sch' in School')

so I'm going with Shchair-bee-eck.

(I'm not sure if that's my fascination with languages or some genetic memory working here.  I'm something over 62% Polish, but never got really exposed to the language.)
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Mathim

Just thought to ask this now; what are the current populations of other said countries if they are presumably similarly devastated by this outbreak? Wouldn't they have fewer survivors and need our help instead? We may not have their manpower but we sure as hell have most of the resources and a shitload of agriculture. More likely they'd be in the mood to try and take it away rather than share it. If the relationship was a cooperative 'let's work as equals' kind of thing, that's fine but they're only going to be proving help that we don't really need...sorry, I just need more details for questions like this to give the best answer.
Considering a permanent retirement from Elliquiy, but you can find me on Blue Moon (under the same username).

Kythia

242037

Beorning

Quote from: Inkidu on September 21, 2014, 01:21:46 PM
Polish is Cyrillic isn't it? Because to Germanic and Romantic (and that means English) speakers Cyrillic is like all those buttons on a calculator you never use.

Actually, we use Latin alphabet, just like the Western Europe. If we used Cyrillic, we'd probably be Eastern Orthodox, not Catholic - the history of writing systems in Central and Eastern Europe is directly tied to whom these nations received the baptism from.

Quote
Skerz-by-eck?  There I took a stab. :)

Nope, sorry  ;)

Quote from: Oniya on September 21, 2014, 01:48:56 PM
I believe the Szcz is pronounced 'Shch' (something between the 'Ch' in Church and the 'Sh' in 'Share', not like the 'Sch' in School')

so I'm going with Shchair-bee-eck.

You're pretty close, actually. 'Sz' is 'Sh' and 'Cz' is 'Ch', indeed. The 'c' at the end is 'tz', though. So, it's Sh-chair-bee-etz.

It means "The Notched Sword", if you're curious. The legend goes that the sword has been notched when our first king, Bolesław Chrobry (Boleslaus the Brave in English) struck the city gate of Kiev when, uhm, sacking the city. It's not true, though - the sword is actually much older. Here's the sword's Wiki page.

Quote
(I'm not sure if that's my fascination with languages or some genetic memory working here.  I'm something over 62% Polish, but never got really exposed to the language.)

Aaaaaah, one of us, then! *hugs*  ;D

Okay, so here's something harder for you - an infamous Polish tongue-twister: W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie ("In the city of Szczebrzeszyn, a beetle buzzes among the reeds"). Try deciphering that  :-)

Mathim

Quote from: Kythia on September 21, 2014, 02:03:20 PM


But wouldn't all its neighbors then start an incursion into the untouched place's turf? Especially one of the non-coastal European nations.
Considering a permanent retirement from Elliquiy, but you can find me on Blue Moon (under the same username).

Kythia

Quote from: Mathim on September 21, 2014, 03:00:54 PM
But wouldn't all its neighbors then start an incursion into the untouched place's turf? Especially one of the non-coastal European nations.

Are you asking if nations that have just lost 99.9999% of their population with the accompanying loss of any economic, political or military structure will immediately invade a neighbour that is operating at full strength and has every imaginable incentive to keep the presumably plague ridden inhabitants of its neighbours out?  If so then no, I consider that unlikely.

EDIT: Misread percentage lost
242037

Ebb

100's across the board. I've no love for North Korea, but with only 30,000 people left spread out over the US, you don't have a country any more. You have a light dusting of scavengers and hunter/gatherers that will be dead within a generation. If there's only one country left on earth that still has power, technology, and the ability to rebuild civilization then it's "Hello, Supreme Leader!"

Besides, if North Korea takes over the globe, as it surely would in this scenario, then there's going to be big changes in that society. Without the scarcity of food and other resources, and without an external enemy to posture against, the government is inevitably going to fall and re-form into something else pretty soon anyway.

Now my answer might be different if we were down to 1/100 or 1/1000. but 1/10000 is just too much of a drop to really salvage anything.

Inkidu

Quote from: Beorning on September 21, 2014, 02:23:43 PM
Actually, we use Latin alphabet, just like the Western Europe. If we used Cyrillic, we'd probably be Eastern Orthodox, not Catholic - the history of writing systems in Central and Eastern Europe is directly tied to whom these nations received the baptism from.

I looked it up, and yep Latin with some pseudo-Cyrillic tomfoolery like the kreska, but it's kind of weird seeing as it's in the Slavic family of Indo-European (West Slavic to be specific). Anyway, my curiosity is sated.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

eiselmann

Quote from: Mathim on September 21, 2014, 01:52:06 PM
Just thought to ask this now; what are the current populations of other said countries if they are presumably similarly devastated by this outbreak? Wouldn't they have fewer survivors and need our help instead? We may not have their manpower but we sure as hell have most of the resources and a shitload of agriculture. More likely they'd be in the mood to try and take it away rather than share it. If the relationship was a cooperative 'let's work as equals' kind of thing, that's fine but they're only going to be proving help that we don't really need...sorry, I just need more details for questions like this to give the best answer.

Okay using my three examples UK is 64 million , North Korea is 25 million and New Zealand is 4 million....there populations are largely intact , by varying degrees of realism these countries can close their borders and for the purposes of my question have been able to do so completely where others couldn't.

As for their attitude to American's they will be ,I guess true to form ...the North Koreans will demand obedience  the British and Kiwis will be more inclined towards benevolence...they are there to take over ...no mistake, and American's would be expected to adopt to the governance of the foreign nation with some allowances given to local viewpoints/law.

Resource wise , yes they will be there for that ,but considering each country is now the worlds superpower they have a lot of choices beyond America, so it won't be wholesale stripping (at least not for two of the nations beyond say something like the US petrol/gas strategic reserve which dwarfs all the other countries and would be an obvious requirement for them to have access to )

Agriculture again American  is blessed and yes even with all the food in the world the North Koreans could probably still find a way to starve but there are closer and easier pickings for the Brits when it comes to food and New Zealand....well they could feed China...on their own ,if they had to.

Hope that helps with any feedback.
260916 Sigh, on the back end of my laptop dying last week and getting a new one delivered, we now have had some local flooding where I live....fortunately for me no major damage since my house is a few feet above ground, however my back yard looks like the swimming pool I don't have ...so might take a day or two to get back to posting


The Betrayal at Yalta, one of the main reasons the world is the mess it is today

My ons and offs link

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=254364.0

Zakharra

 A 1 for any nation like N. Korea and a 10 for the rest. I might welcome their aid, but there is no way I would ever swear allegiance to them or be a part of their culture. I am a proud American and will hopefully die a proud American. Guns still work and any one from outside that tried to collect all of the guns (and bullets) would get them, one bullet at a time. and I don;t think I'd be alone either. Accepting help is one thing, being taken over is something else entirely.

Annisthyrienne

I think Zakharra and I are of the same mind, even though our scores might differ.  But I also am assuming that the 30,000 Americans left are more or less distributed by population?  In which case, there would be some of us who could live our whole lives roaming around and never meet up with another human being.  There would also be cities like New York or Atlanta where there might be 5-10 people in the entire city.  Unless our 30k were all together in a community, we would hardly be in any position to offer much resistance, and those of us who would be willing, would be more like outlaws than any real threat.  Still, I guess I just have the blood of rebels flowing in my veins.  Rebels from Britain long ago and even rebels from the US shortly afterwards.

@Zakharra: Not only do I like your answer, I even like your avatar!  I have that exact same picture in my Drow collection.  ;)

eiselmann

Quote from: Annisthyrienne on September 21, 2014, 08:09:10 PM
I think Zakharra and I are of the same mind, even though our scores might differ.  But I also am assuming that the 30,000 Americans left are more or less distributed by population?  In which case, there would be some of us who could live our whole lives roaming around and never meet up with another human being.  There would also be cities like New York or Atlanta where there might be 5-10 people in the entire city.  Unless our 30k were all together in a community, we would hardly be in any position to offer much resistance, and those of us who would be willing, would be more like outlaws than any real threat.  Still, I guess I just have the blood of rebels flowing in my veins.  Rebels from Britain long ago and even rebels from the US shortly afterwards.

@Zakharra: Not only do I like your answer, I even like your avatar!  I have that exact same picture in my Drow collection.  ;)

HI Annisthyrienne you are quite correct regarding population distribution there would be people who would simply not see or find any others (until some helicopter appears in the sky and someone with an odd accent jumps out :-) )and in some of the bigger cities the population would be measured in the ten's rather than the millions, saying that I could imagine small communities of survivors forming after several months simply, because people will find each other as they explore  (even if its just via a big sign painted on a major highway saying Sanctuary :-) 

Once again thank you all for your responses , there is a reason for it..I've been asked not to divulge that reason (nothing nasty I can assure) but since none of us who want to know (and yes this isn't the only site being asked this question) are American we felt it right to get our sampling direct from the ah 'horses mouth' so to speak.

Keep posting please your comments are of value. 
260916 Sigh, on the back end of my laptop dying last week and getting a new one delivered, we now have had some local flooding where I live....fortunately for me no major damage since my house is a few feet above ground, however my back yard looks like the swimming pool I don't have ...so might take a day or two to get back to posting


The Betrayal at Yalta, one of the main reasons the world is the mess it is today

My ons and offs link

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=254364.0

Zakharra

Quote from: Annisthyrienne on September 21, 2014, 08:09:10 PM
I think Zakharra and I are of the same mind, even though our scores might differ.  But I also am assuming that the 30,000 Americans left are more or less distributed by population?  In which case, there would be some of us who could live our whole lives roaming around and never meet up with another human being.  There would also be cities like New York or Atlanta where there might be 5-10 people in the entire city.  Unless our 30k were all together in a community, we would hardly be in any position to offer much resistance, and those of us who would be willing, would be more like outlaws than any real threat.  Still, I guess I just have the blood of rebels flowing in my veins.  Rebels from Britain long ago and even rebels from the US shortly afterwards.

@Zakharra: Not only do I like your answer, I even like your avatar!  I have that exact same picture in my Drow collection.  ;)

  It's nice to see some people agreeing with me. Aid given freely with little to no strings is one thing, aid given with conditions of fealty (more or less 'swear yourself to -our- culture while yours dies off as we annex your former country') would, I think, rub a lot of people that way. More people in the country than in the city though.

  Thanks. I've had this avatar ever since I joined E so many years ago. I like it and will keep it.

Annisthyrienne

#38
Quote from: eiselmann on September 21, 2014, 09:39:03 PM
HI Annisthyrienne you are quite correct regarding population distribution there would be people who would simply not see or find any others (until some helicopter appears in the sky and someone with an odd accent jumps out :-) )and in some of the bigger cities the population would be measured in the ten's rather than the millions, saying that I could imagine small communities of survivors forming after several months simply, because people will find each other as they explore  (even if its just via a big sign painted on a major highway saying Sanctuary :-) 

Once again thank you all for your responses , there is a reason for it..I've been asked not to divulge that reason (nothing nasty I can assure) but since none of us who want to know (and yes this isn't the only site being asked this question) are American we felt it right to get our sampling direct from the ah 'horses mouth' so to speak.

Keep posting please your comments are of value.

Yeah, I could see that happening too.  Cars would still run, and people could scavenge plenty of fuel so it wouldn't be like they were bound to one place as it was during the early days of American settlement.  But just to give some perspective, it is estimated that when the first colonists arrived in America, there were about 2-3 million Native Americans living here in all the various tribes.  Each had their own territories and sometimes they did overlap, so they did come into contact with each other.  Perhaps the surviving country would end up treating us like we treated the indians and we'd all be on some sort of reservation.  One medium sized town would hold 30,000 people easily.  It could be called Americaville or something like that.  8-)

Or we might be like the Amish are here in our country; living right beside and amidst the other population, but more or less allowed to live our own way, speak our own language, and have our own religions, etc.  We'd be like a curious anomaly within the greater society.  When we'd show up at the local WalMart people would point and whisper, "Mommy! Look at those weird looking people over there, what are they?" "Why honey, don't be afraid, those are just gun totin', fiery eyed Americans."  :D :D :D

I did wonder when I was thinking of this question away from the site whether you knew something we didn't.  ;)  I have to say of the actual people I like though, I've met Kiwis and Brits, and even a few Korean people (Whether from South Korea or North I didn't know for sure, I met them here in the US.) and I have to say that I liked all of them.  As far as people go, I'm easy to get along with and I like most everyone.  But as for governments, North Korea is definitely out.  The other two would be preferred, but both are a little too socialist leaning for my tastes. I could and would live under their system, if there were no other choice, but I'd complain about it often.  Come to think of it, I do that with my own government anyway, so it would hardly be a noticeable difference.   :P  :D

Quote from: Zakharra on September 22, 2014, 12:16:18 AM
  It's nice to see some people agreeing with me. Aid given freely with little to no strings is one thing, aid given with conditions of fealty (more or less 'swear yourself to -our- culture while yours dies off as we annex your former country') would, I think, rub a lot of people that way. More people in the country than in the city though.

  Thanks. I've had this avatar ever since I joined E so many years ago. I like it and will keep it.
I agree, more country people would be the fiery eyed type who wanted to be independent and free and all that.  The city dwelling folks already live under a lot of rules and regulations that country folk find suffocating.  I moved to the country for exactly that reason.

Oniya

Quote from: Annisthyrienne on September 22, 2014, 06:03:58 AM
I did wonder when I was thinking of this question away from the site whether you knew something we didn't.  ;) 

I would like to add that it wasn't until after I posted that I noticed that the OP's location was New Zealand.  :D
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

eiselmann

Wow I just want to thank everyone who took the time to reply to this rather odd scenario.

Being the only super power and considering its location , the idea of the US falling to a foreign power is the realm of movies and video games , the simple truth is while America has limitation to its military ability to fight away from home (simply put they can't be everywhere all the time) the ability to defend their mainland is unequalled. The only force that could match the US in a toe to toe conventional fight is maybe Nato (sans the US) and since they are allies it isn't going to happen.

The simple reality is no other combination of countries (right up to every other nation on earth uniting against the uS) could force project enough to not only defeat your military but invade and successfully support that invasion , not when you would then be faced with a heavily armed , highly motivated citizenry.


So my friends and I worked out a way the cripple the world leaving a new country as the sole remaining superpower and then see how Americans would react to an actual invasion by a foreign power, particular one so weighed against them that resistance would be (to quote the borg) futile. And yes as someone pointed out I'm from New Zealand one of the three choices I presented and much of what we were after was based on the reaction to us kiwis but we needed to balance that by finding a nation regarded as an enemy and one that arguably is your closest ally ( not sure if Canada is closer than the UK).

So once again its been enlightening.  Thank you all very much.
260916 Sigh, on the back end of my laptop dying last week and getting a new one delivered, we now have had some local flooding where I live....fortunately for me no major damage since my house is a few feet above ground, however my back yard looks like the swimming pool I don't have ...so might take a day or two to get back to posting


The Betrayal at Yalta, one of the main reasons the world is the mess it is today

My ons and offs link

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=254364.0

Lustful Bride

#41
Enemy/Hostile nation: 0% Wolverines!! Armed resistance!  >:)

Friendly but not allied nation: 50% Hi Kiwis!! *waves* Want me to show you around? Can I have some food! If you try to put me into a camp I will still fight you though. Il only aim for the legs no worries.  :P (I would actually do that.)

Allied Nation: 80% God save the Queen! Wanna see DC? Can we keep all our rights that are in the constitution? You wont interfere with that right buddies?  :-)

Lady Laura

I'm not American but want to play anyway.

North Korea/Enemy Country - Provided the 30,000 Americans left were united and could gain access to the American military bases and some equipment you could have a solid defence and perhaps make it too expensive for the enemy nation to hold the country through a Red Dawn style Guerrilla war.

New Zealand/Non Allied Nation - I would love to see New Zealand invade a kindergarten let alone an actual country! But umm more to the point I think the surviving American's would be absorbed into the new "owners" population and would probably just assimilate for the most part with perhaps some groups of survivors waging a war to try and secure a small part of the USA for their own.

England/Allied Nation - I think it would be like the above, 30,000 isn't much and if faced with a takeover from a nation that has a similar background, history and racial/cultural ties there would have to be a big question mark as to whether or not waging a war would be worth it and perhaps losing a great portion if not all of what is left of the population.

In the Allied nation scenario I think Canada being geographically closest would be the most likely to move in.

Oniya

Quote from: Lady Laura on October 30, 2014, 02:50:54 AM
New Zealand/Non Allied Nation - I would love to see New Zealand invade a kindergarten let alone an actual country!

Hey kids!  Want to go visit hobbits?

Invasion successful.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

eiselmann

New Zealand/Non Allied Nation - I would love to see New Zealand invade a kindergarten let alone an actual country!


Had to respond...okay admittedly at this point in time we don't have a strong military capability however even in our weakened state we still have forces the equal to any in the world namely our SAS regiment which by the way is the only SAS force to include the SBS work into the same unit. Put our boys up against any other elite unit in the world.

However for the scenario at play New Zealand would have acquired most if not all of Australias military Hardware as well as anything left in Pearl Harbour /Hawaii by the time we hit mainland USA and despite our weakened state the ANZAC spirit lives on, just ask the Germans and the Japs if they liked going up against New Zealanders .....and especially up against  Maori.


Not to be underestimated us kiwis :-)
260916 Sigh, on the back end of my laptop dying last week and getting a new one delivered, we now have had some local flooding where I live....fortunately for me no major damage since my house is a few feet above ground, however my back yard looks like the swimming pool I don't have ...so might take a day or two to get back to posting


The Betrayal at Yalta, one of the main reasons the world is the mess it is today

My ons and offs link

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=254364.0

Caehlim

Quote from: eiselmann on October 30, 2014, 08:10:14 PMNew Zealand would have acquired most if not all of Australias military Hardware

And armed with the world's loudest submarines they would deafen the Americans into submission. Hooray Australian military industry.

Although quite frankly I'd surrender if I saw an entire group of Maori lined up on the shore doing a Haka.
My home is not a place, it is people.
View my Ons and Offs page.

View my (new)Apologies and Absences thread or my Ideas thread.


Beorning

Quote from: Caehlim on October 30, 2014, 08:35:15 PM
And armed with the world's loudest submarines they would deafen the Americans into submission. Hooray Australian military industry.

Although quite frankly I'd surrender if I saw an entire group of Maori lined up on the shore doing a Haka.

Just a almost-unrelated thought: have you guys read Y: The Last Man? In this comic book, Australia *is* the world's greatest navy power...

...because in the comic's reality, all of the males in the world have died and Australia is the only military that allows women on submarines. Meaning, after the men all died, Australia was the only country that still had submarine crews... And submarines = great tactical advantage.

Caehlim

Quote from: Beorning on November 03, 2014, 09:29:40 AMJust a almost-unrelated thought: have you guys read Y: The Last Man?

Nope, haven't I'm sorry.

My comment about the Australian navy was just an in-joke about the Collins Class Submarine which we built here and had a lot of problems with.
My home is not a place, it is people.
View my Ons and Offs page.

View my (new)Apologies and Absences thread or my Ideas thread.

Quixote

Quote from: Kythia on September 21, 2014, 02:03:20 PM


Quote from: Mathim on September 21, 2014, 03:00:54 PM
But wouldn't all its neighbors then start an incursion into the untouched place's turf? Especially one of the non-coastal European nations.

It's not too bizarre a thing to happen and it's pretty funny Poland was brought up, because they were able to almost completely dodge the black death.