My daughter asked me that not too long ago and my answer was: "Die." I explained that the apocalypse is the end of all life. There is no such thing as "post-apocalypse." When it happens, everyone dies and everything we know and love is destroyed. No exceptions, no escaping it. You die.
Is that what we're facing right now? "Hell fuck no" you're probably answering and a good number of you are probably adding on the proverbial: "yeah, but" or "I understand that, but." NO. There are no buts. Look it up. The apocalypse means everyone dies. Everyone is not dying and as such what we are living through is a time of crisis. If this were a major hurricane or massive earthquake no matter how many places on Earth those events hit it still would not count as an apocalypse. Those would simply be disasters. A disaster you can prepare for. The apocalypse you can't.
As I watch the news and see more and more reports of people panic buying this, that or the other I'm forced to feel a great deal of anger towards this culture of "doomsday preppers." You know the type, the people who watch Mad Max or 2012 on repeat and are somehow convinced that filling their houses with canned food, medicine, powdered milk as well as enough guns and ammunition to start a war with any number of small countries will somehow keep them safe during "the apocalypse" or "doomsday." Because we sneered at this people and rolled our eyes we ignored the bigger picture that they were poisoning our psyches in unexpected ways. Otherwise rational people are now filled with doubt and fear and the simple thought of: "What if they were right?" As a result some really bad behaviors are popping up all over the country as well as extremely unsavory individuals who are big enough assholes to take advantage of the fear. The consequences of ignoring these "preppers" (and even giving them a reality tv show) is only just now beginning to show as people are being thrown into a panic by the fear and doubt they had planted in our minds over the years.
Conspiracy theorists aren't any better and we've seen plenty of the damage those people have done in every corner of the internet. When the shit hits the fan the conspiracy theorists are always the first ones screaming at the top of their lungs about: "the real cause" and why we all need to be panicking and even worse, "fighting the real enemy." At times like these those seemingly harmless ranters are a serious public health risk as the real scientific information is faced with doubt and scorn by people who simply can't find the real answers they need.
Clouding the airwaves with false info and stripping the stores bare of essential supplies are the consequences we know have to live with for letting these fear mongers spout their nonsense unfettered for so long. The government's of the world are having a very difficult time doing their jobs as the general populace is literally taking an "it's us vs. them" attitude and fighting against the agencies that have their best interests at heart.
The bottom line is, during times like these we all need to look to one another for support. By allowing conspiracy theorists and doomsday preppers to run amok and in many cases control the conversation *coughfoxnewscough* we've done more damage to our society than the virus ever could.