13 December 2011
10
Believe me when I tell you the first 96 hours were, for me, some of the most insane memories I have.
Panic, uncertainty, fear, desperation... in a person. A family. A community. A state. A nation. Global. Law enforcement was no longer operational on the local levels, instead what remained of state infrastructure was absorbed into federal power. Paramilitary forces were introduced instantly across major metropolitan areas the world over. A state of marshal law was immediately enacted to counter the alarming rate at which the chaos grew. Robbery, vandalism, arson, violent protest, rapes and murder flourished. The streets became, in that first week, a battlefield for those who dared to enter them.
Shoot on sight warnings were broadcasted over loud speakers from patrolling up-armored vehicles to anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves out past curfew, regardless of their housing situation. Often at night a would hear the burst of automatic weapons fire echoing in the distance. I wondered if it was someone caught in a criminal act or merely a family forced to sleep outside. Neither made a difference to those in the black patrolling trucks. Ominous was the feeling that came over me the first time I watched them convoy down the streets, one after another, like ants marching towards invasion. The words "police", "safety" or "protect" was no where to be seen in-blazing their outer shells. Nothing did.
I WALK WITH OMEGA • Opuss № I