Y2K The Original Gaslighting

And so It Begins

Anyone old enough to remember “The Y2K Crisis” understands how silly and overblown the whole thing was. Well, at least we all do now. But at the time there were many people who were seriously worried that there would be apocalyptic ramifications -- because of a two-digit year limitation in date codes.

Many computer systems measure time and date using Unix time, an international standard for digital timekeeping. Unix time is defined as the number of seconds elapsed since 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970 (an arbitrarily chosen time based on the creation of the first Unix system), which has been dubbed the Unix epoch.[6]

This was not really much of an issue, because it could be easily remedied in software. Some older devices that ran strictly firmware, could have an issue, VCRs and some older employee time card systems. Very old mainframe systems did have some issues, but these were limitations that were known about for a very long time. The date limitation didn’t come about all of a sudden. Anyone familiar with computer programming already knew about these limitations.

There were always weird limitations caused by addressable memory areas, and number precision. There time zone limitations with FoxPro databases, if you exceeded 99 time zones the database would start, then immediately crash. I actually ran into that issue in 2007 when Micro$oft released an update to change the Daylight Savings Time for March 11, 2007. They came out with an all-encompassing update, covering all time zones around the world. The update added a massive amount of time zones to the system. I applied the MS Daylight Savings Time update to a Windows XP system that was used for a Northern Computers/Honeywell card access system. It caused the FoxPro database to crash. I was able to get it working again by going into the Windows registry and deleting additional time zones that were added as a result of the update.

Again, these were not new things.

But the governments of the world had to take action!

There was a bill passed n 1998, the YEAR 2000 INFORMATION AND READINESS DISCLOSURE ACT. Followed in 1999 by H.R.775 - Y2K Act. Of course there was other legislation in many countries relating to the Y2K scare and even a UN Year 2000 Team.

The governments of the world were taking this very seriously and you should too. Be afraid!

Gaslighting

In 1999 the term “gaslighting” wasn’t as popular as it is today. The term gaslighting didn’t really take off until around 2015.

Here is a definition: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/gaslighting

Gaslighting is a very specific form of emotional abuse and mental manipulation that disrupts your ability to trust others and yourself. While the term has gained popularity online, in reality TV and other pop culture avenues, it’s also a term that’s often over-used to describe other kinds of bad behaviors, like lying, guilt-tripping or shaming.

Basically it’s lying to people to make them do what you want them to do, or at the very least, make their actions more predictable. But this was all done for your safety...

Nobody was more guilty of gaslighting than the media. Sure politicians were in on it as well, but they were sparse, not nearly as coordinated as the media. Most newspapers (which people still read at the time) and TV broadcast news ran stories about how scared people were.

It was interesting, because if you watched a whole Y2K news segment, or read an entire Y2K article -- towards the end -- they would always downplay the seriousness of Y2K. However, they know that most people aren’t going to watch the whole segment, or read the entire article. Thus they were gaslighting.

The stories would have headlines like, “People are Scared for Their Future” or “Many Believe That Y2K Could Lead to A World Crisis.” They were continually pushing people’s fears -- not what the likely outcome would be. Not only that, they were pushing the fears to the very people who were the least informed on the issue, people outside of the IT world. They didn’t interview programmers, no they interviewed random people on the street. Because those random people are the best “sources” for accurate information right? Man on the street interviews are good when you want “REO Speedwagon” style information, someone heard something from someone, who heard it from a friend.

Basically all stories that revolved around a very serious “crisis.” Sure you can party like it’s 1999, but at midnight right after the ball drops -- shit’s going to get real, and you might just be wading around in the dark, because the power will probably go out too -- not just where you are but everywhere.

I was an auto mechanic at the time, and there were many people worried that their cars might not start. I asked them, “Have you ever had to set the date in your car?” to which they would reply, “No...” It was obvious that it made no difference for anything that kept time based on 12/24 hour time only. It would only effect (some) devices that had a “date/year” associated with their time keeping ability. Ever wonder why most car radios don’t show AM and PM? It’s because you’re going to drive the car -- you’ll be outside in the car -- you’ll know if it’s day or night.

When the whole thing when down without even so much as a fizzle. Nobody called out the media on their nonsense. Of course they had all the articles out there claiming that it was going to be no big deal -- but that was two-thirds of the way through articles -- with a misleading headlines.

The Y2K scare created a global panic, but as midnight came and went on January 1, 2000, no computer glitches were reported. Cynics attributed the hysteria about the bug to computing companies cashing in on a nonexistent problem. In an age uncomfortable with its reliance on technology, the end of the millennium was bound to create superstitious fears. Whether the Y2K problem was solved in the nick of time, or was not really there at all, will probably never be known for sure.

20-Years On, We Get COVID-19

That is why it seems to me that the Y2K Scare was the “dry run” leading up to the COVID-19 Scare. Scaring people into a manipulable position was what Y2K was all about. Crisis management -- when there’s no real crisis. There were no officials that really believed that bad things were going to happen. It was all a ploy. The response is what it was always about. Where would we be if the government didn’t swoop in and save us from the impending crisis that was joked about decades before hand by most programmers?

Fast forward to 2019, 20-years later, and what happened? We had the "COVID-19 Scare." Video of people falling over while walking down the street in China (this was played over and over on cable news stations). “Don’t wear a mask -- no you’d better wear one!” – Anthony Fauci

“We’re in the middle of a pandemic and everyone should quake in their boots. The invisible enemy is coming for you!”

Meanwhile, people are told that they might experience flu-like symptoms, and should stay home and self isolate. Drink Gatorade and eat Saltine crackers. All of this while simultaneously claiming that the pandemic will take countless lives.

This went on for more than a year, then “officials” started walking things back a little. Until eventually COVID was nothing more than a seasonal bug.

COVID-19 was always about the response and never about the virus.

The proof of this is how nobody seems worried about COVID anymore. Of course this is explained away as “Viruses become less virulent over time.” Really? Then why push the Flu vaccine like a crack dealer on a street corner? Why force hospital workers to get the Flu vaccine, or face layoffs? All this -- before the COVID Scare?

The Flu has been around for a long time. Shouldn’t it be less virulent by now -- kind of like how COVID is now? After all, it was the world’s most deadly virus just a few years ago?

Now they're coming on with the Bird Flu nonsense. Just in time for another Trump presidency. How convenient.

What do you think?

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