Triumph of Handicraft

[rinue]

Although the zombie zeitgeist is now passing, something which has worried me throughout is that I'm pretty sure I die. I mean, I'm a good driver and a decent mechanic, but I live in a populous city.

Beyond that, I've worried about how I'd fare in a post-apocalyptic scenario. I'm an intellectual. I like civilization. I know the best ways to form a government, and the best ways to vote, but if somebody wants to smash my skull in...it's pretty much going to work. No way around it. And in the short term, they'd be right to do so - I'm an extra mouth. Words and ideas are essential long term, but at the moment, what am I contributing?

Are we going to get to the long term?

It makes me nervous.

However, today I realized I was being silly. Assuming I can get past the zombies, I'm thoroughly useful: I know how to card wool and cotton, how to spin, how to build a loom, how to weave, how to knit, how to crochet, how to pattern make, how to sew. I am valuable to the point of being irreplaceable even in an agrarian society. I understand textiles. Thank goodness.

Comments

[ksmeg.livejournal.com]

It's probably not entirely healthy the sense of relief I feel at the thought of 'yes, I guess I would be useful in a post-apocalyptical world.'

[rinue.livejournal.com]

I know exactly what you mean. I am more relieved than is reasonable. I think it probably comes out of being told over and over by a certain segment of the population that we are useless and not real - that we don't have what it takes and are just coasting on the good graces of the strong people, using the safety of government to steal from them. But they're wrong.

[ksmeg.livejournal.com]

I LIKE my high-technology civilized world. I'm British, we invented civilization. ;) But... nice to know I wouldn't just be at the whims of others in a worst case senerio. Well, no worse than others, and better than some.

[rinue.livejournal.com]

Totally. Best case -> civilization. By far. But it's good that in the worst case, we wouldn't necessarily be screwed.