The Y2K Neighborhood

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The October 1998 issue of Scientific American carries a similar piece under the title: 'The End of the World as We Know It.' It begins, 'Every religion has its doomsday prophecy, and it turns out that computing is no exception. (If you doubt that computing is a religion, just try mentioning Windows to a Mac owner.)' The story goes on to compare Y2K to other notorious End Times--the 1524 deluge that didn't drown London, the 1719 comet that never struck, the Cold War we weren't supposed to survive but did, Kevin Costner's apocalyptic film operas. 'About the only people in the U.S. who might escape all effects are the Amish,' jokes the article. It concludes with the biographical note that the author 'has stockpiled several dozen bags of chocolate chips.'

And then there's coverage such as Fred Moody's 'Day of Reckoning' article, which ran in The Inlander's July 15, 1998, edition. [The Inlander is the newspaper that first carried the story you are reading.] Where Jim Lord divides Y2K opinion into camps of the indifferent and terrified, Moody suggested the categories of 'Owls,' and 'Roosters.' He cited the Center for Millennial Studies, a Web page founded by Richard Landes, a professor of medieval history at Boston University, 'where Y2K is studied in its proper context: not the world of technology, but the world of religion's 'apocalyptic time'--defined, writes Landes, as 'that perception of time in which the End of the World (variously imagined) is so close that its anticipation changes the behavior of the believer.' 'In Landes' conception, the rooster is 'the apocalyptic believer,' the owl, 'the antiapocalyptic skeptic.'

The tone of such reporting reassures the reader that all is right with the world, and that God is still in heaven--along with the communication satellites that let people reach out and touch one another via cellular phone. But it's misleading if it suggests that Y2K is just an example of humanity's quirky psychology, or that the only sufferers of TEOTWAWKI are those who either expect the rapture or are holed up with guns and bullion. Where, in this view, does The New York Times fit with its suggestion of planning for the worst, just in case? And what to make of the Canadian Parliament?

As it happened, the day after Hope Findley's city council presentation in Spokane, the Ottawa, Canada Edmonton Sun reported, under the headline, 'Military Preparing to Take Over After 2000 Bug Bomb': 'The National Defense Department announced yesterday it's preparing for war against the 'year 2000 problem' that some experts predict will foul up computers and wreak havoc worldwide. Defense documents released yesterday show the department is preparing for the worst--a kind of martial law that will see soldiers, sailors and air personnel play a major role in keeping Canada working during a massive computer crash.'

Moreover, from reporting that simply spoofs Y2K, you'd never guess what people such as Gail Coopee, of Redmond, Washington, are going through. A data resource management veteran with more than 20 years experience before becoming an independent consultant, Coopee spent her last eight years in industry with Snohomish County Public Utility District. She headed up the company's strategic planning, which also included investigating Y2K.

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