A recent Nutella promotion in France sparked pandemonium across the country as thousands of shoppers descended on grocery stores in an attempt to get their hands on the tasty spread before supplies ran out. While the French are known for their love of Nutella, it’s hard to imagine that people would be willing to harm one another in their efforts to purchase some jars at a deep discount. Yet, that’s exactly what happened.
Dozens were injured in the mayhem, fights broke out, and some stores were destroyed as frenzied crowds tried to grab as many containers as possible. For a few hours, on what was an otherwise routine January morning, the country was on the verge of experiencing a complete societal collapse.
Primal Instincts Took Over
One of the reasons that people reacted the way they did has to do with basic supply and demand. Normally, Nutella is so expensive that it’s only bought on special occasions. However, the deep discount created a rare opportunity for people to stock up without emptying their bank accounts, and shoppers wanted to take advantage of the situation. However, as news spread of supplies running out sooner than expected, more and more people stopped what they were doing and headed for grocery stores.
As more and more people started showing up, those who were already there panicked and began to grab supplies by the arm-load. This encouraged others to follow suit. The combination of limited supplies, along with some basic, primal self-interest, created the right conditions for the chaos that ensued. While a couple of stores were able to institute some kind of rationing system in order to preserve order and protect shoppers, most outlets were completely-unprepared to deal with the throngs of people who were pushing and shoving their way toward shelves and bins.
While mob scenes in stores on big shopping days are becoming an increasingly-common occurrence in this country, this type of behavior is unusual in France. Consequently, the riots served as a grim reminder of what normal, civilized people are capable of doing to each other if they collectively feel that their interests are at risk.
Be Prepared
If people are willing to sacrifice others in pursuit of cheap electronics or chocolate spread, imagine what they are capable of doing if they needed basic staples like bread or water. This is why it’s so important to stock up on staples long-before the threat of a disaster or crisis looms on the horizon. The last place that you want to be is at a grocery store the day before a hurricane or major winter storm arrives.
Not only will you face the prospect of supplies running out before you get there, but you may have to put up a fight in order to get a hold of what’s left. You also expose yourself to the risk of being attacked in the parking lot or mugged on the way home. In a nutshell, the best place to be when people start to panic is away from where crowds are most-likely to form.
Make sure that you have plenty of emergency supplies on hand now, and always take advantage of opportunities to boost your stockpiles whenever possible. A little bit of preparation can help you to completely-avoid the need to expose yourself to the darker side of humanity when people are fixated on trying to fend for themselves.
