DEATH BY ZEROES
"When people curse their parents, it unquestionably is a capital crime." -- Gary North1
There were many prophets of doom that predicted a date exactly 1 year before the new millenium (which occurred, of course, on January 1, 2001). One unique aspect was the specter of the y2k bug. For the first time, doomsday was being predicted by the technocracy, and there was no hocus-pocus involved.
Luckily, the y2k bug turned out to be a no-see-um, but there were those who predicted that civilization was about to collapse under the weight of two bytes of data. One of the most extreme purveyors of death by logic gate was a fellow named Gary North.
Mr. North is a right-wing evangelical. Very right-wing. He makes Pat Robertson look like a Unitarian. Currently, he is working as God's financial advisor, proclaiming that "The Bible mandates free market capitalism."2 He is also an advocate for theonomy, as expressed in Christian Reconstructionism:
"Generally, Reconstructionism seeks to replace democracy with a theocratic elite that would govern by imposing their interpretation of 'Biblical Law.' Reconstructionism would eliminate not only democracy but many of its manifestations, such as labor unions, civil rights laws, and public schools. Women would be generally relegated to hearth and home. Insufficiently Christian men would be denied citizenship, perhaps executed. So severe is this theocracy that it would extend capital punishment beyond such crimes as kidnapping, rape, and murder to include, among other things, blasphemy, heresy, adultery, and homosexuality." 3
In the years leading up to 2000, North predicted the collapse of industry, the failure of the power grid, the bankruptcy of the US and the death of billions. To his credit, he apologized afterwards.
I can't help but speculate that North was facing the y2k bug with anticipation. If there are no athiests in fox holes, then the collapse of modern society would be the perfect opportunity for North to institute his unique version of fascism. Sorry, Gary. Guess you'll have to wait until 2012 to kill everyone who disagrees with you.
Here's how long ago the y2k bug destroyed civilization:
| Doomsday | Years | Days | Hours | Mins | Secs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2000 |
