For years the mainstream media and their following of myrmidons have made a joke out of those who have taken time, effort and money to prepare their homes, assets and families for “Doomsday” scenarios that may include anything from financial collapse to natural disasters.

For those who laugh at “preppers” it boils down to the belief that this time is different from the countless historical examples showing just how bad things can get. World wars, monetary hyperinflations, depressions, tyrannical governments, pandemics, Tsunamis, you name it; according to the experts, these things can never happen, especially not here in America. Plus, in the off chance that something does go wrong, we can always depend on our government to bail us out.

But what if, for the sake of argument, something does go wrong? And what if – just humor us here – the government doesn’t have the ability to help? What happens then?

The answer is simple and can be summed up in the following picture and video taken within the last 24 hours in Greece, where their financial and economic systems have collapsed to such an extent that people are now hoarding food, gas and even money (if they can get their hands on it).

Do you want to know why your prepper relatives, friends or neighbors are so adamant about being ready for disaster? It’s because they don’t want to end up like the hundreds of pensioners shown below. As Zero Hedge notes, the situation was heartbreaking:

1,000 Greek bank branches chanced a stampede in order to open their doors to the country’s retirees on Wednesday.

The scene was somewhat chaotic as pensioners formed long lines and the country’s elderly attempted to squeeze through the doors in order to access pension payments.

As Bloomberg reports, payouts were rationed and disbursals were limited according to last name.

As you’ll see in the video, it was virtually impossible to get through the bank’s door and tensions were running high:

Such scenes have played out time and again throughout the course of the financial crisis since late 2008.

In the following video, shot in February of 2008, Greeks were fighting for food in the streets:

(Via: Greeks Fight For Food: “I Never Imagined That I Would End Up Here”)

And for those who would still argue that the American government, through multi-billion dollar FEMA and DHS initiatives, is ready for such a crisis, we direct your attention to these images taken in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Within 72 hours people were starving, had no clean water, no gas and were standing in hours-long food lines in the hopes of getting an MRE (Meals-Ready-To-Eat) from the National Guard. Some were even dumpster diving looking for scraps:

This post was originally sourced from Mac @ SHTFPLAN.com. Click HERE to read more!