I was in blackout and parents haven’t even texted me

[Stopeatingcrispsanddips]

I live in one of the countries where there was a power cut, it was frightening at the time and still feels a bit unsettling. My parents haven’t even WhatsApped us to see how we are (they still live in the U.K.)

Is this normal?

This is not meant to be critical or to undermine your feelings on this but surely only you can really know if this is normal behaviour for your parents and I'm not sure whether you're simply disappointed in their apparent lack of concern or surprised by it?! 🙄
Personally if it was me who had family in the area at the time I would be messaging straight away to enquire as to their welfare but I wouldn't panic if I didn't hear straight back and I would be keeping a close eye on the situation through social media and the TV.
Those saying it did not get much coverage in the media are wrong and I think those without any knowledge of it probably live in their own little bubbles and aren't interested in what's happening in the world.

@Bellie710 even if it was just for one day I would have contacted DS, even in curiosity to find out how that day had been. Not often you are in a country that has a complete blackout, you are 1 in 50 million people sitting in the dark! Had he been stuck in a train, in a lift, how did he cope without a screen for 12 hours! But first and foremost I would have wanted to know he was okay.

My parents are currently in Spain it never occurred to me to phone them and check they are ok as they are fully grown adults well used to life without power!

I’ve noticed as my in laws have gotten older (now mid 70s) sometimes just don’t engage with scary news stuff. I’m not sure if it’s a deliberate tactic or if they just don’t register it. Maybe that’s happened here.

I’d say some of the posts on this thread are doing the same thing…

Elderly parents are maaaaaad! They don’t get it. And only want to talk about neighbours -in-laws- and other unrelated matters

I would have been terrified too. I think a lot of people on here like to be controversial. In your shoes though I would have text my parents and said in case you were wondering I am ok 🤣 you don’t know if they have other stuff going on which means they haven’t seen the news.

Obviously I don't know who we is in your post but unless it's areas in 3 different countries all at the same time grinding to a total halt I don't see the comparison

I can see both sides here. We live in an area of the UK where 5 day blackouts (no electricity, phone, mobile, wifi) is not unusual - storms Arwen and Eowyn were the most recent causes. The blackouts may make the news but the impacts, particularly in winter, rarely do. Family also appreciate they cant get in touch! I think unless you have experienced such a blackout, folk generally don't really appreciate the issues involved; even if it's reported, people seem to think it's 'just' no power for a bit. I think Tony Blair is right to raise the issues of resilience in the case of widespread long term power outages, unless its something you've experienced it's very hard to appreciate the problems.

@Bellie710 were you not even interested? At what point would you have contacted them, if the whole of mainland Europe was in blackout, or if it had gone on 2 days, a week, a month?

Power cuts may be common, but a whole country in blackout is not common

It was the leading story on BBC news for over a day.

It was a power cut ffs. Why would they need to ask you how you are? It wasn’t a lie-threatening earthquake or tsunami. Get a grip.

@Reliablesource if a state of emergency had been announced in the area where your DC/other family members lived, you wouldn’t check up on them?

Well, to be frank, I think that’s a damn shame.

There was a state of emergency. Would a “you ok? Seen in the news what’s happening!” Text been too too much of a stretch?

Honestly, this thread has destroyed my faith in human nature. It really has.

Tell us you have no fucking idea what you’re talking about without telling us you have no fucking idea what you’re talking about

Sorry if I don't have the same hysteria as everyone else about a blackout, we have gone 9 days with no power, internet or phone lines so 12 hours would not make me think I better check on them nor would it concern them in the slightest!

@Bellie710 so the point that 50 million people were in that position not pique your interest in them in any way

Child having a temper tantrum, clearly.

In the 70s there were power cuts all the time in the UK, they probably don’t see it as a big deal. And people who lived through that would quite rightly regard anybody who needed support to get through it as a snowflake.

Even hurricanes, or storms, power can be out for days. You don’t need to contact everyone you know who might be affected within 24h and see if they’re all right. Quite reasonable to pick it up next time you talk.

Like many other people I didn't even know anything about it. Also if all the people in these countries had no power, phone lines, 4G etc they would also be oblivious to the fact that it was a whole country blackout surely?

Doyou know the reason for the blackouts?

No they had no power, I just can't get excited about that whether its a whole country, the whole world or a village.

Some people had mobile data on and off and also plenty of people had transistor radios so were listening to the news.

Ok, but can you see why other people (including governments) maybe might be concerned?

For instance, I would type a whatsapp and it would not send for an hour or two, then suddenly send and I would get a load of messages all at once, then nothing for ages. Didn't have enough data to connect to the internet. But with the intermittent whatsapp i could see from the work chat that colleagues all across Spain had no power.
I had some radio stations (some were not transmitting) on my car radio. My neighbour had a transistor radio.

But you said you’re a child if the 70s. If you can actually remember the power cuts etc of the 70s then you must be in your fifties! I can barely remember them and I’m in my late fifties!

I admit I didn’t try to contact my aunt in Spain because… well…. it was a massive power cut…. her ‘phone wouldn’t have been working….. She’s fine, it doesn’t seem to have bothered her fortunately.