This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Guest Post: How "Crazy Survivalists" Make The World A Better Place
Submitted by Brandon Smith from Alt-Market
How "Crazy Survivalists" Make The World A Better Place
I was recently interviewed by a journalist for a local newspaper who was developing a story on the exponential rise of the “prepper lifestyle” in America, most especially in Western Montana. Being an outsider to the Liberty Movement, she was naturally curious as to what motivated us to make what some in our culture would see as a drastic and bewildering leap away from the mainstream. She was equally fascinated with our willingness to travel great distances and make substantial sacrifices to live in regions like the American Redoubt.
I will not deny, Montana has indeed become a “hotbed” of survivalism and Constitutionalism, or what the Southern Poverty Law Center would call “extremism and domestic terrorism”. I lived in Pittsburgh for years while writing for Neithercorp and Alt-Market and rarely ran into like minded individuals aware of the tenuous status of our society. Within days of moving to Montana, I was being recognized by complete strangers in supermarkets excited to discuss the inner workings of Keynesian monetary corruption, precious metals investment, and Alinsky disinformation tactics. Yeah…I know…it’s weird.
After living for a while in the Redoubt, you begin to forget that there are still many people in this country that are utterly oblivious to the epic dangers around them, as well as painfully helpless in knowing what to do when those dangers land on their doorsteps. Speaking with the newspaper reporter, and my experiences at Paulfest in Tampa, Florida, reminded me that the world has yet to be reminded of the value of survivalism. There is still a gap, a disconnect, a psychological twitch of the masses, and it compels me to explain, yet again, what they are missing.
I had thought about using parables like the ancient Greek story of Cassandra, who was given the gift of foresight and prophecy, but also stricken with a curse which prevented anyone from believing her dire warnings. Or the story of Noah, who was given an omen, a vision of catastrophe, and directed by God on how to save a remnant of life, while knowing that most of the people around him would perish. And what about Galileo, who simply tried to point out the scientific operations of the universe in which we exist, only to be ostracized by his church and government? In these modern times, however, many find it increasingly difficult to relate to mythology, bible lore, or even historical precedence. Luckily, there is always cinema…
While considering this topic, as if by design, I stumbled upon the film ‘Take Shelter’, the story of a man who suffers from acute intuition. His vivid dreams warn him of a nightmare event, but is he a prophet, or a schizophrenic with delusions of doom?
Human beings hold within them a natural mechanism, a moral dynamo that compels them to alert others to the dangers they see silhouette on the horizon. Every survivalist today has at one time or another felt the overwhelming weight of responsibility that comes with knowing; not believing, but KNOWING the future. The film 'Take Shelter' illustrates the internal and external dilemmas of the survivalist in a way that is striking, beautiful, and affirming.
Prophetic dreams and spoken messages from the heavens are not necessarily required to understand the dilemmas our nation faces in the new millennium. It does not take a psychic to see the mathematical certainty of dollar devaluation and loss of world reserve status. The degradation of our civil liberties in the name of state security. The formation of unaccountable supranational bodies which are quickly encroaching upon our individual sovereignty. In fact, a person would have to be mentally blind, deaf, and dumb to NOT grasp what is happening right under their noses. Sadly, this is where a majority of the American populace lives.
Even at Paulfest, a convention and congregation of what I consider some of the most awake and socially aware people on the planet, I discovered that at least half of those in attendance had a minimal sense of urgency as far as a true national crisis was concerned, clinging to the assumption that they had yet more time to stab at top down solutions and political tap dancing that continually falls short of what is necessary to restore liberty.
It is difficult to retain one’s composure in the face of the astounding absurdity of normalcy bias. The idea that today’s comforts will continue on tomorrow and forever is a powerful one. To break such apathy requires steadfast resolve. Sometimes, only startling and terrifying events are enough to rattle the mindless masses. Sometimes, you just have to let the chips fall where they may, speak the truth to the best of your ability, and let the herd sort out the rest in their own good time, whatever there is left of it. What we see as a forgone conclusion, what we passionately fight to expose, in their minds often translates into belligerence and a frightening subversion of their joyous naivety:
As we invade their perfect world with the dreadful facts of life, their subconscious reflex is to regard us as a tangible threat. The first reaction is always to laugh. Ridicule without substance is the primary defense of the ignorant. But, what if you don’t go away? What if your arguments are too precise? What if there is too much clarity to your position? What if you have a whole movement of people behind you? What if you are a force to be reckoned with, and cannot be refuted or dissuaded? What if logic dictates the admission that you are right, and they are wrong?
Then arises fury…
It is not uncommon for the truth tellers of an era to be labeled the enemies of society. To be held as criminals, traitors, and terrorists. In fact, the establishment has in the past two decades made every effort to paint survivalists as the boogeymen of our age; unstable and unpredictable wild-men hell bent on destruction in the name of some hallucinatory ideology. Using generalizations, false associations, and outright lies, corrupt governments seek to fool the citizenry into viewing survivalists as a fringe element and a dark underbelly of their otherwise serene state sponsored existence.
In contrast, I would like to point out to the non-prepper populace the advantages of having some of us “loony” survivalists around. Rarely in the mainstream are we ever presented with the utility of survival proponents, and how they actually serve the interests of the “greater good” to quote a phrase often used by drooling collectivists and statists who desperately try to defame the prepper subculture…
Advantage #1: Survivalists Have Their Own Stuff – They Don’t Need Your Stuff
Survivalists have their own stuff, which means, they will likely not feel compelled to take your stuff, if, that is, you have any stuff worth having. In the midst of a calamity, being surrounded by preppers is one of the best insurance policies a person could acquire. Think about it; would you rather have me as a neighbor, with my guns, ammo, food supply, off-grid solar power and water, and anti-establishment angst, or, would you rather have some superficial sickly fake friendly suburban yuppie with a Mercedes, an overpriced boat, a $100,000-plus debt obligation, a repressed inferiority complex, a vicious department store-addicted trophy wife, three spoiled crusty children with a vocabulary of 80 words or less, and an empty pantry? In a crisis, who is the real threat? Come on!
Advantage #2: Survivalists Keep To Themselves – Your Business Is Your Own
Have you ever lived in the metro areas of California, New York, or Illinois? Ever notice how disgustingly nosy many people tend to become in the more socialist minded regions of America? Neighborhood administrations that cite you for tall grass. Permits on top of permits. Sneers when you smoke a cigarette, even outdoors. Environmental restrictions bordering on the insane. City governments telling you what you are allowed to eat and drink and how much. It’s so enraging it makes you want to wrench someone’s head off their neck and squeeze their skull like an oversized pimple.
Survivalists respect privacy. Grow a garden on your front lawn. Smoke your cigarettes (or whatever). Drink your damned 2 liter mega-gulp. Let your kids play with the water hose for hours, or open a lemonade stand. Don’t worry; the authorities will never be told, because we don’t care. We have far more important things to worry about.
Advantage #3: Survivalists Are Handy
Ever have that one friend, or neighbor, or family member who just seems to have all the right answers when it comes to gardening, or solar power, or repairing that hunting rifle? Who knows all the best camping and fishing spots? Who always seems to be willing to go out of his way to help you set up a good emergency kit in case of that next hurricane, flood, tornado, earthquake, etc? You may very well be working with a survivalist and not even know it.
Advantage #4: Survivalists Insulate A Region
The more survivalists there are in a particular area, the more likely you are to get through a disaster, whether you have prepared for it or not. A network of survival communities offers an enormous variety of skills, an alternative economy and barter system to tap into, safety from harm during a major implosion or socially unstable times, and the ingenuity required to rebuild after the disaster.
Let me put it this way: who is more likely to return your environment to a livable state? Groups of survivalists with the know-how and the desire because they actually LIVE in the region? Or, a faceless government bureaucracy like FEMA with no meaningful ties to the community in which you live?
Advantage #5: Survivalists Cook Up A Mean Barbeque
Show me a survivalist that doesn’t grill like an artist. I defy you!
Advantage #6: Survivalists Stand Their Ground When It Counts
If you ever need someone to back you up in a terrible situation, you can’t do much better than a survivalist. They are used to adversity. In fact, many of us deliberately put ourselves through strenuous training environments in order to learn where we will falter. We make a point to uncover our own weaknesses and improve upon them. Our current comfort obsessed society is almost devoid of this characteristic. Finding a single person who will not let you down is a gift. Finding an entire movement of such people is a miracle. Don’t let it go to waste…
Advantage #7: Survivalists Are Time Capsules For Liberty
Every culture needs watchmen. Not government paid watchmen who seek out power, but citizen volunteers who shun power. Without such watchmen, fundamental principles can be lost or destroyed, and the people of a nation are apt to forget where they came from, and what made them successful in the first place. Though the masses have a tendency to be lured away from the legacy of freedom which once served them towards the twisted ideologies of tyrants and collectivists, in the long run they always return, seeking the almost forgotten abundances of liberty. When the people go searching for freedom once again, the survivalists, the enduring watchmen, will be waiting to greet them.
Advantage #8: Survivalists Are Not Afraid To Remind Society Of Its Mistakes
It is easy to be apathetic to the criminality of government. It is easy to cocoon one’s self inside his own little life, within the minor dramas of his family and of his job. It is easy to turn away from the big picture and hope that the monsters of the world sort themselves out, or overlook us entirely. Unfortunately, this is not how human history has ever been resolved. The worst problems never disappear on their own. Survivalists understand this and are willing to take personal risks in order to uncover the nature of the beast for anyone willing to listen. They understand that their best chance of survival is to preempt a disaster before it ever occurs. The value of this to the longevity of our species cannot be calculated. Without those who can overcome the fears created by conformity, mankind is lost. Our very future depends upon the principles of survivalism, which teaches us to embrace our individuality, love the individualism within others, stand unyielding in the face of oppression, and fight to our dying breath to see that the best in all of us is one day fully realized.
»
- 33540 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
What if God is one of us?
Just another sphincter on the bus?
Does anybody out there have a greater messiah complex covering his gnawing insecurities than Brandon Smith? He writes the same self-extolling articles to convince us his is the shining path. Never trust anybody who believes they have "the one true faith."
People are at different levels of awareness; some have tricky situations and some are working so much they are not thinking about getting on the internet to research the condition of the world after they just worked 10 hours in the mine, etc. There are those who just don't want to hear about it, but overall most people DO want to know. That is why its important for honest media to keep getting the word out.
9/11 EXPLOSIVE EXPERTS AND OTHERS ON MAINSTREAM MEDIA (Aired on 8/18/2012):
http://video.pbs.org/video/2270078138
After 11 years, one of the mainstream media outlets on TV has FINALLY Aired an Episode with Architects, Chemists, Physicists, Structural Engineers, etc regarding the Explosives that brought down both Towers, as well as Building 7 (I was surprised recently to find out that many people did not know about bld 7...Which made it very obvious that explosives were involved).
It is NEVER too late for the Truth, and over half the American population now understands something else happened on 9/11 that the Gov't did not want them to know. No evidence has EVER been supplied to me or anyone in the U.S. to prove irrefutably that it happened like Bush said.
Hundreds of thousands died because of 9/11 "official Bush conspiracy theory" (That says 19 Arabs, 6 of whom the FBI says are still alive, plotted the whole thing from some caves and carried it out with box cutters, out-smarting 16 U.S. Intelligence Agencies, the FAA, Airport Security, the entire U.S. Airforce, and you and me.).
Millions (if not the entire human population) have been impacted, including the American people. Because after this filth that was carried out, I guess they didn't think it was painful enough so they destroyed the Financial situation in the West also....WHO WOULD want to do this to the Middle East and the entire Western populace?
Just watched part of it, up to the first fund appeal break.
I'm surprised they were allowed to air that. Will a certain Colorado PBS station now simply fall down, perhaps because of a car fire in its parking garage?
You can get the same video from AE 911 Truth or on YT w/out the fund appeal. It's a great vid. Don't miss the end w/the psychological experts.
You can't hoard your way to survival in a long emergency:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Emergency
The last place I would want to be in an emergency is among a bunch of gun toting hoarding nut jobs all paranoid over protecting their stash, so you people take your bug out cars to the middle of nowhere and stay there.
Well sir, you're already there. Lots of gun toting nut jobs who are already protecting their stashes are in place. In an Emergency, who is going to provide for you and yours? Certainly not the nut jobs. Apparently your hope is that Government will provide you with the resources you need. I'm happy for you and I wish you well
And what's with the hoarding meme? Supplies are readily available for those who chose to purchase them now. That's not hoarding. Have you not read "The grasshopper and the Ant?" Hoarding is when supplies are low and people must pay more for the supplies available AT THAT TIME, THATS''s hoarding my friend. Something purchased 5 years ago is an investment, not hoarding. You need a dictionary. Hoarding, what an asshole but that's the tune the .gov will take if the balloon goes up. Ass-wipes like you will go along with it because your a worthless MSM sheeple.
Your government has been stockpiling ammunition, not food, to take care of your needs. Mountain top retreat sounds attractive in this case. Wish I had one.
I for one am glad you've taken this position. No sense in taking care of yourself as your government will always be there to save you. Hope you're right but I rely on my self responsibility to take care of my needs. You will liley have a yougher time of it. Your mention of hoarding reveals your illiteracy. You are merely a sheep who will be fleeced. I'm not a particularly religious man, and I have no doubt you are an atheist, but I keep seeing this verse pop up and heed the message:
"A Prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it". Proverbs 22:3
As an aside, I have no care whether you and yours survive or not as you are not in my tribe. nor in my state, not in my thinking.
As for the long emergency, I guess you better learn the ways of the Amish.
Clearly you have no idea what you're talking about. Additionally, with your negative mindset you'd be the last person any survivalist would want around so realistically you have nothing to fear other than your lack of survival skills and a proper outlook.
Wikipedia ..the couch huggers only research tool.
here is a parable: in order to milk the cow, there is a little 3-legged stool
but the stool's legs are not all the same length, so it can be difficult to "milk the cow"
the three legs on the stool are our three basic drives and in the system of which this parable is a part, the three are
according to the parable, these are developed differently and also "not equally" as a "given"
hypothetically in this "system" this is simply the norm; what is; it doesn't mean 'good' or 'bad' or the world will end or not; it is simply a way of looking at "normal" human development and what may be "happening" with virtually everyone
you are free to test this hypothesis for yourself and see what you think after a while or a few years or ten or twenty or forty or more. or not
i am a self-pres; and sexual next; and social last
it is the way i care about/value these functions; they way they matter to me in my process, my life; the way slewie rolls
so we are not all the same; and there are very few balanced milking stools around, too, btw
but this is a self-pres article by a self-pres/social/sexual guy (or self-pres/sexual/social i'm not quite certain here)
people who are not long self-pres here are totally: WTF?
we see social types going: we're 7 billion people! [yes, we are!]
now i have a buddy who is sexual/social; in his mid-60s''s, he gets laid all the time and never has a "dry spell" and he gets along with everybody and is more than willing to share! so we get along socially
but he can't stop smoking and loves the vino! and gambles like a compleat moron even thought he is very good at it and has made some of the sweetest scores in casinos i have ever seen prize-wize; he is one of my slot machine cadre and we share gaming intel; he is xlnt at cards but if he doesn't get the cards he will just lie about how well he did
last month he went to vegas with a friend for 5 days b/c it was free
when he got back, he didn't have a dime for the last three weeks of the month but at least he was able to admit he had lost "$400"
x
Your premise is false, thus the logic fails..
The three legged stool question was asked for years on the CIA entrance exam for new applicants. Fail it you could still get into the FBI where long division was still a mystery.
Here's the answer: The short answer is a three legged stoll always forms a single plain, thus is stable. The longer proof follows.
A Three-Legged Stool
Date: 06/26/2001 at 11:49:02
From: Teri Brown
Subject: Why is a 3-legged stool always steady?
I am interested in finding out why a 3-legged stool is always steady,
versus a 4-legged stool, which can be wobbly.
Thank you for your help!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 06/26/2001 at 14:05:54
From: Doctor Ian
Subject: Re: Why is a 3-legged stool always steady?
Hi Teri,
That's an excellent question! The answer has to do with something
called 'degrees of freedom'.
Think of it this way:
(1) If you hold a cane in the air, you can move it in any direction,
twirl it, and so on. Its motion isn't constrained at all. That is,
the top of the cane can move freely in three dimensions.
(2) If you put (and keep) one end on the ground, now its motion is
constrained: you can't lift it, or rotate it... although you can
swing the top around in a variety of different arcs. That is, the
top of the cane can move freely in two dimensions.
(3) If you connect the tops of two canes together and place the other
ends on the ground, you can still move the tops, but only along a
single (straight) arc, back and forth. That is, the tops of the
canes can move freely in one dimension.
(4) If you try the same trick with three canes, now you can't move the
tops at all. This is basically what's happening with a three-
legged stool. The tops of the cans can move in zero dimensions...
which is to say, they can't.
Each time you add a cane, you remove one dimension in which the top
can move freely - that is, each new cane removes one 'degree of
freedom'.
Now, what happens when you add a fourth cane? Well, now you have too
many constraints. This means that there are multiple ways that the
stool can 'solve' the problem of which legs to use for support.
Wobbling occurs when the stool can't 'decide' which solution to use,
or, more precisely, when it's changing its mind about which solution
to use.
In effect, during the time that the stool is actually wobbling, it's
really a two-legged stool, with one degree of freedom - which is the
direction of the wobble.
In math, we see this kind of behavior in systems of equations. If I
have two variables, one equation will give me a whole range of
solutions:
y = 2x + 3 Solutions include (1,5), (2,7), (3,9)
In fact, the range of solutions is just the graph of the equation. If
I add another equation, I can have at most one solution:
y = 2x + 3
Solution is (2,7)
y = 4x - 1
That is, each new equation removes a 'degree of freedom' from the
system. With two variables, I need two equations to lock things down.
With three variables, I need three equations. And so on.
Now what if I add a third equation?
y = 2x + 3
y = 4x - 1 No solution
y = 4x + 1
There is no pair of (x,y) values that will satisfy all three of these
equations simultaneously. Of course, I can _choose_ any two of the
equations and get a solution for that pair, and then I could switch to
another choice, which would be quite a lot like what happens when a
four-legged stool wobbles.
So, the 'mathematical' answer to your question is: A 3-legged stool
'solves' a system of three equations in three variables, while a four-
legged stool changes its mind about which three of four equations to
solve for the same three variables.
Does this help? Write back if you'd like to talk about this some
more, or if you have any other questions.
- Doctor Ian, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
How much research has been done regarding living in the sticks vs living in cities and towns after the SHTF?
http://ferfal.blogspot.com/2008/10/thoughts-on-urban-survival-2005.html
A good 'American' article.
Survivalists are prophets in the same way as the fallout shelters people were.
'American' genesis took root in a massive theft. And thieves, if they are not forcefully paranoid, are very distrustful of people as they can no longer afford to ignore the reality of theft as they are thieves themselves.
Thieves are always a high demand for security. In all forms. It is not a surprise 'Americans' value security so much.
What 'Americans' call survivalists is just grown up people who keep playing kids'games, a mixing of video gaming culture and fabled past. For sure, they are people who are surviving in the US and some other 'American' nations, but they are not those survivalists. They are nothing different from other 'American' people who fake their life, playing roles all the time.
Funnily enough, survivalists know nothing of survival but as usual with 'Americans', they love the idea they know things about it.
US citizenism at its best.
Ah, yes... The group is all for 'Americans'.
Survivalists do not want to warn other people. They are testing their membership to the group. When it appears that their concerns (most of the times, fantasy) are no longer shared by the rest of the group, it means they are no longer part of the group, which is a dangerous situation in 'American' societies that are conformist societies.
The second effect is that they also try to fish for other former members in the same situation as themselves to form a new group as 'Americans' can not bear individuality. The group is all and it is priority one to form a new group once it appears others no longer share the willingness to bother about your concerns.
It is how it works in 'Americanism'.
the group is not "all" for Americans, they allow the freedom for individuals to take their own course as Brandon has done
it was the suffocation of the establishment/authority in Europe that drove people to elope to Americas free shores.. but even Europes suffocating structure allowed individuals to take off to new vistas
Freedom? Nope. 'Americans' allow membership to group. If allows is the word as it is a side of reality 'Americans' can not suppress.
This 'american' guy did not write about individuals. He wrote about a group, called the survivalists...
And welcome to the fabled past. Actually, the cultural part is more than people who were pushed to the Americas were so intolerant themselves that in Europe, people could no longer bear them.
If indeed, 'Americans' were that obsessed with freedom, their history would be totally different.
'American' history is that of people obsessed with being on the right side of tyranny.
But hey, 'americanism' is as 'American' does...
"...'American' societies that are conformist societies."
It was you Chinois who invented the term kow tow. Talk about conformist.
US Americans celebrate the day Indians were successfully parasited: it is called thanks giving day.
Indians were bamboozled by Indo Europeans coming up with elders, women and kids in their war effort so they did not react when they should have, in order to give freedom, justice and truth a chance. Instead of that, they let themselves be parasited and the rest is now history.
Quite a dream thus to claim that 'Americans' because they call themselves survivalists wont try to rob around.
There is a funny connection to be made with the bling ring story that happens a few years ago. That 'American' author uses the same trick here.
But the conclusion is known when 'Americans' are involved: if they rob and they do not need it, it is not robbery.
Expect these survivalists to do the same: rob around but deny they have robbed because they already have stuff and do not need it. Increasingly, 'Americans' consider that robbery is no robbery when you rob stuff you do not need or you could have afforded to buy.
Hi brandon, im guessing you came on the 2nd line, 2nd paragraph?
Srsly, this is the best you could write, a feel good missive designed to give ZH readers a quick reach around, thank god we have a prophet like you to tell us whats what.
S/
Brandon Smith
Good article but can I add:
Dis-Advantage #9: Survivalists have detached from society so are no longer enriching or being enriched by being amongst society
Maybe a bit harsh but your article is detailing the "Us and Them" mind-set. It is not as dysfunctional as the "Us versus Them" of the destructive Parasite Club as you survivalists do no harm to society, unlike Govt whose every action is to abuse (power) and impoverish (tax) society to enrich their greedy mentally deranged empire
But you must understand you have taken a high risk strategy, to act on a prediction (un-arrived possible reality) which you detail very well. Society, the herd, takes a low risk strategy to life, to react to facts/reality only once it arrives
If you take a look at nature you will see that herds/shoals/flocks low risk strategy is more successful than the high risk simply because they deal with reality once it arrives.
That's not to say your high risk strategy or predicting the future and acting on your projection is not going to be successful if or when economic Hell arrives. You are prepared much better, be satisfied with that. The herd is not your enemy, don't look down on them.
The enemy are the unproductive bwankers/politicos (the parasites, societal anarchists) bringing about this social and economic chaos and un-natural self-destruction to our naturally civil and productive free competitive society ...as they've done throughout history
I agree wholeheartedly with your title however, you make society a better place in that you offer many an aoption to run to in times of ruin and I think your group will continue to grow. Just know when it's time to pack in and come back to rebuild and enrich society
Keep your faith in society, know thine enemy
I somehow don't think that bankers and oligarchs are going to be the folks you will need to protect your family and food cache from.
They already have done their damage.
It's the debt riddled sonambulent Dancing with the Stars watchers who will be the New Zombies.
g'day, first post, from OZ, interesting subject, interesting replies, a lot of you blokes have an OZ "take the piss" sense of humour, I think your gonna need it....dont worry we've been up your arse for years (both our parties are a bunch of idiots just like yours) so we wont be far behind you when (not if) TSHTF. ....
Well mate welcome. I've been down under about sixty times in my life. I've spent two months in the NW territory ,the McDonald Range, Ayers Rock and Alice Springs. Those two months were camping/survival training and as a younger man (this was back in the 1970's) it was great fun ...except the brown snakes and the other very nasty poisonous critters you have to be aware of all the time.
A great country though ...as well as Kiwi country where I've done similar explorations on the South Island ... ChristChurch and the surrounding areas.
Welcome.
Never been to Oz, love the people, the land, only one major issue...................
YOU allowed yourselves to be disarmed.
WORST mistake in your countiries existence.
truly great tyler, keep up the good work!
Survival - yes, but for how long?
The only people who can survive without gasoline for more than two weeks are the Amish.
I got all of the survival stuff. Got my refuge. Got my friends in the country. Realistically, we are talking about "survival" for a couple of weeks - not months or years.
Southern Vermont is great place with great people. However, it is totally dependant on the flow of gasoline and diesel from Albany, NY. If the fuel barges stop coming up the Hudson, S VT will run out of fuel in less than 5 days. Truck traffic bringing food will cease.
Being a survivalist is good. But recognize your limitations. You can only make it so long eating tree bark and drinking spruce tea.
Survival - yes, but for how long?
The NORM even for non Preppers is a 30-90 day supply of all you will need.After that, it's up to you, some have family members who will never start, and will be the first at your door.
Usually your nuclear fam, gonna turn them away?, hell no.
2 Weeks?, dude get a grip you seriously need to do a reassessment.
If you never need it,rotate it and give it to foodbanks for the poor, and repurchase for longer exp dates.
Typical big city, stores have 3 day supply,wharehouses 3 weeks.
After that, your on your own.
Food I got - dried, canned and whatever - soom good til 2017.
Fuel - woodstove - can heat for one winter
But fuel - no electric - about enough spare gasoline for 2 or 3 weeks, depending upon how many hours per day for the generator and gas consumption for my truck.
If you get sick and need sickcare - what then - if doc has no generator and no supplies, what can he do for you.
These are the tough problems to get through.
Good luck to all
I have read several contributors express the idea that prepping has a first rule. It runs something like this. Don't talk about your prepping.
It's an OK theory but any prepper knows that in a long term survival situation a single survivalist can not make it very long. Ergo, it demands a certain amount of bulding alliances with others, fiting into a community (or the nearest one) and giving help where needed.
All of this entails communications about who has what skills, what resources etc. So you're going to be forced to talk to a degree either tangential to the survivalist life style or directly about it. This doesn't require one to post an inventory of their life skills and stock of goods, but I can't say it any plainer ..try to go it alone and you won't last very long.
Just don't be the nail that sticks up. They always get hammered down. Form alliances, modes of communication and friendships with like minded people.
But I believe what the contributors are probably saying is no braying, no megaphones. Stealth instead. There are plenty of sites to help one get started. For my money ( I have no finacial interest in ,nor have I ever contributed to this site) but thesurvivalistblog is the gold standard. It's already been refered to on this thread.
Good luck.
Habu
Too many people, dwindling resources, our political leaders and at least half of the populace devoid of morals, meaning, and utility--what could go wrong?
The naysayers here to Brandon's line of reasoning abhor REALITY and the essentially CONSERVATIVE lessons that it teaches.
Go ahead and roll over and die. The more of you that are winnowed out without difficulty the better the prospects for me and my family. Make my day and get out of the way. Your whining about what might have been, (even though it was not possible to begin with), is pointless at this stage of the historical cycle.
Survivalists do not panic and are good at handling boating accidents as they have had lots of experience with them and are very familiar with the recovery process.
Can we just broadcast that the end of days is starting and see if they all hole up?
What a wonderful world that would be.
There's a difference between a consumerist media-sensationalized stereotype-fixating fad and a mindset.
Be prepared. The bottleneck cometh.
is survivalism a form of ludditism? It is hard to see how a person can embrace self - sufficiency while embracing a society dependent upon a dense econmic-social matrix--a network of highly connected manufacturers that work together to create things like tractors.
perhaps the survivalists are not luddites so much as a group of people who understand that when 'new' tractors dont' exist , you need a bunch of poor folks who are willing to fix and maintain the existing stock for decades , while society marches on , using tractors as they always have.
perhaps, cubans are the real survivalists. if not them , who?
and if survivalists don't work together, are they no also in some sense 'collectivists' with a different group prerogative?
interesting thing about the cubans is that their local organic vegetable markets (which were gray/black until the Castro boys "legitmized" them last year) are pretty much as close to the most ideal form of a free market there is in the western hemisphere, while on a production level (the organicoponicos), it's pure collectivism.
funny how labels become meaningless when the survival of yourself, family, friends & neighbors are at stake.
There are some on this site by virtue of Socratic method of teaching by questioning would ask a question positing the similarities of say luddites with survivalists. Clearly not satisfied with the Socratic method a dilation of their thinking actually demolishes their initial thrust and exposes a mindset totally unable to grasp that of a survivalist.
Their putative cerebral superiority, normally considered a strength, is shown in the light of a survival situation as a glaring weakness and most likely a cause for an early demise when TSHTF.
Darwinian, no actually it was Herbert Spencer who first coined "survival of the fittest" which in this poor case is all too true. A keen mind will not save you in a true survivalist scenario. Tis a pity.
"A keen mind will not save you in a true survivalist scenario."
Some people are, as the English would say, Too clever by half.
Great to read this.
Seems not a SINGLE Responder to this article has REALLY thought around the problem. Just how many of you are going to be out there "defending your stash" with enormous firepower when in actuality there's no need.
Isn't the solution rather simple? If it all goes pearshaped IN THE USA, then GET OUT OF THE USA.
So, how will y'all be doing this? Consider that in time of conflict your options for navigation will be limited. be assured that Civilian access to the GPS system will be the first service to fall (along with cellular communication, and probably UHF repeater services), so MF / HF / VHF will be all thats left.
Overland heading south or north will be problematic since there will be lots of people doing the same thing, so what other options are there?
Air? - need to be able to fly, and need access to expensive equipment, and fuel for this equipment (and the ability to navigate accurately via "traditional means")
Sea? Remember just how the World was discovered centuries ago - by SAILING SHIP. They worked then, they work just fine NOW.
So - rather than collect the shiny stuff, INVEST your money in learning to sail, and there's a start of the problem's resolution.
Instead of buying the glamorous all electronic "Motoryacht" from your favourite supplier, try an older design - 1970s is just fine - long keel, twin mast, motorsailer if possible, and go for the largest hull length you can afford for reasons of internal space and seakeeping abilities.
There are HEAPS of texts on provisioning and fitting out - your local Library will act as an invaluable resource here. You don't NEED to buy books in this area, since once you're done, you're done. Maintenance (electrics, sail, plumbing) and Seamanship texts are another matter entirely, and you WILL need to BUY these since you will need them as a reference when underway.
Learn to navigate by traditional means - and buy equipment that's reliable and durable. Davis manufacture excellent sextants (Model 15's adequate, Model 25 is the best). Buy an ACCURATE clock or watch - EBay is your friend. You want mechanical and a good manufacturer. You will also want at least three. Keep a note of how much your timepieces gain or lose and maintain a log for each. Then when your access to accurate time reference disappears you will still have a known accuracy time reference with a known (so correctable) rate of drift - THE key to traditional navigation.
Nothing against the modern calculators, but a slide rule or three might come in handy too (as well as a mechanical stopwatch or two).
Start buying BOOKS (NOT E-books), on sailing - basic, and blue water (and don't forget the Yachtsman's Bible - Adlard Coles's Heavy Weather Sailing -THE best text on this subject EVER).
Whilst the Internet's just fine, download (and PRINT) all the freeware on Celestial Navigation - the US Navy do HEAPS of free text and basic (i.e. running under ANY DOS) applications for calculating sun and star ephemeris data, and solutions to the Equation of Time (so you can correct your timepieces via your noonday sights). Get their Sight Reduction Tables and have them bound - they are an immortal resource.
Buy secondhand charts. OR download (and print obviously!) the FREE raster scanned chart library from the US Hydrographer's Office (I believe they have a folio of 1500 charts).
Buy a copy of the Yachtsman's World Atlas.
Read, Learn and Practice. Gold, Guns and Ammo WON'T help you to survive 10, 20, maybe 30+ years of social upheaval. What WILL help is what made our species what it is - INFORMATION, and the ABILITY TO APPLY IT, so - try to gain experience sailing in the Southern Ocean. Even going on a cruise will provide you with a feel for the weather conditions, and an opportunity to start on celestial nav. whilst the GPS system is available. If you can go during the Southern Winter so much the better - since if there ever IS a Nuclear apocalypse this is where you'll be safest in terms of radiation.
Maybe we'll see you there? We've "been prepared" since 1980, and have enjoyed sailing the World's oceans whilst gaining experience and the skills to manage under adverse conditions.
We will be maintaining a listening watch on VHF, MF and HF.
That was a really great post. While that does sound enticing, what do you plan to do about pirates, unfriendly governments, refitting, and the like? Just wondering.
On The Plantation
There are plantation owners who seek the company and approval of other plantation owners.
There are hanger's on of the plantation, family, sons and daughters and whoever else that live off the largesse of the plantation and have limited say in how the plantation is run.
There are good slaves on the plantation, the Uncle Tom's who can be trusted to always say yes to the owner and cohorts, who rarely feel the whip.
There are the nameless rabble of slaves who toil on unthinkingly under the whip, not even feeling the whip for the most part, but being stung by the whip from time to time.
There are the slaves that feel the whip and see the fences and would like to leave the plantation.
There are slaves that left the plantation.
Which sort of slave are you?
Can you leave the plantation, one decision at a time? Can you mentally walk away?
Liberty is between your ears and your ribs, nowhere else.