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Guest Post: The Most Often Forgotten Survival Preparations
Submitted by Brandon Smith from Alt-Market
The Most Often Forgotten Survival Preparations
I think it’s safe to say with some conviction that in the year of 2012 the concept of survival prepping is NOT an alien one to most Americans. When National Geographic decides there is a viable market for a prepper TV show (no matter how misrepresentative of true preppers it may be), when Walmart starts stocking shelves with long term emergency food storage kits, when survivalism in general becomes one of the few growing business markets in the midst of an otherwise disintegrating economy; you know that the methodology has gone “mainstream”. There is a noticeable and expanding concern amongst Americans that we are, indeed, on the verge of something new and unfortunate.
Is it the big bad hoodoo of the soon to expire Mayan Calendar? For a few, maybe, but for the majority of us, no. That jazz is a carnival sideshow designed to make the prepping culture appear ridiculous. We don’t need to believe in magical prophecies to know that there is a catastrophic road ahead; all we have to do is look at the stark realities of our current circumstances. It does not take much awareness anymore to notice looming fiscal volatility, social unrest, the potential for unrestrained war, and the totalitarian boldness of our government. I’ll take the wrath of Quetzalcoatl any day over the manure storm that is approaching us currently.
With some estimating a count of 3 million prepper families and growing in the U.S., the motto of “beans, bullets, and band-aids” is finding a home amongst legions. However, being closely involved in the survivalist movement during the past six years and speaking with literally thousands of preppers, it has become clear to me that we still have a long journey ahead of us before we can claim true efficiency and mastery.
Sadly, having a stockpile of food, weapons, and some slick tactical gear is not enough to ensure a high likelihood of survival, at least not in any of the social collapses that have occurred in the past century around the world. It’s a start, but only just…
There are a number of detrimental weakness to the survivalist movement and considerable holes in prepper knowledge that must be addressed now while we have the time and relative safety to do so. The greatest threat to the common survivalist is not economic collapse, roving bandits, Blackwater mercenaries, or predator drones; those dangers are a piece of cake compared to the threat of an overblown ego, which will get a man killed faster than the most sophisticated smart bomb. If we cannot accept that there is always more to learn, and room to improve, we have been defeated before we have begun.
The following is just a short list of the many areas in which there is obvious and acute inadequacy in the movement overall…
Secondary Retreat Locations
Never put all your eggs in one basket. I hear a lot of tough talk from some survivalists who claim they would rather die than leave their property. Of course, I suspect they will see the error in this brand of bravado when the legitimate chance of death actually arises. There is no harm whatsoever in having a backup plan. I’m not sure any survivalist who doesn’t is really a survivalist. Stand your ground when necessary, but don’t let pure pride and stupidity prevent you from living to fight again another day.
Physical Fitness And Health
You may be the Tom Berenger-like master sniper of your particular county, but if you can’t run a hundred yards with your rifle rig without going into coronary thrombosis, then you aren’t going to live long during a collapse scenario. Even those preppers who have age as an excuse…don’t really have an excuse. I personally know survivalists and homesteaders in their 60’s and 70’s who could physically outmatch numerous other preppers of the same age or younger without much effort. The difference? They make a concerted effort to take care of their health.
Sometimes certain wise-cracks made by the insipid yuppies of our modern era against suvivalists are true, and we should take serious note when this occurs. The primary insult being that many of us are far too fat to outrun or outfight a paper sack, let alone a determined opponent. I have, to be honest, seen chest beating antics from more than a few clinically obese “preppers” that were truly embarrassing. On the bright side, this does not have to be a permanent hindrance to our success.
The solution is simple: Eat less. Eat healthier. Exercise more.
A person who has attained a high level of physical fitness has done more than prove his prowess. He has also proven he has the will and the passion to pursue a directed goal and achieve it, regardless of difficulty. This is where the adults are separated from the children in this world. Are you willing to endure extreme difficulty to win something of legitimate value? Do you have the self discipline to forgo certain luxuries and comforts to gain long term advantages? Or, would you rather take the path of least resistance and certain doom? Personal health is no joke for the survivalist.
Community Building And Networking
Organization is not the strongest suite of the survivalist movement for a number of reasons. The first being that our paranoia completely impedes our ability to work with others. Now, to be clear, it is not paranoia if they are really out to get you, and with multiple leaked documents like the MIAC Report, the Virginia Fusion Center Report, and the DHS reports on “right wing extremism”, it is not as if our concerns are unfounded. However, the movement needs to realize that the primary object of labeling us as “extremists” and categorizing us as potential threats to national security is to create crippling fear. Their main goal is to condition preppers to censor themselves, and to stifle their own organizational efforts.
Solid community, even open formation of community, is necessary for countless reasons. The more we isolate ourselves from one another now, the more alone and vulnerable we will be tomorrow. Calls for “OPSEC” should be embraced to a point, but they can also become an excuse for laziness and inaction. No prepper who goes it alone during crisis is going to come out unscathed, if they come out alive at all. This is the great forgotten lesson of survival, from the Depression and Weimar Germany, to Argentina and Bosnia; those persons and families who were isolated simply did not make it. The wide spectrum of skill sets and supplies needed to establish a survival foundation are far too many for any single prepper to attain.
The logical fallacy that usually prevents survival networking is the argument that if you are a bigger group, you are a bigger target. This thinking shows a lack of prioritization. During a social or economic collapse, EVERYONE is a target. National chaos does not make distinctions between those who never shared their survivalist tendencies and those who did. The DHS might, but they are not the biggest threat to the common prepper. The most dangerous environment for the prepper, no matter what the circumstances may be, is one in which he has no support.
If you do not have ample neighbors and friends on board with the prepper lifestyle, and who can be counted on in an emergency, then you are not ready, nor are your chances very good. Period.
Barter Markets And Trade Skills
At Alt-Market we relentlessly promote the idea of decentralized trade markets because, to be frank, they are going to spring up one day soon whether the IRS, the DOJ, or the Federal Reserve likes it or not. The crisis in the EU has proven my position on the inevitability of the barter dynamic conclusively. These private trade networks are becoming the new foundation for countries like Greece, Italy, and Spain, and it should be noted that the financial instabilities in America far outweigh any of the problem in those places. If we know that economic danger is on the horizon, and we know that barter markets will be the immediate result, then why not build them now, instead of waiting and scrambling after disaster strikes?
Any survivalist that does not know who he will be trading for essential supplies, and who does not know what skills he will use to garner those supplies, is in for a world of hurt.
Overlooked But Vital Items
There is a saying in the survival movement: You’re never done prepping. I absolutely agree. Unless you are a millionaire with a highly organized brain, there will always be some other piece of equipment that you’ll discover you need down the line. That said, there are some things every prepper should have, but many, from my observations, do not. I have also heard every excuse imaginable and some unimaginable when such people are presented with the recommendation that they obtain these items, lack of money being the usual suspect.
Yes, many of us are broke, or feel broke, these days Invariably, though, when most survivalists examine their financial situation carefully, they will discover a host of peripheral expenses that are unnecessary or outright extravagant. I once had a would-be survivalist make the argument that he could not afford a year’s supply of food, then admit that he had just went on a Carnival Cruise to the Caribbean. This is an extreme example, but it illustrates a common hang up. Now is not the time for people to live beyond their means, or to shrug off their preps so that they can have a new La-Z-Boy, cable TV, an internet gaming account, a high priced vacation, a six day a week stockpile of beer (hey, cut back a day, guys! Try it out and see how it fits) etc. Times are changing, and they will definitely change without us if we are not careful.
There is always a way to get the preps you need, if you are motivated enough to make it happen. Here are a few items that seem to escape from people’s lists:
Extra Survival Clothing: Clothing is a real pain for a lot of survivalists because it is one prep that they must absolutely purchase doubles and triples of. Good durable shoes, pants, even socks, can get expensive. Base layer clothing like Smart Wool sometimes costs in the range of $100 or more for a single set. Take the pain, bite the bullet, and get the absolute best clothing you can find in multiples. It may have to last you quite a long time without replacement, especially the artificial fabrics. Imagine having to wear the same vapor producing sweat drenched crusty duds day in and day out while sharing a retreat location with some less than amused buddies. They may end up coming after you before the looters do.
Body Armor: This stuff is going to be at a premium in the near future. I have already seen price spikes in good body armor in the days after the Aurora Theater shootings. Why? Because the fear is that the establishment will move to try to ban said gear in response, causing a rush to purchase. That fear is not misplaced. Plus, I would imagine a bullet to the gut, whether accidental or intentional, is not an event to celebrate with a rootbeer float. Believe it or not, body armor rigs that include rifle plates are extremely sparse amongst preppers right now, and this simply can’t continue.
Gas Masks And Filters: Not long ago I wrote about the revolutions and rebellions that took place in Russia after the formation of the Soviet Union against the abuses of communism. At that time, the more successful the rebellion, the more apt the Soviets were to dump chemical weapons over entire towns, mountains, and valleys, to erase the problem. Never expect that a tyrannical government is going to fight fair. In fact, expect that they won’t. Even if you don’t foresee such an event taking place in the U.S., it is imperative that every person owns not just a gas mask, but extra filters as well. Plan on dealing with multiple incidences in which your air will be unsafe to breath.
NBC Alert Items: How many preppers do you know with a Geiger Counter? I know three, out of the hundreds I speak with regularly. This is not a good sign. If the Fukushima disaster has taught us anything, it is that radiological threats are not just relegated to the realm of nuclear bombs. Every community should have several Geiger Counter devices handy, along with chemical warfare strips which change color when exposed to an offending airborne agent. Remember the panic buying that ensued in Japan for these kinds of goods after the reactor meltdown? Don’t overlook radioactivity. Knowing what has been hit by concentrated fallout and what hasn’t is a tremendous advantage.
Thermal Countermeasures: A box of road flares, IR flashlights, and IR floodlights, should be in every survivalists home. With the advent of predator drones armed with night vision and thermal vision, as well as numerous other nasty weapons platforms, the need for countermeasures that create false thermal signatures to confuse an attacker with this kind of technology is a must.
Extra First Aid Supplies: During a collapse, you become the hospital, and no amount of Obamacare is going to help you. Almost every prepper has a first aid kit, but few have one that will really last through a prolonged crisis. Collapse brings with it all kinds of injuries and sicknesses we never think of facing in our current atmosphere, with more frequency than I believe many would like to admit possible. A sterile bandage may be as sought after and as rare as a warm shower in the near future, so stock an ample supply.
Solar Panels: I am astonished at how many preppers still do not have any solar power capability today. It’s FREE off grid power, for god’s sake! Pay the initial costs, and at at least buy a system that is capable of charging and running batteries and essential electronics that will aid you in your survival.
Greenhouse: When discussing the idea of relocation, I sometimes hear the assertion that places like Montana are terrible for growing food (usually from people who have never lived in Montana). In fact, a survival garden could be grown almost anywhere, regardless of region or climate, if you use the right methods. One of the best methods is the use of a greenhouse, which many preppers do not have. Set aside your preconceptions of what gardening is, and do what works. Even in winter, some plants can be grown in a greenhouse environment to provide you and your family with precious vitamin rich food. Just build it.
Raw Building Materials: Do you have a stockpile of lumber and nails? What about raw iron and steel? Sealants to repel pests and maintain your home? Bags of concrete to reinforce a new addition? Think about how much you will need to build after the final shoe drops. Probably a lot more than you have ever built in your life…
No Room For Error
Time is running short, and if we are to succeed as a movement, we must be ready to hold a candle to ourselves, admit where we are lacking, and fix the problem while we have the luxury to do so. Ultimately, the most important and most ignored aspect of prepping is our own mindset. Do we have the correct sense of urgency, and are we acting on it? Have we prepared ourselves psychologically for the difficulties ahead? Are we ready to make sacrifices for survival and victory? Will we have what it takes at our core to see this thing through? At this very moment, many do not. But, they have the potential to rise to the occasion. The decision is theirs to make…
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Cuz you get to eat bomb shelter cuisine.
Can't order that a McDs.
Keep the Mercedes convertible coupe in the garage fully loaded with styrofoam cooler with champagne and case of Budweiser... just need a bag of ice, waiting for judgement day.
SO... who can recommend some good solar panel equip?
REI and Cabelas.
Leo. Send him a pm
www.windsun.com
if it's a larger system, www.windsun.com covers a lot of it, you might be able to find cheaper locally.
Panel prices have come down tons, so whole-house systems are entering the plausible price point.
I'm fond of Kyocera panels, and Outback inverters and MPPT charge controllers, though Xantrex isn't bad, just a bit pricey -- that's where most of Outback's engineers came from after getting pissed off when the accountants took over Trace and turned it in Xantrex.
www.harborfreight.com/45-watt-solar-panel-kit-68751.html sometimes on sale for $150
backwoodsolar.com
Call Solyndra, they're having a fire sale, not muchnleft
Those 'panels' are all over Ebay...by the pallet. As we taxpayers already paid for them, seems a shame to have to pay twice...
problem are the bitches that dont prep then come after us, not that im prepping.... :)
90% of the ones who even think about it won't get 5 miles out the city... The scraggling few of the ones who survive will be offered a banquet of lead salad (unless they're willing to do some farm work ~ whereby they'll attain dual rank of 'colonel' in the army)...
Thats why im mov'in to montana. gonna raise me up a crop of dental floss
...and then real soon, you'll be a dental floss tycoon....
My, the youngin's sure missed the good olde days
Don't forget the heavy duty zircon encrusted tweezers.
I figure the only folks who have a decent chance are farmers. The basically understand survival better than 99 % of the population. The rest of us are fucked unless we have an escape (a place in the country). If the shit really hits the fan the cities will become complete nightmares. You won't have enough ammo, food or resources to ride it out.
Lets hope it all keeps chugging along, I don't wish Eastern Europe c.1942-45 on anyone.
Anybody who has any kind of motivation to do so ought to go out & have the windows replaced in their houses...
At minimum... You save the old panels & build a greenhouse out of them... It's a start...
You're right about the cities and the farmers, the latter having better odds of survival. Stretching back well before recorded history people probably felt exactly like you and hoped we'd keep on rolling down the proverbial tracks. It didn't happen that way and we know it but our education system has adequately destroyed the knowledge of humanity's roller coaster ride. We have a big problem that won't be survivable by any means except raw ingenuity and helluva lotta luck. Best wishes.
I don't even look at it like I'm a "prepper" any more - Really, I am transitioning into "homesteading."
Depends.
Perhaps at the beginning if things are still relatively civil, farmers will be doing very well. Read back in Weimar hyper-inflation, they lived like kings buying all physical items. Then things got really bad... and rampaging bands of hungry people started looting.
I guess you'd need to extrapolate the situation.
I told these farmers that the other day in my cigar hole we all go to. They looked shocked.
There will be NO epic collapse.
You mean I can now donate a couple of cases of pork n beans to the queue of SNAP beneficiaries in a Walmart parking lot?
You can eat your dinner eat your pork & beans... I eat more chicken any man's ever seen...
The SNAP crowd is already dead meat.
50 million zombies?
Careful. Some of them have glocks. Some of them can even hit barns at 10 paces. Hide your Hoppe's 9.
I see what you did there.
Good thinking, I'll shut up now.
Votes mean shiite
Congrats brother.
Apparently, many of these folks have lost all joy in life, so actually seem to wish for this Armeggedon thing. Very sad. I actually think we should give them a Hawaiian island or something. They deserve happiness, and if they want to live amongst each other with loaded guns and pineapples, I think we ought to let them. Certainly there must be an island we can spare.
In the meanwhile, I wonder whether the Feds monitor this board. Some very scary stuff.
I have little doubt that they do, and even less doubt that you will send a nice email to the Department of Homeland Stasi.org.
I don't see anyone wishing for Armageddon, what is on display here is gallows humor, sarcasm, and people who are responsible for other lives besides their own. If you fuck up, misunderstand what is going on in the world, and die as a result your mom will cry. If I do that not only do I die but several others do also.
Still a curious comment from a guy tagged madridisburning, if all is well and we can count on our fearless leaders to look out for our best interests and save the day why is it on fire? Are the Spanish having a cookout?
Agreed. Many of them do wish for Armageddon. The way they see it, that is the only way their delusions of disaster can be reaffirmed.
Agreed. It will get a little ugly after the MASS ARRESTS occur and they throw Obama, Brenanke, and the majority of Congress in the clink, but we will muddle through. http://tinyurl.com.cd5cyjo/
Life is a balance. You truly do need to prepare for at the very least economic hardship. I suspect a distillery or other form of production will be critical. We may continue as we are for a long time, or some event will precipitate a temporary econimic collapse. I dont think it will be complete anarchy, at least not for long, but we need to think about what skills do we have that we can trade for food and fuel in the new economy
I have come to realize the hardest part for me will be when my unprepared neighbors (and their friends etc) come to me for help. I have decided I will demand to be paid. I hate being heartless but even in the hardest times it will make peole think before just asking.
How about you? I can't see shooting those who come begging but how will those of us who prepared survive if it is a long time down?
Bub,
your best bet is to plead poverty as they never come once and, they come in size the next time. Frig charity, play due to die like the rest.
Greed will fuuck you in the end, just like the markets.
Thermal countermeasures against drone attacks? Seriously?
No shit... If it ever gets to the point that they send drones after my ass for a fucking jar of cucumbers... I'll know that my usefulness has worn out its welcom on this planet anyway...
I thought that was a bit off as well, and I'm hardcore enough to have been involved in the tail end of the last economic-driven survivalist boom in the 70s.
Plus he confuses IR with thermal, IR works with night vision but doesn't show up on thermal imaging, and in any case a road flare just shows up as a bright spot. If you really want to evade thermal, wrap yourself in a thin cloth and then wrap that in a space blanket, and you vanish.
There's no way they'll be able to run enough drones simultaneously for this to be a consideration for the average person. If they could keep 10,000 drones up 24/7, they'd each have to provide total sensor coverage of 350 square miles to lock down the US. They're only good for killing a few scattered brown people, not taking out an entire civilian population with a decent degree of education and military training.
Chuck Norris is a Prepper...
preparation H ?
well....
it never is as bad as they say....
nor as good as you think....
so... somewhere in the middle reality will eveolve...
notwithstanding some terrorist actually getting away with detonating a dirty bomb or a similar
disaster a la fukujima x 100
meantime..... stock up on good wine and drink up........ most good wine will be going east....
Awwww you might want to have a few Blackwater aka Xe aka Academi guys around if the shtf.
i would score a 80 if that was a test. can i buy that ka bar ive been lusting for? just for looking at.i have old beaters i use for paint cans and fish
Hey Dirtbag, respectfully; it's not the direction of ZH so much as its the direction of America. Charts, trading strategies & financial scams may be of little importance in the coming months / years. Just sayin...
Anyone who starts with "Hey Dirtbag," might be suspect in the business of commenting on the direction of America.
It just doesn't work.
And I used to like Utica Club, too.
The person he responded to is using the name "dirtbagger".
How should he address the guy? Dear sir? Hail to thee, fine fellow?
BTW. How much of this stuff your buying is Made in China? Fuckwits
That's okay. Those suckers gave it to me for some lousy Benny bucks.... Chumps.
And there I was about to ask George Washington what Jesus would do? Only on ZH eh?
Don't even ask what would Tyler Durden Do?... I swear ~ don't even go there...
"I’ll take the wrath of Quetzalcoatl any day over the manure storm that is approaching us currently."
Careful what you ask for. Quetzalcoatl, the "feathered serpent", could be a huge arc of plasma between the sun and the earth that would toast most electrical circuits.
I was told 100 shares of Facebook was all I needed.
If the worst that happens is that you're prepared for any natural disaster, which you're likely to encounter at least once in your lifetime, what's the harm? You'll be able to take care of yourself and the people around you. You'll learn a lot of practical things in the meantime.
Kind of like attaining 'Eagle Scout' status without having to be sodomized in the process...
Dude, I know it ain't right but I laughed so hard I'm pretty sure I pissed a little in my pants. The commentary on ZH is the best...
+10 if I could...
Not that there's anything wrong with that....
Uh, yeah, just what I was thinking. Sort of.
is there a patch for that
no, ya gotta quit cold turkey.
Survivalism is not any different, in my own humble opinion, than the me-first-screw-everyone-else mentality that got us in the mess we currently are in, courtesy of unregulation, profit seeking and unbridled greed.
Only through cooperation can we survive. I do not own guns, I refuse to. When the shit will hit the fan, as it unevitably will, and some folks come asking for my help, I will welcome them in my abode, feed them and house them to the best of my abilities, sharing whatever resources I have, at my and my family expense.
If the folks come threatening with violence, I will try my best to discourage them from their ways, non violently if I can. If I get killed or wounded doing so, it will be because my time has come. I will not perpetuate selfishness. Owning guns and any and all other deadly weapons only make crisis worse. I will cite for example the folks in New Orleans that got shot at by police because they were shooting through the roof of their house trying to escape the rising waters. Don't bullshit me about alligators either ok.
We are blessed to live on a ressourcefull planet, where unfortunately 20% of the population (in most industrialized countries) consume 80% of the world's resources, while the other 80% of the population barely survives on the 20% ressources left. This is appaling. We do have the technological prowess to feed, clothe and educate every single living human being on earth. But not with our lifestyle, which I am willing to relinquish when the time comes. I will make every attempt to not perpetuate this unequal state of things we are in. As a race, we need a conscience. This is my humble contribution to your awareness.
Thank you.
Just go fuck off somewhere and die already.
@Gloppie
If your name is Barney Frank... You could just turn around, bend over, & offer them your stinky fat ass while your at it...
Enjoy watching your daughters get raped before you're killed. Sheesh.
Opinions
It will be guns and those who are willing to fight off the golden horde who will protect your passive ways. It is one thing to be charitable (we are called to be ) but it's another to be down right stupid and allow those who would steal from you and yours without even thinking twice. In my opinion it is your mindset who is selfish because you would let your passivity rule over protecting those you hold dear.
Best of luck. Perhaps one day, but there is a place and time for everything.
You are certainly free to think, live, and die as you please, but in a case such as is being discussed here it won't be your life "style" you are parting with. For the sake of your family, I hope it is extended and not one that you are the head of but someone has to be a goods donor I guess.
I also submit that you aren't contributing to awareness, merely expressing what would be the philosophy of a rabbit if it were given a voice. Personally I am not willing to accept predation by others or put the life of my child at risk while I can breathe.
Does this mean I have permission to fuck your wife and eat your fig newtons after I bludgeon you to death?
I believe his statement could be construed as tacit acquiescence in the regard.
If that simpering loser even has a wife, she would be the one making the decisions.
No offense to anyone else, but I believe religion plays a big role in teaching this kind of passivity. Most of us have lost the ideals of working hard and taking care of ourselves. Some "higher power" will protect and provide -- be that a God or a gov.
I grew up in the last great recession, back in 82. My friends all busted their tails and eventually moved up into comfortable lives. Very few young people even think that way. They're too conceited to get their hands dirty or work up a sweat. They're too depressed to even consider their alternatives. Young, fit, energetic and in their prime -- just sitting around watching teevee crying about how nobody's handing them a BMW life style.
I think that IS the wife. Nobody I know of the male variety would EVER state dumb shit even somewhat paralleling that garbage. And so matter-of-fact like, too. WOW
I hope you at least have a voodoo doll at the ready or can pull a rabbit out of a hat or some goddamn thing.
I'm going back to bed now. My head hurts (for the ones you're supposed to protect).
I think I would shoot myself if I was in your place after the SHTF. I wouldn't be able to look into the eyes of my wife and daughters after the golden horde had "done their business" to them while I was holding a bible and educating them about how guns, not people, cause violence. Surely I would be proud to tell everyone, especially my wife and children, how "we will make through this by sharing the food and.. err.. the women we have."
Not funny.
We can share the women, we can share the wine.
We can share what we got of yours cause we done shared all of mine.
Keep on rollin, just a mile to go;
Keep on rollin my old buddy, you're movin much too slow.
I just jumped the watchman, right outside the fence.
Took his rings, four bucks in change, aint that heaven sent?
Hurts my ears to listen, shannon, burns my eyes to see;
Cut down a man in cold blood, shannon, might as well been me.
We used to play for silver, now we play for life;
And ones for sport and ones for blood at the point of a knife.
And now the die is shaken, now the die must fall.
There aint a winner in the game, he don't go home with all.
Not with all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-xY-_B4RgY
Man, you are scary. I won't waste my breath on explaining PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to you, because somehow...I don't think you are capable of getting it.
"If the folks come threatening with violence, I will try my best to discourage them from their ways, non violently if I can. If I get killed or wounded doing so, it will be because my time has come." I'd say your time is up!
"I'd say your time is up!"
Then so be it. There is another post on ZH today, "What would Jesus do with bankers".
Ask yourself, what would he do to you if you refuse to provide assistance?
You are going to die then. A violent physical force must be confronted with an even greater violent physical force.
Rather than try to discourage, you should run as fast as you can the other way, perferably under the cover of darkness...
And if you cant beat them, join them.
Signed: an American.
And if you can't eat a dog, at least shit on the side of a road like one.
Signed: AnAnonymousAsshole
homicide before suicide.
Gloppie, I provide food "grass fed beef" I have 24 Herefords and vegies / three gardens to ALL my local's. If you live near me I'll help you too but you can starve to death waiting for Jesus. He only helps those that help themselves...
Thank you Uttica. I am not waiting for Jesus btw, I am agnostic. I also have not said that I will not help myself, but even the passive aspect of prepping (stockpiling foodstuff for my own consumption) does not fit my viewpoint. I'd rather volunteer at whatever I can be usefull at for my community in the hope of securing sustenance, since I have no food growing talent myself.
And I don't suppose it would ever occur to you to try to acquire that talent, huh?
I'll be glad to help out those who made attempts at helping themselves, to the extent I am able. As for the rest...well...there is something to be said for Darwanism in such times.
I am working on a book "getting laid in hard times"...so far I just have the pickup lines for the mid chapter.
"Hey baby...are you a super model or just hungry, cause I got sum MRE's back in my tree fort!"
"Can I keep my gas mask on, I think you could use a shower"
"My tribe lives better than the rest, we have learn to grow plant arugula pretty well"
Just a start...but getting laid in the future will be work! No more wine bars and sushi!
50 shades of grey swan
Women, who are deficient in the honor, loyality, and teamwork departments will have a tougher time then men when times get tough...
Bad news for most American women I've encountered then...
Being in the mold and bacterial remediation biz, I do have helpful suirvival equipmemnt. However, if TPTB want to take us out, it's a simple matter. Unless you live where they want to if and when the SHTF. And I do.
Even wacko bitch at zetatalk thinks I live in a haven. WTF...
Why not talk about being a prepper? Because then I don't need to prep. I just need to set an ambush...
FORWARD SOVIET!
Infiltrate a bank and buy everything with free money
How about:
Prepping isn't planning for the future, it's a fetish, and as it gets popular, a target market.
I agree, prepping isn't plammimg for the future, only an attempt at perpetuating the past.
Thanks for formulating this.
Very nice, but the skills better be real world useful (food producer, ability to fix or make useful things, etc.) and rest of your strong social network better be skilled with weapons. The second and third are survival traits for a nice job in an air conditioned environment not social breakdown.
What you dismiss as a fetish is precisely how many survived the Depression in the 30's, urban types unable to feed themselves tended to not do very well. If the trucks that you need to sustain your life stop running, so will you.
Trading strategies? Which market?? They are presently all rigged. Try trading that.
I chewed on this problem long and hard. I eventually opted to cash out and move to Alaska. I am able to work as a professional engineer, for a state that is 90% funded by oil sharing revenues, in a town of 30k people. There are no roads in or out. Electricity comes from hydro-power.
I blogged this a long time ago (my blog is very inactive due to personal financial difficulties related to a divorce - it will pick back up when I get my life back) ...
http://allthefederales.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-alaska.html
My tune has changed somewhat since moving up. Real estate is insane here. I can not buy, much less acquire land. If I stick with AK long term, I will have to move to Anchorage if I want land. Unless the bubble pops here, then I buy and put down roots.
My hunting/fishing is on hold while I deal with expenses associated with my ex wife. I hope to do a guided caribou hunt next year (meat for the freezer) and a fishing outing at Elfin Cove (meat for the freezer). They year after I plan to complement with local bird hunts (huge volumes of ducks migrate through in spring and fall). Long term I hope to be able to supplement most of my annual meat intake from actually shooting/catching it.
In so far as any reader can pack it up and move to AK, it is the journey of a lifetime. If you are in medical, engineering, or other skilled professions, you will be surprised if you genuinely research work opportunities here. If you just have piles of cash, there are many places in the SE of the state with moderate climates. A nice place will run 100k in a small town (no jobs). The people are great. In these places, everyone knows everyone. If you go to church, you will not be able to bump into folks when you shop, buy gas, etc. Just a great feeling if you like this sort of community feeling.
If you are some arrogant, scared NY banker type, save yourself the trouble; the locals won't like you unless you are spendy at their business. Everyone will know your business, but that goes without saying for small towns.
I realize now what America used to be, before the "city life" of the 1900s. This is the last frontier and there is no better time to take it for a ride than now. I am hooked ... and trying to hang on ...
Regards,
Cooter
Lets just go ahead and keep this between us.
Start prepping networks by organizing SWAP MEETS or attending meets already up and running. Barter surplus books, cookbooks, hand tools, power tools for stuff that is more useful for you or your buddies. Why not organize a home brewer's swap meet to discuss fermentation, etc and sample some of each others wine and beers? It is all about process and if you can't offer anything of interest to others, then you need to get busy and fix that shortcoming. Start where you are and just keep growing. Check out used book stores for books on canning food or raising chickens, rabbits or Square Foot gardening.
Start conversations about car-sharing to the swap meets with neighbors or asking them for stuff you could barter for them. START A CONVERSATION and get involved. There are lots guides and how-to posts, etc. on line if ask Google a good short question.
Who has a nearby generator you could borrow if you lose power in a blizzard? If you don't know the answer to that one, look in a mirror and ask how well you are taking care of your family. Volunteer at a church to do some mission work and learn how to organize work parties. Don't just sit there and think it will happen if you read about it. Make some chips fly and get your hands dirty.
Women will think you're sexy!
Prepper websites and prepper "networks" are for the most part, circle jerks of fear, despair and resignation to a bleak future. Not my cup of tea. So many preppers think only of their post-SHTF existence, that they forget they are living in the here and now.
To those who say there is no collapse coming, I hope you are correct.
However for those of us paying attention, the probability of something like a societal breakdown is clearly increasing. The world population has grown and spread out for many decades off the back of cheap leverage, fuel and food.
As we have seen, the margin calls are starting and deleveraging/deflation will lead to an economic slowdown that has the potential to destabilize everything.
For examples, look no further than today's news. With investment money for projects and development diverted to debt service or stashed in mattresses, the aging, existing world infrastructre is being asked to service ever more bodies. The Indian black-out is partially related to the global slowdown (amongst other contributing factors) and almost certainly caused by a system that should be, but hasn't been upgraded to meet the increasing demands of a rapidly growing/developing populace.
And then there is the problem of who pays to reserve the status quo. Its been well documented here on countless posts but at some point, those who didn't lever up to join the binge are going to say "no more" or "nein" to elected officials. That those in power may compell them still (by whatever wealth confiscation scheme you can dream up) misses the point.
If that happens, we will have crossed a critical juncture where the illusion of a society, ruled by by law and based on contracts that must be honored is gone. That isn't the recipe for a healthy, civilized environment.
There are many more examples of how the civilized climate has deteriorated world-wide over the past few years. However the point is that even if it doesn't happen, the risk is growing.
As we have seen over the past few years, when tail-risk is realized, its extremely painful to those who are short.
I advise to stop trying to educate the masses.
They don't want to hear it. If they are too stupid to see reality, let them go. They deserve their fate.
I spent 40 years devoted to serving the sheep, let the wolves have them. I'm too tired to protect them anymore.
It depends on your definition of collapse. If the death of the illegitimate federal government, the Fed, and the NWO is collapse, then I welcome it. Just look at Warsaw in 1944. The majority of residents survived... and the poorly armed and starving civilian resisters inflicted great losses on the finest professional army ever to roam the battlefield. Collapse is not coming to America. It's going to get ugly for a while, but no unrecoverable collapse. After the MASS ARRESTS occur, and thousands of top traitors from Obama and Brenanke on down are behind bars, the Constitution, personal responsibility, and basic human decency are going to make a roaring comeback. http://tinyurl.com/cd5cyjo/
That last part's a nice piece of fantasy! Did you write for TSR before they went tits up?
Much of American survivalism is bizarre behavior that is the result of a movie and video game culture meant to blind us to the fact that we are on one giant plantation.
Having said that, I generally consider myself part of the prepper culture. And it's very broad these days, and growing.
The big question is whether a race war happens or not, and what form it will take:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VqG_4ADFfQ
Agreed on the first part. As stated above, most preppers are mass media roadkill who have fallen victim to a Road Warrior vision of the future... a vision that is not going to come to pass.
Just curious:
Does marine radar, pointed skyward, pick up drone signatures? Does marine radar work for airborne objects?
Yes in a sense. I have marine radar posted on a mountain top which picks up aircraft from 70 miles out. I use it for weather but it does show aircraft inbound as well as outbound.I lose them at about 10 miles due to AOA settings on the radar. I suppose I could set up a shorter range system to find the close in buggers.
I don't know if it would show drones though. I suppose it would depend on the size of the drone and the weather.
It's kinda cool watching the aircraft though, being a privot pilot myself...
Radar won't pick up anything stealthy - and it will light you up like Christmas Tree to anything w/electronic eyes.
...and how does one become a privot pilot?
Change your name and join the army.
It will be interesting to see how things play out. I feel like I'm more prepared than the average joe, but nowhere near the acumen of a guy like James Wesley Rawles..but who really is?
As for me, I'm about an inch away from being 100% debt free. $50k in debt paid off in the past year. I have quite a bit of food in dry storage, and a 1/2 cow on the way for the fall. I don't anticipate major power outages...but if they come I will dehydrate the meat. Water filtration is almost good to go (have portable lifestraws, Berkey is on the X-Mas list) After I build up a bit of cash reserves I'll start building my PM stores a bit. I had the 4 basic guns (pistol, AR, 22, shotgun) before I lost them in a boating accident today. Friends, family, fitness and hands on skills are taken care of, for the most part. I anticiapte I will be employed during an emergency scenario...I work in public safety. And books. Lots of books. The Argentinians shut in and read.
If nothing happens...at least I was somewhat prepared.
"And books. Lots of books."
One can get tens of thousands of free or $1 books for an E-book reader like the Kindle. The Kindle can hold about 5000 books. The "books" take no space and weigh nothing. The readers require very little power--they last weeks on one charge. (I'm talking about the e-ink readers, not the LCD "tablets.") The books should be downloaded ahead of time--and should include lots of practical stuff that would be useful after the SHTF, including stuff that would be useful to others then, not just oneself. (E.g., books on topics that "don't apply" to you, but do to others.)
Your guns sank?
Just don't fall into the Alamo Fantasy trap and start daydreaming about a final catacylsmic battle at your primary residence or cabin in the woods with gov't thugs or marauding hordes.
I don't harbor any "Alamo" fantasies. I would prefer to not have to shoot anyone. I've heard combat aint the "hollywood" show everyone builds it up to be.
I think once shit hits the fan, we'all need a way to identify ourselves as ZeroHedge bros. I propose the following patch as ID once we are Mad Maxing it:
http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/products/Mil-Spec+Monkey%26%23153%3...
I guess I missed the ZH reference...
Here's an item that shouldn't cost much, especially at a yard sale, but that will certainly be useful: Bells, whistles, gongs, and horns for communicating with neighbors. A simple code system (e.g., "one if by land, two if by sea") can alert them to dangers, request aid, or send signals about more mundane matters ("soup's on"). I think suchlike will be the most common "why didn't I think of that" items after the poop hits the punkah.
I hope some prepper forum works out a set of standard signals--a common "code book"-- people can consult. (Given that there might be 100 common messages people might want to send, I suggest that the first set of "toots" would specify which of ten or twenty code books to use. That way there'd be less chance of getting the "count" wrong at either end. A couple of the code books could be left blank, for users to adapt to their circumstances.)
Aye, these preparations will be naught in the face of the radioactive killer mutant Japanese dragonflies the Rothschilds will unleash upon us. They'll swoop down out of the night with their 10 meter wingspans picking off the women and children, to be sacrificed to Lucifer and eaten, before and after being passed around for sport. Meanwhile we'll all be stuck frozen to the ground, trying to catch our own bean amplified farts in order to stay warm. Can any of you still count without using an electronic calculator? BaaAAaaAAaa
Obamacare: its got involuntary EUthanAsia
I find the strong suggestion of Body Armor a bit off, that should be low priority:
Too expensive, and only somewhat useful in complete zombie invasion scenarios if you're with a group of armed friends.
Most people assume if a bullet doesn't go through their body, they'll be fine. Fact is, when your body armor catches a 7.62 round, the impact will turn a fist-sized portion of your flesh and bones right behind the armor into mush. Not many spots on your body you'll survive such, medium term.
It may not be that far off -- for rifle rounds, yeah, it's a no-go, but level III for handgun rounds makes a lot of sense, especially in an urban area if things get bad, but not too bad.
Argentina is a good example of this, lots of armed robberies and such, but still a government functioning enough that roaming around with exposed rifles will get the bad guys too much attention.
Mad max, then yeah, armor to catch rifle rounds could go either way. If you need it you got a whole lotta problems.
Body armor is ridiculous for round-the-clock defensive use and is really only plausible for going on the offense (think North Hollywood). It's bad enough that people are having Alamo Fantasies about fending off government thugs and marauding hordes at their cabin in the woods. Imagining that body armor would save them only adds to their delusions.
The author will not survive - take a look at his photo - a guy sitting in a pristine forest - there is nothing to eat there - and without a 20 ton excavator - 100 gallons of diesel fuel - a couple of good chain saws - 20 gallons of mixed gasoline - he can't do shit.
I live 11 miles west of the Newark, NJ airport. I always keep one full tank of gas in a rig, and at home, dried food, water and many 1,000s of Dollars in twenties and some precious metal at the ready. I gotta make it 250 miles to my place of refuge in Vermont.
So, be prepared for a currency event, when electronic money does not work. You will have pay bribes, drive the back roads and know how to get where you are going. No cell phones - no cable tv (only the emergency broadcast on the radio) - no internet - no navigation by satellite - get a handheld Garmin GPS with built-in maps - have a magnetic compass and paper maps and a plan to get where you need to get to.
When you get to your refuge, hopefully you will have locals there who are your friends. You gotta have shit to trade to help each other, like fuel, tools, batteries, clean water and medicine. But, if you don't have any friends there, then you might as well stay at home.
Survival for a day or a week is best achieved by children - "Deep Survival" by Gonzales.
Long term survival is not just collecting a bunch of stuff for a stay in a root cellar - it is mental preparation and an attitude to be able to tough it out. But if you ain't got any real friends, then you won't make it for very long. Invest not just in a bank account but in people - when the shit hits the fan, they are the ones who will count the most.
Over and out.
All right, first of all, you're from Jersey. Noone is going to help you. the only state worse than NY is Jersey. Calfornia could top the list, but fortunately, they are 3000 miles away. 2nd, you're going to vermont. The old time hippies there will die when their subarus and beater volvos run out of gas on the way to the commune. 3rd, your cash is going to be worth less than toilet paper. Mad Max won't take it for a bride. Forget nuke fallout or being gassed by our own military, our most likely scenario is financial collapse followed by social collapse, and a break up of the Union. Look at the former USSR.
Being self sufficient - all good. Thinking it will save you from collapse of society? Ya right.
No one can escape the oppression of a collapse of society. Think about getting some political connections to go along with your bugout caches.
Explain to me why again that we are supposed to want to survive an economic collapse. I think I missed that part.
"Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes."
Goethe said that many 100s of years ago.
Either, forget about survial and live high on the hog with no cares about tomorrow.
Or, adopt an attitude focused your tomorrows.
There is no middle ground.
I wish you good luck.
Cry havoc and let slip Cerberus.
If you really want to be prepared become a submariner. Then you'll be fine. All the supplies and ordinance you need, solid team & no one can even find you. You can even wait out the fallout.
Any nuclear subs up for sale?
Just sign here & we'll provide you with a brand new, state of the art, fully loaded submarine* & crew. Sign now and get this lifetime benefits package in the event that the apocalypse is cancelled, or we survive it.
*Must complete training and pass physical. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.
STOP! Stop it with the circle jerk of fear and paranoia. Stop resigning yourself to a Road Warrior future that is not going to occur. Stop having "Alamo Fantasies" involving marauding hordes and cataclysmic battles that aren't going to take place.
Listen, I have a basement piled high with food, guns, fuel, toiletries, and spare parts but I'm not prepping for some long term disaster or TEOTWAWKI situation. I'm expecting moderate disruptions when the GLOBAL ENEMA aka MASS ARRESTS takes place and thousands of traitors to the Constitution are arrested and thrown in the clink.
The vast majority of "preppers" are mass media roadkill who have fallen victim to a dark vision of the future. For the most part, preppers are just a a symptom of the problem... not a part of the solution.
Get a grip people. Martial law isn't happening. WWIII isn't happening. The illegitimate federal government, the FED, and the NWO are the ones who are actually running scared, losing power and influence every day, and about to go the way of the dinosaur. It is the traitors to the Constitution, not you and me, that are going to the FEMA camps. 99.9% of American are going to be little more than spectators when the MASS ARRESTS occur. It's the rebuilding, healing, and what comes after that will be the hard part... http://tinyurl.com/cd5cyjo/
OK, you put the same paragraph into almost every post you make here.
Given that you make the same claim repeatedly I imagine you have it worked out by now, when is this miraculous MASS ARREST event going to occur?
I don't know. I'm not on the inside... but think about this: the good guys outnumber the bad guys in society at large, in every field except politics, and in every social strata except the super-rich. When a bad guy commits a bad act, dozens, hundreds, or even millions of good guys silenty observe and take note. The bad guys have become so well noted, so obvious, and so easy to identify, it's ridiculous. They now have huge targets on their backs and everybody knows where to aim. The bad guys know their time is just about up and they have become desperate (QE2, etc.) and derranged (NDAA, etc). About the only thing TPTB really still controls is the media. The people at large, the military at large, and the world at large has had enough of the unconstitutional shit show that the illegitimate federal government has become. The good guys are about to pull the plug... permanently.
The fact that the TPTB are "running scared", only makes it more likely they will use desperate measures against the populace. better to have something and not need it, than need and not have it.
What exactly are these desperate measures? QE2? SOPA? NDAA? Those were *truly desperate measures*. How many more useless *paper threats* and *unenforceable edicts* can Washington spew our way? TPTB couldn't lock down and control a piece of America the size of Rhode Island, no matter what kind of contrived stunt they pulled. Listen, TPTB have lost all control (meaning, for the most part, the illusion of control) and it's jail time for the bad guys. They aren't exactly going to come out with their hands up, so some brave patriots are going to have to go in, taser tham, handcuff them like common criminals, and haul them off the the FEMA camps they foolishly thought they'd be using on the people.
All the naysayers have to admit.....while it won't be easy going back to basics, hopefully we won't have to read all the tabloid trash in the grocery isle every again. I am not suggesting a decent trade off, but a "perk".
It's the same writer who advocated taking away of voting rights from low income citizens. It also makes me wonder whether this person is involved in some kind of survival money making scheme.
Communauty building and networking:one funny item.
In US citizenism, it is often refered to as communauty spirit, and as usual, the cure for US citizenism ailments is always more US citizenism.
Yet it is also known under another name when US citizens are not part of the relevant communauty: crony capitalism.
It is comical to think (even though typical to US citizens) that they reproach a so called elite to have built their own communauty and networking since it belongs to US citizenism.
By doing so, that elite has submitted to the US citizen middle class'will by adopting US citizenism as their way of life.
That elite has built their communauty and networked.
But again, this is crony capitalism.
Here's again, the problem is plain to see.
US citizen lamenters, for most of them, middle class, are not lamenting a lost paradise, they are lamenting being expelled from their paradise.
They are slowly being tossed out of the bowl and resent it, inventing all kinds of fantasy to hide their self, which is lamenting to be less and less part of the big US citizen club.
the in-group vs. the out-group. Just like high school.
Maybe...
It is very 'American' though to blame another group for behaving in a way you and your own group behaves.
What has the US citizen elite done wrong when they have built their communauty, and networked so they can do business with their connections?
It is exactly what the US citizen survivalists recommand to do.
So why so much hatred on the US citizen elite?
.
Funny, that's exactly what you do when blaming US citizens. How 'American' of you.
Here are a couple of other things preppers might be overlooking. They're useful "buys" even in good times:
Lexan window coverings. (There are frameworks one can buy to hold them in--I forget where I bought mine. I had a supplier provide these and the cut-to-size Lexan. I then did the installation myself. They're not too expensive.) These provide insulation. But they also protect your windows from rocks or firebombs thrown by vandals who might try to freeze or burn you out of your house. They also protect against burglars. Therefore they should be added to ALL windows.
Metal roof. Long lasting, adds stability in an earthquake, and protects against fire from falling embers or molotov cocktails thrown by vandals trying to burn you out of your house.
Metal siding--ditto.
If you have a wooden porch and steps, you might well be able to enhance it so it can serve as a storage unit and/or hide-out. Pry or cut one side off. Prying is better, since it will leave less evidence of being altered when reinstalled. (If you cut, cut all the way to its edges, being careful not to cut deeply into the structural members underneath--so a reciprocating saw must be held at a sharp angle). Mount the side on a panel of plywood, then attach the panel to the framing underneath with Velcro. Don't use too much. You need to easily pry it off with a screwdriver.
Clean up the inside (maybe install a removable plywood sheet to seal off the nasty portion under the steps), lay plastic on the ground after smoothing it, put old rugs on top of it, add shelving for storage tubs, maybe add insulation around the sides, maybe run in an electrical outlet from your crawlway.
Well... thanks for the "tool time" excercise. At least you are not recommending buying extra spools of finshing line for tripwires tied to shotgun triggers.
Yeah, because then he might be subject to MASS ARREST, by the MASS ARRESTERS, at MASS ARREST o'clock. And then with the corrupt Congress and a few banker swinging in the breeze behind them, honest plain-faced American folk will emerge from their oppression in unison and start singing a Lee Greenwood tune, because, golly-gee, the Ike voting church-goer inside of every single current US citizen is craving to escape from the venal, TV and pharma-addicted shell TPTB have encrusted around them.
Did I get it? Did I get the job of nonsensical American Pie optomist?
The biggest problem that you have is protecting yourself and family under these extremely harsh circumstances. In order to do this, you will have to violate the laws that have been created by governments and that will still be in place at that time. Government is at this point your enemy because they do not recognise the rules of surviving, which are completely contrary to their created rules. You don't need guns, can't use guns or any force to protect and dissuade, as an example, and this just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
Any location is defensible to against hostiles if you can apply force against them as needed. You cannot do so without creating a problem for yourself and then of course, your family and friends. You can be absolutely sure that they will show up and not be on your side when they do. They of course realize the problems and solutions necessary to prevent and subdue the problems and will no doubt do exactly those things. The difference is that it is they who are doing those things and not you. You are not them. There's them and then there's you and they will exempt themselves but will never exempt you from their laws, which endanger you and your families and friends.
They will tell you that the law is the law but that won't help you or your families and friends under those circumstances. They will of course not change those laws until enough people have died because of them that they have no other choice. Under these circumstances, the government become your greatest enemy because they truly don't care about your needs, they only care about their laws, which you will have to violate if you are going to survive.
I'd like to believe that Americans can all pull together if SHTF, but looking back on history, I maintain some degree of doubt. Too many fanatic left right political views, for one, and then theres that melting pot thingy. Lot's of hate, and all directed at each other, encouraged by Uncle Sam.
The people will unite like never before when they see Obama, Brenanke, and thousands of dirty-rat traitors to the Constitution dressed in chains and orange jumpsuits. The people will unite like never before when the curtain is torn down, the plug is pulled on the mass media shitshow, and the truth about debt, the FED, the illegitimate government, and everything else is spelled out for them in elementary school terms. http://tinyurl.com/c5cyjo/
I vote up, but I'm afraid it's only a dream. A very sweet dream.
We call those delusions.
Have you ever shouldered a rifle and taken an oath to defend the Constitution? I didn't think so...