Posted on 08/16/2015 1:53:06 PM PDT by Kartographer
One of the things that makes some folks a little uneasy around preppers, is our inherent fear and disdain for the government. I’m sure it’s not like that for everyone, but I’ve yet to meet a prepper who puts a whole lot of faith in the authorities. We know that governments often fail to protect their citizens during an emergency, and we would much rather take our fate into our own hands, thank you very much.
Most people however, have at least a little trust in governing bodies, and believe that when things go bad, some highly trained professional with a badge is going to swoop down and save them. “Isn’t that why we pay our taxes?” they must mutter to themselves. With that in mind, it’s not all that surprising to discover that the average person would find your lack of faith in the government, to be disturbing.
I’ve often suspected that one of the reasons why they still think the government has their best interest at heart, is that on the surface, the authorities love to promote preparedness, or at least their brand of it. Any time there is an impending disaster, the media will often read verbatim, some preparedness checklist of supplies and tips that was put together by some government agency (these basic kits that they want all citizens to have on hand, are often comically underwhelming compared to what most preppers have squirreled away). These government preps often lead people to believe that the authorities just want them to be safe. If they didn’t, as those paranoid preppers often claim, then why would they even bother telling us to stock up on vital supplies?
(Excerpt) Read more at shtfplan.com ...
Preppers’ PING!!
There was that one woman from FEMA or some such gov agency who was all hyper claiming preppers were mean evil hoarders and their preps should be shared with the masses. The .gov sites speak of 3 days of food and water. Good to know Obama will have us back to normal in 72 hours.
Many liberals would like to react like Darth Vader when they meet decent Americans who lack faith in an all-powerful FedGov. They want misery to be shared equally, oblivious to the fact that we cannot prepare to feed 8 billion people in an emergency, while their followers could, if they chose, prepare to feed themselves and their families, just as we do for our families.
Presently upgrading my water tankage on the sailboat from one month supply to four, among other projects.
120+ gallons on a boat? Either you have a pretty big boat (I’m assuming other supplies as well), or are you installing some water filtration devices or such?
Nope, I do know the trick of raising your mainsail with a little slack at the bottom when it’s raining, then all the rain that hits that square yardage comes out the end of the boom like a hydrant. So sometimes there’s reason to sail toward bad weather rather than away from it.
I’m keeping it simple to the bone. Only absolutely necessary tech. Ripped out the cabinetry and private washroom to make it cavernous and empty like a cargo carrier rather than homey. I want to be able to use it as a sailing pickup truck.
Ah that’s pretty nice. I wouldn’t mind a boat, but they’re rather expensive :/
If you have lite fixer upper skills, in this economy you would be surprised what you could get. Saw a very stout 30fter that needed a good cleaning for $5k not long ago. You have to ignore the ads and the dealers and physically go to the docks and marinas to get a bargain boat. Takes shoe leather but they’re out there.
See my tagline...
When *Hurricane Elvis* [not really a hurricane, and not the official name, but that's what it was called in Memphis] hit Memphis in early July of 2003, it was 45 days before we had electrical power back up. And that was fairly near the University of Memphis area, about a 30-minute walk from where they were handing out water and ice at the nearest supermarket parking lot.
It had rained for a couple of weeks before the storm hit, and the ground was totally saturated. When the 85-95mph winds hit, one tree in three in the town came out of the ground, root ball and all, taking power and phone lines with it, and blocking every major street in the town for three to five weeks. Some of the side streets weren't cleared two months after the initial event, and by then, another line of rainstorms came rolling back in.
The good news: Remember that *phoney Y2K scare? An awful lot of people still had their supplies and plans for Y2K left over, and thereby got through okay, despite the drop-in-a-bucket effort of governmental assistance.
The kind I'd want are additionally a little bit hard to find, though a few came up as surplus a decade or two back.
Saltwater environment, I presume?
You know FReeper Travis Mcgee? You and he sort of think along the same channels, and he's been off in the water for around the last 5 weeks now. Drop him a FReepmail when he gets back. I pinged him to this post, too.
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