Posted on 10/19/2012 10:08:13 PM PDT by Feline_AIDS
Preppers,
I'm new to this prepping thing, and I have some questions.
I don't know exactly what you're all prepping for, because I know there are different concerns in different parts of the country. Californians, for example, are more concerned about the big one than I am on the east coast. I'm more concerned about an EMP than people in Wyoming, probably.
But what about when the SHTF? I'm assuming by SHTF everyone means economic and thus governmental collapse. Is that right? No more USA?
I have some questions that are ignorant and simple, but I was born that way, so bear with me.
Even when the SHTF, the government of the United States will persist, simply because the government is the original prepper. Mt. Weather facility and all that. So what we really mean by "governmental collapse" is extreme lawlessness and no new goods or resources. Plus government non-intervention. The government may exist, but that doesn't change the fact that hungry/thirsty/angry people will be fighting for resources. When the SHTF, Americans will have to be self-reliant without any support from any public utility or service. Many, many people will die. Many more will be desperate and act in ways they'd never imagine before they die.
How long do you all expect this state of things to last? If all public utilities in the US were permanently shut off, wouldn't it only be a matter of weeks before the great die-off happened? Dehydration would get most of them, then the rapid spread of waterborne illnesses would get lots of those left. Gangs would form and survive longer through unpleasant means. When will the well-prepped prepper stick his head out of his hidey-hole?
Because the government will persist in some capacity, it's reasonable to expect they'd eventually try to straighten things out. Maybe I'm crazy for thinking that, and I don't mean that the correct response to disaster is to sit and wait for Uncle Sam to carry us out on his shoulders. What I mean is that I don't see how the SHTF situation would last more than 6 months, max. A new, smaller society would form and rebuild, most likely without the tech we have today because the industries that support that tech would be gone.
I guess I'm just trying to reconcile two things in my brain. 1) The US government will be present in some form not too long after the catastrophe. Less than a year. Not in its ubiquitous wannabe-omnipotent present state, but it would return. This doesn't mean safety or salvation, but it probably does mean cooperation. Possibly the return of some order. And some society would develop that is fueled by the self-reliance of the remaining people. 2) Most preppers seem to be expecting a lifetime of bushcraft.
Parting thought: If Obama wins reelection, I will take prepping much more seriously in the next few weeks/months. If he doesn't, I will continue to prep for more localized catastrophes.
I won’t last long anyway, just too worn out and used up. I will do my best to make things unpleasant for anyone who rattles my cage.
I imagine countries like China will move in and attempt to occupy, and how that ends would depend on how much of the US government stays functional.
I see the serious preppers and I have the same questions that you do.
I think that I might be fearful if I lived in a big city... but I don’t.
I wonder what kinds of plans are in place, but I know that EMS has trained for a disaster on the New Madrid fault. These buildings just aren’t going to stand.
Hopefully most people will keep level heads and hopefully, in places where panic might rule, law enforcement can contain it.
It’s all very hard to anticipate or know.
Wow, as a Prepper, I have a farm and2 years provisions for 10 people....go figure..
I am a prepper of sorts. Realistically, I am only prepping for a shtf scenario that would last up to 2 months. I don’t have the resources right now to do any better. So, in addition to my respectable armory, I have canned food, water, medical items, and other barterable items to suit my family for up to 2 months. I am attempting to increase these supplies all the time. So, hopefully we will better prepared beyond a 2 months disruption.
I don’t expect the total collapse of civilization only a lot of economic stress or temporary disorder following a bad natural disaster or social upheaval. If we get so bad, that is, Mad Max bad, I will deal with that if that ever comes.
If I had the money, I would buy some land far outside the city, preferably near a small town which would offer the possibility of mutual self-defense and barter. As it stands now, I am outside the main beltway of the closest major city. It’s good to be outside of the city, I just wish it was further out.
Anyhow, I think it’s wise for people to stockpile supplies and prepare to take care of themselves, if such a disruption of law and order or basic services should ever happen. It’s completely logical.
The SHTF for me Oct 2008 during the market crash. That was economic. I mostly managed that (no running water), and hit the road to repo technical equipment for a leasing company. Glad I had the pistol along, and called the local constabulary before I went door-to-door with my piece of paper and a locksmith.
Dec 2009, SHTF in a more personal way with a serious injury that left me in ICU for 2 weeks and cripple for most of a year. After I got out of the hospital, I lived on stored rations with forage. No running water for half of that year.
Things got somewhat better after that, but another downturn and I went back on stored rations and forage. I had running water for most of that time.
I have store bought food today, and running water (still no running hot water, since 2008), but you can bet I restocked stored rations first.
/johnny
Well, OK, maybe not. "Prepping for what?" is actually a very good question. There are several categories of potential threats that require some preparation, some very likely, some less so. Fortunately the really bad ones come under the latter category, but it doesn't mean they won't happen anyway.
1. Natural disaster requiring evacuation. Can you gather the requirements to keep yourself and family alive and comfortable if you have to leave your home for a safe area? Do you have an evacuation plan? Have you looked into routes? Have you considered probable destinations? You cannot depend on government for this but you'd be silly not to recognize that they really do have plans, however imperfect, and that you'd be better off knowing them than not.
2. Infrastructure breakdown, i.e. power, water, transportation, etc. Here you are not planning to move anywhere right away, at least. Can you provide clean water for yourself and your family for a week or so? Food? Commonly-needed medicines? Home defense?
3. Economic/societal breakdown. Do you have enough petty cash on hand to tide you over if the ATMs aren't resupplied for weeks and the banks don't allow you to withdraw more than a small, stipulated amount? This actually happened in Argentina not too long ago. Do you have a plan for obtaining food on a regular basis, i.e. barter, growing it yourself, deep storage? Will the lack of these things force you to move? Some areas will, after all, be simply insupportable, i.e. downtown Manhattan. If so, do you have a plan and a destination? These will not be the same as item 1 necessarily.
4. Zombie apocalypse. It's code for the real end of the world after which you will, if you survive, have to begin rebuilding in the most survivable of all human units, the small community. Here the questions tend to be nebulous - where could you go, close by? Are you already there? If the latter, what can you do to make your community survivable? Do you have a network of friends who have similar concerns? Do you know where you might get things you can't store? Do you have an idea how to build a human Ark and how you might contribute to its defense and its prosperity?
Different disasters, different scenarios, different needs. You can't be perfectly ready for all of them unless you're independently wealthy and healthily paranoid - if so, you are hardly likely to be needing my advice. If you're just starting, start small and expand outward in concentric circles from readiness for the likely to readiness for the extremely unlikely. Food, water, clothing, shelter, defense - could you do a day with you and yours? Three days? A week? Could you do it in your current house without power or water? Somewhere else in your neighborhood? Your town? Your region?
There's tons of advice on this and the preppers' forums what to do to accomplish this. Clarifying what you want to accomplish in steps is a very good start. Best of luck.
How about a luxury bunker?
There is a TV series called “Preppers”, IIRC it is on Natl. Geo. If not there, it is on the History Channel.
Personally, I do not see the point of intensive prepping.
Most of those on the series tend to live in semi uninhabitable parts of the USA, as in Nevada.
Some of them are devoting there entire lives 24/7 just in prepping. Some have a full years of provisions.
Sad way to spend one’s life.
In an area of low population, I can see prepping for natural disasters, with a months provisions, but that is about it.
If you live in a highly populated area, there will be little you can do to fight of the hordes.
Can you imagine being in Chicago when SHTF?
My prepping took place by leaving the USA, and leaving all material goods behind.
I now live on a beach in a tropical climate.
I will not freeze or go hungry, or die of thirst.
If the SHTF, I'm going north to a family property and 100 acres far away from the nearest city. Our strength is numbers and trust. We have water sources, wood, wild game, ability to garden, weapons, brains, work ethic, and most importantly, family. We'll make it. It won't be easy, but we'll make it.
honestly that will be the outcome for many of us, prepared or not. no one can hold out forever.
SHTF can take many forms, so contingencies have to be flexible. It’s also not gonna end by waking up one day and finding everything back to normal. Gov might come back, or societies might slowly re-evolve locally/organically.
Semi-rural here, a whole little enclave of like-minded folks on quasi-sequestered, easy-to-defend terrain. Lots of skill sets, supplies, well-thought-out and well-practiced plans. We’re ready and coordinated for whatever might occur, but not foolish enough to think we really know what’s gonna happen at any stage in this thing. Twenty hours or twenty generations, we’ve given it some reasonable thought and preparation, and are just enjoying our lives at this point.
If your neighbor breaks in to your house to steal your food for his children, will you shoot him?
I’m not putting down preppers. In fact, we know where you are and we will be coming to your place with the useful items we have.
Do you have internet access?
Just give me a hidey hole with a good field of view, some water and granola bars, and a good rifle. I’ve got brand new eyes, even if nothing else is up to speed.
On 9/11...people where I live panicked and went for gas. I was driving by them on my way home from work. This caused huge lines and some stations increased their price ... (they were penalized for doing it)...however, the next day, it was over.
As a result of this, I always keep enough gas in my tank to get me from where I live now, to my family’s house in the country in case of emergency.
Some years ago we had a derecho... it took out power all around me (but oddly not in my immediate neighborhood) and the outage lasted 6 days. The stores all shut down.
As a result of this, I keep sufficient food in my house.
I’m fully prepped. I have Jesus Christ.
The population will be in significant decline, in the coming years. Moslems will try to kill of everwho is left.
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