Ozimek seems to think self reliance means the same thing as homelessness.
And he thinks homesteading people don’t have families, churches, investments or savings to rely on, not to mention he forgets they pay taxes too...
Maybe he’s just jealous because he has no idea what he’d do if the power went out for three weeks.
There was this guy who was going to prove that he could live completely independently. One day he walked into a swamp completely naked. No clothes, knives, guns, cooking apparatuses, etc. Nothing.
He survived, and quite well indeed. He made his own clothes and shelter. Was able to fashion tools with which to fish and hunt. The whole survivalist nine yards.
The rub of this story, however, is that before he walked into the swamp naked he spent years reading up on how to survive in swamps, and took numerous trips to the swamp to hone his skills. Also, the swamp he walked into was not teeming with drug dealers, paramilitaries, etc.
So yes he was able to live off the land, but only because hundreds (or more likely millions) of people before him had developed the skills necessary to live off the land, and dozens had written books about it. Also, hundreds (or more like thousands) of people were responsible for this swamp being relatively free of dangerous humans. All he had to worry about were the critters.
So yes he is more independent than most and should get lots of kudos for surviving the swamp, and he most likely has a lower welfare-footprint than most ... as most survivalists do.
But neither he, nor anyone else, can claim to be truly and fully independent.
And who would want to be anyway?
Those who are "self" reliant doesn't mean that they do things ALONE.
The Amish are a great example. Someone's house or barn burns down, the Amish community gathers together to build another.
Self reliant people look to other self reliant people to learn from and to get AND GIVE a helping hand.
It's people like Ozimek who have absolutely nothing to offer anybody else.
When a neighbor has a problem, it's the self reliant person, with a shed or garage full of tools, that comes over to help.
Go to a church with self reliant people and it's these same people who help others in their church, putting a new roof on, or a door in, or wiring a faucet, or plumbing an outlet.
The last few years, I've gone out to Iowa with my buddy. We go in together with his cousin and the three of us buy three pigs (not little). Then we spend the day butchering them together. It's hard work, but satisfying. We enjoy each others company. And save A LOT over what pork would cost at a store.
Jealous or clueless? I think the evidence is he’s clueless. Maybe he’s both.
Those same people will steal from you and possibly eat you when TSHTF.