I'm not sure what the fuck many of these people are doing quite frankly. It's like they've watched too many re-runs of "I Am Legend" or view "The Walking Dead" as a documentary.
I am all about being prepared. We hoard food. We can food. We grow food. We stash water. Collect plenty of bullets. But it's not because I expect "Eli" to walk by with the Book.
I prepare for the possibility of supply disruptions. For civil chaos closing stores for a few days. For a natural or man-made disaster that makes getting supplies difficult for a few weeks. I do not want to have to go stand in line with the herd when I can simply consume from my own supplies. I do not want to have to rely on the government for my needs. FEMA? Please, fucker.
A few years ago I witnessed what supply disruptions can do to people. For some reason gasoline supplies were low in Middle TN, particularly Nashville. People were desperate to get their cars filled up. Lines were hours long. Gas stations were out of fuel. People would literally follow tankers around. It lasted a week or so and sucked it you needed gas. Now, I won't be hoarding gasoline any time soon as I can survive without it. But what if something similar happened with food or water? I've seen a microcosm of what happens to the herd when they get desperate. It wasn't pretty. What do you think these fuckers are going to do when they are hungry?
I prepare for two main scenarios: 1) An electrical grid shutdown from the effects of an electro-magnetic pulse from the sun or from terrorism or 2) Losing my job.
Either way I want to ensure that I have enough cash, food, water, and bullets to outlast any problems that this may cause.
If I lose my job then I want to spend as much time replacing the income lost without worrying if I can feed my family. Instead of spending hundreds on food I can use that money to pay the mortgage or keep the lights on.
The EMP outage could be devastating. Most people I know carry little cash these days preferring to use a charge card. How are you going to exchange for goods when the bank is closed? The most paranoid think they are going to tool around and have to use gold coins for trade. Whatever. Most shitheads wouldn't know a Gold Panda from a bottle top.
I've seen survival gear lists that would blow your mind. Bug out bags. Tactical gear. Survival kits. Is this survival? This is just consumption. More shit to store.
Look, if your life has the potential of ending because of earthquakes or fires or hurricanes then you would be crazy not to have a preparedness list of gear you need to bug out with. But a wire saw? Only if you intend on sawing through your hotel door I guess.
If you are going into the woods then you need a wilderness survival pack. Absolutely. If you live in the north where snowdrifts are buildings then you need winter survival gear in your car. Of course if you live in the south where snow might touch the ground for more than an hour then you need to plan on the apocalypse complete with 90 days worth of cigarettes, Pabst Blue Ribbon and moon pies. Ever seen a grocery store after the herd grazes through before an impending snow flake? Not pretty.
I own two of the Bear Grylls Survival Kits
. We keep them in the car. Mostly it's because they are really cool. I suspect that I will never need them. Then again my daughter swears there will be zombies. She even has a zombie survival guide. No shit.Survival is a funny thing. Most people prepare like they are going to be home watching Factor X Dancing Idol when the fan hits the shit. Rather I suspect the herd will be slaving away in the cubicles or across town buying yarn or taking the spawn to a shitty movie. That's why minimalist survival is what I'm more interested in.
Stay tuned...
Good stuff! Bear Grylls is awesome, talk about turning yourself into a brand. I may or may not own a number of domains relating to his stuff... :D
ReplyDeleteLiving in California, a bug out bag is always a good thing to have in case of sudden catastrophic earthquakes they are always predicting. I've got a minimalist bug out bag that has enough stuff in it for us to survive almost anywhere for a week. Cash, food, and water would probably be good to hoard up a little more though in case it's less 'bugging out' and more 'supply shortages'.
I, like you, suspect that it has the potential to get ugly in the very near future. Wondering where you look for your info? Gerald Celente, Webster Tarpley etc?
ReplyDeleteI lived in Nashville during the gasoline shortage... it was crazy and totally unnecessary... http://AlcoholCanBeAGas.com
ReplyDelete@Brawnydt - If I lived in Cali- particularly on top of one of the shifting plates, I'd certainly have preparations in my home, car, office...
ReplyDeleteI have a bug out bag that is probably more minimalist than yours My main concern is that I am across town at work and the family is at home. We could be out of our home in 10 minutes with that which matters most in the event of some crazy scenario and surviving for a week. If we were able to stay home we are good for months.
@Mark - I agree. You need your family and friends. Problem is when I bring this up to some people they look at me like I'm crazy. "Preparing for what?"
ReplyDeleteI believe in being prepared but some are taking it to extremes that I can't see. Maybe I'm naive. I think it's more like a hobby to these people. Basically I try to live like my grandparents did during the depression. You know? Tough times. They made sure to have money and no debt. Self sufficient. They could grow and can their food. They stockpiled things that they knew they needed. It's just being prepared.
@Mitch - I read stuff like The Economic Collapse, Dollar Vigilante, Zerohedge, Survival Blog...among others. Just trying to stay in the loop for economic, political and social chaos and turmoil.
ReplyDeleteAmericans are thinking the end of the world is coming while developing countries are doing very nicely thankyou.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we'll see a US economic recovery until 2020 at the earliest.
@Brett- Since the end of WW2 life has been gravy in the U.S. Growth, innovation, wealth...Unfortunately we have squandered all of that through empire building and shit politicians.
ReplyDeleteI laugh at PresBO's new soak the rich plan. This country was founded on a bunch of dudes pissed off at paying around 2.5% tax to the King. We pay 35% on the top rate now. Federal. That doesn't include state, local, property and sales tax.
Fuck the government.
If we do not get our debt/deficit/entitlement problems sorted out we will not recover. In time we will default like most of Europe will eventually. The West is in denial.
Sadly the greatest leaders this country had signed the Constitution in 1791 or the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Ever since, the country has been led by imbeciles with few exceptions and none as exceptional as the Founders. Unfortunately we currently have the most incompetent President ever. An absolute moron. With very little to hope for in 2012 on either side.
I think all the financial, economic, energy, food, water, sanitation, political and climate instability or perception of instability has awoken an instinct in humans that has been turned off in most of the western world through domestication (also known as consumerism) - that is the need to have several months of food stored, especially in winter. You can obviously see this instinct in other animals like squirrels today, but not long ago it was an instinct many humans possessed. That we should still be living like that and the realisation that the current model of food production, transport and sale cannot go on could be causing people to go over the top in their preparations for collapse. I think the one thing that most drives people into massive prep. is the fear of people running around killing people for possessions - Mad Max style.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a multi-millionaire, I would go all out in kitting up with everything I would need in disaster and collapse scenarios. Not just out of worry, but because I would rather live a life where I am totally independent anyway. Because I am not so financially endowed I am just taking steps that would ensure my survival in situations that would require self-sufficience for several months. If anything happens that is so bad as to require the full use of such stores and you are able to survive attack, so many people will have died by this point as to make having massive stores unnecessary. Taking such steps is actually a money saver anyway. Buying in bulk, misshapen, surplus food and growing your own should save you 40% plus on your annual food spend. It's also a time saver, not having to buy lots of food week in week out.
With all that said, I think it is inevitable for there to be a complete meltdown of the west at some point in the future. Every civilisation of the past has collapsed and there is every reason for the west to follow suit.
My ref. to climate instability above is simply to illustrate that some people think this is a major factor contributing to the downward spiral. I never say I don't believe in global worming as the statement implies their is margin for error. Man-made global working as presented by Al Gore et. al. doesn't exist.