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Secrecy, Sharing, Working Together and Survival Prep
I've spent more than a year working in a homeless shelter and have seen my fill of what people can do to destroy themselves. I see the great need out there for change, an end to selfishness and entitlement. I see a need for the willingness to work hard and prepare-- as well as the need for generosity and the freedom to encourage people to actually change their lives.
In lots of posts here in the survival section it mentions the advantage of your neighbourhood working together in a time of crisis. It's a lot harder to loot everyone's house for food when they stand together against you, for example. What I'm struggling with is the desire to both share with others and work together to stand against those that would destroy what we have prepared. The problem is that people will invariably take the selfish road. I think that's why so many similar posts recommend the need for hiding our food, water and other reserves. It's the same as the precious metals. We hide them so people don't steal them. I'd like to think that it should be possibly for everyone to stockpile enough non-perishable food and water so that a like minded group can band together to protect one another. The problem is that I've seen what people will do to stick a needle in their arms. Imagine what people will do to fill their bellies. So what are your thoughts? Is secrecy the best route, or organizing? If you encourage your neighbours to stockpile, you'll at the very least imply that you are doing so. And when TSHTF, people are going to think back to that conversation. "Hey... didn't Joe once tell us that we should save up lots of food and water? I bet he has some." And that can turn our original desire to help them into a firefight where we kill our neighbours. I find that and letting them starve equally unacceptable. |
Re: Secrecy, Sharing, Working Together and Survival Prep
The worst. Likely not your neighbour. Likely they would not be able to walk long enough to get to your house. Likely ....
Ahh what the hell. http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/a.../65806895.html A social worker finally snaps After years of idealism, I have finally decided that I am sick and ****ing tired of helping the disenfranchised and oppressed. I have a master's degree in social work, and I've worked in a number of different settings. I've been a social worker for Children's Protective Services, a therapist on a psych ward, and I've worked as a case manager for a non-profit that shall remain nameless. I've had a number of clients over the years that I would now like to thank for helping me come to the realization that certain people are beyond help. 1) The mother and father who forced their newborn son to nurse from the family dog: Thank you!! I thought it was going to be just another typical Monday morning. You know, examining 4 year olds and finding anal warts encrusting their little rectums, watching 7 year old little Johnny masturbate the way that Daddy taught him to, and removing little Suzie from her home so Mommy wouldn't be able to put cigarettes out on her thighs anymore. Boring, run-of-the-mill stuff. Then you two beautiful people entered my life. Just in time, I might add! I was beginning to think that abusive parents were losing their sense of creativity. Silly me! What's that? Oh, I know it wasn't your fault. Of course not. No, I agree, formula IS really expensive these days. You're absolutely right, sir, it WOULD have been worse to just let the baby starve. Can I ask you just one question though? Do you think that maybe, just maybe, you could have used your WIC voucher to purchase some formula instead of selling it so you could buy a goddam crack rock? **** me, you say? Nope. **** YOU, you smarmy pile of rhino shit! **** you and your crack whore "baby mama". Your child is coming with me! Merry ****ing Christmas! 2) The meth addict with Borderline Personality Disorder: Sweetie, here's a word of advice. When you are in the midst of a legal battle in which your parental rights are at stake, it is BAD for your case if you show up for your weekly supervised visits with your children spun out of your ****ing mind. Also, if you're going to have fresh track marks all over your arms, you should at least wear a long sleeve shirt so I can't see them. We talked about this before, remember? I have to write a report to the judge in a few months, and I can't in good conscience recommend that the court return your children to you when you insist on showing up to your weekly visits high as a kite, wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a toothless grin. Also, it does not help your case if you assault me after I inform you that no, you can't see your kids today due to your inebriated state and your exposed vulva. I know you grew up in poverty, and I sympathize with your plight. Hell, I was poor as **** growing up. My family was broke as a mother****er. We lived in the projects and never had no cheese for our hamburgers or nuthin. Somehow, though, we still managed to find ourselves some ****ing PANTS when we went out IN PUBLIC! 3) The guy who cut his own dick off and left it sitting on the altar at the Catholic church: Dude, the psychiatrist gave you the Haldol for a reason. You should really try taking it every now and then. You're really gonna kick yourself when you come out of this particular episode and realize that your johnson has transubstantiated into the body of Christ. Look, I agree that the Catholic church did some ****ed up shit back in the day, but was this really necessary? What exactly did you think you were going to prove? Oh I know, I know, the voices told you to do it. But if the voices told you to go jump off of a bridge, would you do it? Wait, forget I said that. 4) The crackhead mother with 27 cats: I called you in advance to set up our appoinmet. You KNEW I was going to be at your house that day and that I would be evaluating your progress in making your home habitable so that your kids could be returned to you. So why, oh why did you answer the door with a CRACK PIPE IN YOUR HAND???? Oh, it's not yours? You were just holding onto it for your neighbor? Sure, I'll buy that. Let me ask you something though. Are those your neighbor's cat turds overflowing in the kirchen sink? No, you're right, those litter boxes ARE expensive. Perhaps you shoud consider getting rid of a few of the cats so there will be room for your children. Just a thought. By the way, is that your neighbor's blood coagulating over there on the couch? 5) The crack addict who prostituted her 8 year old son to support her drug habit: Congratulations! You have just managed to turn me into a supporter of the death penalty! What's that? You're concerned about having your little boy placed in an abusive foster home? Oh don't worry, your son is fine, dear. He won't be going to a foster home after all. You see, we had to place him in an institution because he now likes to save his feces in plastic bags so he can use them as lubrication when he jacks off onto women's panties. He also tries to rape other children. What causes him to do such awful things, you ask? Well, I'm not sure dear, but I'll hazard a guess. I could be wrong, but perhaps his current behaviors have something to do with the fact that his MOTHER RENTED OUT HIS ASS TO HUNDREDS OF PEDOPHILES TO SUPPORT HER CRACK HABIT!!!! Bitch, I hope you get ass-raped by Genghis Khan in hell for all eternity. I'd love to beat you upside the head with a tire iron and take a big steaming shit on your chest. I'd probably lose my license if I did that, though. 6) To the woman who didn't want her child to be adopted by those "faggots": It's so refreshing to meet a woman who cares so much about her child for once! You're right, honey. The Bible DOES say that homosexuals are an abomination to God. Tell me, what does the Bible say about punishing your toddler for crying by sticking him with your dirty syringe needles, thereby infecting him with HIV and hepatitis? I know the Bible says "spare the rod and spoil the child", but I don't remember anything about sparing infectuous diseases and spoiling the child. Perhaps you were reading the New International Version? Incidentally, those two "faggots", as you call them, have a few important things to offer your child that you have neglected to provide. What can a couple of faggots offer YOUR child, you ask? Well, first and foremost, they have JOBS!!!! Yes, that's right, JOBS!!!!!!! These jobs provide them with a trivial little thing known as HEALTH INSURANCE, which will be used to cover the medical treatment your child has to receive for the diseases that YOU gave him. These abominations to God are also capable of providing something called a HOME THAT IS NOT INFECTED WITH LICE AND CRACK. Finally, and most importantly, they will give him something known as LOVE. Ever heard of it? Now, kindly go euthanize yourself you miserable ****. Ok, I feel much better now. I think I might go back to school for an MBA or something. I'm tired of working to help these people for 60 hours a week at $35,000/year. |
Re: Secrecy, Sharing, Working Together and Survival Prep
What a contrast.
Nuts, I also hope my block forms as a community. I think it would not be that hard to get a sense of community going. I'm not going to talk about having stored anything, but I got extras of things like garden seed that can do long term good. According to how it starts, I might organize my block to go to our nearby supermarket in a group, with cash, and insist that they accept our cash for purchases by our numbers, even if the registers are out. It is 1 block away, so we could stock up, maybe, before panic clears the shelves. Buying ourselves would not give away our having food stored. Another thing I would share willingly with my block is our water filter. We are not far from a fairly clean lake, and we could send a team to haul water then filter it and each household could boil their share. I have adequate extra filtration to handle my block for several years. I do not think things would be broken down badly enough that it was needed longer than that. If so we would need to relocate to the desert where we have friends and use PMs or trade goods to purchase a house. (After things settle down and most wandering thugs are dead.) Since I don't think much of anyone out to steal the supplies of others, I would not be troubled protecting my home or family by force. I would be removing a danger to many from the community. |
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Re: Secrecy, Sharing, Working Together and Survival Prep
If a nuke goes off near enough to harm me I hope it hits my house. The in between few months mode of death is ugly.
That grade of crisis-- Z if you think you are surviving that pass me some of what you are drinking. :D If you think a nuke in NYC would turn my block in Texas into nut cases, see above. :haha: But seriously, we've been here over 10 years and have done assorted favors for each other. I'm pretty sure which ones would pull together, the 1 who is a problem to the whole block, and the 1 old widow we would need to help. |
Re: Secrecy, Sharing, Working Together and Survival Prep
For a real eye-opener in understanding the mindset of Survivalists click on the PROFILES button at the top of the survivalblog.com webpage here.
Few of us are really viable when it gets down to eating our neighbors. |
Re: Secrecy, Sharing, Working Together and Survival Prep
I feel now that I jumped from the frying pan into the fire....... I moved from Anaheim Ca. to the woods of Oregon in order to get ready for what is to come and the problem is that 75% of the people here are ither on welfare of food stamps (what can they save?) and on top of that many of them are druggies........around me I have 3 of them and maybe 4, not sure about 4.
I can hear on my police scanners when the cops are going around either on burglary cases or druggies. At this time ,as I type, I am monitoring my four tv monitors connected to seven cameras and I can see all my property from here, as a matter of fact a while ago I saw someone by the side of my home so I picked up my sword and went running down there, it was the power meter buy taking a reading. I have another tv monitor with two cameras in reserve. And once again I invite anyone who wants to come into my property WTSHTF but only if you bring your own home on wheels, food and weapons........ by the way, 15 feet from my home I have a fence all the way around it and those who come will be outside this perimeter fence. |
Re: Secrecy, Sharing, Working Together and Survival Prep
Personally I think WTSHTF there will not be anarchy, there will be tyranny. The key to the difference is enforcement of the fiat monetary system. The masses will go along with martial law if the government pretends to "protect" them and feed them minimal quantities of non-nutricious food. Hundreds of thousands of people will be recruited as enforcers. They will be selected for their authoritarian personality and low intellect. As long as the fiat system is operational, there will be no shortage of goons.
Food and fuel will be rationed. Having a few hundred pounds of dried beans and rice will likely go a long way towards getting others to trade their fuel. If you have enough food to trade with your neighbors they will not have a motive to rob you. Selective scrutiny will be used to single out dissenters and haul them off to camps to "make the children safe". Once the majority of the dissenters are out of the picture, it will be easy to depopulate the rest by starvation. "Hoarders" will be demonized. The masses getting rations will not be getting proper nutrition. They will be weak of body and mind. |
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Ah, sunny.....you do realize that is an article Z posted, not his job description ?
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IMVHO this is indeed one of the crux's of the situation. Our society is soft. We would very much like to believe that everyone would band together and help each other out. I am pessimistic about this. Attitudes have changed and "entitlement" dominates. So many here in the US have had so much for so long that even the thought of going awhile without Cable TV puts them into orbit. Imagine them NOT having food for a week. After seeing some of the hurricane reactions, I have my doubts about the majority of people banding together to help each other in a long term scenario. In my thinking it boils down to numbers. People numbers. Population density and the severity / isolation of what happens where. i.e Storm, financial breakdown, dirty bomb, etc etc and where it happens. The eastern seaboard, anything east of the Mississippi River, is packed with people. In some states, the entire ( relatively ) state is a "burb". Bug out where ? Travel ( safely ) how ? There really is nowhere that remote to go when one thinks about the numbers of people etc etc etc if it got really crazy. ( good scenes in that War of Worlds film depicting some of this ...won't speak for the rest of it ) If there is a larger New Orleans situation, seems to me you would need more than your own self to protect what you have. Being in a small group of like thinkers, people you can trust and being stealthy will be a key factor. Problem being, in our right now society, there just aren't many of us types who are prepared to deal with a situation for a week / month / year / indefinately. Still working on a plan( s ) I am.......... but staying put unless forced out is the current thought process for me. Regards, Haystackneedle. |
Re: Secrecy, Sharing, Working Together and Survival Prep
BETTER TIMES Emergency Notes #5: Building Community During a Major Disaster
Normal life has a strong hold on us; it is what we are familiar with and understand. But this "normality" can change suddenly, radically, and painfully, bringing death, destruction, and dislocation with little or no warning. Prolonged and extensive disasters are a difficult challenge to the safety, security, health and wellness of our families and communities. We may expect help to arrive almost immediately; this may not happen; circumstances can prevent it from happening. Disasters happen. On April 5, 1992, the first of what became an average of 4,000 artillery shells a day fell on Sarajevo, a cosmopolitan European city of 500,000 people that had hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics. The siege continued for almost 4 years (the longest of the 20th century). Overnight, the city lost electricity, water, natural gas, & telephone service. 10,000 people were killed, 50,000 wounded. By 1993, the price of wood was $200 per cubic meter, dandelions and nettles fetched high prices. Seeds were smuggled into the city, & gardens were planted everywhere. Ham radio operators helped the city keep in touch with the outside world. For light, people used car batteries, candles, and homemade oil lamps (jars filled with vegetable oil, with shoe strings for wicks). Throughout this traumatic event, the people of Sarajevo coped with dramatically changed circumstances by working together and continuing their lives as best they could under the circumstances. Many cottage industries and small businesses were started to provide the goods & services that people needed under the new situation. Artists & musical groups staged plays & concerts; religious services continued, children went to school, doctors operated by flashlight. Everything was inconvenient -- people had to walk miles for water (they also caught rain from roofs and drank melted snow), there was little public transportation. The city's markets stayed open, but prices fluctuated with the availability of home grown/made or smuggled goods. The simplest tasks became time consuming. Snipers and artillery added to the stress. The suicide and general mortality rates increased. Few buildings escaped damage. But the city did not collapse and die in a chaos of disorder and violence. People were brought together in solidarity by the situation The moral of this story: Some responses to disasters are better than others; when life hands you a lemon, don't whine, make lemonade. 3 kinds of reactions to disaster: (1) During and after a disaster, people may develop personality changes relating to trauma-related stress. They may experience anxiety attacks, have trouble sleeping and eating, feel on edge & brittle, be easily disturbed or upset, become over-protective of loved ones, experience emotional episodes (including crying), and suffer despair and a sense of hopelessness. They may feel so powerless to affect their situation that they are almost incapable of helping themselves. They may become angry and resentful, unable to make decisions, easily irritated, unable to focus on work, lacking the energy even for basic daily activities. They may be sad, depressed, and unwilling to confront the situation that brought about the disaster. (Sources: Virginia Cooperative Extension & materials distributed after the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City and the May 1999 tornado disaster in the same city.) (2) During and after a disaster, people may experience strong feelings of solidarity & bonding with their neighbors and others who have suffered the same situation. They may become very cooperative, generous, compassionate, helpful, and warm-hearted. People often demonstrate the ability to learn new skills very fast, and exhibit a lot of ingenuity and creativity in working around obstacles and managing chaotic situations. Humans are known for sacrificing themselves to save others -- sometimes for members of their family, but also for complete strangers. We can work hard and smart when the need is there. Instead of giving into despair, we can become pro-active. People are very adaptable, even when changes are coming very fast and the stress is very grave. (3) During and after a disaster, some people take advantage of the suffering, distress, weakness, or problems of others. They profiteer on scarce goods, refuse to cooperate on necessary neighborhood projects, hinder rescue and repair efforts, and/or turn violent and criminal. Some disasters have been followed by violence & looting, and theft generally increases. Goods donated by humanitarian organizations may end up in the marketplaces at inflated prices. People can be rude, arrogant, pushy, violent, or lazy in the absence of a disaster, and these traits may be intensified by the stress of a major traumatic event. Got commonsense? Panic, paralysis, flight, and helplessness. Pro-activity, solidarity, cooperation, smart work. Crime, thuggery, profiteering, vicious competition. All responses to disasters are not created equal; some are more dangerous than others. If times get tough, encourage and support the good; discourage and avoid the bad, protect the weak & defenseless. The actions of individuals and neighborhoods can have dramatic consequences for the larger systems of society (for good or evil). The Scout precept -- "Do a good deed daily" -- as well as the religious, ethical, and philosophical traditions of many diverse cultures bear witness to this. Many good deeds done daily are seeds of a culture of life and love. Special Needs of Children: Children are greatly affected by disasters; they will need extra realistic reassurances (don't promise what you can't deliver.) Expect them to be afraid -- 4 common fears are death, darkness, animals, and abandonment. Refusing to discuss such fears with children will only intensify their concerns; encourage them to talk about their feelings or otherwise express them through activities such as play acting or painting. Their feelings won't go away if adults refuse to talk about them, if repressed, eventually they will come out, usually in a negative way. Pretending that problems don't exist only makes them worse. Physical reactions like nightmares, vomiting, headaches, or emotional reactions like refusing to eat, getting upset easily, feeling guilty or neglected, are very common reactions to severe stress. Kids may regress to earlier behaviors like bed wetting or wanting a special toy. When you talk with your children, listen to how they say what they say. Watch them at play -- with other children, and with their toys. Repeat information & reassurances many times; answer their questions as much as you can. Hold your child, provide comfort (touching is very important for children during stress). Spend extra time with them before going to bed. Don't hesitate to seek help from friends, family, schools, religious organizations, or support groups. Caution: the stress reactions of your kids will be a source of stress for you. Don't take your stress out on your kids. (Source: Virginia Cooperative Extension & tornado disaster info.) When a disaster happens: Take care of first things first. Immediate threats are the obvious & threatening: fire, freezing cold, medical emergencies, severe weather, industrial-chemical-pipeline explosions. Medically fragile people, the elderly, and families with young children are especially vulnerable in disasters. Check on your neighbors! It may be necessary to set up heated shelters in homes or public buildings during winter emergencies, or for people to stay with neighbors. Be realistic in your expectations. Things may not get back to normal instantly. It will take time for the situation to recover and the burden may be on each community to rescue itself. Encourage dialogue about what has happened. People's emotions may be roller-coastering; it will help (a lot!) to be able to talk about the event and how it has impacted their lives, for better or for worse. Encourage dialogue (organize opportunities for this to happen). But remember: rumors abound in disaster situations, and should be judged guilty until proven true. Beware of spreading false information that creates public anxiety. Learn some relaxation techniques: take several slow deep breaths, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth, while thinking calm and peaceful thoughts (or prayers). Challenging events such as major disasters make demands on our "best natures". It's vital to determine the important actions to be taken in response to the disaster, but people may have different ideas about what is important and should be tackled first (this is true in families, neighborhoods, businesses, governments). Understanding this potential for disagreement helps manage the situation. Leaders must be patient in their interactions with others; they must understand that they are as vulnerable to these stress reactions as anybody else. Be aware of the tendency to resort to bad habits when you are under stress. Remember that "haste makes waste." Wisdom, daydreaming, & risk taking can reveal options that you never felt possible. Be pro-active and hopeful. If there are things that need to be done to help put things back to normal, then do them. Try not to be swamped by details (while remembering that often the devil is in those details). Keep your eyes on the big picture and what has to happen in order to ensure the health, safety, security, and wellness of your family and neighborhood. Think "outside the box", be open to creative solutions to shortages, failed public services, or problems in the marketplace. Even small actions that promote stability and preparedness can affect the ultimate outcome of this event, for better or for worse. What you and your family do (and what you don't do!) will be important not only for your own family, but also for your entire community. Artists, entertainers, musicians, and theater groups should expect that their services will be in great demand, ditto for plumbers, doctors, mechanics, gardeners, nurses, mothers, priests, tailors, engineers, electricians, and many other skills, trades and services. (Librarians will be major heroes!) There will be plenty of work to be done, and it will help if the work is as smart as possible. You won't be able to get through this safely and securely all by yourself: you will need your community, and your community will need you. Morale is critical during hard times. Draw on all the resources available to you to bolster morale in yourself, your family, and your neighborhood. After attending to any immediate and pressing emergencies of the disaster, invite your neighbors for a potluck dinner. Use this as a time to talk with them about how your community will meet this grave challenge. Many people find strength in religious, ethical, cultural, and philosophical traditions. These beliefs can be structures of support to carry people through hard times. If your family has religious or devotional practices, do not neglect them under the pressure of events in a crisis. If your family doesn't have any religious or devotional practices, you should think about getting some. Honesty is the best policy. Leaders must be prudent in their responses, because poor leadership can make a disaster much worse, aggravating an already bad situation. Resist the dead end path of authoritarianism. The best and most effective leadership in a crisis is servant leadership. Bad news should not be concealed. Lies, half truths, making promises that can't be kept, and evading the issues or their consequences are sure and certain destroyers of leadership credibility. (It is also essentially immoral to not warn the public of hazards.) Beware of those who resort to politics and scape-goating in their disaster response; those who do this run the risk of being suspected of bad faith or of attempting to shift blame from themselves onto others. The time for apportioning blame (if this can be done) is after the recovery is well underway, not during the on-going progress of the disaster. "The world will be saved by Beauty." Civilization doesn't just happen by accident, we have to work at it. If we keep practicing, we will eventually get good at it. In the meantime, everybody must do their part to maintain community and support the common good, especially during a disaster. You will start re-creating a safe and secure community when you yourself decide that you will be a good neighbor. Like charity, building community begins at home, it starts with you. In a disaster, you may feel that you have lost control over your situation. But building community is something you can do, right here, right now, in the place where you are -- whether or not the electricity works, you have a job, or the buses are running. Nobody is an island. Think of your neighborhood as your village, and discover anew the truth that we have learned many times in history: united we stand, divided we fall, cooperation is as important as competition. (During a disaster, cooperation is much more important than competition.) Don't leave anybody behind, there is room in the boat for everybody. And let's remember this good advice as we rebuild: we can do better next time! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ AMDG! Text (c) 1999, 2001 by Robert Waldrop, Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House, Oklahoma City. Permission is given to reproduce this flyer for free distribution. The information is compiled from sources deemed credible, but readers use it at their own risk. http://www.bettertimesinfo.org, rmwj@soonernet.com . These notes are not meant to provide all the details, but rather to suggest ideas for coping with prolonged disruptions due to the instability and injustice of modern systems of economics and governance. |
Re: Secrecy, Sharing, Working Together and Survival Prep
Sunny? I didn't "ran" towards him, by the time I got downstairs he was already walking towards the street and me, the Katana was still in its case.
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Re: Secrecy, Sharing, Working Together and Survival Prep
The problem is getting anyone to take preps for food and security serious.
I would say less than 1/10th of 1 percent get it,if its even that high. We are the only ones in our family who think about,rest are pretty unprepared,wont happen,dont like guns,yuppie,etc. Spuds:sheep: |
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That's my Katana and two of the three tires with a one by one sticking from the side, the trick is to hit the hell out of them with out one of the tires or sticks hitting you, it hurts like hell.
What I do is to swing at a tire (false edge of the Katana) and while the sword is descending towards the target and before it hits I am already looking for the next target and so on, at first it was hard but after four years it has become easier......this summer I am putting up another tire and that will be four "enemies" that I will be fighting at the same time. |
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Spuds:sheep: |
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