Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

Lots of folks on this forum (and others) are waiting for it to hit the fan.

Many are accumulating real wealth in the form of gold and silver.

Others have bug out plans and/or stored food.

Still others are gardening and keeping small animals.

And others have already moved out into the country (or out of the country).

But the common trait I have seen in too many of those who are preparing for it to hit the fan, is that they are still waiting for it to hit the fan, and living as if it has not.

The following is a collection of ideas and, as it has come from a fallible human, cannot be 100% correct. It is designed selfishly, to make me think and help me prepare. If it does the same for you, great. If it does not, discard it.

I believe it has already hit the fan. Any preparations being made now are being made after the fact. We have already gone past the tipping point. We have already lost too many of our freedoms. We have already made peaceful revolution impossible and violent revolution inevitable. It has hit the fan. It is all over us. We are covered in it.

As we squeeze the last drops of liquidity out of a dying economy, absorbing whatever cash and capital we can through what jobs we may have left or businesses we may own, we will find that, one by one, we will each reach our own personal tipping point, where we are no longer able to sustain our present lifestyle. But what are you going to do then? How will you sustain your life?

It is not about gold and silver. It is not about stockpiling food. It is about the ability to continue life without being totally dependent on the work of others. If you are dependent on cheap imported goods, if you are eating food you did not grow, you are dependent on a system. This system is going to fail and it is beneficial to assume that whatever system, if any, grows up to replace it will be hostile to your interests. (If it is not, you can only come out ahead.)

There are many who apparently believe that they are going to escape the cities, or if they live in the country that they will be able to survive without employment, based on hoarding of material goods. Others are wiser and know that the skills needed to survive, such as saving seed and dealing with diseases and pests in their plants, need to be learned and practiced now. I will go one step further. If you are not already living off the land now, in a relatively peaceful and prosperous environment, what makes you think you will be able to live off the land in the high-stress, high-risk environment that comes with a civil war, or martial law, or enemy action?

Yes, you are super smart to buy a seven year supply of food from Walton Feed. But when your seven years are up - then what? Yes, it's great to learn carpentry, coopering, or cobbling so you can have a skill to barter with as things get even worse. But there is someone else out there (in my area, the Amish) who is already doing this. They are already building themselves a reputation as talented, trustworthy workmen who can do their jobs and transport themselves without dependence on electricity or fuel. Who do you think is going to get hired? Someone no one has ever heard about who learned a skill in order to have something to barter with? Or the guys who already have the infrastructure and the reputation to thrive in an Iron Age economy?

The ones who survive this - and possibly, prosper - will be the ones who can already live off the land. Not the ones who have the goods, not the ones who have the skills, but the ones who are already implementing their skills and producing their own goods using their own capital (i.e. producing food or trees from your own land).

To sum up, whatever you're planning on doing, do it now.

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

Ahh yes, Grasshopper. Wise words. Let me try and tie it together. The present system is unsustainable. We are in denial of this, as a species, so we continue to multiply like an aggressive virus, on our host, Mother Earth. We have an inborn deathwish and a fatalist outlook.

If there is a God, he has chosen to teach us, his children, a lesson through this present experience. Will we stop and wait for a savior or shall we solve this mess ourselves? The easy option is to do nothing; the difficult option is to make the change you wish to see.

We live in a brilliantly engineered game, the purpose of which is to push us towards ascension. This will not come through passivity but through taking an active role in the development of our soul. How we conduct ourselves here on Earth is the tool and means to ascension.

I don't believe in pre-destiny.

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

if 9-11, the credit pseudo-crisis, Katrina, a job loss rate of 450K+ for 7 straight months ... etc. ... don't qualify as a hitting of the fan, i don't know what does.

as far as an official TSHTF date, i would pick 9-11.

and now, July 1, California is issuing IOU's. i wonder how long before that affects the availability of electricity ?

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

Very romantic, but nonsense. This is like saying that you're already dead, because your death is inescapable. As for your "you survive a year, but what then?" question, if you are going to go that far with it philosophically, one could ask what anyone has ever lived for. A spiritual person could remind you that none of any of this matters anyway, and it's not so bad to be dependent upon others because that mutual assistance is what makes us worthy of bigger rewards.

And if you think TS has already HTF, then it's really not so bad after all. I haven't used a single prep.

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

"What will you do when you run out of food?" is hardly a philosophical question.

Spiritual people need to eat, too. I was referring to dependence on a system of international corporations. Does relying on international corporations for one's basic needs make someone more spiritual?

Glad you're insulated from the effects of this calamity, so far. Hope whatever you're doing works out for you.

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

The best prep one can have is to come to terms with the fact that we are not, never have been, and never will be SECURE.
security is an illusion, change is reality
if you can roll with change and not be consumed by fear, then it is possible to survive just about any situation, just take a look at the vast majority of humanity; they are doing it today.

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

There should be time to deal with that. All you do with preps is buy time. Honestly, in a SHTF situation, primary objective is to survive the first 4-8 weeks. No matter what happens, if you survive the initial die-off, then it is a whole new ball game, security, and unrest would be completely different by then. After that, your preps should get you long enough to start looking/growing, etc more food supplies.

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

Getting rid of a false sense of security is one of many goals I hope to achieve by living now how I plan to live when things get worse.

There is one way to be truly secure. But "security" in that case means different things to different people. Suffice to say whatever happens, I am not worried one bit.

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

It depends who you are. Dmitry Orlov likes to say,

"You won't know if it has happened; you'll only know that it has happened to YOU."

For the gentleman who lost his job in Detroit and has a family of 5 on food stamps, it's ALREADY happened. Perhaps for our members in Alaska it will never happen.

The point is well-taken but it's hard to generalize these things. In Africa or Afghanistan it's never stopped happening.

TS

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

It hasn't happened until those food stamps can't be redeemed for food.

Look, TSHTF is a breakdown in the system. An unemployed family on food stamps IS the system. Not that I'm not sympathetic, but I'm just sayin'...

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, but don't hole up in your house in a fetal position and stop living for fear of the unknown.

An array of useful knowledge, a few well-placed preps and the ability to adapt and overcome can be all the confidence some folks need.

I can't control others, nor do I wish to... but I CAN control how I react and interact with them.

We're not hurting here yet, but we're gardening, canning, and learning to use less resources as much as we can. We're making connections and trying to meet the people we want to be in "our circle" if things do get worse.

All you can do....

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

Then, when everyone else around me has starved, I'll only have to protect my garden from rabbits.

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

yeah, that's what i was thinking of.

Clinton had the answer to the original post - it all depends on the definition of "it".

if "it" means some "serious shit going down that affects the whole world", heck the Vietnam War was almost that.

there are some people for whom "it" will be an inconvenience, some for whom "it" will be an opportunity to profit, and many for whom "it" will mean death.

it would make a good question or essay for a college history or sociology class. or maybe even a psychology class, since our answer to the question tends to have some autobiographical content.

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

Jeez -

Living 101.

"It" has already hit the fan, is hitting the fan,

And will continue to hit the fan past the point

When I do die do die do (thanks Johnny Cash).

And the exact same thing has been going on for

Thousands of years.

This is called life.

Not survival.

Although both play major roles on this stage of the absurd.

So unwind, plan wisely, as best you can,

And for chrissake enjoy as best you can.

And teach your children well.


scyth

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

I would say it was a wakeup to the reality that the USA is vulneralble, not neccessarily TSHTF already, unless we would have been continuously attacked thereafter.
Exactly!
Then when it's all said and done can we create a new country where on the back of our currency we print.."In Gold we trust, and in Guns we believe, 'cause Todd said so...?.."
*I don't know who Todd is, but we can elect one to be our 1st Department of Treasury chairman.:wink:

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

That's a great line, MagpieFairy. I'm definitely going to be using that in conversation.:wink:

Re: Waiting for "It" to hit the fan
 

Families getting monthly financial assistance for rent and utilities were notified by the local housing authority late last week that their aid will be suspended on Aug. 1.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsup...ry/825556.html