With the 2012 Doomsday date quickly approaching, anxiety and fear are gripping more and more people across the globe. According to a recent survey of individuals in over twenty countries, 15% of people worldwide believe the end of the world as we know it will happen in our lifetime.
“Whether they think it will come to an end through the hands of God, or a natural disaster or a political event, whatever the reason, one in seven thinks the end of the world is coming,” said Keren Gottfried, research manager at Ipsos Global Public Affairs which conducted the poll for Reuters.
“Perhaps it is because of the media attention coming from one interpretation of the Mayan prophecy that states the world ‘ends’ in our calendar year 2012,” Gottfried said, adding that some Mayan scholars have disputed the interpretation.
Source: Reuters
People aren’t sure what it is or when it may happen, but there is a strong sentiment of unease among the general population. And it’s not all Mayan Prophecy centric.
The end of the world can come in lots of different ways. Over half of Americans, for example, think that a financial collapse is imminent. While such an event wouldn’t shift our geomagnetic poles or cause five thousand foot high Tsunamis, a collapse of the world’s economy, the US dollar or the international banking system would have implications so severe that it could cost millions of lives in its wake through food shortages and global conflict over resources.
The end of the world means different things to different people and can include a variety of scenarios. Man-made events like hyperinflationary global depression, chemical or biological attacks, cyber war, nuclear fallout, or electro magnetic pulse (EMP) could render our entire infrastructure obsolete by collapsing our nation’s just-in-time transportation services, causing widespread blackouts, and contaminating our food and water supplies. Natural disasters like solar flares, mega-quakes, super volcanoes, pole shifts, climate shifts and near earth objects have changed the face of the earth quite regularly since its creation – often with cataclysmic consequences.
While each of these possibilities is unlikely, when taken cumulatively the odds of disaster having a direct adverse impact on our lives successively increases – so much so that one in seven people around the world believe they’ll see such a Doomsday before they die.
You’d think that with all of the potential threats we face as a civilization more people would be preparing, but recent statistics indicate that just three million Americans (about 1% of the population) are preparing to weather the storm by stocking so-called doomsday supplies like long-term food storage, water, firearms, off-grid tools, and developing skills to live in a world where modern day technology has all but disappeared.
For those preparing for the scenarios discussed above it’s business as usual – a completely rational response to the mounting threats we as a society and as individuals face in this complex, interdependent and unsustainable consumptive paradigm. For onlookers, acquaintances, friends, and family who may have been exposed to prepper ravings of a system-on-the-brink, the idea of readying for TEOTWAWKI or SHTF is nothing short of lunacy in desperate need of professional medical assistance.
Via Steve Quayle:
Many would view Marston’s mindset as a form of radical paranoia, but he’s not alone — not nearly. He is what’s known as a “prepper,” someone who readies for the possibility of significant change, and there are millions across the country.
Preppers, also referred to as survivalists, have a dubious, often unfair reputation. They’re generally labeled right-wing kooks, although they come from all walks of life. Cable television series “Doomsday Preppers” on the National Geographic Channel and “Doomsday Bunkers” on the Discovery Channel have put them in the spotlight.
Such fictional characters as Robinson Crusoe and, less classically, MacGyver romanticized survivalism. But the ideal has been stigmatized by infamous real-life survivalists like Theodore Kaczynski (aka the Unabomber) and Timothy McVeigh, who were also terrorists.
Preppers frequently are ridiculed because of the oddball fringe that believes the Mayans might have been onto something with their 2012 Armageddon forecast or that a horde of zombies will overtake the planet.
But the prepper spectrum is expansive. The needle can point anywhere from incredibly practical to practically certifiable.
Some preppers merely cultivate a backyard garden to stock cellar shelves. They might be on alert for nothing more than an emergency weather situation, with a generator at the ready and enough provisions to last a week.
Others, such as members of the Mormon church, store food and supplies as faith-based policy.
There also is a group that takes the prepping lifestyle to an extreme, literal diehards who maintain underground bunkers or isolated backwoods retreats.
“Many people think the worst when they hear certain comments about survivalists,” said Bill Heffron, a retired National Guard colonel from the Town of Tonawanda. Heffron spent much of his career as a commander at the Connecticut Street Armory.
“It’s just comfort for some people. When you’re prepared ahead of time, then that’s just good planning. That’s never a problem.
“But when you start getting guns out, you start to wonder.”
Regardless of commitment levels or reasons for doing it, a critical component to a prepper’s lifestyle is anonymity.
Preppers want to stay off the grid to avoid social persecution and for one particularly important, sensible reason. When the SHTF (an abbreviation preppers commonly use for “stuff” hitting the fan) or TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it) is at hand, they don’t want panicky nonpreppers trying to crowd their space or raid their reserves.
“We’re not into exposing ourselves even to close friends and family,” said the 31-year-old Marston, who asked that his real name not be used in this story. “People might be shocked to learn a family member is a prepper, an uncle, a cousin.
“The fear of being rejected is there. Yeah, there’s a lot of crazies out here. But there are crazies into everything else. There are legitimate, upstanding people doing this. It bothers me that when you say ‘I’m a prepper,’ you get the eye roll.”
Source: Buffalo News
We know that the system we live in is unsustainable and a significant alteration to our way of life is coming – this is inevitable. Fully half of Americans believe a massive financial collapse is imminent and some 15% of the world’s population is expecting the end of the world over coming decades.
Yet, when one takes steps to insulate themselves from the possibility of these very disasters they are looked at by most as paranoid, fringe lunatics who are acting completely irrationally.
This begs the question: What’s rational about expecting the end of the world, or a black swan event, or a natural disaster, but taking no practical steps to prepare for it?
One could argue that it’s those very people, who are aware of the possibilities but refuse to make preparations, that should be labeled the practically certifiable ones.
I prefer the “practical” appearance. People don’t give strange looks to those who are recognized as practical. It takes away the “dommsday” appearance and keeps a smart-thinking appearance. It may also help keep the freeloaders at bay – those who say “I don’t need to prepare. I’ll just come over to your place.” To which I say “Don’t come over without an invitation, and you don’t have one.”
I will take the other side of it motto. I’m certifiable.
Planting a garden, canning or preserving the harvest and stocking the pantry is just common sense that people have followed for many, many years. Somehow “common sense” got lost in recent years.
A prudent man foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
Proverbs 22:3
100 years ago (1912) in this country the “prudent man” was the norm, Today the “simpleton” is quickly becoming the norm. And to think, a year later, 1913 is when the foundation, at least one of the major corner stones, was laid, giving rise, over time, for “common sense” to mutate into uncommon sense.
Now, it seems, we’re foreigners in a country we thought we were “citizens” of.
Thats what TPTB want. They don’t wnat you planting gardens or stocking the pantry. They want you dependent on them so they can control you. They’re creating pavlov’s dogs. Obey and you’ll be fed. Disobey and….?
I love the fact that the proverb you quoted is 22:3. Or is that 5.56?
Yes KY MOM,
I have posted the same message multiple times. My Grandparents were not preppers, they just did the sensible thing. They gardened, preserved food, put up items and saved money for a “rainy” day. They came from Norwegian descent and consequently the original family homestead was in the land of -30 -40 temps in winter with only 3-4 months of true summer. We hunted ducks, geese, rabbits, deer and put that up as best we could as it was our protein for the 6 months +/- of winter. We also ice fished religiously. We did everything we could utilizing natural resources and created cultivated resources to survive on.
As a result I learned many things, just from the gardening side I can write pages…composting, pages…
hunting…volumes, trapping, I had a cousin who put himself through college beaver trapping. I thought that was so cool, I read all the books I could, then went out and taught myself through experience how to trap. I now know that to the Nth degree and as a side result can tan any hide…
We, our family were just being prudent…we knew there would be tough times.
Now I talk about some of my activities and most of the City Folk either think I’m just pulling there leg, talking BS, or lieing trying to appear as macho….lol…and I’ve said this before, until they see pictures…then they are just amazed and think I’m unlike any others…I beg to differ.
1% of our population is preparing or lets say being prudent. Yes, that sounds about right. Out of a 19 story building next to the Galleria in Houston, Texas, I can say I only know 2-3 people who are prudent. At best, most people will put up a gasoline generator, extra jugs of water and a small amount of canned food and this is only because we are subject to hurricanes and tropical storms.
Even hurricane Ike did not change peoples mindset to any real degree, except to make more evacuate to anyplace North with no preperation than a full tank of gas.
This hurricane wiped Gilchrest, Texas (on the beach) off the map and hundreds lost their lives, we are still finding bodies miles inland, most will never be found.
I don’t take chances with my family. I get out at the hint of something. Our place in the country is family land on wife side and we keep it prudently.
Here is a sobering thought…I have worked with a couple people who openly admitted that they did not prepare and come a shtf scenario, they would in the aftermath, take what they wanted from the people who lived around them. At gunpoint or just shoot’em and take it.
I find this completely unacceptable, unchristian and criminal. Now, one of these individuals knows where in the country that we have our property. If he ever shows up hungry, I will feed him all the while with a rifle barrel pointed at his head, then I’ll politely tell him to leave and will escort him for several miles and tell him under no circumstances to ever come back. Once a snake, always a snake. I’ll give a cotton moouth a wide berth but if it threatens it ceases to exist, this fellow is barely above the level of a nasty cottonmouth, so I’ll do my Christian duty and feed him once, then he is completely on Gods graces.
So folks, watch out, be charitable to a degree, but very very careful.
God Bless KY Mom and all,
Terry Reed
Terry W. Reed,
Thank you for your kind words!
Your Grandparents and mine too (probably many people’s grandparents) just did the sensible thing. They were thrifty and tried to be self reliant.
You take care and God bless!
KY Mom
I have to love that Proverb. Not only is it a very smart and simple way of thinking, but the “223” puts the icing on it. Great post KY!
KY MOM; You are truly a woman designed by Proverbs 31 and the man in your life should be most thankful for very few women take this ongoing situation with inflation,unemployment,rising crime,foreclosures,etc,etc with a “raised eyebrow”. I don’t think the wheels will fall off all at once,but our government has gotten into a real deep ditch and with them owing CHINA so much cash,there’s no other real way to pay other than to devalue the dollar and sell off land here(look around&see who’s buying property)which is why I say:Prep quickly,quietly,and stay prayerful. Take Care.
Hard work … got lost. For most people today working in the garden and preserving their own food is just WAY to much work. When you can sit in the office all day in front of the computer to earn just enough to hand it all over to the retail stores. 4 years ago we became preppers. We have been stocking up on food and learning to garden. Let me tell you, it’s not as easy as you may think. Last year we had 4 tomato plants and only got about 6 tomatoes on them in total. This year it looks much better. You have to learn by trial and error. We also started canning but I have been getting great deals at http://www.srmarketplace.com. It’s not your grandmas food storage! Their products are first class!
“common sense” thats what i’m talking about!!! people nowadays lack common sense they seem to have lost that somewhere 20 years ago
I’ll stick with “practical”, thanks much. It helps prepare you for a wider variety of crap that can meet the fan, and doesn’t have you babbling about conspiracies and astronomically-unlikely things.
As a bonus, when things finally do go ‘splat (trust me, this much I am fully aware of), I don’t have to be clutching a sweaty AR-15 in the corner of some bunker every time some half-competent CNN reporter gets a journalistic aneurysm.
Ach – should’ve split that last sentence. I hate my trackpad sometimes…
When it finally does go ‘splat, I’ll be ready. Before it goes ‘splat, I don’t have to be clutching the AR-15, etc…
(Shoulda bought a MacBook, damnit.)
I’ve often thought that “prepper” is not really the term that describes me. It sounds like you are preparing, ie waiting for something bad to happen. Folks, the bad is ALREADY happening. Its a slow motion train wreck, and no amount of Hollywood razzle dazzle or government propaganda can disguise that fact. The only people who don’t see that are the people who just don’t want to. That’s OK, maybe they’ll wake up in time, maybe they won’t. In the meantime, I intend to live more and more as if TEOTWAWKI has already happened, because in many ways, it already has. Do you think any sane person would invest in “options” buying after MF Global? Nope! Would anyone with a brain invest in a car company after all those GM investors took a massive haircut as part of the bailout? Nope! Does anyone with a brain think Social Security will exist 30 years from now when I “retire”? Hell no! That goes ditto for sitting on my ass and collecting unemployment: I would trust in those checks the way I believe Obama was born in Hawaii and his wife really loves America.
Folks, I have been a schoolteacher my whole adult life. Part of the reason I went in is because I like working with kids, and part of it was the idea of a steady paycheck. I have been downsized THREE TIMES in the last eleven years due to budget cuts, and I teach math and computer science! Goog GOD almighty, if a math teacher can’t feel secure, then there is no damned security!
I have alot of friends who will listen and understand whats going on but at the same time they make no attempt to prepare themselves for whats coming. Either their just nodding their heads going along with what im saying and think its BS or they just might be in some zombified trance. but i think the same thing.”dont come knockin when the world starts rockin. ive only prepared enough for me and my family, but i would gladly accept someone who is trying to take care of themselves and can contribute”. I pray everyone is preparing.
Hey did ya’ll here that American Idol is still the #1 show on TV? Now what were ya’ll talking about again?
what the f is American idol>???? Is that something on that TV thing not plug’d in and collecting dust????????? should I plug it in and get the dust off of it so I can LEARN!!??
I’m getting worried. Any one heard from Manos? Manos are you out there? USA to Manos, can you read us?
I hate it when they know whats going on, then say they will help or do this or that and then fail in the end or loose interest. I read a prepper article on this before -they are called the The Idle Enthusiasts. Anyway they are stuck in the normalcy bias. Also understand that it takes alot of guts, balls, and attitude to not be afraid to prep, because you will be laughed at. My buddy tells me last night that he is worried I will end up like his grandmother who had can food everywhere and some where 20 years old. I then said she needed to practice rotation, but then realized that she went through the Depression and she knew what it was like to not have food steady and on hand all the time. It’s really relative. I asked if he had food insurance and he just looked at me puzzled? I said your grandmother did!
http://www.survivalandpreparednessforum.com/showthread.php?3254-Lemmings-Snoops-Rambo-lite-Idle-Enthusiast-Cynic-on-Steroids-anyone-you-know
Here is that Article about different people around preppers.- pretty good article
In regards to the article below, the local rock station did a few segments on preppers. It made mainstream psychobabble sound good by comparison. One of the comatose radio jocks said something I’ve heard before… “If the system I know broke down [significantly], I wouldn’t want to live.”
I’m sure he really thought that one out. If the lights go out and the grocery store and liquor store closes for good, not many people are just going to want to curl up and die. Most people are go on living with whatever kind of comfort they can scratch up. A cold shower is better than no shower at all. A bowl of rice is better than no rice at all. An hour or two of electricity per day is better than no electricity at all. Each moron who says they would prefer death to life in post-SHTF times can borrow one of my guns and I’ll donate the bullet… but I think when the time comes, they’ll be looking to borrow (meaning leech or steal) something edible instead.
They don’t prepare because they think it won’t/can’t happen in America. I run across people all the time who think the economy’s bad and things will work itself out if only a different: president,congressman,senator, or whomever is elected. Who will save us? NEXT.
You know who’s prepping in the first few moments by just asking about the economy. It’s very telling. They won’t give it all away but you know it’s definitely on their radar.
MovinOn, to add to the blind mentality of reality: I’ve talked with many educated(so they think) concerning the erosion of our rights and they all say the same thing “we have the constitution and they can’t erode us of our rights’. How many rights do we have to loose, jobs, income before people get the picture? Sadly when it is too late.
@DRD5508…
Actually, there really are people out there who really do need a 2×4 applied to the side of their head before they finally do GET IT.
The best way I have found to sell folks on prepping is to approach it as a form of insurance. I’m basically saying to them, “I don’t really expect any trouble but if it comes along, I’ll be ready to handle it”. Keeping some basic supplies, such as food, water, meds, tools, and the ability to make heat and light are only sensible precautions. One need not get hysterical, wild-eyed, or in people’s faces. Either they will see the reasoning of gentle persuasion behind this or they won’t.
I agree with the comments others have made regarding the “normalcy bias” that many seem to have. Just because things have always been a certain way, in their limited experience, does not mean that they always will. Many of us should know this from relatives who lived through the Great Depression, WW II, and various earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, wild fires, floods, mud slides, volcanoes, etc. The S*** HAS hit the fan any number of times and those who were even somewhat prepared for it were the ones who fared the best.
@ Sowhatstheplan
I know. I have 4 very good friends that I’ve known for over 30 years. I had a talk with them about prepping and they all basically said the same thing and that was “I’ll just grab my rifle/shotgun and hit the woods and hunt for my family’s food!” They all four live in the same area and its moderately populated with a wooded area containing deer and squirrel. I tried to tell them that most of the residents in their area were hunters also and in a SHTF event when food is gone, all their neighbors will be doing the same thing. The game population will plummet and then what will they do? Besides, I told them there may not be dependable utilities and I asked them how they planned to store and keep game meat for more than a day?
They all looked at me like I had two heads. They never either never thought about that or don’t believe it would ever get that bad. I could tell when I left I had gotten nowhere with them. I suggested they start at least spending a few extra dollars a week on canned goods and water, plant a garden and learn to can food, etc… but none of them seemed interested in that idea.
They continue to live only for today.
@ Samrat, thankyou for sharing. it makes me so mad and depressed to see this kind of ignorance. I hope your friends eventually come through by starting to prepare, and if they dont i hope they leave you alone when the time comes. I think your suggestions you gave your friends are great and very practicle. Storing just a few cans a week can go along way. Stay safe and God Bless.
Samrat,
You planted a seed and that is all you can do. Sometime in the future that seed may take root and grow into a clue for those individuals. I have the same problem with me friends and family members. I get the old “I’ll just come over when it gets too bad.” I tell them no way but I know when it comes down to it I cant watch my family starve, so I prep a little more.
Prep On, Preppers.
Tell them to read “One Second After” By William R. Forstchen. Although it doesn’t have to be an EMP, the book made me realize just how fragile the local game populations could be and that they probably wouldn’t last longer than about a season with hunting squirrels, rabbits, etc.
“I’ll just grab my rifle/shotgun and hit the woods and hunt for my family’s food!”
My dh has a very competent, independent friend.
When he said that, we thought for a minute and told him…uh, you and a few other million??
I am not prepping. I am living like I should have been all along anyway.
May the bedlam and mayhem to come show you mercy…but I wouldn’t count on it.
I don’t know about the Mayan calendar, it looks as if when they produced it they ran out of rock and they couldn’t fit any more in the round piece they had and said; fuck it!
If we are going to get hit by an asteroid, we will be in the back yard in a lawn chair with a stiff drink and watch that bitch come on in. If the earth flips on its axis, what are we going to do? Not a dam thing. We had just as well enjoy the E ticket ride while you can. It’s going to be a good one. BUT!
If you have the slightest inkling that shit is going to hit the fan and you don’t motivate your ass to at least prepare a little. Good luck in your adventure. There will be little pity when this hits, least of all from those that have taken steps. BUT!
What if what ever it is wipes us all out? What was the point anyway? Don’t ask me, I haven’t got a clue. If we get squarshed by an asteroid, so be it. But we for odd dam sure aren’t going to starve to death.
I believe what GC meant was not that he isn’t prepping in addition to the rest of his life, he means prepping is his life.
To be prepared for the bedlam and mayhem is to gain the capacity to avoid it. The corp wants you to fear what may happen if it were not there, not what is most likely to happen after it is gone. The people will adapt and return to living without the corp, like they did before it high jacked the government.
It will be a better world.
GC: I’ll vote for that!
Yep, and thats something very hard for those who are not to grasp
~Scout~
…”Practical appearance”???
Ok! This might be slightly off topic…but hows this for practical…per the regime & the NWO cretins……
(good post, btw)!!!
http://rt.com/usa/news/psyop-activists-internment-resettlement-526/
http://wramsite.com/forum/topics/red-dawn-chicago-spring-and-act-of-war-1
I mean that as appearing practical to those around in a way that I blend in, and not stick out.
I’ve heard about that first article you shared. Amazing that we still have so many blind people walking around, but then the “re-education” camps are not necessarily for those who comply with the PTB.
That reminds me of The Running Man, where ARnold asked about his brother, and the woman living in the apartment said that “He was taken away for…re-education.” A glimpse of our future back then, perhaps?
I prefer the fringe approach. People tend to give you a wide berth and are leery of sticking their collective noses in your business. I think it’s all an act on my part, but the “voices” keep telling me it’s not.
This won’t ruin my weekend plans will it?
ScoutMotto: You are correct: prepper and survivalist are terms that “They” (slack-jawed majority) use. A true scout or military (prudent) person sees the world for what it is and prepares accordingly. He or she appears to be nothing more than an real outdoor enthusiast. This person also knows to keep their mouth shut about their “equipment” and political views. And every weekend the neighbors just say “wow, there he/she goes again to the woods/lake/etc.” and suspect nothing. Opsec is key in maintaining a low profile. Keep quiet and keep prepping.
I hear ya ScoutMotto! Mac I dunno where you find all of this stuff, but Great fucking article! Seriously. Love you all. Be aware and beware.
How is prepping anything BUT practical.
What is impractical about-
Being able to defend ones self and family with lethal force(if need be)
Having food around for lean times.
Having medical supplies for injuries.
Having proper clothing.
Having practical tools(you know how to use)
Having outdoor survival skills.
expanding your mind with books.
Staying out of debt
Yeah, I can kinda see why a new york city liberal would think preppers are certifiable.
Kevin you must have less of a real life than i do.
Staying out of debt is very practical. I remember talking to people who didn’t give a flip how in debt they were. “I’ll just file for bankruptcy.” I always hated hearing people say that.
Yet the gov’t tells people to have an emergency plan. One week of food, water and a flashlight. LOL.
Enough time for FEMA to find them and put them to work for the good of the “world order anew”.
kevin, I like your posts bro.
Ya know, people talk about only 1% prepping, and that their families and friends roll their eyes. I get some of that, but really the majority of people in my circle are prepping one way or the other. Some don’t put in the time, energy and investment thy should, but they are on board to some extent. In the fall, we have canning parties. In the spring, we’re doing herb/food walks, learning the indigenous edible and medicinal plants. We hunt, but realize that is supplementary. We raise our own livestock, hormone and antibiotic free, and save our seeds. We have tons of firearms and ammo. We have a bio-diesel plant, a farm, a place in the mountains, and safehouses strung over 100 miles. We’ve got horses and mules and bicycles. There is more that I’m not inclined to get into.
The simple fact of the matter is that these people are my family, my community. I can rely upon them, and they can rely upon me. When it comes down to it, we all see that the society we’re living in is entirely dysfunctional. We don’t need an apocalypse to need that community. All we need is one critical factor: our society fails because we encounter something, anything, that it is not prepared to deal with. Whether that is peak oil, war, a virus, or the end of time, it doesn’t matter. Like you say, it is simply rational behavior.
I am more of a believer of ; “The end of our lifestyles as we know.” The world will end someday, but I just don’t see it for me in my lifetime.
” Preppers, also referred to as survivalists, have a dubious, often unfair reputation. They’re generally labeled right-wing kooks, although they come from all walks of life.”
Back in the 90’s the media gave the militia a bad name and it was only a few radical groups that were rogue. Just like the militia, all the good preppers get all lumped together with with the unstable preppers.
We were called “nuts” & “racists” in the ’70’s.
How things change but stay the same.
Hey Im a racist
I love my race, and proud of being from where im from..
that makes me a racist
EAGLEDOVE
I think you are on to something there, I don’t think I’ll live to see the end of the world, I’m leaning towards civil war or a depression that would put all of us in a world of hurt.As I travel down south for the last 6 weeks I found alot of people that are prepping for run away inflation and taxes that just could not be met. Alot of these folks are already selling of land however a lot more of them are prepared to fight for the family land. So its hard to say what will happen. I just don’t live for the day I live for the moments that take my breath away
DPS
DPS;
Great hearing from you again., I have not seen your posts for awhile unless I missed them. Also, you did say you were traveling. 🙂
I see your point about a depression and a civil war.., I am leaning towards regional area’s for civil wars and extreme violence.
Kinda of like seeing “occupied whatever city” around the U.S. .., they are in there own regions.
So the people of the South talked openly with you?
Sorry for a poor analogy.
“The end of our lifestyles as we know it” had already happened. So has the end of the (political) world as we THOUGHT we knew it.
Nothing is as it was.
I am very fortunate that my lifestyle has had minimal impact.
I still have a job that was greatly impacted by last years Tsunami.., and I was able to weather this storm because over the many years I have prepared myself for bad times.
Just a few weeks ago I paid off my house., so now if things get worse, the impact on me will be minimal (maybe).
Have a good evening. 🙂
Yes, they’d like to frame all preppers as certifiable, so when the time comes, the preppers (the 5% who won’t go passively) will be the first sent to the Gulags.
The have to catch you first…and dodge a hail of bullets.
frankly, i rather enjoy being thought of as on teh fringe.
It was the “fringe” who fought against the British.
Yep
And a rag tag band barely worthy of being called an army that defeated Santa Anna.
Exactly right. Only 3-5% of the population was actively involved in the revolution. The rest ducked their heads or sat on the sidelines to see what would happen.
Yes, and the “fringe” benefited from the high ground when they could, or fired from behind treesbut the British didn’t have 20,000 drones.
Armed resistance is the last, desperate, futile act of a population too complacent to preserve their personal liberty by organized political action while they had a chance.
Engage.
Being prepared is nothing new. Most people who have a vehicle have the means to change a flat tire. Older folks, back in the day, could read the weather & prep either for a “hard winter” or those on the Plains know that a tornado was in their future. As we’ve become more technologically advanced (advanced?) newer personal threats have sprouted.
Each individual is going to have their own ideas as to what threat poses the greatest threat to their own and will prep accordingly. I’ve noted that some groups tend to ignore immediate short & long term threats and prep for ones that only have a remote possibility of occurring. Others tend to rely heavily on one specific area of preparation and trivialize another. Weapons & food are good examples. PM’s vs trade goods; Preventive Sanitation vs Battle Medicine….the list goes on.
I don’t ridicule those that are at least attempting to prep. It’s those unskilled/WGAF’s that either rely on Uncle Sugar or figure they will sponge/rob off their neighbors. They WILL be a threat. They are now. Add to that we have a criminal element of our government taking us down on a daily basis. Preppers have enough threats facing them, both financially, socially and spiritually to even pay attention to ridicule. I commend those that are at least waking up & making an effort at some level.
I’m a Dr Prepper!
Good one AZ… are you going to start a tee-shirt line? I’ll buy one!
kevin’s comment at 2:00pm says it best. It’s all just practical measures to maintain as much of a normal life as possible during a catastrophe.
I onle prep with stuff I already use on a daily basis.
Water
Food
Energy
Security
Communications
Transportation
You know, those same mundane things we rely on every day.
Okay, the titanium reinforced concrete bunker 600 feet underground, stocked with 20 years of food, water and air filtration systems may have been a bit over the top, but it was just a hobby. No wait, come to think of it, that wasn’t mine…that’s what the government has!
Actually okie, you said it best. I didn’t list water,energy, and transportation.
P.S.-We both forgot to mention “fishing” tackle! 🙂
I gotcha coverd on the tackle Kevin.
Great Spirit Prayer
by Big Thunder – late 19th century Algonquin
Give us hearts to understand;
Never to take from creation’s beauty more than we give; never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed; never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth’s beauty; never to take from her what we cannot use.
Give us hearts to understand
That to destroy earth’s music is to create confusion; that to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty; that as we care for her she will care for us.
We have forgotten who we are. We have sought only our own security. We have exploited simply for our own ends. We have distorted our knowledge. We have abused our power.
Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst, help us to find the way to refresh your lands.
Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution, help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.
Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse, help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork.
Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed,help us to find a way to replenish them.
Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost in selfishness and corruption, help us to find the way to restore our humanity.
Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind, whose breath gives life to the world, hear me; I need your strength and wisdom. May I walk in Beauty.
Every man will answer to his own call, whether it be to store survival items, pray, or simply exist for the moment, with no regard to the future. The future is not in our hands as much as we would like to think so. We have abused our great gift of this earth and we have been selfish and greedy. Some will take offence to this and some will agree. Either way, it will be what it will be. Preparing for the unknown is not easy, however doing what you feel is right and with good intentions, can not be wrong. Willing to fight for what is right and decent, without hatred in your heart, is also a virtue that is commendable. Every day, we should all prepare spiritually, mentally, and physically for what the day may bring. Our humanity is the one part of our being that we should never let go of. I not only worry about my Family, my neighbors, the people of the world, but also the trees, the birds, the animals, the land that we all call home. We are in this world together and together we will fall or together we will rise to a better world and existence. This is just my opinion that I have written with kindness and concern.
Beautiful. Thank you. Chi ho.
Keep the Great Spirit out of this discussion. Rum has no part in a political discussion
I find it easy to ignore the scorn. After all, I’m frankly doing nothing different than my grandparents did when the realities of life were not quite so obscured.
I would bet that a few instances of the govt. check not arriving will be a real eye opener for alot of people especially those with no savings.
@John W. I’ve always thought that same thing. The food stamp program will also become stretched to it’s limit sometime. The inner cities will be a mess when the food stamps stop.
Honestly, I believe I am on the “practical” side…light on the whole stockpile guns, ammo and bunkers and more heavy on the “grow my own food”, have food/water storage and a plan side. BUT…I have no doubt that several friends/acquaintances think I am certifiable b/c I 1) do these things and 2) care more about doing these things than the latest gossip/fashion/shoes and handbag craze.
‘course I don’t advertise that I am doing “prepping”…but still…
Being completely honest; I’ve met a number of “preppers” that I wouldn’t want to associate with and would not seek out or offer assistance too in any kind of post catastrophe….in all elements of the world there are people just different then yourself who you are better off not associating with.
For example I think I take being prepared seriously. Bug out land – check, water infinite supply check, food enough on hand till I grow more, check, and of course Guns, Gold (well silver for me) and my faith in God. I consider myself a good prepper, but a group I encountered was annoyed when I chose not to join them. I thought they were taking things in a direction I didn’t want to go – a lifestyle change. Unless that is forced upon me I like my lifestyle and don’t want to change it. I don’t wish to live the “prepper” life style. I do like to enjoy what I can while I can.
So true. I have one group in a area that has a bunch that are only stockpiling military surplus duce & a half’s, fuel and heavy weapons. Their vocal intentions during a SHTF are quite clear to that group.
Sounds like that group is having a mass Alamo fantasy… consciously moving toward a cataclysmic final stand. Preppers are not necessarily revolutionaries or self-appointed freedom fighters. Likewise, revolutionaries and self-appointed freedom fighters are not necessarily true preppers either. Lets not lump preparedness in with survivalism (it’s not quite the same thing), militarism, patriotism, nuttiness, and so forth.
Their plan is to bring “stability” to the countryside. With no rations & or other supplies, it’s not hard to figure where & how they will acquire those necessities.
Jim,
Well said!
On that same line of thinking, I don’t think the Gov agencies really consider preppers a
threat because most of us couldn’t get along for any length of time.
Think about it.
Most preppers, are fiercely independent.
We all question authority.
We all prepare so we can survive.
We all have a healthy paranoia of many things….
Trying to get the prepper community to take a stand as a group on something would be like herding cats.
Like you Jim, I like my lifestyle, and my metrosexual fassod.
Food prices have gone up 11% this year alone and 35% in the past 2 years. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to understand that this depression is now an Inflationary Depression! Stock up while you can now, because food prices are going nowhere but up! Besides home cooked meals are better for you than any precooked or pre packaged processed food substitute! Grow a vegtable garden and can your tomatoes yourself!Its not only self reliance,but its a way of life that is healthy! A way of life you will soon have to get used to! So practice this simple lifestyle now while you still have the time to learn! God bless!
Even you sincerely believe there will be no civil war, natural disaster, martial law, etc., there is no way you can sincerely believe the prices of food and hard goods will be lower 1, 2, or 3 years from now. It’s just common sense to buy low and sell, use, or eat when prices are high.
There is a civil war of sorts forming in side the US government the FBI & CIA to be exact and it is not pretty! I am now of the mind that this nation will be in a full blown civil war soon, very soon in fact. The Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal is only a drop in the bucket. Get ready cause it’s going to start pouring in. God help you people, I truly hope that you are getting ready for what you all call (SHTF) CAUSE IT’S ON ITS WAY!
Oath Keeper
“Soon”
Soon , is a relitive term..specifics please.
Just one old fart’s opinion but Nov 6 would be a good guess. If bho wins it will be through fraud and many will not accept it. If he loses, even money he’ll set off any Black Swan to stay in office. Nothing good coming…
It was specific, it was stated as VERY soon. Pay attention 😉
I would hardly call having a backwoods retreat extreme…who is this Quayle bloke?
Having a retreat to me is the ultimate sensible option if you can afford it, free holidays, peace and quiet, and far from the cities if things get nasty. How can you call that extreme?
Take care
Try searching steveqayle.com. I’ll let you discern, Burt.
@ Burt, you said “Bloke” I smiled soooo big and giggled 🙂 I had a friend who was from England and he said that to me and it ALWAYS made me smile…tooo cute. Thanx for a fond memory. I just love that word and the way he said it.How are ya girl? I am hangin in, tired and tired of thinking. I wish I could go back to 1985 when life was good for me.(teenager at home with mom and dad, those were the days) hope all is well with you thanx again for the smile I needed it tonight 🙂
Whats so insane about spending 20 bucks a week on noodles,sugar,salt,teabags,spam,rice,dried beans,cornmeal,cooking oil,and peanut butter?
I get tired of all the stigma being attached to being wise…
J-W….sadly there are people in the “preparations” community that suggests buying tea bags or spam as living large and out of touch.
Then I have sisters, wonderful gals, who hear that I spend an extra $20 at Wal Mart on “extras” and they think I’m nuts. The spectrum is very large in deed. And like all extremes – avoid em.
Got a neighbor who thinks a couple of pound bags of beef jerky & 5 cases of Coors Lite is being prepared. Each his own, I figure. BTW, Spam gets a “strong” smell after 5 years stored at 60 degrees F.
You know the ingredients. Mine starts to smell too after a couple days without a bath.
The only reason I thumbed you down was because you said you were shopping for your stuff at Walmart. Why would you support that societal leech? They pump GMO produce and contaminated meat, they crush their employees and depress wages, they put small Mom&Pop shops out of business, they outsource their labor wherever they can. Read up! Get rid of that awful habit. It is killing you and your neighbors.
Dont have a lot of choice when all the other stores closed shop and our Walmart has the best price on American made guns and ammo
Coconut oil lasts the longest and it’s the healthiest and most versatile to boot. Medium heat cooking oil, butter substitute, pemmican fat, gun lube, sex lube, you name it…
yea but it’s so expsensive!
Look online or find Louana in the 30oz containers. The glass jars of “organic” stuff that cost $6 to $14 are a joke.
Olive oil is a good type to store. It is found in grocery stores everywhere, not too expensive, stores well, etc. I have read that it is better for you than corn oil. Old olive oil can be used in an oil lamp.
Recently many olive oils have been found to be only grape seed oil, make sure the brand you buy is of a quality brand.
http://www.stevequayle.com
SmokingOkie very good comment. Regards Crafty.
I have friends that come to visit and see things that are on not hidden from sight. Things like water barrels, canning jars, a garden, large stacks of firewood, etc. They make comments to me like, “If things ever turn bad, I’m coming to stay with you!” They say this without ever seeing the vast majority of hidden preps. My response is always the same. “Prior to things turning really bad, my obligation to you is to offer as much support/advice as I can and I am happy to do so. After things turn bad, I have no obligation to you. You will become just another face in the unprepared masses. That’s is not me being cruel, that will just be the reality of a bad situation. Please take time prepare.”
Raged64- I have the same challenge. I use the “just in case of a zombie apocalypse” cover story. Works well. As to the staying with you reply- I tell them not to show up without their own food, clothes, bedding, water, tools, fuel, medical supplys and guns because this ain’t walmart and I’m not in the salvation army business.
I handled this by not disclosing the location of my retreat to anyone outside my immediate family. My brothers know I have a cabin and occasionally talk about going camping there, but I just change the subject so come on over all those who are unprepared and suspect that I am because I we will not be here.
i like your response.
IF i had any friends, and IF i allowed them over, i’d say something along those same lines.
“But when you start getting guns out, you start to wonder.” Like wondering which side you’re going to take Mr.Heffron?
Our society is built on unsustainable debt and a live-for-today perspective. Anyone who challenges this belief is a threat to the stability of our current society.
Being a prepper(at any level) is a radical lifestyle. Choosing quality over every shiny new object, choosing substance over superficiality, choosing family and close relationships over shallow transient affairs- these are radical ideas that disturb the sociopaths in power because they can never truly understand the reasons for choosing such a life. And what they can’t understand and control, they fear.
It will be interesting to watch how this plays out. From the perspective of the PTB, they can’t be sure just who is a prepper, what supplies they may have, or what their agenda may be. This is a wild card in a world increasingly governed by identifying and labeling people in every possible fashion.
The most worrisome thing is that the more vocal and outrageous “preppers” may be used as propaganda when TPTB decide they want to get rid of what they fear.
but…but….I like shinny new objects and get them all the time…though now I limit them to 22, 223, 308, 9mm, 12 gauge or 357….
It is what it is, call me a prepper call me a nut case. But I enjoy growing my own food and I enjoy reading and learning skills of the old days. I prepare for my family because its what a man should do and I really don’t give a damn about what somebody thinks about me..Now if I could just find all those guns I lost in the lake I would be set..Now back to my gardening projects.
Have A great day
DPS
DPS
This is getting silly….half a dozen people have lost all their guns and ammo in the Colorado river, two in the Mississippi and now you lose yours in a lake. Tut tut you lot are getting careless lol
Take care
Ain’t we though?
Bert
Stay away from the edge this phenomenon seems to be catching lol
Take care
Burt,
I know right, guess I should take some diving classes. I’m betting that lake is full of guns and ammo. I hope all is well with you. I finally got a week off working to get some things done, but I got the call today to go start another log cabin next week. At least this one is closer to home.
DPS
DPA
Scuba diving is my passion, the first thing I am going to do if I come over on holiday again is find a large body of water and go treasure hunting lol.
You need to get a blog or something so I can get to see some of these cabins…okay it will increase the rush of cabin envy I get every time I see a prospective retreat home….but it’s worth it, I have been lucky enough to see photographs of a few of the retreats some of the posters have and the homes are lovely, but the surroundings are amazingly mind blowing. I am gradually travelling state to state via this blog, and all without leaving my lounge…the wonders of technology eh?
Enjoy you week off and good luck with the new project.
Take care
It is a sad thing: a boating accident. So much loss. So much….
As for me, I sold all my hardware when I came to my senses and realized we have our government to protect us. Nice guys–Achmed and Mohammed I think. Didn’t catch their last names but, hey, they looked OK
You can ask them. No guns for me.
Yep
😉
Cowboy
What can I say? I think you will find your countrymen have been struck down by the disease Aqua Gunlossius. It appears to be striking people near or on water, all the victims so far have only one thing in common, an addiction to the elements lead and copper.
You on the other hand appear to have a condition that is closely related to Aqua Gunlossius, namely, Falsesenseof Securityosis..this is curable, just go to the pharmacy and ask for a large bottle of reality and a packet of wake up pills and take together every night for a week. You will wake up on day 7 with an overwhelming urge to go to go shopping for defence type items.
When you get them for Gods sake stay away from water.
Oh the leaders surnames are Baddi and Ali-khan, their cousin Samir runs things over here.
Take care
Dont worry
because of Eric Holder and his lackeys, you’ll be able to find them all over the place, especially in mexico.
I lost all mine in the Postnatal depression, never found it
With things getting so bad, I had to sell mine to buy some gas. If only I could remember their names. I guess I should of wrote them down. My bad.
Blessya Burt but I’d rather lose my firearms by misplacing them that have “royalty” tell me I’m no longer allowed to have them.
Ken
I totally agree with you
Take care
Lost all of mine in the Strait of Georgia, took them in a boat to hunt Killer Whales between Vancouver Island and the San Juans, wasn’t sure what it would take to get a Killer Whale, so I took them all, every one. Well, I must have strayed across the middle of the Strait, because the Canadian Coast Guard tried to get me to heave to. I rowed for the American side as fast as I could, was doing all right, too, when just then a Killer Whale breached the surface right beside my little craft and capsized me and all the guns, all the ammo, in calibers from .223 to .450 Nitro Express, (those whales are big), every one of them, went right to the bottom. The Canucks fished me out and I spent the weekend in Victoria waiting for the Clipper to show up and take me home. It’s true, I swear it. And even if it didn’t happen, it should have…
I recommend keeping a log of all guns I have bought and then decided to get rid of ( all of them except a .22 single shot).Even though it’s not required I do it as a show of good faith in case anyone ever comes looking for my guns…each entry shows what I know about the guy who bought each gun in a parking lot outside a gun show or at a gas station,usually only a first name and a city…..Sounds better than losing them in a lake..JMO
No cute “gun loss” story will do you any good. You will have a place of honor in the “transport truck” and get a new home for your last days.
Perhaps; But in that case tey can look for the last of them up their anus. I’m to darn old to change my ways and an escort to hell is not such a bad idea.
I’m canning… I’m canning… I’m canning as fast as I can!
I’m canning too !!!! Put up a batch of hot salsa and running a load of potatoes right now.
Keep Preppin’
How’s that canning potatoes working out? First time I tried they turned brown. Second time I put the stuff in (can’t recall what it is called) to stop that. They look OK but I didn’t eat them yet.I figure if I get hungry enough, they’ll be tasty. I’d rather peel and eat my taters.
Mine were dark to, but they make up fine potato salad.
The taste is wonderful. I dipped them a bath with citric
acid this time hoping that would help the color a bit.
We’ll see………go ahead and eat them though. Don’t worry about the color they are fine.
Keep Preppin’
Magnum buckshot, kersone lanterns, kerosene, canned chicken, lithium batteries, axe, knife sharpener, matches, wool socks… and that just the 48 hours for me.
that’s just the last 48 hours for me
Apparently the moneymasters are getting worried. NBC took down Ron Paul’s Youtube site because he showed a video of his CNBC interview with Krugman.Can’t have the peons knowing what sound money is. Hope you keep those permission slips signed Mac.
A little light reading for those who have not seen this.
http://rt.com/usa/news/psyop-activists-internment-resettlement-526/
DPS
Here’s a link to the PDF:
http://publicintelligence.net/restricted-u-s-army-internment-and-resettlement-operations-manual/
holy crap!!! (actually, un-holy crap)
So exactly what’s wrong with being a Nut job? When I get so low that I care what the Average Joe thinks of me I’ll jump off a bridge. Never been Normal; average, not interested in being so. As I told a fellow 20 years ago, If times stay good; GOOD. If they don’t. I can enjoy helping the people I like, and watching those I don’t starve.
For me, what I do is reasonable and practical. I have guns but don’t really think they are necessary for 99.9999999999% of what I am going to experience in life. Instead, they are an insurance policy against the rainiest of days that are not all that likely in my lifetime. Instead, my focus is on capabilities and lowering my exposure to marketplace volatility as much as I can. I make very little money so when I spend it, I try to do so on things that will lower my overall living expenses. I do things like driving a fuel-efficient car, working on energy conservation in my home and practicing frugal living. I own my own sewing machine so that I can mend things when I don’t have the money to buy new ones. I am trying to grow a garden to reduce my dependency on expensive processed foods from the grocery store. This is also helping me lose weight and get in shape, something that is practical and healthy no matter what situation I find myself in. I am a conservative libertarian politically, but many of the things I do would find me right at home with left wing environmentalist types too. To me, prepping is not just about the end of the world, but about finding the best practical solutions from people of a variety of mindsets to build a life that I can sustain.
Very well stated, Mr. Smith, exceptionally enlightened perspective, in my opinion.
I’d say you have the primary ingredients to make the “transition” with the least amount of turbulence. If everything else is in place, you might even have fun in the process.
Hmm, sewing machine. I need to do some research in that department. As I recall, my grandmother had one that she seemed to generate power to run it using a foot pump, or something like that. Now that would be practical; self powered sewing machine.
Sewing, that’s a real skill; art form. Guns I’ve got, too, but would prefer to sew up some pants rather than a wound, any day.
European American
I have notes on emergency suturing if you would like a copy.
I think the sewing machine your grandma had was a treadle machine, it has some kind of piston that moves the needle up and down as you move the plate with your foot, they are completely manual so ideal for areas with limited or no electricity.
By the way, if those are your dogs on your site they are beautiful.
Take care
I’m sure that’s a good skill to have, “just in case”. Maybe you could post them for all of us, here.
“Bharlee” (Great Pyrenees) and “Bazel” (not quite a Pyrenees)
European American
It would be a very lengthy post, would that be okay to do?
Burt
Maybe a quick note to Mac at “Contact” would let us know. Maybe he could write up a post exclusively on the subject based on your notes/experience? It would be great from my perspective.
EA… that may be a good thing to look into.A couple years ago, I restored the old treadles and resold them in my spare time. Since I live close to the Amish, I had a good market. I kept the last Singer “Red Eye” I restored. Thought it might be a good item for times to come. Anyway, the wife has gotten one of the young Amish ladies to teach her how to use it. She is presently making a quilt. Barter a ride to the store and she gets a couple hours of lessons.She tolerates my prepping and I’m glad she’s learning this. Maybe she can sew the holes in my britches. I think if you can pat your head and rub your belly at the same time you can run one.Notice, I said “run” not “operate”
European American,
Look on EBay for an older sewing machine, (Singer) Some of the older ones made in the 1940’s were made “manual” , but had/were later converted so they could be used with electricity.
Could they not be “converted back” for manual use?
I recently found a link with some pictures. I will try to find it.
kY Mom
@ Ky Mom and JRS
thanks
Maybe Mac could do a story on your experiences and subject matter.
I’ll look for a “Treadies” or Singer or Red Eye on Ebay.
In the recent past I saw brand new Singer treadle sewing machines for sale in a Penneys catalog. They were relatively inexpensive (I think $199). They are still being manufactured for overseas markets where there is no electricity in rural areas. I found a hand-cranked Singer at http://www.allbrands.com/products/7138-singer-nostalgia-ha15-fs-straight-stitch-14-5×7-fl for $299. It will fit an old cabinet and can also be motorized. Lehman’s has new ones for $1299, but they are on backorder.
FYI on the treadle machines — I just purchased one in Ohio, not far from large Amish settlements. The machine was in perfect working order and it came w/ the attachment box of extra sewing feet. And I also got the beautiful oak sewing table w/ 7 drawers. All this for just $100 at a very busy antiques store. Never found one so ‘perfect’ for such a low price so I bought it without hesitation!
The one I have is electric. It’s from 1957 and is a clone of a Singer model 15 that was made in Japan. I paid all of $20 for it at a local thrift store because it needed rewiring. It was in almost showroom condition otherwise and showed no wear, which is why I got it. I think I have less than $35 in it including the cost of buying it, a soldering iron, some heat shrink tubing, solder and the wire. However, for my end of the world type scenarios I am kinda sorta looking for either a treadle Singer or a wind up Singer. It seems that Singer made models with a recoil clock spring that could be wound up like a child’s toy and then used to sew. As far as price, I have seen some serviceable old treadle machines for $50-100 on Craigslist and at local thrift stores. Any of the treadle machines can be converted to a wind up too with reproduction kits that I have seen for sale. The belt used on the treadles is made of leather and readily available on sites like E-Bay for less than $10.
You may be wondering what got a guy interested in sewing machines. Well, it all comes down to poverty once again. My trusty old car has about 240,000 miles on it and the driver’s seat is pretty bad. Vinyl is not all that expensive to buy but I needed a machine that could sew it. I don’t like modern domestic sewing machines because they use a large number of plastic gears and shafts in them that would not really be up to the task of punching through a relatively thick material. I would have loved to have found an industrial machine but they run $500 and up-too much for my budget! Thus, I sought out a vintage machine for cheap by scouring the thrift stores. After buying mine, I did about a week’s worth of research to try and learn more about my machine. It seems that it was made in Japan after WWII when many Japanese shops and factories were idle. The reason they copied the Singer 15 is that the patents had run out and so it was easier to use this design than come up with one from scratch. Now, to say it is a copy is a bit unfair as the Japanese, being the excellent engineers that they are, were able to make many improvements on the original design. In many ways they are superior to the originals and actually run quieter. At any rate, the research forced me to learn a bit of history and about how Marshall Plan funds were spent in post war Japan. However, it still didn’t teach me how to actually use the thing and right now I kinda suck at it. Then again, it is better to own the machine now than to need one when you can’t get it. (It’s the same logic that led me to buying up old Civil Defense radiation detection equipment and a portable short wave receiver.)
Just remember that there are plenty of places to find inexpensive equipment. I would also consider auctions for closed businesses and county equipment auctions as well. You could even try storage auctions but the results would be more hit or miss as you never know what will be in those lockers until you win the bid and get to go through them. I’d also consider country flea markets and yard sales. They will likely have a whole bunch of stuff you never see in the suburbs due to the lifestyle differences.
European American,
I found the blog with pictures of the 1948 (Singer 15-90) sewing machine. Jamie talks about converting it to a treadle machine. She also has links to free patterns to sew basic clothes.
(thepreparedhomemaker.blogspot.com/search?q=sewing)
Hope this helps.
KY Mom
Here is the direct link
http://thepreparedhomemaker.blogspot.com/search?q=sewing
Look on ebay for a circa 1900- 1925ish treadle “Singer” sewing machine. I think that’s the era and make of the one I got from my Gran. It’s pretty easy to use.
Big thumbs up on that one. I started that “effort” about 2 years ago and its just getting better and better. House will be paid for in a few years and if anything happens before then I have enough silver to pay it off. In the meantime I’ve cut my city water needs by 60% with some rain collection, dropping my energy needs with solar, and planting more and more edibles all the time. By the time my wife retires and the house it paid for – I’ll live high off the hog on social security 🙂
Most of us will never actually NEED a gun. Those who do will need one very badly.
The anti-gun mindset is strange. As the window is broken to gain entry, the most anti-gun whacko around still wants to live. I doubt any victims at the Wisconsin state fair would have thrown one out the window.
Owning a gun may help you die of old age.
Personally I think National Geographic’s is a propaganda machine. Most of the so called Preppers on the show wouldn’t last very long. I’m not sure if its just me but, the ones that are worried about economic collapse seem to be the most astute. Its a pretty good indicator when you shoot your thumb off that you have no clue what you are doing.
I’ve watched all the shows just to see if there was anything I could glean from what others do and there was. Even if it was to not make the mistakes they did.
Living in Florida no one thinks your a nut job because you have a Hurricane kit, during Hurricane season, aka: Bug Out Bag. Almost everyone I know has a weeks worth of food, water, gas, medical supplies, generator, lanterns, camp stove, knives, guns, ammo. Its just part of Florida living. So are we right wing radicals? I think not. I would classify us a responsible adults who want to keep our families safe.
I’ve met a lot of people like the clowns on NatGeo and I don’t think I would want most of them in my Tribe. I’ll take a chance on level headed people I know and teach them the way.
Yes, Patriot One, Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Corp, owns National Geographic; programs totally under the spell of PsyOps manipulation. Just another reason I stopped watching TV back in the 20th Century. The Propaganda is toxic and contagious; designed to contaminate the mind. They got it down to a science, an art form now. Another reason I stopped going to movie theaters. Who knows what the filling the mind up with in between frames.
Patriot One
There was a woman on that show that was preparing to walk out of a city at night with a backpack and a knife for protection. A politically correct prepper.
Young, dumb, looser. Smartist thing she did was join the Army. What most don’t realize is if The SHTF it’s going to be a very fluide situation and last thim I checked none of us is any good at walking on water.
I’ve been there with highly trained professionals and seen it all go wrong. It’s not pretty and people die quickly.
Not too politically correct, she was gonna execute her cat before she took off.
I don’t think your gonna find many on this site who give a shit about political correctness.
A woman carrying a knife walking through a riot alone at night. Good plan.
Like I said she is not the sharpest knife in the draw, but she did have a plan and any plan is better then nothing.
Man – despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments – owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains.
-Unknown
Civilization is hideously fragile… there’s not much between us and the Horrors underneath, just about a coat of varnish.
~C.P. Snow
This is a bit off topic, but have you guys heard about this Prepper who killed his daughter and wife.
Here’s the story
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/cops-surround-deep-woods-bunker-of-gun-toting-survivalist-wanted-for-killing-his-family/
Anyway, my best friend reads this and then tells me that he’s worried I would be like this and that the “paranoia” may make me crazy, I know this puss ant was just blowing smoke up my ass to get me fired up, but man did this piss me off like no other. The non preppers will do anything to make us look or feel like we are overreacting-Ithank this makes them feel better if they can mock us and dismiss us as crazy. What do you think? Man I am pissed still, probably because he is smart enough to know whats happening and does nothing to prep.
Have you considered answering: No I love my family; It’s some of my neighbors that I May turn into jerky.
Yup…I can see one getting P.O.’d. Typical propaganda they all use to either cover their own impotence or demonize a prepper. FYI: They’re the ones who show up at your door after 12 hours into a power outage wanting a 5 gal can of water.
Pop a top,get your favorite shootin iron and go out back and plink a few targets. You’ll feel better…one way or the other.
Zedge Hero, Why didn’t you fire back at this “best friend” when he insulted you like that? Too often people are negatively challenged simply because they feel threatened. Your values (and mine) are not his values. What gives him the right to assert his values over your own?
And for all of us, This is the very logic that allows people to disrespect others. It’s no one else’s business if you (or I) choose to be well-stocked and prepared, actively engaged in a simpler life, or at-the-ready for an emergency situation. Preppers talk about self-defense. Isn’t it time to begin defending one’s own belief system and personal stance?
@mac salvo … your website is under attack again … users are being hijacked by the feds!!!
Error 404 – Not Found
~NinaO
NinaO’s Crazy Loonie “Bonkers Boy” Rant: ;0P pssszzt Call me Cuckoo …
Hung Chow calls into work and says, ‘Hey, I no come work today, I really sick . Got headache, stomach ache and
legs hurt, I no come work.’
The boss says,’You know something, Hung Chow, I
really need you today. When I feel sick like you do, I go to my wife and tell her to give me Sex. That Makes everything better and I go to work.. You try that.’
Two hours later Hung Chow calls again. ‘I do what You
say and I feel Great. I be at work soon………
You got nice house’
I just got a new Muslim sex doll. It blows itself up
now THAT’S funny!!!!!
Put down the tv remote, wipe the kentucky fried grease off your fingers and get your pencils out. Here’s
Today’s Pop Quiz
To counter the media-created stigma of the term prepper, or preparedness, the North American Society Of Prepared Indivivuals has suggested coming up with new terms. Top contenders for the new names are:
A- the Unsheeple
B- the Million MacGyver March
C- HAHUP (heavily armed, harmless until pissed)
D- Wolverines
E- Who said we need a name? Just keep stocking the 7.62 and the Charmin!
F- All of the above
Michell Bachman recently endorsed Mitt romney. She did this because:
A- The voices in her head took a vote, and Mitt won
B- She had an epiphany while staring at a Mcdonald’s sign
C- It was necessary for party unity
D- She’d vote for an dope-smoking muslim abortionist before she’d see Obama re-elected
E- All of the above
Frito-Lay just announced a big price increase. Cheetos, Fritos corn chips and Lays potato chips will all rise in price by 15%. The company said this is necessary because:
A- Fuel prices, and therefore transportation costs have risen sharply
B- The head of The Council Of Omnipotent Gnomes Of Zurich made them do it
C- The Brotherhood Of Fake Cheese Miners has gone on strike in Bolivia, their only source of that orange powdery stuff
D- The process of creating a genetically modified stock price has failed
E- All of the above
Recent videos of the private life of Osama bin Laden have surfaced. In them, the late terrorist leader says:
A- He only struck at the US because they wouldn’t let him audition for American Idol
B- He hopes that at least ‘some’ of his 72 green eyed virgins are women
C- ‘World Trade Center?’ Never heard of it. Our plan was to bomb the infidel’s outlet malls, a true scourge on the earth…’
D- All of the above
Bill and Hillary Clinton now have an airport, two bridges and a cultural center named after them. Other items being considered for this honor include:
A- A local chapter of Wiccans in Toledo (the ‘Other Daughters of Hillary’)
B- Three seedy motels in Little Rock (Slick willie’s Crib, The Gov Slept Here Motel, The Stained Blue Curtain Inn)
C- A new ballistic missle (informally called the ‘soggy cigar’)
D- All of the above
President Obama still trails Romney in most polls. His campaign manager has announced some radical changes to generate support. The new tactics include:
A- An executive order withholding federal campaign funds from anyone named Mitt
B- In order to appear non-threatening to white voters, the president will grow an afro and start saying ‘Dy-no-mite’ in all his speeches
C- Vice president Joe Biden is out. Suggested new vp choices include Hillary, Destiny’s Child, the gekko lizard from Geico, or even….Mitt Romney
D- All of the above
bbbrrriiiiinnnnggg! there’s the bell. see you after recess.
Now that soggy cigar thing is some whacky,funny shit. ROLMFAO shit. Thanks again smokin oak. I can always count on you for a good diversion from all the serious stuff.
I live in the south.I have seen with my own eyes how quick gas runs out and the store empty two days before a hurracane is expected and it takes days for deliveris to resume.Yea, I’m not going to be one of thoses people standing on my roof waiting for the GOV to rescue me-call me certifiable
I don’t have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression. Everybody’s out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel’s worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there’s nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there’s no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV’s while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that’s the way it’s supposed to be. We know things are bad – worse than bad. They’re crazy. It’s like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don’t go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, ‘Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won’t say anything. Just leave us alone.’ Well, I’m not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don’t want you to protest. I don’t want you to riot – I don’t want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn’t know what to tell you to write. I don’t know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you’ve got to get mad. You’ve got to say, ‘I’m a HUMAN BEING, God damn it! My life has VALUE!’ So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, ‘I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!’ I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell – ‘I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad!… You’ve got to say, ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Then we’ll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: “I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”
~NinaO
I tried it ninao, but all that happened was the dog started barking and the chickens took off for the coop.Good point. Two fingers on the keyboard isn’t solving nuthin.
I did it too! The rooster crowed, the hens cackled louder, a bunch of rabbits ran around their cages and one fell off the wall so that got the piglets squealing, and when the herd of goats heard all that commotion they started screaming back!
The only thing I accomplish by doing that is; giving myself a headache, causing the little woman to freak out and stop doing chores, and causing all the animals to head for the barn and hiding places.
“Sometimes it takes a “Freeman Patriot Constitutionalist Freedom Loving Crazy Extremists” to “Fight Stop Psycho Democide and Conquer Greedy Evil Zionist Fascist Gestapo Neo-Christian Globalist Banker Global Warming Eugenics U.N. Agenda 21 Global Sweeping Nazism”,
Democide:
is a term revived and redefined by the political scientist R. J. Rummel as “the murder of any person or people by a government, including genocide, politicide, and mass murder.” Rummel created the term as an extended concept to include forms of government murder that are not covered by the term genocide, and it has become accepted among other scholars.[1][2][3] Rummel presents his definition without referencing any previous uses, but the term democide was defined and used in English more than 40 years earlier by Theodore Abel.[4] In the 20th century, democide passed war as the leading cause of non-natural death.
“You don’t bring “JUST A” Pocket Swiss Army Knife … too Fight a GLOBAL Thermal NUCLEAR WAR
which soul goal is GLOBAL RFID CHIPPED GLOBAL EUGENICS
OF THE ENTIRE 99% HUMAN RACE by the 1% Psychotic International Zionist Neo-Christian NWO BILDERBOYBUGGER FREEMASON ILLUMINATI Bankers!”
But that’s just me! ;0P pssszzt
~NinaO
DEMOCIDE:
is a term revived and redefined by the political scientist R. J. Rummel as “the murder of any person or people by a government, including genocide, politicide, and mass murder.” Rummel created the term as an extended concept to include forms of government murder that are not covered by the term genocide, and it has become accepted among other scholars.[1][2][3] Rummel presents his definition without referencing any previous uses, but the term democide was defined and used in English more than 40 years earlier by Theodore Abel.[4] In the 20th century, democide passed war as the leading cause of non-natural death.
MacGyver could do it!
Network – Mad as Hell
“I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WINDtlPXmmE
…this is a personal message from me NinaO to the Zionist Fed GESTAPO FBI NSA DARPA CIA SS IRS DHS TSA DEA JEW MOSSAD Phucks at this very minute attacking my home network and computer systems…
“PHUCK YOU!!!”
I’m gonna take every one of you phuckers down… the rest of my life is dedicated too just one thing , seeing every single one of you mutha-phookers SWING from a telephone pole!!!
this I promise on my very life!!!
~NinaO
All that pent-up rage would do better on a river with some whitewater action, a kayak, and a paddle.
sorry mate, Ninnys already up the creek without a paddle..
Right On NinaO,
Y’all Bdeware! Keep your eyes and ears open and spread the news.The LSM sure as hell will not.
Y’all Beware!
HAHAAA!!!!! its easy Chances are nothing mind blow\ing is going to happen and you wont be left with a spear in a nuclear wasteland looking to kill radiactive moon worms for food! Being an old Boy Scout you have to prep just in case be prepared an all that be a scout be ready!! Plan for the future but live everyday day as if its your last! ONE years food for you and family Guns and Ammo Leave the city while you can. Be a scout!
i consider myself fairly practical i prep as much as i can without going overboard it really doesn’t take much to prep for a standard emergency at the least anyways.
Just remember when you head into the hills…the Hills have Eyes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR7el3SNEX4
I learned the hard way about prepping, being laid up for several months after a bad motorcycle wreck. To me it is just plain foolish not to have at least 3 months worth of food. Then add to that all the other things coming down around us…
grew up poor and earned my way into the upper middle class.ain’t rich except by own standards.study the old ways and can do what needs to be done or trade it out.live in small town i grew up in after doing my time in the airforce. one of my greatest resources is this is the home a bible translation community. i send parts and supplies to Papa NG;Phillipines;Africa; and Hati just to mention a few. whatever happens two things to remember:BE CALM AND THINK OUTSIDE YER DAMN BOX!god gave us brains for a reason. your head is not justa hat rack.mobilize and engage your problems one at a time. more if you can manage it. i am resposible good or bad for my choices and my actions. not uncle sugar or anybody else.
keeper of the hawg!
great interview with Joel Skousen
http://beforeitsnews.com/story/2083/123/Joel_Skousen_:_America_To_Be_Nuked_This_Summer_Video.html
a couple of years ago stuff like this was tin foil hat,crazy conspiracy talk
but increasingly there is a massive amount of evidence to the contrary
Suturing deep tissue wounds in an emergency
Stitching a cut does not seem like a particularly difficult thing to do, but suturing deep cuts, that should be closed in three distinct layers, without local anaesthetic and proper surgical needles which are curved and make the job much easier, is not as straightforward as it might seem.
Firstly suturing a wound that is still bleeding is likely to cause a haematoma, a blood clot that could quite easily put so much pressure on other vessels that blood flow ceases and tissue damage, gangrene occurs, this is especially true of the extremities. Some bleeding is good, the blood often brings with it debris that would otherwise contaminate the wound. What it will not get out is pathogens, germs from the object that caused the wound, or from the area directly surrounding the wound, people, animals, road surface, whatever.
Elevate the wound if possible, or use a tourniquet to stop the blood flow, a rubber glove stretched and tied around an arm to leg works well. When use of a tourniquet is impossible, use a pressure dressing. Whatever you use it should be wider than an inch to prevent it cutting into the skin.
Bleeding stopped, though oozing is acceptable, you need to look at the wound to see the extent of it, roughly how deep it is. Clean the wound with antiseptic solution if you have it, saltwater if you do not. Wait five more minutes, whilst your needle and thread are boiled to sterilise them, and then release the tourniquet, if used, as slowly as you can. Blood rushing back into a limb, especially a leg, can cause a sudden and profound drop in blood pressure, something to be avoided. Releasing it slowly also assists in not knocking off any small clots that have started to form at the end of the damaged vessels. If it bleeds profusely, reapply the tourniquet or pressure dressing and wait twenty minutes (ten for fingers and toes) rinse the wound again to prevent collected blood clotting and obscuring your view. You may have to do this several times.
A deep wound is more than likely contaminated, if you have antibiotic capsules, open one up and mix with a little sterile water, just enough to turn it into solution, and put it in the wound. Wounds heal by granulation, from the bottom up. Suturing is not actually required to ensue a wound heals, what it does is speed up the process and helps keep the wound clean. A deep gash will take weeks, sometimes months to heal if it is not sutured. Suturing brings the two halves of the wound together so that when granulation occurs the new grown cells mesh together forming a strong join, just suturing the skin would be worse than leaving it to granulate, you are creating pockets, a perfect place for germs to grow and flourish.
Okay, the sewing bit. Staying a little back from the wound edge put the needle in just off the vertical, like this \ go down to as near the bottom of the wound as you can and pull the thread through leaving a 2″ tail. Insert the needle directly opposite where you removed it and back up through the skin on the opposite side of the wound, at an angle just off the vertical, like this / cut the thread leaving a 2″ tail and repeat this process along the length of the wound.
Now they need tying off. Starting IN THE MIDDLE of the wound, gently pull both sides of one suture upwards and across each towards each other. Be gentle, tissue is delicate and tugging too hard will rip through the tissues. When the edges of the wound come together, or as near as together as you can get them tie a knot, then two more. Now move to one end of the wound and do the same again. Now the other end of the wound and so on working towards the tied suture in the middle. The sutures should be placed about half an inch apart on long wounds, and about half that on short wounds. This spacing and working alternate ends prevents puckering of the skin which is very sore and can delay healing.
Dab the area gently with a decent antiseptic solution. Do not use cotton wool, the fibres get into the wound. Cover with a sterile dressing and leave for 12 hours. Twice a day for the first five days dab with antiseptic and cover with a fresh dressing. It is normal for the needle holes to look very red and to be sore. If pus leaks from the wound check every few hours, if it does to subside, or become thinner, or clearer within 48 hours remove the sutures, clean the wound and re-suture. Adding antibiotics to the wound prior to suturing usually prevents this, and it is standard practice in hospitals for grossly contaminated wounds.
The sutures need to stay in for between 14 and 21 days. To check if the wound is sound apply gentle opposing pressure with your thumb and fore finger between two of the sutures, If the wound does not hold together leave the sutures in and do the same test daily. To remove them, wet them with sterile salt water, cut the knots and tease them out. Do not cut all of the knots at the same time, check that the wound holds together by removing the centre one first and checking as previously stated. If it is not quite there, leave the rest in and check daily. If the wound is sound, remove the rest of the sutures.
This wound will not have the best scar in the world but it will be much more pleasing than a granulation scar, also, granulated tissue is often quite sensitive to knocks, bumps and sometimes even fabrics. Suture scars tend to be far less sensitive and are less prone to abrasive damage than is granulation tissue.
Fantastic information, Burt! Thanks for sharing it!
Thank you Burt, best info yet !!!
I went online and bought a suture set from a vet
supply place. It arrived packaged steril and I put
it into my med kit. I didn’t know how to use it, but
felt like it would come in handy in the future. thanks again…….
Keep Preppin’
Mom
Does your kit have curved needles with the suture material attached or straight? If they are curved and pre-loaded with thread go in straight, that is the tip a bit back from the edge and the thread end will be positioned over the wound, as you push it through the curve will bring it up and out in the right place. Going in at the straight needle angle means the curve will throw you off and the needle may exit in the middle of the open wound.
Take care
Oh, they are curved and I’m a quilter. I think I can do
ok now knowing how to clean and watch the clot and the order to tie the knots. Thanks again…….
olsen-heger needle holders or is reffed as a clamp?love from across the pond!be safe.also furniture fabric needles are curved and come cheap withfive or so to pack.
Deir
Any snub nose needle holder would do for use with curved needles, I would be worried that the clamping and unclamping would be too much for a non- surgical grade steel though and would personally avoid that in case the needle broke inside the tissue. Surgical grade needles and a snub nose holder would be fine though.
Take care
thanks
I got to practice this on a dog at camp that got bit by another dog..layed his ass wide open.
was in the sticks, took a small sewing needle and heated it up red hot and bent it into a curve around a front fork of a dirt bike with a knife to guide it around (cant use your fingers for sure , too dam hot)
used a regular thread, (hey its what we had)
worked out great…dog owner took the pet to the vet 5 or so days later after the holiday was over..doc said “who ever did this did a nice job”..cleaned it up a bit more and told him to come back in a few more days to have the stiches cut.
we cleaned the wound with Chrisian Brothers..it was all about improvising, glad it worked out for the dog, and I learned something about myself i didnt know
I also learned..a dogs skin is friken tuff!
VRF
Good practice.
Be careful of heating the needle over open flame, it can put microscopic bits of carbon on the needle and this can in some cases case problems. I agree curved needles are way better though.
Take care
Oh, good point, I was not aware of that..we layed it in a bed of cherry red coals on the camp fire..so maybe the oxygen depleted environment might have helped?
I also cleaned it off really well with alcohol..
not to say that I dont care about animals , because I love our dogs and cats..most of them have a higher state of being able to stave off infections..but this is good information to have and I thank you for your insight
definetly something to keep in mind
thanks for the great info burt! since animals came up, here in the states we don’t suture closed animal bites on humans. am guessing it’s the same over there?
Thanks for the refresher! Cheers
@ Burt the Brit. You know when people such as yourself takes the time to share what they know, it helps all of us to gain another necessary bit of preparation info. Much like a think tank the more that each of us can share about what we know, the better prepared we all become. This I am going to copy and save, it is real good, I mean you truly did a fantastic job of explaining with this what to do. I imagine this would work also with pets that are injuried also. Many thumbs up.
Be informed
Never stitched an animal….I would be worried about hurting them., but yes there is no reason i know of why it wouldn’t work.I have to say I have never done this in an emergency situation, I have done the nice sanitized layed version and I have done skin only, which maybe should be another post one day as it is very different than tissue suturing. We did this on pork belly, as part of a military emergency medic course I managed to wangle a place on. The information is adapted from that course to take into account that a full army medical kit is not available. Thank you for you encouragement, let’s hope none of us never need the information.
Take care
Where’s my smelling salts?! Great information, invaluable! Made me queasy, though. Why is that? Why do people pass out at the site of blood, not necessarily their own? I’m fascinated with this line of work but it’s hard for me to stay focused. I’ve often wondered why it’s a common experience with some but not with others. Were you ever uncomfortable with this, Burt, then, you got passed it? Its a real barrier for me that I’d like to overcome.
European American
Never bothered me a bit. Now if I see an animal on the side of the road in a bit of a state, I almost lose my breakfast lol maybe this proves I like animals more than most people lol
Might I suggest that you do this on a chunk of meat a few times so you actually know what it feels like. We do this with medical students who are struggling and they say it helped them. I promise you the technique and texture is very little different from the ‘real ‘ thing.
Pork belly is good due to the layers in it. Good luck.
Take care
European American
No, I never went through that but plenty do. Now, you show me a patient throwingp and I will show you a tech with her head in a bucket…I find that so difficult to deal with.
I hope you don’t mind if I suggest something. A fair number of medical students find themselves in your position. For the really bad ones we give them a firm banana, skin on, slit it and let them loose. They then graduate onto pork belly which to be honest is similar to most tissue. It gives then a feel for the needle, the pressure, so when they do it for real they are used to holding the needle, the texture of tissue and all that. They report that it helps them overcome the problem.
Good luck
Take care
http://www.buffalonews.com/spotlight/article830941.ece
pretty balanced article I think
I don’t know the difference between someone that puts away a 401K or some IRA for later so they have something when they cannot work or choose not to work and someone that puts away food and supplies when they cannot buy or obtain food and supplies that they need. What is the difference? NONE! The poor prepper gets a bad rap because it is why would anyone put away for an event that will never come. Well I bet those people crapping in corners and eating whatever dead animal floating by after hurricane Katrina wished they had put away food and supplies. WHEN the San Andreas or the New Madrid Fault or the Cascadia Fault breaks I bet those people are going to kick themselves for not putting away something. ALL FAULTS EVENTUALLY MOVE, SO THIS WILL HAPPEN SOMEDAY. It is not an odds thing, it is a for sure thing unless the inside of the planet suddenly cools off and all plate movement stops.
I don’t see how anyone could even doubt that something is coming in the future. The media would have you believe that some super virus would be contained and they would have a vaccine for it in no time. You know what, some virus can behave just like the movie The Stand and kill people right and left inside of 2 weeks if the transmission time of it is short like a flu virus. The ONLY people that will live through this are the ones that can stay inside because they have stocked up. Plagues, not asteroids or supervolcanoes or other disasters are the number one killer of life forms, plant and animals.
Preppers crazy? Someone that prepares and has what is needed for when times demand it are crazy? People that have food, water, and necessities and the PIECE OF MIND to know that they can fall back on what they have like someone can fall back on their savings account to buy what they need when they lose their job are crazy? Prepppers are the most intelligen people there are and the most resourceful and the wisest. Thank God there are preppers.
Mac, I know this is a long article I wrote, but this really ticked me off how non-preppers classify the good people that do prepare as nuts. This is what is going to happen to people that choose not to prep WHEN a SHTF does eventually hit, “which it will”: <*Admin Edit* See Note Below>
BI, apologies for the delay on posting this. I don’t have any email contact for you so I didn’t have a way to let you know it’s in my editing queue (and has been for a few days). It will be up on the site in the next 48 hours. If you get a chance (and don’t care about being red flagged by NSA listening tech) shoot me an email so I have a contact addy for you in the future.
Thanks for your patience on this one!
Mac
One of my favorite fables is “The Ant and the Grasshopper”. There is a lot of common sense presented. The ant prepares for the reality, winter, by working hard and storing food. The grasshopper thinks that’s nonsense and lives by the adage “don’t worry about tomorrow; enjoy today.” The ending proves otherwise. That’s what I think we are, as preppers/survivalists: ants. We work hard and prepare for the inevitable. The reality is that things just can’t keeping going as they are in the US: unemployment, runaway spending by the govt, more people on the “dole” or govt relief, more natural disasters with increased loss of life and damage, to name a few items of note.The thing that really frightens me is the other 99 per cent of the population, when that day of reckoning comes, are going to be the ones, the grasshoppers, that, in order to ensure their continued comfort, will take, by whatever means necessary, from us ants.
I guess as a prepper I am on the practicle side. I live in a hurrican prone area so try to think of a big one and what I will need long term if had to stay. I started canning last summer and i actually enjoyed it; We have our lil veggie garden and pray it grows this year we lost ALL of it last yeatr, drought. I coupond for ffodd and medical stuff. I think of job loss as potential SHTF too. I believe it may be hypoerinflation. etc. Anything really is possible but one thing I know we can all agree on something is not right. the economy etc. Just prep the best that you can with what you have. Me and hubby struggle so we just chip away at it very lil at a time.
Am I a prepper? Yes, Iam. Why? It’s not because I’m afraid I’ll die when TEOTWAWKI happens, it’s because I’m afraid I’ll survive.
It’s not prepping it’s a lifestyle, same as gran’ma and gran’pa lived.
“Theodore Kaczynski (aka the Unabomber) and Timothy McVeigh, who were also terrorists.”
There is nothing to suggest either were survivalists.
Victor
Does everyone understand that what mother earth has provided us with is all that we need to survive on.For crying out loud our ancestors lived off the land before some of us were even born.We can do it again.
Yeah; and most of them dies by 35. With no teeth, intestinal worms, stunted growth, lice, ticks,and a hundred other miserable conditions. Mother Earth is a Worthless mean bitch that doesn’t care if you live or die in pain
waiting for the clearence sales that will be offered in 2013.
Personally, I think people who don’t “prepare” are NUTS!!! How can people not at least have a month’s worth of food? I’m so sick of people talking about how they should prepare, but don’t do anything about it! All I know is that they better not show up on our land! So many senerios can happen, so many that it’s only a matter of time! Even just losing your job! People who don’t “prep” are nuts!
There is a certain comfort in being able to feed oneself, owe no money to anyone, and have no need to bend a knee to any boss for your wages.
Granted most of my “prepping” is financial in response to seeing friends out of work since 2009….I’m not sure why prepping would be “certifiable”.
“Preppers frequently are ridiculed because of the oddball fringe that believes the Mayans might have been onto something with their 2012 Armageddon forecast…”
Yeah, fuck you, too, Steve. And it wasn’t an “armageddon forecast”, it was a mathematical key to the cycle structure of time and the universe, i.e. God.
Dumb ass.
I grew up as a poor kid and remember hunting for coke bottles to sell to get money to buy a can of beans and corn meal for cornbread. I started buy extra food about 2005. In Dec 2007, I was laid off and had 30 days to find another job. During this 30 day period I crushed my heel and had surgery. Following an infection and 7 more surgeries over the next 2 years, I was unable to work. During the 2 years of no work, my wife did not have to buy food, just bread, milk and eggs. I was not prepping for SHTF or TEOTWAWKI. My buying the little extra help us get through this trying time in our life. I think it is just wise to have extra in the house for unexpected events. I have continued to buy the extra after starting work and catching up on the bills that got behind. My family is prepared for most emergencies and as a retired Marine, I have the means for Security.
I think one of the strongest reasons for preparation is the natural resource issue. Never have there been so many people on this planet, 7 billion and expanding. People need energy, water, food, shelter, etc. For each person this means a certain amount of natural resources. It takes energy, a lot of it, to grow food, feed the croplands, water them, harvest them, transports them, refine to a finished product such as packaging and cooking the food. It cost much in energy to add all the other food additives that go into what is so neatly put into a can, microwavable package, whatever. There is only so much energy available for this.
Oil shale and other locked or frozen in rock is extremely water reliant on purifying this to usable oil and fuel. The process of refining is also very energy draining. The idle oil is when it is pressurized and gushes out of the ground without any energy being used to pump it out. Also the less impurities it has in it, the less refining and energy is used, sweet crude. The more energy that is used to refine something to a finished products the less practical it becomes. When you use x number of energy units and get 10-20x units of energy from it this is called an energy boom. When you use x number of energy units in oil shale and oil sands and get ONLY 1.25x or maybe 2x energy untis in return this is an energy bust. Not to even mention the amount of water used and the disposal of the waste you might actually be at an energy loss.
This is why countries are still positioning themselves around the world in oil rich areas like the middle-east and especially the Caspian Sea region. The world is more likely to fight a world war over energy or water rights than any other reason such as philosphy or religious reasons. Look how fast the U.S. sent forces over before the first gulf war to guard Saudi Arabia from Iraq possibly invading it. The Caspain Sea region is the only real region other than the Antarctica where large land based oil fields remain. Russia will not allow this region to fall into U.S. and NATO related hands and further be encircled.
Russia was guaranteed when the USSR was dissolved that those soviet bloc satellite countries would not fall into NATO, but this happened. Then the promise that ex-soviet states would not fall into NATO, then came Estonia, Lativa, Lithuania and pushing NATO forces within extremely short range of Moscow. Russia tolerated the western encirclement of its country. When Georgia looked like the southern portion of Russia was going to fall, Russia flattened the Georgian army that had 1 billion dollars worth of U.S. supplied military hardware in 4 days. Ukraine has expressed interest in joining NATO but has been warned that Russia will invade the country immediately before it could be accepted. If this had been the U.S. being encircled, the Monroe Doctrine would have been envocked a long time ago and WW3 would have begun like it almost happened in Cuba.
Every country with any intelligence knows that those that control the energy control their own fate. The Caspain Sea region is a prize that the U.S. wants along with European nations. This is Russia’s southern border and if this fell Russia would be doomed. Russia will not hesitate to launch everything they have because surviving a nuclear war, Russia is better prepared for than the other consequences of being encircled and at the mercy of its enemy.
Much geographic ignorance is a prime reason for people not understanding how periolous the world now sits at. The doomsday clock sitting at 5 minutes before midnight was closer to the end now than it was during a lot of the cold war years. The supposed missile shield in Poland to protect countries from Iranian missiles is pure garbage. Look at the western borders of Russia from north to south and you will find that the proposed Poland missile shield is exactly dead centre in the middle. Coincidence, no way. The U.S. remember backed out of the anti-missile treaty signed back around 1970 by the USSR and the U.S.
Nuclear weapons are deterents and each president has tried desperately to reduce Russia’s nuclear arsenal for excellent reasons. Not because they want peace like they insincerely preach, but they want to remove the one country that can prevent the U.S. from dominating the planet. Nukes are Russia’s ONLY guarantee to its own survival. China is not stupid and knows this also, and the “ridiculous” numbers that China ONLY has 240 or so nulcear weapons when in 1980 they were said to have about 400 is more disinformation that is fed to the public. China’s nuclear arsenal is more likely in the several thousands, as India is to a major threat to China along with the U.S. of course.
It should be understood that one nuclear bomb doesn’t end a country like so many in the media would have the public believe. Nuclear bombs don’t ignite some of the time, and their delivery systems can be shot down, go off course, or never get off the ground. When a country has say 100 nukes, it can be assumed that maybe 50-75% of those will actually get to their target at best. Countries must have double or triple what they need to defeat their enemy as its back-up. Also what must be taken in account is second and third waves of attacks.
Geographic ignorance of the public is a huge reason why people don’t prep, they don’t understand just how lethal the world has become. True geography is not taught in the schools, not even at the post graduate levels very often. At least when you had two countries on a hair trigger and massive nuclear arsenals, the consequences of war seemed unwinnable. Now with reductions of nuclear weapons, countries are beginning to feel that a nuclear war can be limited and won. That means less nuclear weapons means a much increased risk of nuclear war.
Back to the population issue. Again basic math is not taught in the schools. When you have an 1% increase each year of a population of 1 billion, that means the next year you have added 10 million people, but at 7 billion you have added 70 million. Here is where most of the public is blown away. Each time you add a number to the principle number you are then adding the percentage the following time to the original number plus what has been added. This is what is called compound interest and why the debt is now going up faster and faster each day. It is called E to the X and anyone doubting this can put in numbers on a scientific calculator and see how quickly it adds up. It is an upward slope that is gentle at first, almost horizontal that because sharp, almost totally vertical.
The public and the non-prepper has no clue at all about what a runaway population or debt means, they have not been taught basic numbers and basic geography about land use and just how much is too much use. There is a ceiling that is reached and the sharper that slope is the quicker that ceiling will be reached. Disease and sickness also increses exponentially when people don’t get enough proper nutrition because of not enough food to go around. Deadly pandemic anyone? Those that are not prepared are in catastrophic trouble WHEN things fall apart. Those that do prepare at least have some degree of time and safety before supplies run out. The non-prepper has no time, they begin to go hungry almost immediately and without water their survival is less than a 3 or 4 days.
To even say that someone that prepares and has a full pantry of food, like was a commonplace decades ago, is anything but wise is beyond reason. It is a terrible shame that people that prepare get this label of red neck backwoods hick. What ever happened to the boy scott’s motto of “be prepared”. I guess the boy and girl scout’s of America are now considered part of the “radical” prepper movement. Oh God, is this country and most of other countries in the deepest trouble when preparation is regarded as something as almost depraved and wrong.
Fukushima Reactor #4 Spent Rod Pool
http://akiomatsumura.com/
If you care about your personal freedom and your fellow country men you should watch this video. grab some popcorn …..and take a seat.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173
Bloody,
Post this again sooner so folks can see this. I thought I was awake but this really hit hard. Wow… Amazing. Thanks.
Bill
Anytime Bro.. it’s what I’m here for.
Anytime Bro.. that is what I’m here for.
WTF??????? why is there and echo in here?
I like Proverbs 223 I just bought some over at http://www.survivaledge.com. I think I got a pretty good price and there food storage looks pretty cool too. I would rather be surrounded by people that are prepared to take care of themselves than a desperate group that only wants what others have.
Hey, Darkhorse… the prices are not to bad. not much selection just 223 and pistol rounds. I was hopping for some 308 deals I’m shooting over a 500rds some weeks, usually just one week out of the month. I can buy it local cheaper it pays to be a Marine I have lots of shooter friends. I’m about to have a yard sale and got some linked 50 cal about 60 rds and some other gear Im thinking about selling. I’m going to part with need money for a new Saiga build that I’m about to do.
when da looten start we be catchenya sleepen – Target rich environment here folling ya’ll for a long time. got ip adds n all dat shit on most of ya’ll. we be cutting up n shit every day watching this site…. we be hack in to yo shit all da timefuuk it b easy. ain’t gotda b siencetest or shit cause we gots peoples who knows…all dat tech-ie shit!
Dont ya ll be all scared n shit cause wezz gotneedlots of easzzzzy before he hve to hit da road we got what we got da say some ya dont look like no kind of preppers you better have som good shit dont worry cause we be leaven our mark when we get dun.
We’ll aim low, so as not to mess up your bling. We hate bling with gore all over it.
What language is this?
If you are following my IP address you are going to be disappointed because 1) I do not live at my retreat and 2) the wifi I am using does not belong to me. Say hello to my former neighbor for me.
Even if you do make the several hundred mile trip and happen upon our retreat community, it is unlikely you will get past the perimeter guards who are authorized to eliminate threats based upon ethnic profiling.
While reading over most of the comments,(some are from the same people with the same repetitive remarks, that don’t deserve being read again), I couldn’t help but keep having the “Pavlov’s Dog” comment being stuck in my mind. TPTB know exactly what they are doing by creating a world whereby the masses are like treated like well trained puppy dogs responding to a little treat now and then. Then I see the whole thing clearly; The ole Dragon, is pouring out his spirit upon his followers to achieve his goal. He is preparing the world to accept him with open arms. They will, when he returns shortly, disguised as the Saviour, offering: to forgive debts, a chicken in every pot and a new piece of crap GM Volt in every garage. The other thing that stands out is the fact that through out history we have been gven examples of the antichrist. It just so happens that the latest one is called Obama. God is allowing this all to happen as a lesson. Who is reading His letter to us? Who is understanding? Who is “truly” prepared and preparing? Who will fall for the next “BIG” fake?
It’s spring 2012, and I’m just getting the message. I’m convinced that we are pre-revolution here in America. I encourage all others of my kind to start preparing because as history has shown – Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Pinochet, Mao – it is ALWAYS the liberals, doctors, lawyers, writers, journalists who are rounded up and disappear first.