This article was originally published by Selco at The Organic Prepper
We all have worries about people that will show up at our doorstep when SHTF.
I am thinking here about family members or friends that we know will be problematic when they show up. Either they are complete burdens without any real values in a truly hard situation or they might even possibly be a danger for us.
So what do we do with those folks?
What do they mean to us?
If they are friends, and they are not worth taking in when they show up then they are probably not real friends to you. If they are family then the situation is a bit different, because for family, it is often worth the effort to try to make something “useful” from them. SHTF makes bonds stronger and more important, and usually there, is no stronger bond than your own blood.
But again, it is the thing of mentality and it may be different in different part of the world.
What does reality look like?
When it comes to SHTF and what we expect, it almost always looks a bit different than we imagined it.
It is like that with the kind of people we are gonna cooperate and maybe live with when SHTF.
During our physical courses, we have different types of people as a students, and often on a course, we have at least one student who is completely different from the majority.
Let’s say we have 5 students who are in good shape, physically in good condition, or skilled.
And then we have at least one who is out of shape or a bit less skilled. Or a student who is stubborn, or wants to play on his own.
And then, since we play a lot with group dynamics, we have students in situations where they are saying to us things like: “We can not finish the task, or be brilliant at the task because of that guy, his poor perfomance (or bad shape, or skills or no will to learn or whatever).”
We as a instructors say to the students, “Then imagine that person is a your father, mother, or that when SHTF your girlfriend shows up at your door with her old aunt. Are you are going to shoot them or learn to operate with them?”.
Almost always, they as a group find a solution to operate as a group, and what is even more important that person too learns their own value just like their own imperfections.
It is reality.
You will cooperate with people who you love or hate, or people who slow you down, but you will have to manage that somehow.
Why are they going to show up?
The first and easiest step in solving this problem of not wanting people on your doorstep is to start from this: “Why will they want to show up?”
- Do you pose yourself over the years as a secure place to them if something serious happens?
- Do you “paint” yourself as a person who definitely knows what to do if the world as we know it were to suddenly collapse?
- Or do you drag that person along by helping to him all his life, even if you clearly know that person does not deserve it, so you know if something really bad happen that person going to look for you immediately?
- Is it simply a matter of good old lack of OPSEC, because over the years you keep talking to that person that he (or she) needs to get it together and start to prepare because bad things are coming, and you show him how well prepared you are as an example?
Whichever answer might be, if you do not want this person to show up. it is probably best to solve that now, and not when SHTF. If you do not want that person with you now it is time to cut all connections and to make that clear to him.
Keep in mind this simple advice through an example of myself:
I also have some worries about people showing up on my doorstep, but very small worries.
Why?
Because as far as they know, I am not prepared, I am scared too, I do not know anything about survival, I follow media, I am brainwashed. When the SHTF, I will be scared, confused, and I will look in all directions for help.
At least all this is the picture that I paint about myself. This is part of being the gray man.
Those who are important to me know my capabilities. Everybody else is probably worried that I might show up on THEIR doorstep, because that’s me, just an ordinary sheep.
“But they WILL show up.”
Yes, I know. This is the real world we are talking about here and of course, some people might still show up.
Friends you like but who are useless, members of the family that are awful but they are family and you are their only help, etc.
By the mere fact that they showing up at your doorstep you are in a situation where you need to decide:
- Are you going to refuse him and make a possible enemy of him, especially if he knows your survival preparations?
- Will you accept him and put yourself at risk of possible problems because that person is not reliable, not skilled, dangerous, or because of whatever reason?
Refusing the person might be the solution, but you need to factor in things like how bad situation is around you and how much your personal preparations that person knows about. For example, if there is a complete absence of law and that person knows you are a prepper and have good stuff with you and you refuse him, guess what happens?
That person become your enemy at a time where there is no law, and you have cool stuff with you.
That person becomes your enemy with information about where some good stuff is.
In a drastic situation (complete SHTF), refusing the person who has a lot of info about you may be a situation where you need to “terminate” that person.
During drastic situations, be ready for drastic measures.
In most of the other less drastic situations (collapses, SHTFs) mostly feelings are only things that are going to be hurt, and you should not worry about it if you have kids to feed or more important and closer people then that person who shows up.
On the other hand, accepting the person that you do not really want to have with you wh SHTF, because of whatever reason, may work in your favor if you cover two things in the correct way: group and leadership.
This is another example where you can see how important is to have an organized group when the SHTF, or in other words, you can not be alone.
By accepting a not-so-wanted person inside an already organized group where each member has and knows his duties and responsibilities, you are by default pushing that person to meld into the organisation.
If you are alone it is hard to control that person.
And it does not need to be ultra hard core survivalist group of 15 armed men, that is not necessary.
Just a group of people with already-known skills, duties, and responsibilities…
Do not be alone.
Correct leadership is other thing that will help you a lot when undesirable persons are staying with you.
I am not talking here about democracy. Sorry folks, but real democraty does not work very well in situations like this.
If you are a strong leader of your group, you have the skills to set the rules and to make the people obey the rules. If you do not have those skills, someone else will.
With correct leadership within a group, the person who shows up suddenly and does not want to contribute in the right way can be “pushed” to contribute.
Strength in numbers
With all the combined things above, you need to keep in mind that when SHTF strength is usually in numbers.
So, even if you think there is no use of some person who shows up on your doorstep, think hard. Is there actually a use for them, and do you have skills and force to implement that use of the person?
I would like to have skilled persons with me when SHTF, but often it is more important to have people that can be trusted (even if they have no skills) so you need to think about it on that way too.
Also, there are many uses of people besides hardcore survival stuff. I survived some of the hardest situations with people whose only skill was to talk, and I appreciated that skill a lot.
***
Selco survived the Balkan war of the 90s in a city under siege, without electricity, running water, or food distribution. In his online works, he gives an inside view of the reality of survival under the harshest conditions. He reviews what works and what doesn’t, tells you the hard lessons he learned, and shares how he prepares today. He never stopped learning about survival and preparedness since the war. Regardless what happens, chances are you will never experience extreme situations like Selco did. But you have the chance to learn from him and how he faced death for months. Real survival is not romantic or idealistic. It is brutal, hard and unfair. Let Selco take you into that world. Read more of Selco’s articles here: https://shtfschool.com/blog/ And take advantage of a deep and profound insight into his knowledge and advice by signing up for the outstanding and unrivaled online course. More details here: https://shtfschool.com/survival-boot-camp/
Please feel free to share any information from this article in part or in full, giving credit to the author and including a link to The Organic Prepper and the following bio.
Daisy is a coffee-swigging, gun-toting, homeschooling blogger who writes about current events, preparedness, frugality, and the pursuit of liberty on her websites, The Organic Prepper and DaisyLuther.com She is the author of 4 books and the co-founder of Preppers University, where she teaches intensive preparedness courses in a live online classroom setting. You can follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter,.
Fix it where they cannot get anywhere near your door.
Menzo, that’s right. And if they still get near it then waste their asses.
Jerkey
If all you got between you and the public street is a thin veneer front door with a dead bolt, you are in for a world of hurting in SHTF. Pounding on your door just inches way into your inter sanctum of your home.
Another reason why I moved out of the city. Now you have to scale a 6 ft tall barbed wire fence just to get onto the property. Good luck, from there on, its my OPSEC security in place. We don’t call 911 or the Coroner. So nothing back here worth dying for. Stay OUT!!
If a real SHTF scenario plays out, there will be no 911 or coroner or any other niceties or illusions present. That is a better perspective than anything Selco has to say.
I have had serious bad asses show up at my door and I gave them two choices with a shotgun and a pistol. They opted to leave and never again fucked with me because they knew I would take most of them out in a heart beat ! Here is what happened. I was at Fred Meyer store in Oregon one evening to get a few items from the grocery section. There was a motorcycle gang member parked under the entrance awning and my dog jumped out of the back of the truck and ran over to him and started barking at him as he was revving up his bike for no good reason. I walked over there and fetched the dog as the guy was kicking at him and I said, chill out, I got the dog. He said he would kill the dog if it bit him and I said well maybe you should not be revving the bike so loud and he would not be barking at you ? He said fuck you and I said, look ass hole I will put the dog up, but you are the problem not the dog. I went inside the store after putting the dog in the cab of the truck and as I was checking out and the guy came inside the store and approached me at the counter. It was truly bizarre and as if in slow motion because I could see him pulling his arm back while approaching me as if he was going to slap me or hit me. So I had plenty of time and warning to take the first punch. I hit him square on the nose and broke it and followed up with serious blow to the larnyx and he was on the ground gasping for air and bleeding like a stuck pig ! He got up once and tried to recover and I put him down again with a few more blows, just to his face and head. I was just about to do some serious damage to his head with my feet when two sheriffs showed up and separated us. Good thing because at that point I was pumped for sure and likely would have messed him up but good. By this time there were many people watching it all and the cops asked me if I wanted to press charges because all the witnesses said he had attacked me and I was simply defending myself. Also some of his cohorts had shown up by then and standing in the parking lot. I told the cops I did not want to press charges and they said be careful , these guys are dangerous ! I already knew that. I went home and sure enough they followed me. I went inside and got my shotgun and a pistol and went back out front on the street where they were gathered revving their bikes as if a threat (dumb asses) and walked straight up to the guy I had just beat on and shoved the shotgun right in his rib cage and I lifted my shirt and showed them the pistol and said you motherfuckers get the fuck out here and if I ever see or hear you here at my home I will kill you simple as that and that starts right here and now ! They all just about shit their pants and immediately started saying chill out man calm down. I said you all have two choices, be fucking gone now or die right here and I can take most of you out in a matter of seconds. The guy I had the shotgun on was literally shaking and all his friends were just about shitting their pants and more or less begging me not to start shooting. One of them knew me and said this motherfucker will shoot ! So they all took off. I saw them later several times around town and they all went the other way rather quickly to avoid me. They did tie a pitbull to my construction trailer out front and my dog bit his ear off. I cut him loose and he ran down the street bleeding seriously. It all ended well, just as it should have ! Had the sheriffs not been very close by to respond fast I would have seriously fucked this guy up and the outcome may have been a bit different ? In a real life or death scenario it is not easy to control your training once you are fired up and running full bore. That is why I know most of these articles are utter nonsense. I know it from many first hand experiences in the military and here in USA. For whatever reasons I have had many near death experiences and know the difference between chicken salad and bullshit ! This particular event was not really a near death deal , but it could have been and surely had I continued beating on this guy it may have been a different outcome ? We will never know that part. But that is not the issue for me. There is no way I was gonna let these bitches screw with me or my family, ever.
I wish many more people would stand the fuck up on many matters ! That is why I stay fit, healthy, strong and well trained out always ! I have zero intention of being anybodies bitch slap victim , ever.
Dude, your faken dog jumped out of your truck…you as the owner are responsible for your dog. A biker “revving his bike for no good reason”…wtf do u expect – he is a biker.
…or, just get your dog and keep your mouth shut, defused. Why escalate in that situation? Who cares what someone says, get a grip..
Nice fairy tale.
Im Shocked ! Shocked your hear me?
that DB would Again resort to violence as his first response to the situation.
Hey DB your mom’s calling from upstairs in the kitchen, she said shes made you a hot pocket and some kool aid.
She wants to know:
Do you want to eat it in the basement again while you play call of duty and fondle your limited edition transformers figurines?
Infantryman, go take a flying leap.
Anyone who is unprepared, and knows your situation, will be a detrimental risk to your, and your family/group’s survival. Most people are base, cowardly, vindictive, backstabbers. If they show up at your door, you have a major problem, no matter what. The best thing you can do, is be gone before they show up.
JustMe, if things did really melt down I agree being gone for a while would be a good strategy. Most people do not live in a place where they can disappear rather easily indefinitely. I do, for a reason ! In a real SHTF melt down scenario all the serious fallout would be in the first few weeks and far worse in any city . For me it would be easy to side step all of that. I do it numerous times a year in all weather conditions deliberately ! So I know exactly my capabilities and locations to fall back to. Not that difficult to accomplish.
It is important not to share info with people you don’t want coming around. It is important that they know you don’t want them coming around when the shtf. If they show up any way, you should probably snuff’em. They are a clear and present danger.
Strength is also in overwhelming firepower and not runnning out of ammo.
Why do you encourage them by letting them “in” under any circumstances?
Discrimination. It used to be a compliment.
_
“Say Hello to my Little Friend!”
Buzzards need to eat too…
I saw a bunch of them yesterday. They were chowing down on a roadkill deer.
Could of shot a wild pig yesterday. 10 Yrds away off the road, 9mm from my Suv. lol Naw, His lucky day. About a 50-60 Lb pork chop. Wild life is out there if you go look.
Right Menzo.
Don’t open the door to people you don’t know.
Don’t open the screen door to those who
you think you know….but ask them to state their
business first.
So….is this a tell all site where TPTB wants to know
where the hard hats will be?
Since our FBI..CIA….DHS….Police could be globalist
“nazi” schooled enemies that can no longer be trusted….
and they might be nice people….but no way to tell
good guys from bad guys. They best do business
over mail…phone…or grapevine.
Aggression could be perceived as deadly.
Anyone could end up a “patsie” like Steven Paddock
in Las Vegas. Supposedly the “only shooter”.
WRONG…..he was “used” as a murderer of 58 people
but was not. He was the FIRST VICTUM.
FBI CIA MOOSLIMS, SECURITY GUARDS,
POLICE ARE ALL SUSPECT!!!
“You can pick your friends but you can’t pick your family”.
Do your best to make them useful. Doesn’t really matter as we’re all in areas that certainly aren’t desirable in event of SHTF.
best thing is not to run around telling people or pressuring them into prepping, then they will remember you and come to your house. I read on many blogs about comments of people telling their biz to family members not living with you, co workers and friends. that is stupid Stay quiet folks you can’t risk being killed and robbed if you are “too nice”. If people are given stuff or allowed to come in house, they could shoot you and steal weapons too.
All true, but the best preparation is to stay fit, healthy and well trained out always !
The gov already knows who is who in the zoo long ago. But I will likely never own a smart phone for that reason of spying and tracking and I suffer no negative at all from that ! Amazing hey ? People that fret on all of that crap like Facebook or any of the junk entities are about 5 years or more too late in their thinking processes ! If things meltdown for realsies for any reason, all that will matter is your own capabilities and nothing else ! Realize this tidbit, only when that happens will you know who to trust, even if you already know pretty well who not to trust. So that list of people will be a very short list indeed ! Depending on the circumstance at hand that may cause such an event, the time frame back to any sort of normalcy will vary accordingly.
There is no reason at all to live in fear. Concern and or prudence yes, compelling fear no !
It is not a very nice thing to consider but there are situations where it would be advantageous to have some “cannon fodder” that you had no attachment to.
They can be used to take out the trash and pick up do poop, during the radioactive zombie apocalypse. There is already a labor surplus of many such people.
Stuart, that too is not going to matter at all if you think it out to its possible conclusions. Either way you will still have to make a decision to stand up and fight or cave in to some absurd gov demand ?
I used to think that as well and now realize better. If you have not already made those decisions inside your self something is not right ? All the necessary info has been out there for a long time now.
So if some force comes to your house and says we want your firearms, you think if you can stash a few is better than fighting right then and there with your good stuff that you are well trained out on ? Sure you might die, but not as a whipped dog. That is just another pepper fantasy I mention often ! Bottom line is simple, it is 100% necessary to develop the necessary mindset and take a stand on those priorities according to the circumstances that day ! Which means you must have a plan that is flexible as necessary and the commitment to follow thru ! Other wise you will not do ANYTHING, ever that works in your favor ! That does NOT mean you will go looking for a fight at all , quite the opposite. That is real preparedness in a nutshell and will not get any better than that. At some point people simply have to say NO and standup and be done with it ! That is the correct mindset, combined with the other necessities I mention often. I have been there for a long time, mainly because of my own life experiences that have prepared me for such things well.
This is basically the same thing you would do, if they show up, at your house, on any other day.
My wife and I have been the “go to” place for years.
Many of our family and extended family has had problems
and show up needing help.
I’ve raised more kids that were not mine than
I even want to admit to.
I’m the type that would have foster kids, just because
I like kids and teaching them how to be good adults.
Even if the kids are 23 years old.
Family is always a good bet.
I always charged a rent, $50 per month,
or do 2.5 hours of work outside the house.
They had to have “skin” in the game.
It worked very well. Other than my
Heroin addict cousin(she is dead – AIDS)
all are out in the world and doing well.
I have taken in strangers, and I’m not
sure that is going as well.
But being a Messianic J3w(great grandfather was a catholic J3w, carpenter in the Imperial Russian army), I’m rather obliged to go the course.
rellik
The world is a better place for you. Hats off to ya.
ditto!
rellik, I used to try and help many people as you describe and then after getting hosed many times I finally realized most of it is enabling more bad behavior. It is quite impossible to help anybody who is unwilling to help themselves ! Which means you must to have a test to see who is willing and who is BS. Everything else is simply playing a game on yourself to make you feel better and nothing more ! Now I have that test and actually help many people. Just giving people stuff or 2 hours a day work for room and board is not what you think it is, it is enabling in almost every case ! The only way we can ever help anybody is thru our own personal honesty with our self. That is what the “Inner Journey” and our “Inner Powers” are all about ! Most people are NOT very honest with themselves and will do the “go along to get along” thing and that is why we are seeing what we are seeing before us today, a mess of confusion and corruption !
http://www.downtoearththinking.com/the–go-along-to-get-along–false-paradigm.-.html
I applaud your intent, but it is always a matter of our own personal honesty. We must have our own stuff together on that level before we can ever help anybody else ! So it is a matter of our own personal growth combined with serious personal honesty on a rather deep level of understanding humanity, us included.
Nobody knows a thing, and there are no relatives close by. Most of the neighbors are people I can work with in things such as planting large areas, building things, and defending the area.
Anyone that shows up unannounced will be given my usual hard luck story about my bad health, hospital visits, how much weight I’ve lost, etc., until they’re tired of listening and leave. I’m very good at that. I talked my way out of a beating with brass knuckles by a crowd of “youth” many years ago. So I’m pretty much a professional BSer when I want to be.
Never never open door to strangers after shtf, and be wary of strangers going door to door in normal times. Put a sign out on your front door: No sales or canvassing do not ring or knock so please leave. It works perfect after two years the sign is up. Home invasions: knocking and says for ex: lost dog or lost kid, or I need to phone left phone at home, etc. Women do this too and the man w/her is ready to bust in once door is open, comes from around corner. Yes, I’ m street smart and grew up/lived in cities.
Laura Ann, I was also born and raised in a city so I know all those tricks you just mentioned and MORE.
Instead of opening the door just shout through the door and tell them you are calling for help (whatever they need; ambulance, tow truck, etc.) and that they are on the way. But don’t open the door. Then immediately make the call.
I had that happen once when their car broke down on our road. I called AAA as they requested and they asked for their AAA card member number which I didn’t have so I explained the situation and that I couldn’t get that information and AAA showed up anyway.
Another time it was a young mother with a toddler who was run off the main road by a truck who ended up at my door. She had walked 10 minutes in bad weather with a toddler to get to my home. I looked out the other windows and no one else was around, no other footprints in the snow, so I let her in and helped them out. If I hadn’t they could have died from exposure and the snowstorm. That would have been awful.
But before I opened the door I called a neighbor and explained the situation and he came right over (armed) and I had also called a tow truck. So the tow truck was on the way. I was cautious just in case she had some guy with a gun, hiding, waiting to bust in. She didn’t. Everything worked out and I may have saved a life by letting her in with her 2 year old baby.
But it’s best to shout through the door, with phone in hand, asking what they need and telling them the help is on the way, to sit tight. They don’t need to come in and use my phone. I make the call for them right away, without opening the door. No need to open the door except in the case with the mother and baby in the snowstorm. And in that case I took precautions.
You gotta climb the fence and walk 1/4 mile to get to my door. I rented a post office box so as to not have a mail box on the highway. The power lines come from the west out of sight of the public road. I haven’t let folks I don’t like even know where I live. We own land & places in 4 counties. My drivers license has a address at one of those locations. I even have the electric turned on at that location. Cost about $20 a month. My fence rows are overgrown. Yet I know I can be found and out gunned & overrun. So plan B burn the place when I leave. Let them find the( hidden) poisoned food. And bug out to a well stocked cave that so far I think Im the only human that has ever been inside it. And you gotta go to it on foot. I simply will avoid others as much as I can.
That sounds like an Ozark bluff shelter like the Native Americans used.
I also moved to another state far away from any real relatives. Got off the digital pathway, and I only keep a handful of friends, and useless idiot acquaintances around. And only a few get to pass trough the barbed wire gate even onto the property. Out of sight out of mind.
You city dwellers biggest threat out there is going to be other people in SHTF. The unprepared hungry masses scratching at your door, pounding on the door begging for a sandwich and a drink of water. Pounding on your car at stop signs begging for help.
Old Guy, I have a near identical plan and cave with plenty of water nearby! I already know I can survive there just fine indefinitely. And since there would be no reason for anybody to ever come looking for me, there is nothing at all to worry about ! Only 3 people are aware of the place and they would all be with me as well and equals in every way.
“Hump ’em…or get humped”
I’ve done a lot of scuba diving all around the world. In one respect its the same scenario that plays out in every place. All the sea creatures are either “Eating or Getting Eaten.
TSB,
I’m PADI certified, and you are right!
But We are God’s image and hopefully
smarter than that.
Democrats and Moslem’s excluded.
im just SMFH!!!!!
SHTF…..??
Eons ago when I was a young man taking my first civilian survival course, while the class was 45+ in number of similarly interested folks, only five of us arrived with any ancestral skills. Of course all of us in that tiny subgroup could start a bowdrill fire but learned tricks on using a hand and mouthdrill fires. All of us made our fires quickly.
But the other forty were rather hopeless. Ten figured out what they were doing wrong. Another ten finally stopped doing it there way, and learned how to do it. At the tail end some never learned how to do it.
You can’t teach everyone. There is nothing in the Bible about helping everyone, but Jesus says you have to help one of the least of these. That would be legalistic. I reckon you should over the course of your life help at least 10-20 to be a moral person. Christian often help a hundred or more. I’m in the “more” category but not out of pride but servanthood.
The Bible says to help others, especially Christians, but each should carry their own load.
Galatians 6:5.
Righetousness is giving at least a cup of cold water to a “little one” who is a believer(Matthew 10:42) but helping the least of these in Matthew 25, but to facilitate not foster laziness (Galatians 6).
Survival ethics and Christian belief are mutually exclusive.
NOPE. Jesus says you will burn eternally in the eternal fire of Hell if you fail to help at least one of the least of these.
41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Matthew 25:41-46
Notice that BOTH this admonishment about helping one of the least of these is in Matthew 25 as is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins which is about preparedness ie having enough oil for their lamps until Jesus Christ returns.
It’s almost as if preparedness and righteousness are linked as they are discussed within a matter of verses because Jesus knew we woukd argue about this.
1Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Matthew 25:1-13
Maranatha, I tried to help many more than 20 people in past years and nearly all screwed me and never paid back my help or money. I had to learn the hard way to realize it is quite impossible to help anybody unwilling to help themselves ! I spent many tens of thousands $ to learn the simple truth of people and their self inflicted stupid ! It was all just life lessons.
A few years back I met a woman named Robin. She was in her 40s and had come for some free plants and seeds I advertised. We had a very long conversation that was very enlightening for me. Robin has a serious cleft pallet, a hair lip. She has had 14 operations to correct it. She was abandoned at birth and was later adopted and raised by some very fine people. She has been rejected at every level by society her entire life, like most people could not possibly grasp or understand. Yet she has a keen depth of understanding herself and a very clear grasp of this world we all live in. She made me realize what suffering and real problems and rejection is really all about. Many of us think we have it tuff or some such thing and then we meet a person like Robin and you can only be thankful and perhaps humiliated by our own ignorance and lack of understanding ! She put me on a track I needed to see and experience. Even though I was already very appreciative and thankful for healing myself from almost a decade of being crippled physically and regaining all of my physical attributes and more ! It is all about being open and brutally honest with yourself in our journey on this planet ! It is NOT about religion. That too is an illusion created by men, not God.
not mentioned as a reason for having unexpected visitors is just plain geography >>> they lived in the city or a suburb tooo close to the city section that went WROL almost immediately …
driven out into a Bug Out situation by pure necessity to survive – maybe didn’t even intentionally travel to your area – your name memory jiving when they realized where they landed >>>> you could have alot of co-workers door knocking for this reason ….
No one that I know personally who doesn’t prep knows I have preps in my home. I do not advertise that. So I doubt they would come to my home. I don’t present myself as a prepper or as having more than a weeks worth of groceries and supplies. They know my fridge and cupboards are always full but they don’t know about the converted wine cellar. The less you tell people the better.
Hello. I can tell you that been there, done that. There is another option. You can say to this person as soon as you see them that you are running to get xxxxcc at the special place because you heard your neighboors that that particular place has xxxxcc. That they are welcome to come along and that they must nring cash because you do not have that much. If they happen to have cash they will follow you. If they do not then they will have to go get it. If they come along with you make sure that you convince them to buy the stuff they need like a silkcock key to get water from the buildings and tell them that you must get separated because of obvious reasons (if they do not get the obvious part say them: you do not live alone and you are better off finding water by yourself since the small amount you find cannot be enough for all of you and at least now they know what to do.. it is extremely easy and simple to use the silkcoc key (not sure if spell correctly) and most people do not know about it so.. you have shared your wisdom and that may be all.. maybe give them an extra copy of a book on getting wild edible plants..) i live in venezuela and that is what we are all doing.. sharing data on where to go and conections like who is the person that sells whatever and that is it. Even for family that is what we are doing.
Great advice for having a sillcock key. It’s something I had not considered before now. Thanks for the insight.
Relatives that show up empty handed will be sent out(the ones capable) to forage for enough food for them to eat, and other necessary things. Relatives (old enough) will pull guard every night and day, and help with all phases of maintenance. Relatives will participate in training, alerts, drills, and other educational matters. Relatives will obey the orders of the commander (me) at all times, and will give me their loyalty and industry (fealty). For all this, they get to live, and prosper, and raise their families in relative peace. If they could make it on their own, they would have already done it. Should they desire independence, the door is over there.
I think a lot of you would enjoy reading Kunstler’s World Made By Hand series. In it some people in a village survive, and trade, but mostly take care of themselves. A guy becomes a feudal lord and unprepared people flock to him and they prosper for a price. A gang of former bikers dismantle houses and sell whatever they harvest. So they have a monopoly on construction material. A religious tribe forms their own community.
Otherwise a lot of people just die because they get sick and are alone, or attacked. It’s near impossible to make it on your own 15-20 years after a SHTF event.
Maranatha, in a real collapse of any kind there will be a very quick period of mass chaos and violence occur here in USA. During that initial reaction it will be much better to be by yourself more or less with few people. That period will pass after many have died off or been thinned out and then things will rebuild. Most people here in USA cannot fend for themselves in any way. And do not forget 75+% are fat or obese and very unhealthy, so there are many factors already in place to thin out the population not even considering the racial chaos in every city of any size at all, that will ensue. The USA is a nation of more or less brain dead zombies and most will die within a very short period of time. There will be survivors and they will inherit the earth, so to speak ! Realize many who think they are really well prepared are NOT because they have focused on the wrong things !
I completely agree some homesteading skills will save the day for any who survive the initial onslaught. I lived in the woods in a TEEPEE carried my water, been in many life and death situations and still go out on trips in extreme weather conditions just to stay tuned in and test my own limits and abilities ! I do this because each year I am more convinced things are gonna break ! I doubt if there are 3 people on any of these sites that could even come close to my skill sets and abilities. That is why I stay super fit and healthy, because I live it, I do not just talk it ! Very simple stuff actually and I pass it on to others who are worthy.
Long before the fall into total anarchy (in the USA) there will be martial law. Gov. troops will “commandeer” all food, water, gasoline, propane, etc. “for the good of the people.”
Heavily armed swat-like troops will go door to door and do what is necessary to come in to search and loot your premises. Any resistance you will be either shot or arrested. In the end, one way or the other you will not have your prep any more.
So all you need to do is determine if you are going out in a hail of bullets now, or sit in a FEMA camp with the possible outcome that order is again restored and you can go home. Sucks, but at least you won’t have to shoot anyone!
People who discuss relying on wild edibles have likely never tried it. Watch the Alone tv series to see it fail over and over. Only certain hunter gatherers in history could do it based on their locale, the seasons (often being tropical), based upon an abundance of seasonal game (like mammoths or buffalos), etc.
Otherwise most hunter-getherers die and the tribe size stays very stable and small.
Why? Looking at nutrition, to actively scout for wild edibles takes lots of energy. Wise scouts return to historic regions where there was a food to be harvest at a certain season. It is not always there. This goes for the majority as other game animals lived on them and so competed but then you could harvest some game animals. But if you took too many, you killed the plant or the animals from being able to reproduce until next season.
Then each wi,d edible produces a nutritional pattern and that alone maynot support life as harvesting it may use up more calories than the intake. Or maybe there are lots of white clover blossoms but excess protein is excreted through micturation ie passes out your kidneys and bladder.
You need carbs and FAT. And this means a lot of vegan types will die when the SHTF because they will waste away trying to acqure enough fat, carbs, protein, calories, and vitamins and minerals.
There are long periods when nothing grows, when sparse amounts grow, then lots grow but must be harvested and preserved to baance out when there is nothing. And doing this with fish and game animals that have very little fat on them.
Almost no one can realistically live off wild edibles without a huge cache of previously harvested food to get them through these lean aand soarse periods when there isn’t much to harvest.
Agriculture totally altered human dynamics in tribes. It allowed for a huge uptick in tribe size due to very high yields that were almost always dehydrated. And still Winter through midSpring was the starving time as the food cache ran out.
It is very tricky and nearly a science to store all of the nutritional needs throughout the seasons and eat what will spoil, or what is in overabundance, and not cause nutritional diseases, not get sick, not have low blood sugar, and maintain morale.
An attack by raiders in search of food and slaves could happen at any time, but frequently when their tribe was running out of food, disease had killed their women, or they knew the defenders had just harvested so a KNOWN food cache existed.
That sparked wars over resources but equally was destructive on the lives of braves who could fight and were not famished and weakened or sick with disease because their immunity was lweredby hunger and cold.
I understand what you are saying about having food reserves between either wild or farmed harvests.
In observing what happens to various people on “Naked and Afraid”, they always lose tremendous amounts of weight. True they are often inserted in less than optimal environs but these are people judged to be highly skilled at survivalism. And then stuff happens: hurricanes/tropical storms blow through and alter what can be done; accidents of all sorts happen which hamper food and firewood searches; and sometimes things just don’t work such as the fire fuel is too wet and won’t catch with a flint.
I read historical novels. When things went very wrong (no food crops, no trade, etc) for a tribe/group, people die either from disease or from a war effort attempting to capture what they need (food, water) to survive.
Yahooie, it is a scripted TV show and those people are not experienced at much of anything ? Same with most supposed prepper or survival professionals ? They are professional internet marketers and google ad clones and not much else !
Amazing , hey ?
You can cherry pick the Bible and make a crazy belief system that serves you, but a Christian is supposed to know all of it and be a bondservant to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
If you read all of it, you might offer more than they ask, but give them instruction, require they be part of the tribe, and that they become self-reliant, and carry their own load. This sef-reliance is lost today but is found in the wise virgins versus the foolish virgins and Galatians 6. It’s both and, not either or.
Because you need a tribe working together to oppose raiders as a husband and a wife and two teenaged kids stand almost no chance of opposing raiders. They will eventually overrun a lone prepper.
Based on your BOL, it has to be far enough away from predictable migration patterns from either the Atlantic Seaboard, Florida, or California that you won’tbe overrun. Personally due to inadequate rainfall to support fodder, animals, and three seasonal crops, that knocks out the Western half of the USA (pretty much). It knocks out nearly all of the Northern USA.
I pity the bugging out urban horde hitting the Appalachain chain because they have to come through them to get to me. That probably means the Appalachian people are the tip of the spear.
Depends on how good she looks.
If bugging out to a rural family member, you’re supposed to create standing orders in case the SHTF and bring designated items. And while it’s doubtful you could communicate, to have a innocous phrase that doesn’t sound like anything special to confirm, and a reply that could give a change of orders.
It is similar to any code on unsecure lines.
to all that think that a closed door will stop some of these power hungry nutcakes must rethink their protection strategy. anyone wanting to do real harm wouldn’t ring the doorbell. the incident I had I disabled the truck. then asks where are they going and they may as well sit and wait for the cops. most fled and the truck owner tried to start the truck. the cops took 12 minutes to get to me. and because I disabled the truck they had hard evidence of assault with the other guns found inside. they caught them all and are serving time. the cop said shooting one of them would be hard to prove self-defense because they were outside your house. because they found unregistered guns inside the truck it was clear their intent. plus firing at a truck is only a misdemeanor. we need to have our laws changed to protect the homeowner against such invasions. death is a strong deterrent against home invasion. plus we can’t always be inside our home when trouble strikes.
Grampa
Raiders are not going to ring the doorbell. In the initial phase, the will ram their vehicle into the front and take out a section ofv of wall.
This isn’t the medieval days with rams battering down doors. Just because LEOs in SWAT do that, doesn’t mean raiders will. They will use tactics with the highest chance of success and most won’t think about the consequences.
Ask and veteran and SWAT member how many rounds were exchanged to take down a perp. Most folks have a single box of ammunition for each weapon. That’s all. They will waste them all and then it’s hand to hand. Knocking a wall will be very likely based upon the percived cache inside.
I would fully expect gangbangers and the mafia to hit food warehouses and camping gear stores and gun shops and private medical clinics and pharmacies within 48 hours of an event.
You can’t send a guy with wife and kids away, even if you give them food. Later with the mental altering of starvation. He will see you as the one who is starving his family. Or just himself.
Based on predictable urban migration in a SHTF scenario, then many country folks in Tennesse, Kentucky, Southern Indiana, Southern Illinois, etc could survive as the preponderance of fleeing urban citizens would die of dehydration, starvation, disease, mayhem, lack of medicine, etc. You might get a few stragglers.
For many years, I’ve said that a spot in these places in history made money by river traffic trading lumber, grain, tobacco, etc.
But that won’t work with a New Madrid earthquake. There always is a catch.
Other places have issues like too much urbanization, inadequate rainfall, insufficient growing season, the ethos of the state, ethnic tension, etc.
81% of Americans live in urban zones and many have chronic health conditions or drug addiction or are in penitentiaries. These folks will die when the SHTF.
There are lots of places I like but they all have issues that are deal breakers like hurricanes, Tornado Alley, flooding, lack of forests, drought zones, cold winters that can kill livestock, etc.
Christianity is NOT an illusion but REALITY. It is based on a very unusual concept that the Law of YHWH is primarily summed up as this.
36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22:36-40
Jesus came as the only begotten Son of GOD but also as the Son of Man. Not to judge us but to rescue us through grace by dying on the cross.
Jesus does not want you to die but to live eternally.
Atheists believe that nothing whatsoever created all the infinite mass of the universe. That is impossible and violates infinite regress. Atheism is a faith based religion that worships science and the self. It is not just disbelief in YHWH, but an irrational series of beliefs like nothing can create the programming of DNA and complex life with multiple systems like the nervous, circulatory, immune, skeletal, muscular, excretory, digestion, etc. No sorry, atheism is a ridiculous illusion.
Watch what happens when atheists are confronted with their extreme illogical beliefs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChWiZ3iXWwM
The second they are forced to try to explain atheism, it falls appart as it is nonsensical.
At least Christianity is altruistic and logical. If Christianity is wrong, then we did extraordinary charitable acts and then we are dead and it doesn’t matter. If Christianity is right, then we have eternal life.
If atheists are wrong, they are in Hell. If they are right, they did very little typically to help other human beings as atheists are the least likely except for open satanists to do altruism.
This is why Christianity is both altruistic and realistic and pragmatic and spiritual.
Four random thoughts…
First, when strangers arrive under SHTF conditions, a lone straggler may arrive like a child or a woman, but be very suspicious if they are too clean or well fed or too well dressed or equipped. All must be searched for weapons and ISOLATED. Why? Such a stranger while seemingly innocent is likely to be a ploy to breach your defenses. And while you sleep, assess your defenses, weapons, ammunition, water, food, supplies, etc. Be especially suspious if you catch them doing that. Then they signal others like using a light flashing morse code and allow them entry.
Second, it is very likely under SHTF scenarios for a stranger to be sick with communicable diseases especially if they are excessively hungry, dehydrated, show signs and symptoms (coughing, blood, vomiting, diarrhea, semi-conscious, etc). When the SHTF many will drink bad polluted water and could easily die from it. And you will be sorely tested because it may be that GOD sent them to you and it is your responsibility to care for them. What if it’s a sick six year old who is badly undernourished? What if it’s a pregnant woman? What if it’s a soldier who stayed at his post and got overrun and has broken bones or is gunshot? Helping them will use up supplies, medicine, and food. It will likely mean isolation and a dedicated caregiver who then is not doing their normal work. It will be a test of your faith and morality.
Very BRAVE folks during wartime shielded Allied soldiers during WW2 even though they could not be certain about them. You could be in that situation when the enemy then makes you a target because you are housing their enemy. You may be under occupation by the enemy and have to hide them away from your home and leave some hidden supplies so you protect them and your family with plausible deniability.
Third, hunter gatherers in history did NOT eat three hot meals a day but were lucky to eat every other day. When you persistently eat irregularly, stress and concern and this interruption of routine causes ulcers. Your stomach produces acid that is very low in pH to the degree that even nails can be digested by sitting in stomach acid. The amazing way this doesn’t digest the stomach lining is mucus that coats it. But eating irregularly causes interruptions in mucus production. And certain bacteria called Heliobacter pylori then will cause ULCERS to form and the acid attacks these ulcers and worsens them.
You have to watch for this and treat it. Slippery elm is the best method. Similarly stress causes irritable bowel syndrome and that is related to interruption in mucus production, but compounded by eating salads BUT you will be relying upon meadow greens for various vitamins like K and to get adequate calcium from these. So you can’t stop eating greens but must add slippery elm to the diet.
Four. When the SHTF, many Americans will not have their medications. Many will die right away, but others may be dying slowly by the time you find them. In some cases, you may opt to ease their suffering so it’s not so horrible. This can be helping them to be warm and safe and satisfy their thirst until they expire.
Also many taking medication for mental illness will be acting in a peculiar deranged manner and so you have to consider this as well as the situation maybe compounded by psychosis plus hunger and whatever else is going on.