I recently read this survivalistboards.com thread titled: “Honest Thoughts of a New Prepper – New to Prepping” and it intrigued me because (1) I’m afraid I’ve been prepping for so long that I don’t know what a “new prepper” thinks any longer, and (2) the poster has a lot of life experiences that I don’t have, which I assume colors his viewpoint substantially. That said, I appreciated hearing his thoughts. Still, I have my own, and I would like to respond to some of them here.
My historical view of prepping is a mixed bag. It is a reasonable thing many people take way too far, do poorly, or fall prey to marketing dressed up as fear and hype. Just like the MSM always finds the semi literate flannel wearing gun-nut goof to represent gun owners, that stereotype DOES exist in the form of too many gun owners & preppers (picture all the gun related garbage featuring Zombies and deaths head skull imagery.) You may not be an urban criminal, but if you dress, talk and act the part, I will treat you as such.
Sure, some people take things too far. But what is considered “too far,” exactly? Ask most of my family and friends, and if they’re being honest, then I’m the crazy one because, after all, society hasn’t imploded yet. So, I’m just wasting money and time on preparedness when I could/should be doing something else. But others, surely preppers, think I haven’t done enough. Who’s right?
And who gets to decide when prepping is done poorly? Must I build a bunker or train 24/7 for my actions to be otherwise? There’s plenty I could be doing differently, but it’s my choice given my resources and abilities. I say that if you’re doing anything positive towards preparedness, then you’re on the right track.
I also disagree with the “fall prey to marketing dressed up as fear and hype” statement because, again, who gets to decide what’s a problem and what isn’t? Are my concerns about inflation and looming war (among others) hype? Yes, I could be wrong (and have been thus far), but I’d rather be aware and somewhat prepared than doing nothing with my head buried in the sand.
Hmm … perhaps this response isn’t starting off on the right foot, like I’d imagined. 🙂 Next, the poster talks about his thoughts on weapons, which I’ll skip most of because I don’t have much to add. He concludes the portion of his weapons discussion with the following, which I found intriguing:
Here is the thing to consider HONESTLY. How many rounds do you think you will get off in a firefight before one finds you? 5? 50? Statistically you are only a better shot than half the folks out there. So great you are better than 90%? Was a 10% chance at death or injury every few days part of the plan? Why on Earth are you stocking 10000 and 5 AR platforms? At 50 cents a round HALF that money would be better spent on stocking silver, or virtually ANYTHING else.
Fair point on the shootout statistics. To believe that you’re going to go to war with any number of unknown enemies and come away unscathed is foolhardy.
“Better spent on stocking silver or virtually anything else,” however, is a subjective measurement. I could, for instance, spend several thousand dollars on a deep water well only to discover that a disaster has forced me to evacuate. Was that money well spent? Or would it have been better to spend money on ammo that can be transported? Or almost anything else that could be taken with me. Trade-offs abound.
There is also a “weakest link in the chain” problem to where, should you discover you needed 10000 rounds of ammo only to have a fraction of that because you spend that money elsewhere, then I guess you should’ve stocked up. Right? After all, most of us don’t have unlimited funds, so we do the best we can while trying to cover the bases of “beans, bullets, and band-aids.”
And let’s remember that just because YOU think one might only need a small fraction of 10000 rounds, practicing with real ammo is a thing, and so is arming your neighbors, should the need arise.
Hunting & fishing. During the Revolutionary war, the Iroquois Indians, the only inhabitants of upstate NY West of the Mohawk River, were STARVING in a brutal winter. 8500 to 10,000, and the forest could not sustain them. The HUNDREDS MILLIONS of starving folks will deplete every animal, bird and fish in weeks, in MOST of this country. If that is your plan, think it through. When the American army was sent to punish the Iroquois, they burned their FOOD STORES i.e. carbs. Protein is essential but so are carbs. I could be wrong about hunting & fishing, but do the math, I don’t think so. Maybe after the human die off wildlife recovers. It always seems to.
I generally agree with this statement. It’s why I don’t recommend hunting/fishing/trapping as your go-to plan to acquire more food. Plus, you could just become a target of those who couldn’t bag anything if you end up successful that day.
What are you prepping for? Power outage? EMP? Societal collapse? The longer the term, the more complex is the planning, and beyond 30 year rice, some whatever & a camp stove, seems most people forget the unglamourous things, cleaning supplies, medical supplies, solid non-powered hand tools. Statisically the 2 day, 2 week events far outweigh the longer term scenarios as possibilities. Doesn’t mean we ignore the latter but right size it vs living a full life NOW.
I completely agree! Don’t forget the small stuff. And, statistically speaking, prepare for the short-term problem first, which unsurprisingly, are usually the easiest lengths of time to start preparing for.
Societal collapse. Seems to be fantasy porn for some people and they seem to prep with that in mind. Full out “battle rattle” on display. Thanks for drawing attention to yourself as a guy that has lots of store bought stuff. In reality, gangs of young men will band together and TAKE whatever they need or want. Does not matter how many you ‘get’, their losses will be filled in a day by wannabees and hangers on, and their leaders won’t care. If you are not part of a larger group, you will go down in a quick and brief fight. EON’s of human existence proves this certainty.
Agreed. Bands of men (not just young men) will be a severe problem, and likely one most of us preppers don’t give enough attention to. Yes, neighbors and others will be a more immediate problem, but in a serious collapse, it’s the gangs/bands of youth that will destroy society without blinking an eye. Just look at what’s happening in France with the hundreds or thousands of second and third generation migrants “protesting” about their school conditions. Or, consider what happened in Ceuta, Spain a month or so ago when upwards of 50k males from Morocco stormed in and basically took over. These situations were a mess, and the only way to survive them is to get away from population centers, band together with like-minded (preferably young) people … and probably stock plenty of ammo.
The larger group, a society really, will have diverse skills to bring. Anyone know how to make a barrel? Garden WELL? Fix wounds? Set broken bones? Practice herbal medicine? Build a really good furnace? A million of other things. Long term survival for most will mean being part of a GROUP.
Yes. But it’s not just about skills. It’s about time, energy, effort, etc. Because you can’t be awake 24/7, you can’t do everything that needs done when sh*t hits the fan, and sometimes it just nice to have other people around.
Got that patch up in the hills in the next state? Assuming you get there. Are you a known member of that community, someone they will bond and defend? Or just a guy with more money than most who we’ve seen 3 times & talked to once. aka, a STRANGER, or, easy pickings. Keep in mind, even that neighbor you think is normal will become ABNORMAL in emergency times. BTW so will YOU.
Also a good point that I hadn’t really thought about. But I don’t have a BOL to got to, so it’s not on my mind. Anyway, my thoughts here aren’t just about a “patch up in the hills” but really about your local community. How well do you know your neighbors? Are they somebody you would help out in a crisis? What if the crisis lasted for months and you’re low on supplies? At a minimum, it’s wise to know who belongs nearby and who doesn’t. And remember that few people are willing to help those they don’t know. I have a few neighbors I would be willing to help, but most can go kick rocks.
Soooo. Part of my journey, as I stock the 2 week, then 2 month, then two year plan, will be to find others like myself, perhaps form a cohesive group. Maybe find a better, more defendable community further from population centers, and become a REAL neighbor and friend. Maybe get fit and work on skills I never had like gardening. Work the whole problem, its not just 365 degrees on a 2D plane, it is a SPHERE.
Yup. That would be the best plan if you can make it happen. But, again, most of us don’t have the resources or willingness to pull it off, me included. So, I just do what I can with where I’m at in life. I hope you’re doing what you can, too.
Maybe we’ll survive what’s coming and live to tell the tale. Or maybe not. God will sort it out.
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