"Surburban Survivalists"

[cwjerome]

Funny this comes out because I have a friend who picked up this hobby almost a year ago... not hardcore, but definitely "prepared."

Crisis spurs spike in 'suburban survivalists'

How prepared are you if things go bad fast?

Me? I would say better off than the average joe. Being an outdoorsman means I have plenty of ammo, food, and supplies, yet not much in terms of long term planning and sustainment. I am thinking about getting more serious about it though.

 

[bamacre]

Our resident economists said this will all be over in 12 months.

 

[KlokWyze]

I have some camping gear & a fishing pole. Is that enough?

 

[cwjerome]

Originally posted by: KlokWyze
I have some camping gear & a fishing pole. Is that enough?

You tell me. I suppose what's enough depends on the person.

 

[herm0016]

i am better prepared than the avg joe. I have camping gear, food and a water filter, and experience being outside in the elements.

 

[Martin]

You people are dangerously disconnected from reality. You don't seem to be able to look at a certain situation, judge probable outcomes and accurately imagine what you would do should that situation come to pass. I'm not sure, but I'd guess it's a result of panicky neuroticism and way, way too many movies as a kid.

 

[cwjerome]

Originally posted by: Martin
You people are dangerously disconnected from reality. You don't seem to be able to look at a certain situation, judge probable outcomes and accurately imagine what you would do should that situation come to pass. I'm not sure, but I'd guess it's a result of panicky neuroticism and way, way too many movies as a kid.

I vote way too many movies as a kid.

 

[Fear No Evil]

I have guns. So I can take what I need from all of the lefties without them.

 

[herm0016]

Originally posted by: Martin
You people are dangerously disconnected from reality. You don't seem to be able to look at a certain situation, judge probable outcomes and accurately imagine what you would do should that situation come to pass. I'm not sure, but I'd guess it's a result of panicky neuroticism and way, way too many movies as a kid.

i would venture to say that most here are like me, and use there "survival equipment" and experience to enjoy the outdoors primarily.

we cant judge situations and outcomes? so being prepared for anything is stupid?

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

There are two basic scenarios to plan for:
Sh*t hits the fan (SHTF) - short term disruption of your lifestyle - more or less what happened with Katrina
The end of the world as we know it (TOTWAWKI) - Majority of population is dead, likely no electricity or any other infrastructure.

The media likes to call anyone that prepares for even the first scenario a "survivalist" or a nutjob. Planning for the first scenario is what everyone should do. It is not anything much more than having the gear to go backpacking for a few days. Planning for the second might be building your own fortress. What you need to plan for is up to you.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: Martin
You people are dangerously disconnected from reality. You don't seem to be able to look at a certain situation, judge probable outcomes and accurately imagine what you would do should that situation come to pass. I'm not sure, but I'd guess it's a result of panicky neuroticism and way, way too many movies as a kid.

I don't really understand what your point is. Your highlighted sentence is exactly what "urban survivalists" are doing. Are you making fun of people who prepare for disasters or are you making fun of the people that put their head in the sands, claiming "it will never happen to me"?

Something as simple as a bad thunderstorm can easily shut off power for a day. A bad winter storm could leave you stranded in your home for a week. A hurricane could leave you without any amenities at all. People who prepare for TEOTWAWKI may be a bit out there, but there's not really anything wrong with what they're doing. People who don't prepare for anything are the ones that are dangerously disconnected from reality.

 

[MovingTarget]

For those of us who don't live in suburbia, this is a non-issue. We already have guns. I guess the only thing we have done to 'prepare' is to start growing food regularly. This is our second season, and we've learned a lot from last year's crop. If the shit hits the fan, we will probably be alright. To be honest though, us rural folk have more to fear from unscrupulous real estate developers than from the economy. :mad;

 

[CrazyHelloDeli]

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil
I have guns. So I can take what I need from all of the lefties without them.

Win. Lol.

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: cwjerome
Funny this comes out because I have a friend who picked up this hobby almost a year ago... not hardcore, but definitely "prepared."

Crisis spurs spike in 'suburban survivalists'

How prepared are you if things go bad fast?

Me? I would say better off than the average joe. Being an outdoorsman means I have plenty of ammo, food, and supplies, yet not much in terms of long term planning and sustainment. I am thinking about getting more serious about it though.

I have 17 beers and a bunch of left overs in the frigerator. In terms of dry goods I have a half pound of rice and three packets of ramen noodles. Oh yeah I have an open bag of flour too.

Okay, make that 15 beers....

 

[JKing106]

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil
I have guns. So I can take what I need from all of the lefties without them.

Except some "lefties," like me, also have guns. Only thing you're taking from me is some lead slugs. You don't actually believe that cartoonish, stereotypical bullshit you hear from Limbaugh, Savage, etc., do you? That all liberals hate guns, support abortion, all those other ridiculous talking points? Never mind, from the shit you post, yeah, you probably do.

 

[Fear No Evil]

Originally posted by: JKing106

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil
I have guns. So I can take what I need from all of the lefties without them.

Except some "lefties," like me, also have guns. Only thing you're taking from me is some lead slugs. You don't actually believe that cartoonish, stereotypical bullshit you hear from Limbaugh, Savage, etc., do you? That all liberals hate guns, support abortion, all those other ridiculous talking points? Never mind, from the shit you post, yeah, you probably do.

Absolutely not! I do not believe ANY of that bullshit. However, I do believe CNN, MSNBC, etc who claim that all right-wingers are gun toting crazies with caches of assault weapons and ammunition. So I am 100% positive that I will have more guns, bigger guns, and be a better shot than you.

 

[JKing106]

Originally posted by: MovingTarget
For those of us who don't live in suburbia, this is a non-issue. We already have guns. I guess the only thing we have done to 'prepare' is to start growing food regularly. This is our second season, and we've learned a lot from last year's crop. If the shit hits the fan, we will probably be alright. To be honest though, us rural folk have more to fear from unscrupulous real estate developers than from the economy. :mad;

If the shit were to really hit the fan, as in the trucks delivering the food to the supermarkets and restaurants stopped coming, we're going to see a side of humanity that no one is going to be prepared for. It's going to be outright anarchy and chaos. People breaking into each other's houses raiding for food, raiding gardens, etc. That means folks are going to die, from starvation and violence. Some folks here talk shit like they're John Wayne-esque bad asses, but I assure you, if the food stopped coming, 90% of the posters here would be dead in a year.

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: Triumph

Originally posted by: Martin
You people are dangerously disconnected from reality. You don't seem to be able to look at a certain situation, judge probable outcomes and accurately imagine what you would do should that situation come to pass. I'm not sure, but I'd guess it's a result of panicky neuroticism and way, way too many movies as a kid.

I don't really understand what your point is. Your highlighted sentence is exactly what "urban survivalists" are doing. Are you making fun of people who prepare for disasters or are you making fun of the people that put their head in the sands, claiming "it will never happen to me"?

Something as simple as a bad thunderstorm can easily shut off power for a day. A bad winter storm could leave you stranded in your home for a week. A hurricane could leave you without any amenities at all. People who prepare for TEOTWAWKI may be a bit out there, but there's not really anything wrong with what they're doing. People who don't prepare for anything are the ones that are dangerously disconnected from reality.

Did you not read the article? People buying bulk wheat and milling their own bread? 5500 litres of stockpiled food? People worrying about what they'll do if civilization collapses? You're trying to compare that to someone keeping a few extra items in case of a hurricane (a regular occurrence for those living in hurricane-prone areas)?


I laugh because I happened to grow up in a large city in a time of massive inflation, economic collapse, power shortages, water rationing, huge unemployment, organized crime, etc. I have a pretty good idea of what these idiots fear so much, and I also have a pretty good idea of the chances of that happening around here. These paranoid Anglos, OTOH, have no such frame of reference and have to rely instead on their imaginations fueled by Mad Max type fantasies. The result is a "Duck & Cover"-like hysteria, that while quite funny, also makes me worry about their mental health.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
There are two basic scenarios to plan for:
Sh*t hits the fan (SHTF) - short term disruption of your lifestyle - more or less what happened with Katrina
The end of the world as we know it (TOTWAWKI) - Majority of population is dead, likely no electricity or any other infrastructure.

I just added the term TOTWAWKI to my lexicon.

To read about people who are preparing for TOTWAWKI, go visit the http://www.peakoil.com discussion forum. They have an entire forum area that's more or less dedicated to that (Planning for the Future).

 

[StageLeft]

I keep enough around that if end-times come I can watch the first line of savages (most people) go around running around like maniacs without any food because they never kept more than a week's supply at home. THen I'll be in the second group of maniacs looking for food.

I do think it's intelligent to keep some real stores of food around, though, and so I do. Not just war but it's easy to see hysteria and panick able to overcome people and by the time that happens it's too late to work on a store of food. Buy bulk nonperishables, at the least--ones that would normally be eaten anyway and cycle them out before they age. There's no reason a typical family cannot have enough food for a few months and it's extremely cheap to do. $20k for generators and God knows what else is magnitudes more than necessary (like 60 times).

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: Martin

Originally posted by: Triumph

Originally posted by: Martin
You people are dangerously disconnected from reality. You don't seem to be able to look at a certain situation, judge probable outcomes and accurately imagine what you would do should that situation come to pass. I'm not sure, but I'd guess it's a result of panicky neuroticism and way, way too many movies as a kid.

I don't really understand what your point is. Your highlighted sentence is exactly what "urban survivalists" are doing. Are you making fun of people who prepare for disasters or are you making fun of the people that put their head in the sands, claiming "it will never happen to me"?

Something as simple as a bad thunderstorm can easily shut off power for a day. A bad winter storm could leave you stranded in your home for a week. A hurricane could leave you without any amenities at all. People who prepare for TEOTWAWKI may be a bit out there, but there's not really anything wrong with what they're doing. People who don't prepare for anything are the ones that are dangerously disconnected from reality.

Did you not read the article? People buying bulk wheat and milling their own bread? 5500 litres of stockpiled food? People worrying about what they'll do if civilization collapses? You're trying to compare that to someone keeping a few extra items in case of a hurricane (a regular occurrence for those living in hurricane-prone areas)?


I laugh because I happened to grow up in a large city in a time of massive inflation, economic collapse, power shortages, water rationing, huge unemployment, organized crime, etc. I have a pretty good idea of what these idiots fear so much, and I also have a pretty good idea of the chances of that happening around here. These paranoid Anglos, OTOH, have no such frame of reference and have to rely instead on their imaginations fueled by Mad Max type fantasies. The result is a "Duck & Cover"-like hysteria, that while quite funny, also makes me worry about their mental health.

Meh, good for you. They're not hurting anyone, so live and let live.

 

[walkur]

Well, if the shit really hit the fan, most of us here would be screwed.
Half of the Netherlands relies on pumps and dikes to keep the water out.
No wild nature to speak of and what little game-animals there are in the nature reserves would be gone in no time.
People would gather on the few spots that would be above ground, and due to the absence of guns (very few guns here) it would be brutal.

Only way for me to prepare would be to get extra food and Camping gear (which I both have

Don't have any guns in the house, but I do have a couple of (cross)bows with plenty of bolts/arrows and that's probably more than 95% of the people around here.

In the short term I would be OK (I live on the 3d floor so above the waterlvl), long term the water would really make a mess of things.

 

[FaaR]

What a bizarre thread this is.

One side's announcing how much food, guns and ammo they have stockpiled for when society goes under.

The other side's laughing at the first (and rightly so).

On the third hand, Jehovah's Witnesses predicted the end of the world no less than three times in the last century. Did any of that come to pass? No.

Society isn't going to end. Well, not in our lifetime anyway. And if it does, no amount of preparation is going to be enough, unless you own your own farm way out in the boondocks where nobody's liable to find you and raid you. Because no matter how many guns you have, you gotta sleep sometime and then all your piles of guns and ammo won't stop a looter from beating you over the head with a piece of cordwood.

Preparing for a hurricane is smart if you live in florida. Preparing for a hurricane is dumb if you live in oregon. Preparing for the end of civilization is dumb for every reason there could possibly be, just like preparing for a meteorite falling on your head. The chance of it actually happening is so insignificantly tiny that the cost of your preparations don't outweigh the possible benefits.

And to Mr. Crossbowman in the netherlands, if your pumps ever stop working over there you better get ready to swim to germany, because regardless of how many arrows you got stashed in your third-floor apartement you can't stay there forever. What will you do when you run out of food and fresh water?

This thread's five lols out of a possible five...

 

[Possessed Freak]

Who the heck needs to store food when you have an assault rifle?

 

[Uhtrinity]

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil
I have guns. So I can take what I need from all of the lefties without them.

I can just see you checking for party registration cards to decide who you kill / steal from. Talk about taking team sport mentality to the extreme.