In this day and age it may surprise you that one of the greatest fears for most preppers in not the NSA, but what their next door neighbor might know. I’m currently waiting for the next book in a phenomenal series by S. M. Stirling to come out and would like to share a quick thought from that literary work. In this series the world, through climactic events, is plunged back into a medieval style dark age. In one of the latter book several characters are looking back at that first year and decade after the “change” and come to the profound conclusion that there were two types of people that survived the collapse; those who killed to get what they needed, and those who killed in defense of what they had.
This is why many preppers do not talk openly about what they do; which leaves me in an odd place because I run a website where I try and share personal experience and information that might help a person’s life. When you prep what are you investing in? Do you get the latest tactical gear, or do you purchase long shelf life food storage and water? I know people who have stock piled ammunition for both self defense and to acquire what they need from people who have built up life sustaining supplies. I say this to illustrate that not only out of desperation will people kill you, but some have your death as their primary plan if the SHTF.
Who knows what you have accumulated in your basement? If you have a circle of friends that you share prepping info with make sure they are like minded; other people might be interested, but could become a serious liability in an emergency. You friends will know what you have and what your defense capabilities are; for good and bad. As much as we need to take care of our fellow Americans, your number one priority is yourself and your immediate family. In the words of Tolkien “keep it safe, keep it secret.”
Asses everyone around you, and assume they are a threat until you know they are not. My mother, while on a wilderness survival experience for roughly two months told me that she was amazed and surprised that you could not predict who would end up being a food and supplies thief, and who would give themselves up for you. Now granted this was a simulated life and death scenario that was carefully monitored; but even there you could not predict a person’s reaction. Encourage people to prep but never indulge them with an abundance of personal information. Humanity is capable of terrible things in desperation.
One of my prepping prides is a small connex where I keep all sorts of prepping goodies. The connex is in an isolated location; painted camo, and during summers draped with camo netting. I came out to add some stuff to my cache and realized someone had tried to blow the lock off with a shot gun and put three rounds into the door. I don’t think they were more than bird hunters who stumbled upon the container; which I would like to mention is tucked away on private land; and then tried to break in. The quality lock defeated them. It’s not even a period of emergency and already you can’t trust people.
Jon
As an afterthought, if two duck hunters have gone missing in southeast Idaho…I had nothing to do with it J
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