Preparing for Uncertainty and Self Reliance

[MilSpecs]

The problem with an EMP is that it's highly likely that enough public utilities computer systems would not survive and take down the electrical grid and associated systems. However, IMO, Americans could bounce back fairly quickly getting those systems up and running again especially at the especially at Hydro Electric source production. Bringing the entire country back to the 21st C would be a long proposition though.

The logistics may be insurmountable. They're going to have to find every retired field engineer and shop technician (the people with the knowledge predating modern systems), and get them all into facilities and shops that are likely very far from where they live now. It's not like they're all going to walk to their plants and shops, and a lot of those facilities are located in what are often heavily populated areas, and after a disaster may be zones ruled by warlords.

I think it would be hit an miss on War Lords and Fiefdoms. Some states like Illinois, California and Florida don't have a chance, but other states might very well keep their state governments functioning. Population density is probably the biggest factor.

I'm thinking about what happened after the blackout in 1977. It was only a day or so, but there was widespread destruction in some areas. It got dangerous quickly, and I can imagine if it had lasted the dangerous areas might have had to be cordoned off to avoid it spreading. Gangs would have taken over fairly quickly. Power plants and generating stations are often located in those areas.

[Hastur]

What is the most likely scenario you are prepping for?

Financial collapse

Sneak nuke

Civil unrest

Major war

Disease outbreak

Zombies

Natural disaster

What difference does it make?

[Ex-California]

TRUMP PRESIDENCY REEEEEEEEE

[Speaker to Animals]

For me, it's really something like a second great depression.

But in terms of the really bad shit happening.. I'd guess there is an outside chance that, in our lifetimes, the following could occur:

Civil War
Nuclear War
EMP attacks
Deadly pandemic on the order of the Black Death

I'd actually put those risks before a true economic collapse, honestly. I think another global depression is most likely, but that's still not an economic collapse that occurs without some other factor (like a nuclear war).

Civil war seems most likely of the four, though not overall a big concern for me after Hillary lost. A civil war would likely lead to a nuclear war anyway, so the second one is at least partially tied to the first one. I think nuclear war between other nations not involving the US is very likely, but you can deal with that very easily with potassium iodide. An EMP attack seems almost as likely as a civil war (though we are talking about a list of unlikely scenarios to begin with). That would be more horrific than a straight-up nuclear war. I mean.. it would be more humane to kill the liberal cities instantly with nuclear warheads than an EMP strike.

The pandemic one I am not sure how to rank in terms of risk. I don't think we know enough about all the diseases out there to even estimate it. I also think the black death yet lingers out the wild somewhere (and it's not bubonic plague, but rather a hemorrhagic fever similar to ebola or the marburg virus).

The most important preps for all four of these things are:

(1) stay away from those deep blue urban areas. Those are death traps when the time comes.
(2) Try to work yourself up to a year's worth of food stored in a larder (preferably freeze-dried food in vacuum-sealed cans so the food lasts a long time).
(3) Have some basic weapons and appropriate training. Probably just a rifle and a shotgun would be fine, really. Too many people focus on this like they are gearing up for the Army.
(4) Try to get some land and a home well away from town centers that is defensible and your neighbors are generally conservative people.

The rest of the stuff would be specific to each scenario, though not that involved, really. The main things you need to focus on for prepping are just food, distance from concentrations of liberal people, and the ability to grow some food if your food supply is interrupted for more than a year. The rest is just luck, honestly.

[Speaker to Animals]

Oh.. and a great depression, while bad in the sense that you could lose your homes and become destitute, is not really all that bad. You could get by eventually, though it would suck. I doubt your lives would be in danger here in the US. For that, your preps should be financial and geared towards self-reliance. Try to own your home and some land that you can use to grow food. Stay out of debt. Diversify your wealth away from money and stocks and bonds.

[Speaker to Animals]

Oh, one more thing.. don't make hunting your prep. I think that is about one of the dumbest ideas I ever come across.

[Hastur]

What if some wiz kid at some bank somewhere invented an alternative to the dollar as a reserve currency? Some financial vehicle not previously thought of. The US suddenly has to balance it's budget and sell bonds with the same risk as other countries. How bad could it get?

I'm no expert on these things. My personal belief is that the fundamentals of the US economy are so strong that sound federal finances are just a couple of unimaginable reforms away.

[Speaker to Animals]

What if some wiz kid at some bank somewhere invented an alternative to the dollar as a reserve currency? Some financial vehicle not previously thought of. The US suddenly has to balance it's budget and sell bonds with the same risk as other countries. How bad could it get?

I'm no expert on these things. My personal belief is that the fundamentals of the US economy are so strong that sound federal finances are just a couple of unimaginable reforms away.

I guess he shouldn't have taken all those drugs and suddenly raced his car at 120 mph into that tree.

[C-Mag]

What is the most likely scenario you are prepping for? .....................
What difference does it make?

My thoughts on this from page 2

The Case for Self-Reliance
Original thoughts by Carlus Magnus

Self-Reliance far too often is missing from our society. We have become a group that relies on 'them' and blames 'them' if we are not happy with outcomes. Self-Reliance means operating on ones own power(s), initiative or resources. Being Self-Reliant is good for Society, it is good for the Environment and it is good for the individual. More than that, I firmly believe it is immoral for people with the means not to be prepared to help themselves and others in times of Emergency.

We currently are facing a decrepit infrastructure that needs Billions of dollars to rebuild. We have Centralized our resource production and the control of that production. Whenever there is a Natural Disaster in an area there is panicked buying and store shelves are picked bare in a matter of hours. It also stresses the rest of our infrastructure from transportation to energy production to Emergency Services. There just is not enough money for State, Local and Government agencies to help in times of a natural disaster. There are many examples of this. During Katrina it was the Cajun Navy that rescued many stranded people and took them to safety. This small group of self reliant Bayou hillbillies were not greatly impacted by the storms due to their preparedness and they, in turn, were able to come to the aid of their fellow citizens. This plays out time and time again. During Hurricane Sandy, a few people with generators provided local power to people so they could charge their phones, communicate with loved ones, boil some water or cook some food. Private citizens, privately armed, stepped up and guarded communities against looters. You see this type of thing play out time after time. Just recently during the flooding and threat to the Oroville Spillway and Dam we saw people with no real connections to those affected giving shelter to man and beast alike. Sihks opened their temples, horse farms took in others animals. Without the aid of these good samaratins who are self reliant, able and willing to help the impact on society and the government would be much greater.

We've centralized our food production, irradiated it, packaged it in petro-chemical wrappers and keep putting it on trucks burning fossil fuels. We ship water to central growing locations and concentrate labor in those locations. Then we cover the fields in plastic to retain the valuable water. We have created a situation where one picker crapping in a field can cause a nation wide eColi outbreak. A system that relies solely on the ability of trucks to feed the country. A system where all the environmental impacts and chemical uses are concentrated. The solution to pollution is dilution. We have technology in growing food we could only dream of 50 - 100 years ago. We need to leverage it. On a small footprint an average family can grow a great deal of their own food and eat better, more nutritious food than they would get from the massive Agriculture conglomerates. It's not just food either, it's all the products we buy. Someone who can do something as simple as replacing a zipper in a coat or pair of pants is not buying another thing, and using more resources from our little blue marble here. Anything we do ourselves that saves having to buy something else preserves finite resources. We currently have 7.125 Billion people in our little terrarium in space. At current growth rates and without a major die off, in 20 short years the worlds population will more than double to total of around 16 Billion. Where will all those resources come from ? Do we have enough fuel, food and power to serve 16 Billion people? Our modern society, is still shaking off the Roaring 90's when fuel was cheap, McMansions were on the rise and there was a seeming abundance of everything. By the mid-21st Century preserving resources is going to be real for all of us on the planet.

Self-Reliance is a great journey to human growth. It's a great thing to pass on to future generations. If you stop and think about what we as a modern society are not able to do, that is necessary in our society, and was common place just a generation ago it's stunning. Who could patch and repair a flat tire today if there wasn't a service station available ? Who could provide power, water or heat if it was disrupted ? Hell, who can even navigate from one point to another without an I-Phone ? Our modern society relies on our infrastructure and technology to remain in tact for the vast majority of our civilization. We have created a system with great services, so good that few people have to learn to do much of anything for themselves. The unintended consequences of that are that no one knows how to anything, people live paycheck to paycheck happily and don't think about the future beyond the next weekend. I recently read an article where the majority of Americans could not write a $500 check if they had to. We've so blinded ourselves with technology and ease that we don't realize how fragile it all can be. Take a person that can't write that $500 check. What if someone in that family loses a job or gets laid off due to market forces? If they grow a portion of their own food, preserve their food and do most of their own repairs it's a much, much smaller impact to the family and society in general. If that family has not thought ahead and planned for harder times they will become another family needing government assistance and add another straw to the already burdened camels back.

Don't be shy about building a more Self-Reliant lifestyle. It's not about becoming one of the shameful idiots on Doomsday Preppers. It's about doing what's right for our nation, society, the environment and your family. If you have the means, not be a fool. Learn how to do something, put away a little something for hard times. Don't thing SHTF, TEOWAWKI, think about the shit that happens everyday. Natural disasters, employment interruptions and power interruptions. The average person can grow enough lettuce and herbs to take care of their family just in window sills. Most of us grow decorative plants. Try edible plants instead. Show your family or use it as a family activity to teach and learn about cycles of nature and plant growth. These are great opportunities that we shouldn't pass up. Try different things and when you find something you enjoy, have fun with it and get better. Become the person that can help out a neighbor in time of need. It's a great growth experience for humans.

[Fife]

Oh, one more thing.. don't make hunting your prep. I think that is about one of the dumbest ideas I ever come across.

What do you mean?