SHTF, am I missing something?

[Longwalkhome]

I was joking with my Doctor one day and said it's amazing how sick I became when I got good insurance.

Haven't been to a doctor in years, probably why I am still alive.

 

[Camelfilter]

So I'm wondering if I'm missing something with this whole SHTF prepping. The scenarios I see to be ready for at least in my life time are a natural disaster but my house is still standing so hunker down in place. Next would be the natural disaster but my house is gone but with a little warning so I can grab and go in my truck. Lastly I see the Jackbooted thugs as a possibility so prevent entrance then hide and snipe would be my thingEvery

Scenario "prepping" is a bad idea. In my opinion.

The more likely problems to hit folks are individual/family centric. Economic & or health.

Being generally "prepared", can cover many problems.

As a grossly oversimplified example: storing foods. Done well saves both time and money. While improving health (then helps maintain "good" health). Having excess foods on hand, and which ones family normally eats & enjoys is just a bonus.

Money savings over time spills into general financial health.

Being diagnosed with a disorder/syndrome/disease/cancer doesn't mean preparing is / was futile. Foods (again, oversimplified for this example). Allowed for spilling into financial over time, ongoing would allow for less stressful time planning appointments / treatments etc etc. No competition / less stress over going shopping / eating out daily, everyother day, weekly etc.

Being generally "prepared" skills & goods wise, helps alleviate or reduce what would be an "EMERGENCY!!" to folks less so. Plumbing, heating, A/C, electric problem, vehicle? Either you can fix whatever it may be, so no problem. Or have another system in place "good enough" to get by/patchwork up/bypass something until proper parts sourced/skills learned etc.

Big job/job beyond skill set? You've enough to get by comfortably until you can budget to outsource. Not at holiday weekend overnight quadruple premium rate...RITE NOW!!

Just some thoughts is all. It's not about surviving the unlikely. More about thriving. Everyday.

In my opinion.

 

[The Heretic]

So I'm wondering if I'm missing something with this whole SHTF prepping. The scenarios I see to be ready for at least in my life time are a natural disaster but my house is still standing so hunker down in place. Next would be the natural disaster but my house is gone but with a little warning so I can grab and go in my truck. Lastly I see the Jackbooted thugs as a possibility so prevent entrance then hide and snipe would be my thing there.

A lot of people would and do disagree with me, but yeah, IMO, you are missing what is happening right now - albeit very gradually; the Peak Carrying Capacity issue (not just a possible scenario - it is happening now):

Carrying Capacity is not a theory, it is 'a well-known ecological term that has an obvious and fairly intuitive meaning: "the maximum population size of a species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other necessities available in the environment". It is seen in nature for all species, from bacteria to humans.

As the dominant species on Earth, we are everywhere and our population is growing. When and where we reach the peak capacity of our environment is a matter of debate, but we are going to get there, probably sometime this century.

The symptoms/causes are over fishing of the oceans, depletion of natural resources such as energy, potable water and arable land, drought, increasingly severe weather, etc.

At some point, there will be a worldwide severe die off of humans. Probably not in my lifetime, but the symptoms will get worse, and my kids may live to see it. Energy, food, water will get more and more expensive - it is simple math; we only have a finite amount of most natural resources, as the human population continues to grow, those resources will become more scarce and therefore more expensive - at some point, some percentage of the population will not be able/afford to acquire the needed resources to continue to survive.

For many SHTF scenarios/risks, a good approach is to become more self-sufficient and preferably not risk being near population centers. The same is true for Peak Carrying Capacity - having your own source of potable water, raising/growing your own food, having a renewable source of energy for electricity and heat, having defensible shelter and mitigating threats by increasing your distance from them and having a means of self-defense, are all good approaches to most SHTF scenarios, including the eventual outcomes of Peak Carrying Capacity.

 

[Hueco]

I guess that's kind of my point, a few years ago we had a snowmegadon event where it was around zero degrees and we lost power for a week or so. To us it was no big deal, we heat with wood and kept the freezer stuff in ice chests on the back porch. We cooked off the camp stove, BBQ and even smoked a Ham because could. We did keep a cell phone charged in case my Mom needed help. It certainly wasn't the end of the world.

Really depends where you're at.

When snowmageddan happened, my wife and I were living on top of King's Hill downtown (SW Salmon & SW 20th Ave). Our apartment was on the 5th floor.

That apartment had all electric appliances, a small balcony, no A/C, and floorboard heaters in 2 of the 3 spaces (was only a 1 bedroom).

We had no power for a night, that's all. Access to whatever you wanted, as long as you walked. Funny story, while EVERYTHING was closed up and we were enjoying walking downtown snowed under…we saw one other person with a pink box…come to find out, Vudoo Doughnuts was still open and baking!

I'll get into my preps at that time if you really want to know. More so I mention it because most of the people here talking about prepping appear to be Middle Aged and in a good spot to do just that. Not much here from the younger crowd or those who don't have the financial means to prep much or own their own property. It makes a big difference in what you do and which scenarios you plan for.

 

[albin25]

single young person with little money, small apt. prep

1 case pork n beans
1 case canned mixed veggies
1 case beef ravioli
1 case spam

stack them up and cover with a large towel, put a lamp on top = end-table!

 

[arakboss]

His daughter had it..

Thanks it's been awhile since I listened to the book.

 

[Rkangel]

Everybody is different and will die in different ways. Be patient.

I realize this was sarcasm. But there is also a lot of truth.

The reality is that we can prep as much as we want, but SHTF is a race to see who runs out of resources first, you or the S that HTF.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Back to the original question.
Books,puzzles and board games would be nice on about day 10 of no phone or tv

 

[41mag]

The older I get the less worried I become about the adaptation needed as more following seconds accumulate

 

[Ura-Ki]

For me, "Prepping" is simply something I have always done, growing up rural, it was prudent to put up extra stuff, just in case, we always called it! We always had extra fruits and veggies from the gardens, and what we didn't eat right away got canned and put up! Same with meats, a good deep freezer is a must have, along with the gen set to power it long term should the grid go down for any length of time! Knowing we are vulnerable to winter storms, having alternate power is a must, and should be a no brainer! Beyond that, keeping certain rigs full of fuel and ready to go, especially in winter, having enough fuel to power the gen set long term, and being able to heat and survive in the home during the event goes a long ways!

 

[Certaindeaf]

I realize this was sarcasm. But there is also a lot of truth.

The reality is that we can prep as much as we want, but SHTF is a race to see who runs out of resources first, you or the S that HTF.

Absolutely.

 

[Member 3687]

I agree with the OP and the threat that the world is over populated and I will also agree that as I get older, I tend to prep more for the next 3 months rather than for the next 3 years. My health issues are bad knees, we are talking replacement but I am still up in the air about it.

My opinions have changed and if you dig through my past post, you will see it has by a large amount.

Back in 2009 when I first posted on this and many other sites my opinions were based on how I grew up and what was going on at the time, things like the Cubin missile crisis, duck and cover, Viet Nam and the cold war as we had what we thought was a defined enemy so it was easy to prepare. Things like RED DAWN popped into our heads but now its different at least in my opinion.

Now I look at the world and see political correctness, basic opinions are now considered hate speech, cancel culture, mask mandates, possible vaccine mandates and de-fund the police while cities burn in the name of three letter acronyms and then Governors/President promote turning in your neighbor for not wearing masks like that is the crime of the century and it's not even a real law.

Then to top it off I am white, so therefore I am an automatic racist, homophobe, xenophobe and all-around scum of the earth.

This country is so divided I now worry about my neighbors and this government more than I do North Korea. When this administration has no problem stating their goal is to take our guns rights away and proud of it. When politicians state that if you supported Trump, you should be rounded up and put in re-education camps and mean it. When many states let folks out of jail that committed bad crimes because of Covid then want to replace them with folks over not wearing masks. When rioters are arrested for damaging state and federal buildings but never prosecuted so you wonder if law and order even matter anymore.

I feel there is no defined enemy any more so how do you prepare? I can prepare for fire/weather even military invasion/martial law but how do you prep for a divide country where neighbor is against neighbor or the beginnings of a civil war.

So, I have food and water and a bug out bag if I do have to bail but most likely I will stay in place as currently my neighbors are like minded but with so many folks moving into the area I am not too sure any more if that will stay this way.

Just my opinion

 

[Alexx1401]

I guess what I'm seeing or rather reading is other people are prepping for some sort of urban assault, building clearing type scenario and I was wondering what's that all about and should I be looking at that as well hence the "am I missing something question".

A LOT of what you read about this is people who watch way too much TV. For me? Since where we live we have a chance of a good shake one day. The kind that could really end the power and such for a while. That is what I prep for. We could easily go a couple weeks on what we have at home no problem. If we get the big one here and the house does not fall down, we will be fine till Gov gets here to start feeding us. Other thing that is a real possibility is all out riots and such. These are of course short lived but, can of course be something to be prepared for. When people get together in "mobs" they are capable of some amazing stuff but, they are still people. Even the mob goes after the weak.
Having supplies sure paid off when we decided we needed to lock down for two weeks for Covid. Few seem to remember this great hoax started with that line they pretend they never used. We just need two weeks to flatten the curve. Well mass panic hit the stores and things like TP were gone. Wife and I laughed at it since we had stuff at home.

 

[red442joe]

A lot of people are taking insulin these days so that would be a big problem. Years back there was a small pharma company working on an oral form of insulin but it never panned out as far as I know. There would be a huge market for a pill form of insulin, especially if it has a long shelf life and doesn't need refrigeration.

I've read that book as well, and would say it falls into my hunker down prepping, one thing that struck me is that I'm old and Diabetic so what do I do when the Insluln runs out.

A lot of people are taking insulin these days so that would be a big problem. Years back there was a small pharma company working on an oral form of insulin but it never panned out as far as I know. There would be a huge market for a pill form of insulin, especially if it has a long shelf life and doesn't need refrigeration.

Sorry for dubble-quote, I apparently dont know what Im doing...
Room temperature Insulin. I worked for a r&d lab that does produce and hold a patent for room temp insulin.
However.....
As brilliant and dedicated as their young engineers are, the company seems like possibly a money-laundering operation operating as a venture capital tech startup.
Somnio Global, Novi, MI.

Joe

 

[3MTA3]

I don't think we have to worry about much beyond the Cascadia fault and/or volcanic activity out here unless Biden decides to pull all the troops out of Portland. At that point we are pretty much fooked.

 

[Longwalkhome]

Preppers prepare for what they fear but you never know everything that can come your way. 10 people woke up one day and never thought this would happen to them.

Hostages strapped to cars in huge bank robbery in Aracatuba, Brazil

Twenty heavily armed robbers raided three banks in the centre of Aracatuba city, southern Brazil - planting bombs in the street before strapping civilian hostages to their cars as they escaped.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[osprey]

A lot of people would and do disagree with me, but yeah, IMO, you are missing what is happening right now - albeit very gradually; the Peak Carrying Capacity issue (not just a possible scenario - it is happening now):

Carrying Capacity is not a theory, it is 'a well-known ecological term that has an obvious and fairly intuitive meaning: "the maximum population size of a species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other necessities available in the environment". It is seen in nature for all species, from bacteria to humans.

As the dominant species on Earth, we are everywhere and our population is growing. When and where we reach the peak capacity of our environment is a matter of debate, but we are going to get there, probably sometime this century.

The symptoms/causes are over fishing of the oceans, depletion of natural resources such as energy, potable water and arable land, drought, increasingly severe weather, etc.

At some point, there will be a worldwide severe die off of humans. Probably not in my lifetime, but the symptoms will get worse, and my kids may live to see it. Energy, food, water will get more and more expensive - it is simple math; we only have a finite amount of most natural resources, as the human population continues to grow, those resources will become more scarce and therefore more expensive - at some point, some percentage of the population will not be able/afford to acquire the needed resources to continue to survive.

For many SHTF scenarios/risks, a good approach is to become more self-sufficient and preferably not risk being near population centers. The same is true for Peak Carrying Capacity - having your own source of potable water, raising/growing your own food, having a renewable source of energy for electricity and heat, having defensible shelter and mitigating threats by increasing your distance from them and having a means of self-defense, are all good approaches to most SHTF scenarios, including the eventual outcomes of Peak Carrying Capacity.

This pretty much captures my take on the issue. As a rural land owner and a hunter gatherer I feel I am as well prepared as I can be but obviously some things are not possible or practical to prepare for and having skills to solve problems on the fly will be needed. If it all goes South at least I will have tried my best for me and my family,

 

[Bam]

All of the prepping in the world won't save you from a world ending asteroid!

 

[arakboss]

Preppers prepare for what they fear but you never know everything that can come your way. 10 people woke up one day and never thought this would happen to them.

Hostages strapped to cars in huge bank robbery in Aracatuba, Brazil

Twenty heavily armed robbers raided three banks in the centre of Aracatuba city, southern Brazil - planting bombs in the street before strapping civilian hostages to their cars as they escaped.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Dang, that is some professional work right there.

 

[Camelfilter]

All of the prepping in the world won't save you from a world ending asteroid!

Meh.

Some things are not survivable.

Some things are seemingly unsurvivable, yet due to chance or intervention (depending on ones belief system) may be.

Some things are survivable, with challenges and hardships.

Some things are easily survivable.

Layered preparedness ads insurance, not assurance. Plus makes it easier to thrive. Everyday.