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People will turn into animals. Friends, family.. When pushed to the brink, desperate people will do things to one another they never thought possible.

After my house break in and later break up with my ex long ago, I quit broadcasting to friends my hobbies or preparedness.. In fact I dont talk about any of that at all any more.. Which sucks because I love talking about all that stuff.. I don't mention any surplus of food, water, wood or gas.. People will remember those things about you if SHTF. And as they talk about it amongst themselves others are bound to hear and either follow or come looking for it themselves.

Family only, as close as I am to some friends, depending on the situation.. Anyone but family is SOL..

I hope to god none of the SHTF stuff ever happens though. However power outages and severe snow days are quite a reality. It never hurts to be prepared, and most likely its those stored items that I can comfortably use that will sustain myself and others should the city and stores shut down.
 
Desperate people will most certainly do desperate things. I can't help but think of a quote from an American author of yesteryear:

"Principles have no real force except when one is well-fed." — Mark Twain​
 
Desperation will make good people do bad things.

For a quick primer on what you can expect I would direct you to someone in your life who has gotten addicted to opiates or to a lesser degree other drugs or alcohol. One of the changes in the brain of an Opiate addict takes place in the Amygdala which is a part of the brain that also handles much of our survival instinct. If you are lucky enough not to have a friend or family member that has gone down that way I think the easiest way to explain it is that opiates have replaced food in their hierarchy of needs.

When they find they won't be getting their next dose it is chemically very similar to what you would see with people starving to death trying to find a next meal. When people start running out of food and basic necessities they will be even worse than dope sick Junkies. I say that because it stands to reason that a dope sick junkie can at least try and fight their survival instincts by reminding themselves they will not die if they don't get their fix. Thankfully some are successful in this and find that they don't actually die, they will just feel like they are dieing for a week or so.

With a SHTF situation there is no convincing yourself that you can convert to breathinarism and not need food. When you combine the drive to survive personally with the drive to provide for peoples children you get a pretty nasty picture. And as if that picture wasn't bad enough you have to remember that those criminal elements that are out there now will be able to run rampant with very little consequence.

I hope the worst never comes to pass, I spent a year or so living on the street years ago and that was enough survival for more than several lifetimes. It was like the crappiest camping trip you can imagine. Surviving in a world where everyone is as unhinged as the worst addicts is going to require either a lot of space between you and them or a lot of people you can trust to help you man some serious defenses.

CountryGent: Isn't Mark Twain just the absolute best ? He seriously is one of my favorite authors and possibly the most quotable man of all time.
 
When I deployed to Gulf 1 in the middle of the desert, we had a medical unit which had nurses and also a few air traffic controllers which had females. In less than two weeks a fair percentage of marital affairs started, gambling problems and theft occurred. We were supposed to be on the same team fighting for on cause.

It was pretty amazing that so called professional, disciplined, trained individuals lost their bearing at the slightest hint of conflict. Most people kept it together but there were suicide watches, crying and all sorts of issues for a few but was still very telling. People's minds can take a small problem and make it huge, based on nothing.
 
The biggest vulnerability we have as a nation, in my view, is the electrical grid. Compound that with the complexity in major cities of the supply chain with regard to food and fuel and a lot of people are at risk if a catastrophe happens.

Here in the Northwest we have the huge advantage of hydroelectric power - great. But fuel sources and reserves are a huge weak point.

The populous of the U.S. isn't as hearty as it once was and many basic skills are all but lost.

Get fit, get armed, get trained.
 
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Perhaps another if not the biggest problem our nation faces is too much dependency upon the micro chip. Very exposed. Very easy to disrupt. Today micro chips are in practically everything. Most of us have experienced costly electronics failures.

Most national, regional and local public utilities depend upon modern day controls. Our entire transport system is now dependent upon the chip in one form or another. Nearly all modern technology now centers around a tiny weak marvelous micro chip.,

Enter the evil nature of mankind. We were taught 40 years ago that a big orbiting EMP bomb satellite detonated about 1000 miles above the central North American continent could destroy our entire infrastructure. Things since then have gotten worse.
 
The biggest vulnerability we have as a nation, in my view, is the electrical grid. Compound that with the complexity in major cities of the supply chain with regard to food and fuel and a lot of people are at risk if a catastrophe happens.

Here in the Northwest we have the huge advantage of hydroelectric power - great. But fuel sources and reserves are a huge weak point.

The populous of the U.S. isn't as hearty as it once was and many basis skills are all but lost.

Get fit, get armed, get trained.
Even with hydropower, it's still dependent on the lines and distribution substations... very vulnerable to some local warlord deciding to cut off everybody downstream.
 
Most people suck already, just amplify that times 10o_O
I see the "FAT" boy from Korea as being one of our biggest threats ~ possibly with EMP attack. When he gets really threatened about his power ,I think we really better be on our toes.
Even though you prepared for a SHTF ,most households could not survive more then 4/5 days before they would start having problems. Most water/sewer treatment plant would be down ` no toilets along with electric service. After several days it would be very unwise to run a gen set as noise would attract the ones having problems. The longer you survive the harder it will be to protect what's you have for survival. After a while gangs will form with enough fire power to take what you have ~~ one way or another.. ~ worse they'd burn you and your supplies out.
So next is at what point do you start to open fire to protect you/your family and resources?? Especially when it's another family with kids starving.
I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER TO THAT ONE
 
Even with hydropower, it's still dependent on the lines and distribution substations... very vulnerable to some local warlord deciding to cut off everybody downstream.

Completely agree.

My point is mainly it's a different circumstance that say a region with mainly coal fired power and nearby oil refineries for example. These are the factors to take into account when compiling a threat analysis and in strategic planning.
 
The biggest vulnerability we have as a nation, in my view, is the electrical grid. Compound that with the complexity in major cities of the supply chain with regard to food and fuel and a lot of people are at risk if a catastrophe happens.

Here in the Northwest we have the huge advantage of hydroelectric power - great. But fuel sources and reserves are a huge weak point.

The populous of the U.S. isn't as hearty as it once was and many basis skills are all but lost.

Get fit, get armed, get trained.

Some of us are too old and banged up to get fit. Hopefully, we've picked up some smarts along the way and will be able to out-think the bad guys.

If we lose the grid, then food & water distribution will be the biggest problem. Lots of folks who can't grow their own will be looking for someone to help them. Our little farm isn't far from town, so we would likely see a lot of beggars/raiders here.

Hoping and praying it never happens. But you can be sure the enemy called the 'muslim brotherhood' is just as aware of this vulnerability as we are.
 
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Some of us are too old and banged up to get fit. Hopefully, we've picked up some smarts along the way and will be able to out-think the bad guys.

Old and banged up - I'm there with you. I'll never be in near the condition I was when I was on active duty and my orthopedist just strongly advised me to never run again. So be it.

I'm still making the effort to get better; so I'm more able to defend my family as much as anything.

On a side note; I've recently started working with a kettle bell; now that's an arse kicker...
 
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Folks can get real ugly right now ... No real need of SHTF to see any of it.
Not much to add other than :
Maintain a low profile.
Be prepared to do what you have to do , in order to survive.
With this I'm not saying to prey upon others or to cause harm.
Just that you may have to do things that you are uncomfortable in doing , be willing to live with out those things which you think you can't do without etc ...

Also in addition to developing your physical health and skill set , a good forward thinking , positive and adaptable mental attitude is a must.
Andy
 
Folks can get real ugly right now ... No real need of SHTF to see any of it.
Not much to add other than :
Maintain a low profile.
Be prepared to do what you have to do , in order to survive.
With this I'm not saying to prey upon others or to cause harm.
Just that you may have to do things that you are uncomfortable in doing , be willing to live with out those things which you think you can't do without etc ...

Also in addition to developing your physical health and skill set , a good forward thinking , positive and adaptable mental attitude is a must.
Andy
I'd add to that list a good relationship with the Lord Jesus, and a strong prayer life. Then whatever comes, you're set.
 
I plan to be ready for anything... either natural or man-made...

Though in my opinion, short of a full scale civil war, the widespread meltdown of society that gets talked about so much in prepping circles, is never going to happen. Sure, we will have small localized problems, like during Katrina for example... thats it though.

Even if the Cascadia slips the big one... its not going to be an end of the world scenario.

So, even if you find yourself in a tight spot post-disaster, you will probably end up sharing a cell with Mike Strickland when the dust settles. Its not Mad Max, Waterworld or the Walking Dead... always remember that you will be held accountable for your actions and in the PDX/SEA areas, you may survive the emergency, but you may not be a free man.

Have a less-lethal plan as well. If you have a group of people roaming your neighborhood... you really cant do anything unless theyre entering your place. You cant start pumping rounds at them through your fence boards.

When order is restored, and it will be, you will have to account for the dead people around your property:D
 

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