Why are Americans not concerned about current events..?? Yes, some are concerned, especially those on pure "Prepping/Survival" forums. But "broad based" there is little concern.

The "average" American these days seems to have the attention span of a lightning bolt. Any disaster incoming, from hurricanes to gas shortages + all in between, will make them run to the supermarket + buy what they need RIGHT NOW. I don't need to elaborate on this fallacy.

Life is too easy in urban scenarios and that is where most people live. Also, most people are silent and compliant and we know historically what that leads to.

People won't care until they get real hungry. A simple EMP will ruin many millions of lives.

In my case, I see prepping as a no win scenario for EOTWAWKI scenarios.

If it gets to the point of total societal breakdown, the roving bands will attack and you will lose. You may take out disproportionate losses, but death isn’t a deterrent to the dying.

The place for prepping is modest. Food and fuel enough to get through a tight spot, but if you have enough for a year, the government will forcibly take it to help those who refuse to deal with day to day life… and you WILL NOT be compensated for it.

In this day and age, knowledge of survival and useful skills that make you essential are helpful.

But thinking you can get far enough off the grid or harden yourself enough to stop others is wishful thinking.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
In my case, I see prepping as a no win scenario for EOTWAWKI scenarios.

If it gets to the point of total societal breakdown, the roving bands will attack and you will lose. You may take out disproportionate losses, but death isn’t a deterrent to the dying.

The place for prepping is modest. Food and fuel enough to get through a tight spot, but if you have enough for a year, the government will forcibly take it to help those who refuse to deal with day to day life… and you WILL NOT be compensated for it.

In this day and age, knowledge of survival and useful skills that make you essential are helpful.

But thinking you can get far enough off the grid or harden yourself enough to stop others is wishful thinking.

WELL, A lot of people agree with your point of view. (However, I DON"T). I support your right to believe as you choose.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
In my case, I see prepping as a no win scenario for EOTWAWKI scenarios.

If it gets to the point of total societal breakdown, the roving bands will attack and you will lose. You may take out disproportionate losses, but death isn’t a deterrent to the dying.

The place for prepping is modest. Food and fuel enough to get through a tight spot, but if you have enough for a year, the government will forcibly take it to help those who refuse to deal with day to day life… and you WILL NOT be compensated for it.

In this day and age, knowledge of survival and useful skills that make you essential are helpful.

But thinking you can get far enough off the grid or harden yourself enough to stop others is wishful thinking.

Well, I can say I do for my family what I feel I can offer/teach as to my guess since none of us can fully see what's down the road. ..BUT ..I can say I am not going to sit around doing nothing. Never did that before, no need to start now.

Well, some of us have the advantage of living rural rather than urban (couldn't abide it anyway), even so we are all vulnerable to some degree. A friend of mine's son was living in New Orleans when Katrina hit + he described the aftermath with more than you saw on the TV. The gangs that were already there now owned the streets, + the violence was on beyond anything you could imagine in a Mad Max movie. Of course the media downplayed it to a point; it would prove that "the powers that be" are not in control of the situation. And they are not. We all know that we are responsible for our own safety. Another case in point, the kid that I spoke of in New Orleans; his mom was an old friend of mine + several years ago, she was concerned about some guy stalking her, so I gave her a S+W 38 snubbie (after making sure she knew how to use it) + some ammo. Then 2 nights ago, she goes on facebook talking all of the leftist trash about how no one needs a gun. bla/bla. Well, I had to say something, so I just said, that I'm sorry if you feel that way, but since you do, please return my revolver. As of yet, no response.

There are those who always see the glass as half empty.

And those who see it as half full.

I tend to think more on the positive side then the negative side.

Unless by Devine miracle we are all going to die.

I prefer not to hasten it.

Totally agree!

Most of your problems in America are home grown.

Total nonsense is brought to the front.

Common sense no longer exists!

Don’t get me wrong- some degree of preparedness is good, and likely to be essential…

But the thought that you can prepare for nuclear winter or whatnot is going to make you look silly.

Preparing for a longer power outage is a good idea.

Preparing based on the weaknesses exposed by the lockdowns is reasonable.

Heck, buying ammo/reloading supplies and having a multi year stockpile for your perceived needs is only being smart.

If you want to go off grid to reduce your exposure to price and availability fluctuations, you will be able to do that.

But providing long term answers to medical care?

Producing some of the more basic items (say how you are going to deal with getting welding supplies unless there is modern infrastructure?

If you can get a group of neighbors together, that helps… but what happens when they have a relative with young children show up that they love? Even if it’s just loss of power grid for a few months in your local area, how are you going to deal with the demands from your group? No one is going to be universally equally prepared.

Say you are in a bad situation, but not complete social breakdown… how do you deal with starving trespassers when if you shoot them or force them off, the authorities will not accept that option?

As bad and dangerous as you think yourself, there’s always someone worse out there, and the more you stand out, the more you will be targeted.

The only way I see prepping working is in remote locations where the prepper is surrounded by other preppers. If you are an island prepper, in a sea of sheeple, the have nots will eventually penetrate your defenses and get to you. Who can stay awake 24/7? You'd have to have a family large enough that you could set up watches around the clock. It would be like the walking dead.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobster:
The only way I see prepping working is in remote locations where the prepper is surrounded by other preppers. If you are an island prepper, in a sea of sheeple, the have nots will eventually penetrate your defenses and get to you. Who can stay awake 24/7? You'd have to have a family large enough that you could set up watches around the clock. It would be like the walking dead.

Prepping is simply and "ONLY" a brief pause till "RAW SURVIVAL". Preppers think their prepping will carry them through to "Return to Normal or NEW Normal". When the prepper has used up all their preparations, they are "INSTANTLY" thrust in the same reality as those who never had any water or food or shelter preparations.

If you live in urban areas, you are basically at the mercy of others.

You are dependent on running water and electricity.

If any of these are affected, you are screwed.

You can store canned and dry food, but how much?

The Chink Virus brought this right to the open in certain places.

I don't call what I do 'prepping' in the sense of what people think that is these days. This is what most people used to do before the convenience of modern life. I do it for my health. As far as food products go, these are produced at the lowest quality possible because it is the cheapest possible.

I maintain a two year supply in my pantry. That's in case I have an off year.

I think the best bet may be what I was involved with in the Late 80's in Tampa, FL. The subdivision I lived in was predominately composed of military officers (Colonels) from CENTCOM at McDill AFB. I was VP of the HOA. The rest were military. Those guys organized the neighborhood. They conducted meetings and celebrations to bond the residents. Each board member was assessed for skills and resources so that in the event of emergency, we could coordinate a organized response and not be at each other's throats.