Posted on 12/09/2011 4:32:06 AM PST by Kartographer
That's true but no one would have believed that the Bolsheviks, a well organized minority could bring such terror to the people. So, when making SHTF plans, people need to recognize and understand the different levels of crisis ranging from temporary weather event down to a government terrorizing a people and the people being REALLY hungry.
Then they should plan for a particular level of SHTF crisis with an understanding that if events get worse than they planned for, all bets are off and they will have to adapt, improvise and hope to get lucky.
Further, how are you going to keep your wife unaware when you arent starving and have stuff to eat? If you are the kind of person who can let their family starve while you don’t then you indeed have learned from Stalin.
I can't explain Polster1's rationale but in addition to letting as few people know of your plans, you must make sure that those who do know won't talk to others about them. For all I know, Pollster1 has a highly talkative wife in which case, the less she knows about the true state of family readiness, the better.
If he is the only one that knows the location of the preps then the family isn’t prepared. He’s prepared.
True but that may be a persons best way of preparing the family. Planning for a Katrina or Japanese tsunami type event is one thing but planning for a complete societal breakdown is another. In the aftermath of a Katrina, getting by for a few days is not so difficult and most people will not be driven to any point of desperation.
A complete societal breakdown such as envisioned in the aftermath of a large EMP attack or massive solar flare is a whole different animal to prepare for.
Young children tend to talk and therefore mustn't be permitted to know too much about contingencies.
Given time, a lot of preparation can be done via family activities such as camping and hiking without ever letting them in on what you are really doing which is teaching them basic survival skills. If they know how to navigate in the woods, they'll be able to quickly figure out how to navigate in an urban environment. If they know how to start a fire, construct shelter and keep a clean camp in the woods, they'll be able to quickly adapt those skills to an urban setting.
In the case of a highly talkative spouse, you have a judgement call to make. Just like an alcoholic can't resist a drink and a philanderer can't resist a new conquest, the talkative person can't resist talking. So, what do you do? This is a tough one.
One course of action may be to have a "weather emergency" kit. You can tell the spouse that the "weather emergency" kit is suitable for use in a variety of other emergencies and leave it at that.
Stock that kit with uninteresting things a person would normally be reluctant to use around the house on a daily basis and place it in an out of the way spot. After enough time has passed that everyones curiosity will have been satisfied as to the contents, insert inside the kit instructions to the effect of, if you are reading this, I am dead, being held captive or otherwise unable to be with you... To survive, read the following carefully.
When people must be quiet about their SHTF preparations, having a talkative spouse presents a serious challenge.
In a self-defense situation, if I was not around, my wife would not be willing to use firearms. She would run, whether or not that was the right decision. In a food-scarcity situation, my wife would find the food even in my absence - I don't see any reason to go into detail, but it would work out. She would just be surprised at the amount that we have and how ready the home is. My wife has many wonderful qualities, but wanting to be involved in emergency planning is not among those qualities. Our family is as prepared as possible, given all the considerations.
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