Economic Collapse & Security: I Am Your Worst Nightmare

email | Aug 3 2011 | NewAmericaNow

[andy58-in-nh]

Bump

[Gilbo_3]

indeed, good teaching points...

ive been beating my head, tryin to 'cover all the bases' for a while now, but realistically, i dont have 'enuff' options to do so...

ive come to the conclusion that i can only do so much, and trust the Lord for the rest...

at the end of the day, I believe Im no match for 'organized' BGs...but again, God help the fools who come out here willy-nilly...

[CodeToad]

“Six months after the power goes out, the bands that are still operating will be pretty effective.”

But also same with defensible neighborhoods. We, too, will have learned how to defend our territory and it will no doubt involved hunting parties going out and killing anything that doesn’t belong.

[ottbmare]

I am a middle-aged single lady, living at the line between suburbia and countryside, outside of DC. Have thought about what the future may hold, and I have a small and inadequate but tolerable collection of guns, and ammo for it all. Like many people I’ve laid in a good stock of food, medicine, water, personal supplies, and firewood, but this house is not really defensible in a situation in which things collapse altogether. No, I do not have any relatives in the area. I also have a good horse and a small hunting hound.

I’ve seen what the roads are like around here on the average rainy Friday afternoon, and if anything bad did happen, it’s clear that getting out of town by vehicle would simply not be possible.

I have a girlfriend in the same situation, ten miles away, in a more well-protected and rural location. If things get bad, I intend to saddle up and ride to her place, where we would be harder to find and the area is more defensible, with plentiful game and a source of water as well as off-road access by horse. But in the event of total, long-term collapse, military friends who live in a true back-country area in the midwest have strongly urged us to come join them. The people in their area are already organized and in communication; they’re ready and they’re tough and experienced.

So knowing that this is not going to be a one-day drive on the interstates, I’m thinking about planning a route to get as far west as possible by horse and foot.

What would be the best route to head west, in general? I was planning on riding up the towpath trail along the Potomac to West Virginia, staying strictly away from any road. This part I know well, and anticipate no problems. But then what? One has to cross the Ohio and the Mississippi. Gee, how did our ancestors do it?

[ottbmare]

In the 19th century one of my peeps drove his hogs from Ohio to Baltimore along the present route of 40, sold them, then walked back. Barefoot. So it can be done.

[Squantos]

You have the tools.....:)

Between yer ears buddy.

Not complex at all...

12 gauge an a handgun for defense with a bow or .22 for pot meat.

[300winmag]

A lot of good points, so far. I'd like to add a few more to the mix.

Murphy's Laws apply equally to bad guys and good guys. Unless someone is so stupid that random chance is more powerful.

Remember, you also get a vote in the enemy's plans, too.

The feral will start out killing and eating their own weak as their easiest first step. Their surviving weak will quickly learn the value of "the great equalizer". Not everybody on the wrong side of the line is your enemy.

Deception works both ways. Some "weakness" in your defense may be your setpiece ambush for somebody who sees what they want to see because it worked in the past. Study your own situation as if you were the enemy, and then add in your own touch of "something extra" for the enemy.

Teach everyone in your group how to spot the alpha, and the prime beta. In a firefight, every weapon should be used on them until they're down, making the remaining omegas easier game.

I personally will not defile an enemy body, but that won't stop me from using spray paint or a magic marker to leave some "inspirational" message on the corpse. Even bad guys get worked up seeing a hacked-up comrade. There's a different reaction when the corpse has a sign with a happy face on it, or "thanks for the weapon, as crappy as it is" on the sign. Hat-tip to Bruce Willis in Diehard 1 for that.

[The Theophilus]

I personally will not defile an enemy body, but that won't stop me from using spray paint or a magic marker to leave some "inspirational" message on the corpse

I always recommend the tried and true head-on-a-pike warning. Maybe it should be updated a bit, using frat house artwork on their passed out buddies such as a crude drawing with a Marks-a-lot of a penis on their forehead, Q-tips in the nose and ears; mustard and shaving cream piled on the head. What we need is a special "Lord of the Flies" version of Martha Stewart's decoration program where she can bring in recognized talent in arts and crafts to give us some creative, home-made tips. You never know what a flaming Sodomite with a string of christmas lights and a can of clear acrylic could do for your public warning.

[familyop]

"You think it’s a joke? You think that six months after lights out, the surviving marauder bands will be clowns? You think you can guard every tree line and culvert within rifle range of your home 24/7?

You must be superman. "

You made some assumptions about trees and culverts.

I've actually always been more of a hillbilly than a soldier--even once during a little over three months at Ft. Leonard Wood--especially on military and civilian (police) ranges here and there. Hillbillies, per capita, are better on ranges. They also have more discipline and can be far more cohesive, tending to reject effeminate politics ("politics" in some circles known as organized crime).

Remember, freepers, make sure that you have ways to see robbers first, even if a *beep* is required to wake you up in advance (in case robbers killed the bark). Turn those four-foot fences into six-foot fences with alarms now. Place obstacles against vehicles driven by robbers. Install other alarms, and even video, if you want to study and install it for low cost. If you must use those evil firearms to defend your women and/or children from deadly force by groups of robbers, place some of the rounds to the hips and the heads of those mustachioed bad guys. Watch plenty of westerns in advance to know who the bad guys are (hint: mustache). ;-)

[papertyger]

ping for later

[Nachoman]

I have a variety of weapons I could use to kill myself.

[familyop]

I’m still laughing. ...won’t even be able see “marauders” with a telescope from here. And let’s see...disasters...

* Hurricanes: uncheck

* Tsunamis: nope

* Nukes: nope—several hundred miles downwind from the nearest possible targets.

* Economy: too far, traffic, likely checkpoints, too cold most of the year, surface water sources too far apart, too windy, possible targets of robbers too far and few between. No fuel. Too many dangerous animal predators for long-distance, hiking couch potatoes (including athletes who can’t run far at high altitudes). Hundreds of thousands of much fatter targets much closer to the cities.

I saw the foolishness of bipartisan political and business directions a long time ago: global dirty deals with foreign communists for manufacturing and slavery, anti-family policies, reluctance to properly defend the USA, all (shoulda done the source: Iran). They made their bed. They’ll lay in it.

[familyop]

Well said in your comment #35. It appears that you've been on duty, where each call/mission can lead to a surprising and different scene. And yes, I was assuming a longer rifle with the ruck, carried at port arms or something like that.

[familyop]

Yep, a swamp can slow a city boy down and wear him down real fast. ...reminds me that I’m up here in the high, dry and cold after finally wimping out on tropical weather (childhood years and military training).

[Billthedrill]

Yep. Best defense against this sort of thing is communications if the goblins are in the area and open hunting season when they are. Some of the hard guys have goodies I'd like to have myself. Be a shame if an accident were to happen to one or two of them and, oh, I don't know, a couple of RPG's should end up in my rumpus room, maybe.

The recce assets possessed by a group of this size have no chance against a relatively alert set of local eyes. Even little kids can watch from the weeds. Watch, watch, watch. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Sooner or later they'll screw up and get surrounded. I don't envision a pleasant end to that one. Personally I'm in favor of impalement but then I'm a traditionalist at heart...

[driftdiver]

‘Of course and I was just making a point that 8-12 people are not going to run roughshod over the general population”

Mohammed (pig feces upon him) started with a very small group and within a few years controlled a massive area. While unlikely I wouldn’t say its impossible for the scum to band together for their own survival.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Yeh scum always bands together. They just won’t thrive in the N GA mountains. They may thrive in the inner cities like intown Atlanta or even the burbs but when you get out into the boonies the natives are scarier than the scavengers. Trust me. Those kinds of little bands will be wiped out very quickly.

[Gilbo_3]

Diehard 1

'now i have a machine gun...ho-ho-ho...'

classic...

[Shadowstrike]

I think you should have said 'some women". The women of my family have been preparing all their lives. Grandmother canned, and Mom not only bought the guns she wanted, but gives the gift of ammo to everyone at Christmas. I have women, tough as a Marine, women in my family. The ones you are talking about are little girls. ;)

[ronnyquest]

You are, unfortunately, the exception to the rule. Congratulations.