Posted on 12/08/2012 7:07:43 PM PST by dynachrome
Last week on the website Emergency Management, there appeared a blog post written by an emergency manager named Valerie Lucus-McEwen in which she made a grave error in judgment. She called doomsday preppers “socially selfish.”
She based this startling conclusion on the National Geographic’s “The Doomsday Prepper” series and concluded that because the people featured in this show were spending their OWN time and their OWN money to stockpile their OWN resources in order to prepare their OWN families for whatever disastrous scenario they foresaw, they are selfish. Specifically, as another emergency manager phrased it, this is “a level of indulgence that is selfish and counter-productive to providing for the common good.”
snip
I, along with many in the prepping community, found this attitude disturbing to the point of creepy. It was exacerbated by the follow-up comments as she replied to reader questions. “It really doesn’t matter how much food you have or what you buy with your money,” she writes in a comment. “The tipping point is how you use it. … Is it something you are planning to hoard or are you working in your community to make sure everyone else is prepared also. I’m not sure how else to say it.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
Good, then I guess the fed goobt won’t mind taking us into their massive underground and cave compounds. These bunkers are fortified to the maximum, with never-ending supplies they bilked taxpayers for, and that they built for the USSA nobility and fed elites.
What about selling some of the stuff you won’t keep when you move to the land, now on E bay? Is that a possibility?
One of my friends did that, and took clothes to some of the second hand stores and sold stuff to some of the second hand stores(it was all stuff she hadn’t used in years). She finally got enough to pay her RE Taxes.
I’ll take a look. Most of my clothes are worn out too much to sell, I’ve started cutting up the worst ones for material to patch up the rest, but maybe there’s some other things I could get rid of.
No one in my town knows what I have and I'm not telling them. I started prepping in 1998 and I worked it out, planned, researched endlessly, have kept it up until now, and like the Little Red Hen, I have stuff and it is mine.
There is food everywhere - as long as there is this bountiful supply, no one can be called a “hoarder”. The food is there for everyone to buy. If that is Ramen noddles for ten/fifteen cents a package to feed three/four people, it's still food and there is plenty of it.
Plus, my money is my money and no one can tell me how to spend it. I have gone Galt, everyone can leave me the hell alone as I have divorced myself from this freaking, communist country.
“Maybe it would be more effective to give them some seeds and a scoop of compost? I might have to think on that.”
I wouldn’t do anything for anyone (except save my three family members who don’t prep), until the situation had calmed down. Then, if there was a safe place to go to barter, I’d think about giving seeds to someone.
I’m not giving anything to anyone at my house location. I don’t want anyone around my house.
“Also, if there are people in the neighborhood who have skills you may need: Doctor, Nurse, Moonshiner(LOL), you may want to put a little away for them - just consider it barter preperation.”
greeneyes, if you get sick or have an accident, I will take care of you and yours for free. Giving help to someone is personal choice and I choose you to help.
In the center of each square, she used the yarn and went all the way through the batting and flannel backing kinda like you do for sewing on a button. Then on one side she tied it off, and left a loop, which she snipped in the middle and tied in a square knot.
These sold pretty well. I have one that she made for Christmas out of a bunch of my favorite slacks that I had outgrown, and were too worn in the knees to sell.
It's great. I have had to fight my kids for it every year, they always try to have excuses why they need to take it home with them.LOL.
My youngest daughter recently made some very nice quilts just like this for Christmas for all the children. They were such hits, now the Adults want some too. She is going to start selling some on-line. Seems you can get quite a bit of money for them.
See post #95 this thread.
Bless you. That’s really nice. Have you considered moving to Missouri? Tornadoes instead of Hurricanes and occasional snow, but pretty good weather for self sufficiency.
The Kansas City area has lots of hardened missles sites, but the St. Louis area only has one. We are far enough away that we only have to worry about some fallout - maybe for about 2 weeks.
Gee, now I forgot to tell you. We also live about 90 miles from New Madrid. Some potential there, but not as bad as St Louis or New Madrid. Still got some prepping to do there, as well as above which includes refreshing my memory on NBC from the 60s training classes. LOL.
We have several houses in the neighborhood that are for sale, though. You would be a great neighbor, and then it would be easier to reciprocate. LOL.
You’ve nailed it. Can’t allow any independence whatsoever.
“You can bet they’re taking names of every prepper post out there/in here in cyber space so they’ll know who’s door to knock down to spread the wealth.”
I’ve taken note of the 0- signs in the area and if the SHTF, I will spread the lead before they can spread my wealth. You can alway feed them to the pigs when they fail.
“By now, you should have reconoitered around the neighborhood and become aquainted with your neighbors.:
In the very near future we don’t plan to have any neighbors. We are moving up to the mountains and purchasing a 5-10 acre retreat. Then we won’t have to worry about shooting anybody we know.
Awhile back we sat down and had a discussion that ended with the realization that it does not matter how much food, weapons and ammo we have our house is indefensible when the SHTF as are the houses of our nearest neighbors. Several of the ones we know best are prepping and have weapons.
We don’t think that we could even defend 4 houses adequately. You just don’t have a clear enough field of fire and you will be overwhelmed when the denizens of the inner city ant hills come roiling out and head to the burbs. Not to mention the huge apt complex one block away with the wrong demographics.
We realize that most folks cannot uproot and move to the country but the sad truth is that when the SHTF if you are in the city or the suburbs you will have low odds of surviving a long term problem.
Economy Car folks, though could make it, as well as the hybrids(shudder). Our kids, grand-kids, and great grand kids are all here though. We might be able to fortify the basement though.
Also we had been discussing getting a storage shed. So maybe it should be a secretly fortified building that also has the materials stored to make it into a fort-like compound.
Anyway, better disguise whatever we are doing, else the eye in the sky might decide to come and appropriate whatever we are “hoarding”.
Since you live in a rural community you should be OK.
Thats where we are headed. 95 miles from the big city. Even in a bad grid down situation the farmers will still get a crop in the ground in Spring even if they have to bring the mules out. People will still be raising their livestock and selling some of it. Orchards will still bloom and bear fruit. Food will be available locally at the farmer’s market for sale or barter.
In the city if something really bad happens there will be sporadic if any deliveries of food. Sewers will back up and garbage will accumulate. Clean water will be scarce. Within a few weeks, dysentary, diptheria etc will start up. Hospitals will be overun and law enforcement will break down.
We are going to feel a whole lot better as soon as we get the well and septic, a chicken coop up and a few raised bed gardens functioning.
“As my daughter was preparing for a trip to Haiti, I told her, “you are going to learn the true meaning of the word poor”.
It really opened her eyes. To this day, she can’t even talk about it without crying.
“
Thank you. I, as many here, have lived in various nations as part of military service and have seen poor, just like in Haiti. Poor, where not being poor wasn’t an option. Poor, where education wasn’t available. Poor, where any money gain was completely stolen. Poor, where just staying alive was a challenge.
As Rush says, this isn’t a nation of any poor, it is a nation of broke people that don’t stay broke and people that make bad decisions, but there are no poor.
I left home with $72 and two suitcases, but I had an education and knew how to get more. I joined the service and my life went from there. I’ve had to make all kinds of decisions, some good, some bad, but I am not poor and never have been. I’ve been broke a number of times, but never poor. Every American has the same opportunities I had and some even more, but we all get a free high school education and opportunities for military service, college, and to start our own businesses. We are not a nation of poor.
“as long as there is this bountiful supply, no one can be called a “hoarder”. “
Exactly. Supplies are plentiful, not like in a disaster situation. Whatever I buy the next day the shelves are re-stocked with plenty more. Calling preppers selfish because they “hoard” is just more class warfare liberal propaganda.
“Yes that will work! Let’s all of us that didn’t vote for Obama just quit our jobs and pack up our families and all move the Philippines.”
_______________________________________
NO...I would never recommend the Philippines for young to middle age couples with children.
It is, however, ideal for single retired men with limited income. One can live here for less then $1000 per month.
For others, central America and parts of South America are becoming very popular.
I suggest to those interested, sign up to get newsletters and information from http://www.escapefromamerica.com/ and http://internationalliving.com/
I guess mt sarcasm isn’t as obvious as it used to be. You answer its that half the country, some 150 million people because that’s about the number that oppose ‘Bama’ and move off to wherever? How’s that going to work?
I suggest staying here. Running never solved a thing.
The trick is, learning which skills are that important. Read the books and articles written by those who have survived modern western civil war zones. Something as trivial as having a few large can of butane and figuring out how to refill disposable lighters can be enough of a skill for survival for months.
(Women also have the immense advantage of being able to trade sex... and make no mistake about it, if it comes to watching their children literally starve to death, even the most pious will consider it, even for just a can or two of Spam. However, "trading" with the wrong men can also be a massive mistake. Again, read up. Good information is out there.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.