Posted on 04/01/2014 4:22:45 PM PDT by Kartographer
To begin with, this article is neither to demean the starting prepper nor launch into my fellow bloggers and authors about their version of what being prepared for the worst case scenario might well be; even though the criticism is valid and should remind everyone of the old adage that NO ONE is totally prepared for a societal collapse.
The theory that many of the Pollyanna view of the end of modern convenience then in the end civilization is that indeed, mankind would seek his brother out and be at his best working together to rebuild and save humanity and rebuild civilization. The other view is the darker perspective, the so-called “Jericho” scenario on steroids where no one can or should be trusted and if one works within a community structure the enemy, in often cases the new or what’s left of the existing government will either extinguish or work with other groups to seize control from any opposition to their way of thinking.
(Excerpt) Read more at shtfplan.com ...
Preppers’ PING!!
I have barter items that I think might be exchanged at high value. I know prices for all kinds of things will go nuts and beyond just feeding ourselves we need to think of all those things we simple cannot do for ourselves and barter items might come in handy.
” trading blue jeans to Russian “
Back in the Cold War (*snicker*, as though it was that long ago), I used to trade jeans within many different countries. I always packed several extra if possible just for the opportunity. Some great memories were bought using those jeans.
alcohol is a GREAT barter iten and med toolkit item as well...
Plus if thermonuclear war breaks out it is good to down a bottle of vodka while watching the million degree sunrise on your front porch if you happen to live near a millitary base....
I do have high value trade good produced here on site.
I transplanted some of the tobacco plants into the big garden today. Looks like I won't have prepared room for 200, but I'm pretty close. I'll open more land for next year.
/johnny
I am raising goats.
Careful the muslims like goats.
People are gonna need caskets. I’m planning on building them. Affordable, simple, attractive.
Actually I’m planning on going to heaven, but caskets are plan B in the mean time.
Not a bad idea but will probably be better once things settle out. During the really bad time a blanket will probably be it.
Just remove the worthless POS and we won’t have to have this discussion...: )
Every dollar is a drop of blood, of sweat, or a tear. After the money’s gone. . . you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack. Or dead. Reading John Hersey’s “The Wall,” people paid several tens of thousands of Zloty (Polish currency worth about ten cents on the Dollar) for temporary exit passes out of the ghetto. They abandoned priceless paintings, pianos, everything. The money soon had no meaning at all. Reading “The 900 Days — The Siege Of Leningrad,” by Harrison E. Salisbury, I would note that people paid everything they had for a modest snack of sawdust bread and human flesh. Economics is always right, and that ‘dismal science’ says that demand shall always fix the price at the point of supply. Buy the canned food now. All of it. And give a good surgeon your left testicle.
My late FIL had a bad heart and was exempt from service in WW2. When he traveled (salesman) he sometimes stayed in rooming hotels that were mostly filled with women. He used to get women to come to his room saying that he had nylons for sale, which he didn't. But apparently he was able to charm a fair number into staying and partying anyway.
I assume it’s the same for other liquors, but I know for a fact that bourbon will keep forever unopened. Good for a year after opening.
I’ve been thinking about adding a couple of cases of some basic well brand bourbon to the stored goods. I don’t think people will be too picky about the brand when times get tough enough.
I did too, but they finally graduated and moved out. I don't have to worry about that any more. ;)
/johnny
Not "Jericho" - it'll be more like "The Walking Dead. The total breakdown of society will allow people to indulge their inner psychopath.
Examples include The Governor, Shane Walsh, the numerous gangs of marauders, and now the denizens of Terminus.
Other examples include the numerous riffraff who troll prepper threads and forums, declaring they will hunt you and steal your stuff. Selco and Ferfal write about real-world zeros who became wannabe Somali warlords in their own little turfs.
SHTF doesn't only mean the breakdown of the rule of law. It also means the failure of civility and the reassertion of the law of the jungle.
Until I actually need mine for the purpose I built it, I use it on Halloween and store antennas in it otherwise. ;)
/johnny
Do we have to buy tobacco seed every year or is there a way to get seed from the plant for next year? Don’t think I have asked you that.
I have worked on preps for years and think I have what I need so I won’t have to barter at any time. If a collapse comes, I’ll be John Galt in an instant.
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