How Horrific Will It Be For The Non-Prepper?

SHTF Plan ^ | 5-12-2012 | Be Informed

[freedommom]

I heard on a radio show about biochar (glorified charcoal)
that indians put some charcoal in their dry beans to preserve them for many years......

[Yardstick]

Yes, existing communities in ghettos will definitely step up and mobilize to make sure THEIR needs are met - at your expense. How do you think those gangbangers are going to act?

The gangbangers will act like gangbangers until a few of them are shot down by the larger community which is no longer constrained by regulations on the use of deadly force. Gangbangers aren't the only ones who can organize, and there are lot more of us than there are of them.

[Vendome]

Mark your peroxide with the date of purchase.

It actually and absolutely detoriates back to plain water within three years.

I buy 5 bottles a year, mark em and toss the expired ones.

I also have iodine, alcohol and burn prep kits with burn bandages.

Had a friend who spilled a hot cup of tea, fresh off the stove, right on her leg.

I stopped for second, pulled the pants off, wet a rag with cool water and placed it on the burn.

I then grabbed my burn kit out of the car and performed my planned series of applications and then placed the burn bandage right over the burn.

three days later barely a noticeable spot where the hot water landed.

[Yorlik803]

A good knife....I have a real K-Bar and a EK commando. I was trying to sell the K Bar to a guy at work. I told him I wanted 50 for it and he said he only buys 10 dollar knives.
Knives are overlooked but a good multi-purpose knife is worth its wieght in Gold.
If you have the space,buy 2x4 lumber. about 20 or so. Use them for shoring up or securing damaged doors.
If you really have the space,plywood...4x8 sheets.

[GreyHoundSailor]

Must be nice - I’ve been burning wood since September and it’s still in the 30’s at night.

[SVTCobra03]

If the bottom falls out, Americans will reorganize themselves pretty quickly to make sure things don’t fall into complete anarchy. The loner preppers out there will be disappointed to find that everything doesn’t just go to hell. No one will come to the them begging for supplies, nor will they be attacked. Mostly they will just be irrelevent, as already existing communities and associations step up and mobilize to make sure needs are met. It will be rough, but it won’t be a return to the jungle. The bottomless pessimism of the preppers will turn out to be false. Sooner or later they will come out of their hidey holes looking for things that only the local community can provide.

I agree. It will be much like the tv series "Jericho."

[Yardstick]

It's not that I'm projecting - it's that you can't look critically at a movement that you agree with. I mean, just read this stuff:

* The (NP) from lack of food, drinking bad water, no light at night, the horrid smells, no good self defense, the overall horror, will often be paralyzed with fear and despair, blank stare.

* The (NP) is totally helpless after SHTF, will have to rely totally on charity of those prepared to live. They will take all sorts of desperate measures likely to get them shot. They’ll attempt to eat hazardous foods like an animal trapped in a house will do, and get sick and suffer much before dying. The (NP) will likely die (ugly and hard) as they lived, unprepared for anything.

Yeah, just detached historical analysis. No moral judgement or anything.

[varina davis]

Everyone really needs to read Alas Babylon. All about prepping and the lack of prepping WTSHF.

Also would like to ask other preppers how to keep supplies in hot humid Florida. As it is, I always keep most dry and some other foods in the fridge.

[JRandomFreeper]

Exactly those two things happened a LOT during WWII. It is well documented in photographs and stories. See Warsaw.

And those that were unprepared in WWII died ugly and hard, in camps, run by governments.

Those that were prepared got out. Never Again.

/johnny

[bgill]

YMMV, but I just extras of foods I normally buy. If you have the money, then I’m sure the kits are fine. I’d rather eat “normal” foods during a crisis.

[JRandomFreeper]

Most folks on this thread are interested in sharing information for preparedness, whether for TSHTF or for tornados, or earthquakes, or whatever.

We aren't here to debate whether preparedness is appropriate. We have decided that it is.

So leave. I'm not interested in arguing with you. You are not contributing to the community that is trying to prepare. You are being disruptive.

/johnny

[AlexW]

“True, but why be uncomfortable”
__________________________________________

I am not sure which of my post you are referring to, but I assume “toilet paper”.
Yes, for one who grows up using it, the thought of going without it is a problem.
Here, however, water is preferable to paper.
While we have paper, my lady prefers the way she has done it all her life, and as I think about it, water, and maybe some soap, is actually a cleaner way.
There is certainly nothing uncomfortable about it.

[Greysard]

The gangbangers will act like gangbangers until a few of them are shot down by the larger community

My coworker lives in a "larger community" that couldn't defend itself from a rabid mouse. None of them have firearms, ammo or skill to use them. After TSHTF it will be too late to acquire those. That's exactly the point of preppers. You cannot defer to some "larger community" - it will be in the same boat as you are.

I'm living in a semi-rural area, and all my neighbors are well equipped to defend the only road that goes here. But from my home I can see a huge expanse of those "larger communities" in the city that will fall prey to a single coyote, let alone a hundred well-armed and physically fit gang members.

I wouldn't give too much weight to the fear factor. Stupid people (who make the majority in a gang) always think that bad things happen only to someone else. If a hundred of them attacks you and you eliminate two, do you think the remaining 98 will run away in fear? "He killed Kenny, get him!1!" and then they rush you. Attackers on drugs (a.k.a. berserkers) are even unable to understand what is happening. Such a gang has to be wiped out nearly completely to be neutralized. A couple of them shot will only result in retaliation - because a gang cannot afford such a disrespect, it lowers its standing. Besides, the gang leaders who order the attack aren't going to lead it. Gang soldiers are expendable. A collapsed society is a rich source of cannon fodder; people will be dirt cheap, many will fight and die only for a daily can of food.

If your "larger community" kills gang members it better be willing to take on the entire gang and win. However most communities in cities are randomly organized. You may get one soldier, one accountant, one nurse, one philosopher, and one artist. You will be against 100 professional killers. What are your chances?

This scenario unfolded many times in human history, when an organized attacker conquered hundreds of tiny, unorganized settlements. Genghiz Khan is the most famous, of course, but he is not the only one. Your "larger community" has to be large enough to be strong enough - or it has to be extremely well prepared. Which is exactly what people are discussing here.

[Salgak]

I have a Gerber Mark II Combat, several good folders, and a number of Swiss Army Knives. . . And in a pinch, there’s always the bayonet that came with my Mosin-Nagant... (evil grin)

[JRandomFreeper]

I salvaged some copper bus bars from a telecom site that was being removed, back before copper was worth much, and hung onto it for years because sometimes, with the ham radio thing and the solar power thing, large copper bars come in handy.

A couple of years ago, I crafted a knife and hatchet out of the bar stock. It actually looks sorta cool because of the holes in bus bars, and it sharpens up great.

/johnny

[The Cajun]

If I'm understanding you, cheap styrofoam ice chests taped closed securely with duck tape might be an answer.
Have several stacked in my workshop, dry as a bone inside regardless of outside humidity.
You can also buy large (2 gallon) zip lock bags that will last a very long time if not disturbed, like in the before mentioned styrofoam ice chests.

[JRandomFreeper]

Also would like to ask other preppers how to keep supplies in hot humid Florida

Good question. I look forward to seeing the answers to it. I certainly have no idea. I've never had to deal with Florida more than 2 days at a time.

/johnny

[mcmuffin]

.

[Uncle Ike]

” Good question. I look forward to seeing the answers to it. “

No answers - but, as I’ve mentioned on other occasions, people were in just about every geographic area, living and growing food and storing food long before electricity and refrigeration...

A little research (a local Historical Society is a good place to start) will yeild many of their techniques, saving one the necessity of reinventing the wheel... (Or the ‘fun’ of inventing Rube-Goldberg devices to do simple tasks.. ;))

[BradtotheBone]

Yes, existing communities in ghettos will definitely step up and mobilize to make sure THEIR needs are met - at your expense.

Yea, but how many in here live in neighborhoods like that. I sure don’t and I would be 95% of the people in FR don’t either.