Posted on 11/20/2012 7:39:58 PM PST by dynachrome
On a clear morning in May, Ron Douglas left his home in exurban Denver, eased into his Toyota pickup truck and drove to a business meeting at a Starbucks. Douglas, a bearded bear of a man, ordered a venti double-chocolate-chip Frappuccino — “the girliest drink ever,” he called it — and then sat down to discuss the future of the growing survivalist industry.
The fact that Douglas not only told me where he lives but also invited me to visit him would be considered a huge mistake by many in the prepping world. Revealing your location runs the risk of compromising your Opsec, or “operations security,” an abbreviation coined by the military and adopted by survivalists. “I don’t even mention what state I live in,” James Wesley Rawles, the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a popular prepping Web site, told me. “All I’m at liberty to discuss, with consent of my wife, is that I live somewhere west of the Rockies.”
For Rawles and others, it’s a matter of security. Revealing your location gives the Unprepared a road map to the stockpiles of the Prepared, in the event of Teotwawki. “I don’t want to wake up and find out that I’m the go-to guy — literally,” Rawles says.
If civilization breaks down, Douglas’s house is definitely where you want to be. In his home office — the de facto headquarters for Red Shed’s six shareholders and two independent contractors — he keeps not only his iPad and his MacBook but also a ham radio and a C.B. radio. In his basement, there is roughly a year’s supply of wheat, rice and other staples. And outside, he tries to keep a year’s supply of chopped wood and, in his garage, 375 gallons of water.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Johnny, as you know, I hide easily in public because I’m just a little old lady who couldn’t have anything and besides, she looks and talks like she’s a little addled and doesn’t know jack about anything. Leave the old lady to die on her own. Move on, nothing to see here. In an emergency, I won’t be seen, anyway but if I am, no one will take note. But if someone sees me, I will ask for a can of soup or piece of bread because I’m old and hungry.
One thing to note is that in the event of shtf, if the feds setup martial law, even if you have food stockpiled it would be advisable to go to the soup lines for a paltry cup of soup. Why?
Well they could have “anti-hoarding” laws setup, the one house that doesn’t send anyone to the food truck would then be raided BY the feds for food and any other stickpiles including guns.
Not only may you get all your stuff taken but may also get a friendly government piece of lead in your head for your trouble.
Keeping up “appearances” is very shrewd strategy in shtf scenarios.
survivalism tips from the Ny Times!!!!
And, I wouldn't go there totally clean, either. I'd have proper attire for that - wrinkled, soiled shirt and wrinkled pants and I'd go out back and put dirt on my hands and shake it off so hands wouldn't be totally clean. Maybe I'd wear slide on house shoes (I have a pair my little dog chewed) so I'd really look like an old lady who didn't even have a decent pair of shoes.
There wouldn't be any light showing from my house but I have light forever.
well, we don't know what will happen but this country is going down economically. I have some boxes with canned food in them that need to be moved and I thought this box is so heavy I can't lift it, I'll have to shove it across the floor. This is grocery store food so it is heavy. These food was bought in the last 4-5-6 months. I saw some cans of Hunts whole plum tomatoes and thought, “I'm glad I got that - whole tomatoes, that's great.” I didn't remember I bought them. I guess I'll have some surprise meals of food I didn't remember I bought.
My next possible danger is a hurricane coming this way next year. That possibility will never go away.
The Sandy Hurricane Storm might have focused their (wise guy NYorkers) minds a bit
Yes, that’s a very good point on the kind of disaster to try to be prepared for (Hurricane Sandy).
Take only what you need.
“Well they could have “anti-hoarding” laws setup”
That IS in the latest Executive Order regarding “Homeland Security”.
That predator is protein!
“Suburbia”, huh? That sounds like a code word for “not black”. Is that another dog whistle I hear? - Chris Matthews
The final survivors will be the cannibals.
“but have seen comments on quite a few related “prepper” and end-of-the-world TV shows. Must be all the rage.”
Paints them as whackjobs; no serious prepper would ape for the camera like that (one guy shot his finger off). Reminded me of a show I saw a few weeks ago on “militias”; they focused on 3 tiny groups that would be more accurately described as “prepper clubs”.
Nothing is allowed on TV that would ever show independent streaks in a positive light.
I have to do more in my prep work. Nearby water is not an issue, a number of streams, etc. within a short walking distance. And I have a small amount of purification supplies, etc.
For the life of me, I don’t know why peope flock to areas like Phoenix, etc. One of my least favorite cities, for those reasons, like living in a desert fishbowl..
Well stated. If we break down to that level, then I’m just out of luck. Yes, I could probably defend against a haggard guy, but what about two ex-cons...maybe. How about when they come back with 7 or 8. The point being, unless you can kill each attacker and each group of attackers as they arrive and then bury the bodies without anyone knowing anything has happened (i.e., dead rabbits tell no tales), then you will be eventually overwhelmed - and of course killing and burying everyone is not possible - unless you’re a drug lord (I saw a show on that). It just can’t have a happy ending.
If things break down to a Mad Maxx type situation (and I dont think they will), we can predict what will happen based on real life. Take Somalia for example. Lone rangers don’t last long. Those in groups do OK, the better armed and organized groups either merge or kill each other. Warlords start to appear and they absorb/kill smaller groups. They want to grow to become more powerful than their enemy. If you want to survive you will be a member of one of the warlord’s militia. The warlord establishes the laws and enforces them. You either fight for, work for, or pay taxes to them. That’s how it always plays out. You can try to stay off the radar but that is very hard to do as the militia groups will be constantly scrounging for supplies. Once they find you it’s game over unless you join and the price of admission is everything you have.
Don't overrate the enemy; that's as harmful as underestimating them. Just as car thieves could pop the lock on my car but instead simply walk on by and search for one that is unlocked and easier, I don't think there will be many organized bands of zombies staging a multi-day siege. If they get rebuffed from kicking in the door, they may try a real attack. If that leads to casualties, I expect them to simply leave. Remember, I don't have to defend my wife, my children, my food, and my home from you. I have to defend against someone lazy, untrained, and unskilled enough that he has chosen to be a predator. That is a MUCH easier task, especially if they know they can find an unarmed grandmother (or even easier, a liberal) to rob in the next neighborhood over.
Mostly I am with you.
The direct attack with overwhelming force would in all likelyhood come from a starving band of military regulars, after a failure of supply lines. Other than that possibility, I see little chance that anybody is going to follow anyone that isn’t feeding them well. Groups just don’t hold together without solid logistics.
The roaming singles or pairs will fall to the quiet pip of a .22 short at short range.
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