Too much of a good thing?

Hi All,

I'm new here as a user but have been lurking around for quite a while now and the Survival section is one of my favourites as I'v always been interested in learning how to survive etc

Quick question for you all to get you thinking:

I truly believe in being prepared for the worst, to expect the unexpected, I think its common sense to have a 2 litre bottle of water, basic first aid kit & blanket/coat in the boot of every car on the road, just in case.

But doesnt there come a point where your taking it one step too far???

For example, I know everybody has their own theories about the end of the world, 2012, the fall of the human race etc but don't people get a little carried away?

I understand having a first aid kit at home, a torch, weapon etc but aren't people going a bit too far when their talking about stockpiling 200Kg of canned food, creating a BOB, cache sites ???

Aren't you going to feel a bit stupid if in 50 years nothing actually happens and your left with a basement with more food & survival equipment than the U.S. Military & Asda combined?

Would just like to hear people oppinions on where you draw the line? and where abouts being prepared becomes bordering OTT?

Understand your points. I justify having BOBs, caches and food stockpiles (that are continually rotated), hand tools and especially water filtration & stockpiles this way:

We live in a hurricane zone, and also near the edge of a tectonic plate. We have had hurricanes, earthquakes, and will again. My observation is those in this area that do little to prepare then become a burdon on the infrastructure when these events hit. Also, you can't share it if you don't have it. Now pose that mindset towards, say, the continental U.S. Determine if there is any part of the U.S. that is utterly devoid of the possibility of natural disaster. I don't see anyplace. Now, having these things is no guarantee that the natural disaster won't take them, but not having them is a guarantee that WE won't have them. Factor in manmade disaster and you might see some possibilities morph into probabilities.

I agree with the sentiment of your post -- we shouldn't let our preps consume our lives, or cause us to live in constant fear. Talking about this kind of thing and tweaking my preps is how I respond to future fears. I don't fear the future, as we are as pepared as I can imagine, at least within our current ability to acquire and maintain things. Would I build a solid-poured, reinforced bunker on a local point of elevation if I could afford to do so? You betcha. Put some gingerbread trim on it, paint it tropical colors and rent it out short-term to visitors.

I think that many of us perceive certain patterns in the world and our local picture..... doesn't mean those things will definately come to pass, but it is a subjective demonstration that some societal/economic things have changed adversely, and an extropolation of that same line is indicative, to me at least, of a probability of things continuing in that direction.

Having been a first-responder to earthquakes/environmental unknowns/mass casualty events, I've seen with my own eyes what SOME otherwise 'normal' law-abiding citizens do, how they act. Some folks ride the wave of panic, some form into mobs, with a hivemind mob mentality, and become dangerous to themselves and others. Events like severe earthquakes bring out the best of what we are for some folks and others the very worst. Thus, I understand why some survivalists tend to focus on self-defense. It's a facet of our preps as well, but not the primary focus.


Good thread

I agree, good thread.

In my life, I have met many people. Out of these thousands of people, I am close to a precious few. Why? Because all of the others have shown what I consider serious personality flaws: People in general are greedy, jealous, self-absorbed, illogical, and violent.

My purpose on this planet is simply to provide for my family, until my children are old enough and mature enough to provide for themselves. The more of those unwanted traits I have listed above are present, the harder it is to follow my purpose successfully. That places me at odds with society.

In chess, the object is to anticipate your opponent's moves, and counteract what you believe he will do; protect yourself (your king) from any possible attacks. I believe the same philosophy holds in life. In an attempt to anticipate any attacks on my family, I consider the following motives and moves form the various pieces on the board:

Who are my allies, if any? Experience has told me there are precious few, and even those few could turn on me at any moment.

What are my weaknesses? Food, shelter, water, and energy.

Who is likely to attack my weaknesses? Everyone. My boss could fire me tomorrow if he chose to, leaving me with no income to buy the things I need. The prices could (will) be raised beyond my ability to pay. An economic strike could happen, where a false shortage could temporarily interrupt the supply of goods/services to me. In my recent situation, this placed me in a very precarious position.

How do I defend against these possible attacks? Simple. I go off the grid. I place myself and my family in a position where we can provide for ourselves:

We grow a garden. At best, we have cheaper and better food. At worst, we still can eat.

I start a chicken house. At best, we get woken up by a rooster every morning. At worst, we still have eggs and meat.

I assemble tools and supplies. At best, I have something to do that I enjoy. At worst, I can make the tools and products that may not be available anymore.

We learn how to do things ourselves. At best, we have increased our knowledge, always a good thing IMHO. At worst, we will not be reliant on others for what we need.

I keep a few firearms around. At best, I have the ability to hunt (I love venison!) and I can take care of any 'varmits' (stray wild dogs, rabid animals, snakes, etc.) that threaten us, and at worst, I can defend my place against invaders/looters/theives to some extent.

I see my survival techniques as more than some way to bunker down and hold off Mad Max. I see them as a way to be self-sufficient and therefore in charge of my life. He who is in charge of himself is truly free; he who relies on others is a slave to them.

Again, great thread, and here's a flag.

TheRedneck

I think over the top comes with stocking 20 years worth of MRE and every "survival" item that can be had. Having a BOB for every day of the week is fine, but true preparation is all in the mind, it's knowledge, from which comes wisdom, and finally understanding. When you understand just how people truly lived on this earth before we became "civilized" and what it really takes to survive comfortably, most of your gear becomes useless.

My preparation involves being able to be dumped in the wilderness butt nekkid and survive, easily. Some think that's excessive, but wisdom, skills, and experience weigh nothing.

For those who have underground fallout shelters and expect to spend 10 years underground eating spam, go ahead. I won't be doing it, as that's not survival, that's waiting to die. If sit x is so bad that there's no more nature to coexist with, it's not a world i want to live in anyways. What's the sense in surviving nuclear winter? The only reason i really wish to survive is to live a natural life, in harmony with nature, not because i'm scared to die.

If the plants and animals in nature become unfit for ingestion to the point where i die from eating them, so be it, that means the earth don't support life anymore. Should the atmosphere become irradiated or so toxic that i need to live in a sealed bunker to "survive" then i guess i won't be around after that, because i'd rather not bother living on a world that dead. That makes most bomb and fallout shelter plans over the top IMO.

As far as i'm concerned, we're living in situation x right now, it's happening, and has been for some time. Climate change, police state, NWO, pandemic(from poison food), and many other things occurring, it's already happened and is simply playing out.

What is Survivalism?

Think of it this way. Having survival skills, knowledge, equipment and sundries is like having an insurance policy. Most of us have them; we just hope we never need them, but when we do, we are glad we had them.

There is no right way or wrong way in the way each of us views Survivalism. For some it is:-

Survival in the wilds
Self-sufficiency
Off Grid
Emergency Preparedness
Bushcraft Skills
Expedition Skills
Small Hold Farming
Eco-friendly Living
Backwoodsman
Retreater
Being at one with nature
Field Sportsman: Angler, Hunter, Trapper, etc.

Or it can be all or a combination of all of the above. Survivalism covers a multitude of sins and criss crosses all of the above mentioned to a greater or lesser degree.

My Mother and Grandmother and a lot of people of their generation still keep at least a couple of week’s supply of canned food and jars in their cupboards which are rotated around. That in a way could be considered Survivalism. To me that is just commonsense, much like you said about having a first-aid kit, warning triangle, blanket, spare tyre, torch, spare fuel can, tow rope, small spares kit, etc in your car, it is commonsense, but it could be called Survivalism.

I would bet that most of us have a small Pharmacy stocked in our houses, again this could be called Survivalism (Actually, I have a large Pharmacy stocked in mine, more like a medical centre). You should see me and the missus first aid kit we take on holiday with us, a third world country would be glad of it.

I can remember in the Great Storm in the SE of England a few years ago, we could not get to the shops for a few days because of all the storm damage. Lucky for us, my mother had a supply of food to tie us over. Okay, we were not having steaks every day, but we were not hungry. We had a bit of storm damage, but my father and I cleared the fallen trees from around us and temporarily repaired the roof. Not an extreme situation, granted, it was a Situation X and so could still be considered as Survivalism.

As you can see, Survivalism has a different meaning to everyone.

Hard to say. I know that we keep the usual recommended red cross stuff on hand and we do keep a bit of food now, but that is nothing new. We also donate to a local homeless charity so the only difference now is we are ahead a yearly donation and holding on to it rather than delivering it right away.

I would encourage others to mind their dates and turn over what they need to replace well in advance of expiration.

Thanks for the responses people, some good answers/reasons have been posted for "being prepared" and I quite like the idea that survival is actually in the mind. I truly believe that a person with nothing, but with a survival mindset will survive vs a person with more equipment than most but without that mindset wont. I also agree 100% with people who have reason to contemplate about your future/survival due to reasons specific to their enviroment/location/situation even. To spin the debate further, I'll ask you this, excluding the people who have genuine reason to worry about their survival prospects in the future i.e. as mentioned people who live in naturally volatile areas, war stricken countries even, take them aside how do the people who believe that 2012 for example is going to be the end of the world, how can they stock pile and prepare for something that they have no proof is actually going to occur? I suppose this goes back to my argument about religion, how can you believe in something that isn't proven to exist? That's a different story though. I don't have a problem with people preparing to survive if they have reason to, and I don't mind people being cautious and take precautions - in fact I encourage it. But when it boils down to making preparations due to the inevitable alien war then I start questioning people. No disprect towards any one here as everyone has their own views and I won't knock no one for being prepared, heck one day you might laugh at me

I think you have to tell yourself ..... What Situation X or X's do you believe will or are likely to happen in the part of the world you live in?

For myself: I dont believe in a Zombie outbreak, all out nuclear war, alien invasion (certainly not in my lifetime), nor a NWO takeover or even a WWIII.

I do believe that there could be catastrophic weather or other 'natural' type situation X's, possible civil unrest due to a changing economic situation, a pandemic and possibly biological terrorism, as well as all the other little crisis that happen from time to time.

So on those thoughts, I study, train and equip accordingly to the scenario's i feel may be likely. Of course I could be totally wrong.

No amount of survival training is going to save you if a bloody great rock comes smashing into the earth. I'll be on the beach with my surfboard waiting for the ''Big One''

reply to post by Death_Kron


I went through three hurricanes in six weeks, for total of 15 days without electricity in the hottest time of the year. By far the one thing I did not have enough of was drinking water. (Mind you, after the first hurricane no one could drive anywhere for most of a week because of downed trees et cetera.) I now store 110 gallons of just drinking water as a matter of routine. The pool provides water for other needs (which quickly turns green without filtration.) But I also have a food store that will last me six months or so. I also got some traps and four basic weapons and ammunition, one for hunting small game, one for big game [and attacking humans] one for carry, one for close quarter home defense (because I live near rioting minorities who already do home invasions.) I'm a good shot and I also teach wild-edible classes. I am well-suited for a disaster and for any uncivilized people after it. For me the two threats to my existence -- no matter what the cause of the "disaster" is lack of drinking water and marauding minorities. I also picked up a solar battery charger and built two solar ovens, box and parabolic. I went the solar route because the third weakness was fuel. I had plenty for my six week baptism, but long term wood would be hard to get especially if a lot of people are doing the same thing. In third world countries gathering wood to cook with is the most time-consuming thing people do. Thus I went solar and can cook here 365 days a year. The solar cookers can also make water safe. So my preparations are balanced. It really comes down to the human threat.



[edit on 18-6-2008 by Straight Razor]

[edit on 18-6-2008 by Straight Razor]

Would you keep financial reserve of less than two weeks on hand in case of an interruption to you income?

For most of my life I have kept less than two weeks food in the pantry.
In seasons of greater threat this seems to be unjustifyable.

There are times, and we are in them, where the value of money diminishes and the value of essential goods increases. In these times it is best to keep a better pantry.

It is always wise to at least have an understanding of where the exits are located, where the nearest fire extinguisher is.

The ability to scrounge for sustinence, purify water, and dig a slit trench toilet are no different.

They in potential circumstances, are equivalent to your current requirement of knowing where the refrigerator is, how to turn on the faucet, and how to flush the toilet.


[edit on 18-6-2008 by Cyberbian]

I think sometimes people look too deep into Survivalism. When the word is mentioned, most will think WW3 or Nuclear Winter, etc, and some will think you are a 'Nutter'.

It doesnt have to be like that at all.

First off is to think about your home environment. Do you have smoke/fire alarms, fire extinguishers, fire escape plan, fire bug out kit? What will you do with important documents like insurances during a fire? Do you have a means of escape from upstairs? Do you have a home first aid kit? Do you know where the Gas stopcock is? Do you have a 'rendevous' point should you need to escape your house like Companies have too? Do your kids know this rendevous point?

Its no good having all the gear, knowledge etc about surviving in the wilds, skinning rabbits etc etc, if you cant get out of your house if its on fire.

See its quite simple really. You now have a point from where to start from, to build up from. Work outwards from there.