Trying to Prepare When No One Around You Believes In It

reply to post by jplaysguitar


I should have added that he is sloooowly waking up.
He is still in denial about a lot of things though.

reply to post by mamabeth


thats an easy one.

just ask him to pick up a bible and show you where it mentions this "rapture". when you start seeing the confused looks of disbelief, that'll be a good time to ask for help moving the pallet of rice down to the cellar.

Originally posted by ABNARTY
I have yet to hear someone cover this theme specifically but I could be wrong.

Just about every survival tenet one reads expresses the need for strength in numbers. Survival works better in groups. You have more talent to draw upon, more resources, more help if needed, and more moral support. But what happens when those around you (family, spouse, significant others, close friends, etc.) do not share your beliefs or enthusiasm?

This is a dilemma I face. I am not about to dump overboard those around me because I see them as a little myopic when it comes to preparedness. BUT... It sure makes it hard to facilitate healthy family decisions when you are the lone voice. Now, I am not advocating all those close to me to pick up lock, stock, and barrel and move to a cave in Guatemala. (For those of you with a cave in Guatemala, rest easy) But when it comes to spending money or putting forth effort I feel like I am the loony for even mentioning it.

I love to garden. I recently purchase a dehydrator to get a little more mileage out of this years production. Unless I do it myself, it will not get done. Any attempt to discuss the issue results in the "fact" of electricity to store produce in the refrigerator. Prepare meats in the smoker? No way. There is plenty of meat at the store. Whenever I buy items for the long term, I get the smiles, the nods, the "C'mon Dad what on earth is that for?".

Do not get me wrong, I love my family. I want to be prepared to take care of them. I want them to be ready even if just slightly. I do not ask my kids to be able to fashion a shelter from grass clippings or expect my Mother-in-Law to start a fire with sticks in the pouring rain.

I am looking for a way to demonstrate to them the need to be less dependent on the thin veneer of technology around them. I want to make them know there may come a day when they need to depend on the knowledge in their heads and the skills in their hands versus purchasing their way out of discomfort. Taking them camping only goes so far. Power outages only last so long (darn those efficient electrical company employees).

I can completely relate to this.
A couple of years back (07) hubby lost his job. That was MY smack in the face that things were achangin'.
He finally got a job after retraining in the trucking field, but it's contract work and so should the shtf, the way it looks like it's gonna, there is no unemployment.
The game is different for us now.
It's preparing for the future and having a back up plan and a back up plan to that plan.
And you would think my hubby is thinking the same way.
Nope. I think mostly if he actually faced that fear completely he'd shut down. We have two daughters who need us to keep it together.
So, this summer has been the summer I've started hunkering down and being the one to wear the tin foil hat and look ahead.
My friends ignore most of what I'll post on fb, and I've realized that some people really believe that MSM will tell them everything they need to know right when they need to know it, in fact, they've pretty much admitted as much.

My philosophy is this:
Maybe the sh** won't hit the fan. That would rock! But I would really rather be safe than sorry. Been there and done it. Freaking out because you may be homeless with two children, one of which has a disability (Down Syndrome) and no jobs in sight is not a happy place to be.
Should that day ever come, I know that we will feel way less freaked out if we have things in order and a plan to fall back on.

Keep on doing what you need to do. You're doing this out of love for your family.

Just remember to step outside every so often and take a big breath. If it consumes us to the point of paranoia than we're missing the point.

Originally posted by LargeFries
reply to post by ABNARTY

 

when children used to join Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts they had opportunity to earn Merit Badges by proving they completed and learned from participating in specific tasks related to a given skill set. MB's were displayed with pride for they had been earned. They were also part of moving upward in rank.

I was a Girl Scout leader for some 3 years and I have to tell you, times have changed.
The local GS neighborhoods are not nearly as interested in these skills as they used to be. The organization itself has changed very much. I stopped leading this year as the moms just wanted their girl's to have fun or to idk, go to sweet overnights to paint their nails and do their hair.
(Ugh)
There Are other scout organizations that are a bit more grass roots.
Plus! (and this is why I'm posting a reply to this comment)....

Where possible, parents can get small groups of kids together to work on skills that you know would be necessary.
This is an idea I'm exploring, as whatever the case may be, terrorism, natural disaster or whatever, kids learning basic survival skills can make a difference in how well a family fares.

reply to post by zestor


I never thought about the denial and isolation thing. Makes sense.

It fits well to the situation.

reply to post by LargeFries


Aw shucks, now I am blushing

reply to post by RelentlessLurker


Not a bad idea.

You can frame the entire issue under the heading of saving money.

When there is a sale on things that you use on a regular basis, buy by the case... You're saving money
When you can/dehydrate from your garden, enlist some help .... You're saving money.

Almost any of your food related preparations can be "sold" to others when You're saving money.

Think about it.

You just have to show them the cold hard facts. The mathamaticly 100% will happen facts. I always like to use the two 1964 dimes story. two times in 1964, 90% silver, will buy you one gal of gas. Use those same 1964 dimes and sell them for there silver, you will get enough money to buy a gal of gas.

Its a hard road but i got my whole family turned around and we are all preparing. we must have 20+ people now preping and storing food for when the SHTF. once that happens we all are going to retreat to the hills where my family has land with cattle, rivers, fish, farmland and wild game. Im alot less stressed now a days.

Some of my family is on board but some don't have a clue. It's a tricky situation to let people in on your plans, family or not. I have made the hard choice to not tell some because I know they will just laugh it off. I can see them telling their friends how crazy I am and how I'm prepping for some apocalypse. If it does hit the fan all those people will head to my house.

I'm in a simmilar situation, if completely different (and yes that does make sense). I'm 19 and I live at home, go to college etc. And I can see signs that the stuff is starting to roll down hill. Even if a total TEOTWAWKI situation doesn't occur, I can forsee that things are going to get worse. And I can't convince my mom to get my father's guns back (he died 7 years ago, and my grand father currently has them) she gardens, but for her it really is a way to save money, no other planning involved. Now, I have almost no money, (being like most college students), but I'm trying to do what I can to discreatly pick up gear. This isn't exactly easy to do with limited funds and no home of my own. Any suggestions on things I can do to prepare? (also mind, any storage of would have to work in my bed room and be unobtrusive)

S&F

Originally posted by JDBlack
I'm in a simmilar situation, if completely different (and yes that does make sense). I'm 19 and I live at home, go to college etc. And I can see signs that the stuff is starting to roll down hill. Even if a total TEOTWAWKI situation doesn't occur, I can forsee that things are going to get worse. And I can't convince my mom to get my father's guns back (he died 7 years ago, and my grand father currently has them) she gardens, but for her it really is a way to save money, no other planning involved. Now, I have almost no money, (being like most college students), but I'm trying to do what I can to discreatly pick up gear. This isn't exactly easy to do with limited funds and no home of my own. Any suggestions on things I can do to prepare? (also mind, any storage of would have to work in my bed room and be unobtrusive)

S&F

edit on 22-8-2011 by JDBlack because: (no reason given)

i'm a volunteer on a disaster response team.

you can get training from FEMA, and learn what to do in an emergency.
many on line classes, free.
red cross, HSUS, etc. all give disaster response classes.

they have an animal shelter division, if you like animals.
learning animal first aid, and you meet wonderful people.
and you get to see tornado and other disaster, will open your eyes.

reply to post by ABNARTY

I love this topic, it made me laugh. I know exactly what you are talking about. This weeks discussion at the house was I want to buy a generator & he wanted to paint the trim. We are getting a generator! My family is slowly coming around to my way of thinking. The kids get great joy out of learning to make fire, setting up the tent and exploring open space areas. I do admit that learning and storing are a daily thought, a daily lesson.

The only way I got my husband even thinking the way I do is I left a survival handbook lying around. He picked it up, started reading and thought, "$hit". My family is not ready to live off the grid, though I have been campaigning for years to do just that, but they are starting to realize that living independently has more positives then negatives.

BTW- we are still "discussing" where I can put my garden.

Thanks for the great post. I also couldn't agree more with your sentiments as I think most folks do naively believe the power will never go out for more than a day and the supermarket shelves magically restock themselves overnight!

So far I've met with mostly curiousity from friends who might come over while my kitchen benches are covered with food i've dehydrated or bulk bags of rice I've just bought. In fact, some of them are even very interested, like, "wow, how come I haven't thought of doing this." So I encourage their interest and answer their questions and usually they go away and mull it over and come back wanting more advice!

No doubt somewhere along the line I will meet people that think the idea of being personally prepared is the realm of the lunatic fringe, but they won't put a dent in my resolve. I think being prepared for anything is the new black!