Would you resort to looting in a SHTF scenario.

Person A
Has not prepared at all. He has not stocked up on food, water, fuel and weapons. Basically all he has is whats in his home, which might last him a week at the most.

Person B
Had prepared really well, and did great for a year. But now his supplies are almost over. He just has enough left for a week.


Whether you are person A or B, you know you got to eat and drink something. So would you resort to using force to get what you want. Would your predicament justify using violence to take what you want for your survival?

Discuss.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


as far as im concerned when it comes to survival, i'll do anything to keep going, even cannibalism if it was necessary. id have absolutely no problem with looting, the vast majority will be doing that anyway, if the stuffs there and i need it to survive, im taking it. better to get the supplies while they're still there than wait till you really need them but everythings gone

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


Steal from another person or family? Never. Steal from a government building that my taxes pay for? Hell yeah.

As far as violence to another innocent is concerned, I'd move my family into the woods before I resorted to that.

Yes....yes i would......next question?

yes you in the front with the mole...

I'd do what I had to do to ensure the survival of my family. If that includes taking your # , let me say sorry in advance. Fortunately I'm pretty set up as far as preps.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


This is a fun topic. I am one to be very organized in a situation like this, I would probably get together a small crew at first, and figure out ways to get resources (exclusively from abandoned government or business operations) and then work on restoring order, adding more people to my faction and helping other factions out when possible. I would try to dissuade people from looting from each other, and if it were a long-term scenario, work on rebuilding some kind of society.

This isn't as far-fetched as one might think, I was already asked to do some consulting work with a wealthy landowner a few years back about how to install power generators and the like on his very large 20,000 + acre farm, and also worked on designing living quarters out of boxcars.

This isn't exactly relevant, but if the situation in Syria worsens, we will probably see a war between the east and west in this region as well as a second battleground centered around Israel and Iran... this will then move to the Pacific theater, where the U.S. has been moving its resources for some time.

reply to post by Cuervo


becareful what woods you move your family in, i live in the woods my kids play hide and go seek in the woods at night thows animal trails are mine...my 9yr old handles my british 303 very well.,thankyou for what ever we can use....hehe

looting is one thing but scavenging is quite another.... I wouldn't try to steal another's supplies but I can see scavenging for stuff in abandoned structures...

funny thing is that most people will loot things that they might not be able to use in a SHTF event.

one thing you can count on is that real knowledge will become one of your most valuable assets....

knowing how to make make-shift or redneck-rigging a ram pump for water; building a solar stove or making a generator out of nominal supplies for example

understanding how something works so you can rig something up will be an essential skill if the SHTF

Originally posted by EyesWideShut
I'd do what I had to do to ensure the survival of my family. If that includes taking your # , let me say sorry in advance. Fortunately I'm pretty set up as far as preps.

I am all for preparedness and have a good set of supplies on hand, unfortunately not enough for everybody. For those who might consider taking my supplies I would warn that like others on this thread I have no qualms with cannibalism either, though not likely to go there as long as my regular supplies hold out. Such contributions at that time I would gladly offer to my less fortunate neighbors. No apology necessary. My colonia would be glad to have you for dinner. Jajajaja. Glad you are well-stocked too.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


Surviving is NOT looting.

In a SHTF scenario, if you are stealing TVs, Rims, and DVD's, then you are looting. If you are foraging for food and water, then you are surviving.

There is a lot of gray area in between the two. It seems perfectly acceptable to forage in an abandoned big box store, but what about a mom and pop store that seems partially secured and occupied? I'd think NO.

But, really, when it comes down to living or dying, I'd have no problem using violence to help my own family survive, but I hope I am prepared enough in advance to keep from getting to that point.

Ultimately we will do whatever necessary to survive. The land yields many resources that we are not accustomed to utilizing. Snails, grub worms, and an assortment of creepy crawlers are tasty and there for the taking, though to many such things may seem a distasteful and very last resort if considered at all. Survival skill and basic bushcraft calls for getting over that. If you were trained in the right units the military may have already introduced you to some of these delectables, otherwise if you have concerns those times are approaching you should start experimenting and conditioning for it soon.

I hope we will all turn to doing these necessary things, foraging and the like, before we turn to raiding another's home, camp, and supplies. If I have one ounce of proper mental rationalization left after normal supplies are exhausted I expect I should and will resign myself to whatever fate I deserve before I consider pillaging another survivor's camp who had the foresight to be better prepared than myself.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


Those that are most willing to step outside their comfort zone, are called the survivors. Yes I would. I would do anything I need to in order to survive. I would try to avoid actions I felt were morally incorrect, but I would do what I have to if it came down to it.

I have my own moral code. I'll be putting it in place when the time comes. I think is as equitable as can be, and can be universalized to the lives of others, for the general good.

Looting
I won't be looting. I won't need to. I have organized my supplies and caches such that I will already possess the things that people might want to loot. I consider looting to be when a mob uses its own size and impromptu nature to overwhelm an owner and take things by force. I stand with owners of stuff. Most looters don't even take things of value. When the lights go out and the a/c shuts off, the mobs smashes windows and steals.....televisions.

Scavenging.
Completely ok. Scavenging is taking something that the 'owner' has no more use for, or will be unable to reclaim. For example, if the neighbors flee for california in one of their 3 vehicles, I will siphon the gas out of the other 2. They obviously can't expect to come back and find their vehicles operable in a couple of years. Or for example books on medicine from the county library. If I don't take them with me and give them a loving home, some looters will probably use them for toilet paper, or low-grade pornography. Again, the government will lose them anyway. Look at it this way: today, before TSHTF, if a truck full of frozen pies flips over in the street, there's no way the owners will be able to save those pies....

Punishment for theft or robbery
There is only one punishment. no plea bargaining.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by sk0rpi0n

 

Surviving is NOT looting.

In a SHTF scenario, if you are stealing TVs, Rims, and DVD's, then you are looting. If you are foraging for food and water, then you are surviving.

There is a lot of gray area in between the two. It seems perfectly acceptable to forage in an abandoned big box store, but what about a mom and pop store that seems partially secured and occupied? I'd think NO.

But, really, when it comes down to living or dying, I'd have no problem using violence to help my own family survive, but I hope I am prepared enough in advance to keep from getting to that point.

Always remember, it's not stealing if you leave a note.

better question


Would you report looting in a SHTF scenario

reply to post by Cuervo


You have no idea how bad things can get

i'd take back what you said

Paraphrasing the honor code of the service academies;
I will not loot or tolerate those who do.

1 must scavange its understood to survive if thats the case. But steal from anothers supply location no.

looting, no way! but surviving, you bet your sweet patooty. altho you haven't given us any specifics, i would assume that the earth has not been scortched yet, so i would provide for my family the best i could. now say if the earth is barron... none of us will have much of a chance, unless you have a stockpile and sealed off bomb shelter set up for 10 yrs.. i would just hope i was best friends with someone like that.lol

Originally posted by CosmicCitizen
Paraphrasing the honor code of the service academies;
I will not loot or tolerate those who do.

Sure, and some looting is obvious, but at what point does it cease to be looting and begin being foraging?

What if the house or business appears to be abandoned? What if half the population is already dead? What if you see a roving gang take down your neighbors, and then you take down the gang?

More muddy, what if you know of an old codger, living alone, with nothing to offer to society, and a short-time to live anyway, but he is hoarding enough resources to keep your family alive for months? You might all starve before he keels over, and his hoard will be wasted when he inevitably dies as well. Is that looting if you go take some of it, or just survival of the fittest?