After a SHTF event, the meek inherit the Earth?

I was thinking about this earlier today, that after a SHTF event, one segment of society that is best equipped to survive is the homeless population.

Think about it, they always have what they need with them, they know how to find food, where to sleep, etc. in the urban wilderness. It just seems to me that these folks probably wouldn't find it that hard to adjust to a changed world. In addition, they won't be targeted too much, as they won't have much of interest to the criminals that would arise.

They are always on the move, and already have fellow survivor contacts, etc.

Just a thought, at least as far as things in a major city....of course, we could just see cities divided up into districts ruled by street gangs (likely).

Perhaps. Perhaps not.

Although resourceful and resilient, the homeless do depend on the rest of society very much. Yes, they know where to find food - that has been discarded by those who have means.

Homeless aren't outside of society, they are a part of it. They would be just as hard hit as any other group.

Just my two cents.

When all the 'wealthy' stop throwing their cut lunch in the bins
they will be eating grass and rats like the rest of us

And they dont do well outside urban areas,

In alot of ways we are already beyond the SHTF scenario. We have tent cities and millions of homeless in the US. I've spent my fair share on the streets and I think its good for you, toughens you up. I didn't have to beg or rely on handouts, just had to be resourceful.

I laugh sometimes thinking about people who study survival videos on youtube, have they're bugout bags ready and will really be totally lost in the woods once the realization hits that "this is not a camping trip". I think anyone could survive just as easily in urban areas as rural areas, they both have they're dangers and benefits.. just, the more people you have to be around the more liable it is that there will be an altercation over resources.

When I say in a sense were passed this particular SHTF scenario I'm talking about all of the foreclosures that have happened over the passed few years and it reminded me of this guy. Lots of people out there are doing this.. not filing for ownership but squatting in foreclosed homes.

reply to post by Gazrok
I don't know about homeless folks from the urban areas, but homeless folks from my area will do just fine. Most of them have camps out in the woods( usually near ponds or streams), they trap squirrels and rabbits, they fish, they know which plants to eat and which ones are poisonous. The only time you ever see any of them is if like me you hike in the woods a lot or every so often one or two of them come out to pick up aluminum cans to make money for tobacco and coffee, etc. They don't beg on the street corners or bother anybody, and most that I've met seem to be pretty good folks. I think if the SHTF they will probably do better than the majority of folks, and would surely do better than their urban counterparts.

I spent 6 months sleeping the streets in a town where I knew no-one. The experience of rebuilding life from it's most basic with only a rucksack, while being unable to trust anyone or their true intentions, has obviously benefited me in navigating general life since.

Being at my lowest point of homelessness at the start of a collapse of society would not be my first choice though.
I would prefer a starting position with a better resourced network, from years of friendship in a stronger social group.

reply to post by Gazrok


Another thing that will help them in a SHTF scenario which may sound trivial, is the fact that they are not addicted to electronic gadgets that a majority of people are.
Just think about a natural disaster where no one can get calls out on a cell phone or no use of the internet, some people get plum crazy like, almost panicky.

Not to mention homeless people are used to no AC or heat, they just make do and survive.
So yeah, they'll be okay.....
Good point you made about the homeless, they are already playing the survival game.

I would rather team up with one of them instead of a so-called 'prepper' any day!!!!
They know stuff!!

reply to post by Gazrok


Not ture and a common misconception. Homeless people are a useless blight on society. They survive off others, like a parasite. If there was nobody to give them change to buy food or nobody to throw food away for them to find they would perish

reply to post by Superhans

Originally posted by Superhans
Homeless people are a useless blight on society. They survive off others, like a parasite. If there was nobody to give them change to buy food or nobody to throw food away for them to find they would perish

This is a nasty outlook you have.. most people did not choose to be homeless, they are down on they're luck by and large. The ones who I've known that chose to be homeless were some of the most self sufficient people I've ever met.

Do you realize how much empty large printer cartridges are worth? Do you realize that office supply stores and places of that nature throw them away in piles? Guess who taught me that.. a non-conformist homeless guy, go figure.

US consumers in general are parasites! Humans are parasites! Working you 9-5 that you hate doesn't make you a contributor to the good of society!

"If people didn't thrwo away food they would perish". Listen to yourself! Down-trodden people forced to eat what the high class considers garbage but they're the "blight on society". They're not the ones throwing food away!

Get real man, your entitled to your opinion but that reply was uncalled for.

The homeless have a lot more experience than us at being homeless. I don't plan on being homeless though, unless I am forced to leave the earth.

The modern translation of the bible is highly flawed (the fact that it says Jesus is one blatant example of careless translating, they cant even put the correct name of the God they pray to!, The word Jesus didn't exist in his lifetime, the "J" sound wasn't even part of the language! on of thousands of points of Blatant blindness on behalf of the worlds "Christians"). The book of Enoch says

"The elect shall possess light, joy and peace, and they shall inherit the earth."

The Elect are NOT the meek!
In fact if you think about it, it is true. Who has inherited this earth? The Elected!
Click here for other parts of the bible and Jesus quotes that actually are in the prior book of Enoch.

I do volunteer work with the homeless in my area, stemming from my religious faith.

I have to say I don't share the OP's hope for the homeless if TSHTF.

1. When the "straights" feel threatened, the dominant society usually lashes out at vagrants first. Read over accounts of the Great Depression in the USA, and you will see that most anti-homeless ordinances date from the early 30s--after the economy had bottomed out.

2. Most homeless people are profoundly dependent on local food pantries. The one where I volunteer has limited the amount any one person receives, because so many "homed" persons are jobless and hungry, too. Without libraries and buses to warm themselves in during a snowstorm, without government health clinics and halfway houses, a lot of them would have a hard time functioning. They do a lot of businesses with local convenience stores, and pandhandle near highway onramps. Interrupting gasoline supplies would deprive them of a major source of begging.

3. A lot of homeless people have poor coping skills. Many of them qualify as ill-mannered. In good times, they get a ride downtown and a free meal in the county lock-up for their minor misbehaviors. In bad times, they are apt to be beaten, enslaved, or lynched by local "security committees".

4. Homeless people depend on the largess of US society. Homeless people often dumpster-dive behind restaurants and grocery stores, eating the cold pizza, the stale bread, and the shriveled vegetables. When the dominant population gets hungry enough, those things wont be thrown out any more, but sold on the gray market. In other words, what used to be free, will now have a value. Think of it this way, if you see a penny lying in the gutter, do you pick it up? You do when times are hard, and a homeless person does without. (I know a guy who checks every paybooth at automated parking garages---most people wont get out of their cars to pick up a quarter).

Homeless people live here because we let them. Mussolini's Italy had no homeless.

Edit to add: Castro put all of his homeless on boats to America in 1980. (the Mariel boat-lift). Castro said it was either that or genocide....

reply to post by Gazrok


What happens when there are no more dumpsters out back of a fast food joint to dive in?

reply to post by tovenar


I understand where you are coming from but in a SHTF scenario, all bets are off the table.

4. Homeless people depend on the largess of US society. Homeless people often dumpster-dive behind restaurants and grocery stores, eating the cold pizza, the stale bread, and the shriveled vegetables. When the dominant population gets hungry enough, those things wont be thrown out any more, but sold on the gray market. In other words, what used to be free, will now have a value. Think of it this way, if you see a penny lying in the gutter, do you pick it up? You do when times are hard, and a homeless person does without. (I know a guy who checks every paybooth at automated parking garages---most people wont get out of their cars to pick up a quarter).

This is one prime reason why many [not all] homeless will adjust better to a survival situation than your average person.

This is hypothetical now but can you picture some one like the Kardashians digging in a dumpster?
Oh HELL NO!!
Okay how about can you see them going without makeup if they can't run down to a store??
Still no........LOL

Well, how many in suburbia will go dumpster diving?
How many can live without AC/heat?
Here's a good one- how many can live without their smartphones/internet ?

Of course, I'm thinking total breakdown of infrastructure due to society collapse therefore no power/water type of SHTF scenario........all hypothetical of course.

Therefore, the homeless may surprise you due to the fact they don't really have to adapt like the rest of us would.
It would definitely be a rude awakening for the majority of the population.

Much respect~
snarky

I think the guys with more amo's and guns will do well than any group. But of course, living by this means has it's disadvantages. I think its always the ruthless and smart folks that will be dominent. History is has favored this few, perhaps it's time to rewrite the history books.

Originally posted by 1/2 Nephilim
reply to post by Superhans

 

Originally posted by Superhans
Homeless people are a useless blight on society. They survive off others, like a parasite. If there was nobody to give them change to buy food or nobody to throw food away for them to find they would perish

This is a nasty outlook you have.. most people did not choose to be homeless, they are down on they're luck by and large. The ones who I've known that chose to be homeless were some of the most self sufficient people I've ever met.

Do you realize how much empty large printer cartridges are worth? Do you realize that office supply stores and places of that nature throw them away in piles? Guess who taught me that.. a non-conformist homeless guy, go figure.

US consumers in general are parasites! Humans are parasites! Working you 9-5 that you hate doesn't make you a contributor to the good of society!

"If people didn't thrwo away food they would perish". Listen to yourself! Down-trodden people forced to eat what the high class considers garbage but they're the "blight on society". They're not the ones throwing food away!

Get real man, your entitled to your opinion but that reply was uncalled for.

edit on 25-2-2013 by 1/2 Nephilim because: (no reason given)

I agree, Nephilim, and I think it's pretty sh!++y to come down on the less fortunate, as if most homeless people ''choose'' to be that way. But what would you expect from a tool who has serial killer Ted Bundy as his avatar?

Originally posted by snarky412
reply to post by tovenar

 

I understand where you are coming from but in a SHTF scenario, all bets are off the table.

Hey, Snarky412, I respect where you are coming from on this, and will not be shocked in any way if you are right; on the other hand, I do believe my outlook is the more likely in a "grand SHTF" situation.

This is hypothetical now but can you picture some one like the Kardashians digging in a dumpster?
Oh HELL NO!!

I can. I can feature them doing anything, and I do mean anything, to survive. People who cannot wait to prostitute themselves for a cash and prizes will have no problem kicking in your teeth if need be, as long as they get in the dumpster first...

Okay how about can you see them going without makeup if they can't run down to a store??

I can see them crying for a while; until they realize that no one cares or wants to assist them. Sadly for us, no celebu-tante has ever died of embarrassment. (If only, right?) They may have a longer learning curve than some of us who have grown up with the advantages of poverty and hard work to keep us centered; but they will do what it takes to claw their way to the top--including shooting someone who gets in the way, I'd bet.

Well, how many in suburbia will go dumpster diving?

Every last one.

They only question is, will they be good enough at it to survive?

How many can live without AC/heat?
Here's a good one- how many can live without their smartphones/internet ?

All of them. Except, of course, all of those who are insulin dependent--they'll die after their insulin goes to room temperature for more than 12 hours. And the folks who need kidney dialysis. And the folks on blood pressure medicine. And the folks who are on asthma maintenance meds... and those on oxygen...and those with suppressed immune systems...and those on blood thinner...and folks recovering from surgery when the lights go out...and those ostomies...and those who are pregnant but need a caesarean section to have a live birth...and those who have pacemakers that will ever need another battery....

Of course, I'm thinking total breakdown of infrastructure due to society collapse therefore no power/water type of SHTF scenario........all hypothetical of course.

Therefore, the homeless may surprise you due to the fact they don't really have to adapt like the rest of us would.
It would definitely be a rude awakening for the majority of the population.

Much respect~
snarky

Homeless people are at risk of freezing to death NOW, this week; and that is with all of our civilization fully functional. Without the food distribution network to stock the food pantries, without the ER to treat their frostbites and diahreas from eating bad food; without the churches and homeless shelters and food pantries and women's shelters, they will (sadly) die first, and die most.

I say all this, having once been homeless myself.


Respect.

After the SHTF I will inherit the world Oh wait, I thought it said geek

The great thing about a SHTF event is that it will truly level the playing field.

Originally posted by Gazrok
I was thinking about this earlier today, that after a SHTF event, one segment of society that is best equipped to survive is the homeless population.

I'd take that bet.

They are more likely to have mental and physical health problems than the rest of us. Their "know how to find food" relies on the rest of us donating money or providing food kitchens or throwing away edible food (dumpster diving.)

In addition, they won't be targeted too much, as they won't have much of interest to the criminals that would arise.

They actually prey on each other, and it's not pretty.

Just a thought, at least as far as things in a major city....of course, we could just see cities divided up into districts ruled by street gangs (likely).

A far likelier scenario -- as you can see in countries where the governments have collapsed. You get local pockets of alliance and eventually you see the rise of warlords who (by guns and other means) operate as virtual social dictators of their own little area of the world.