What do you do in a Mad Max world? (survey)

a reply to: centarix

I would try to organize a mass rally to invade area 51.... and start a new civilization with the secret technology they have.

lol

a reply to: centarix

I would be that person (well, me and my Darlin' ) who appeared to have a little. We would not be without defense, however. If you were in our neighborhood, you would have an opportunity to sweat for food in order to make more food. You would have an opportunity to trade fish for greens, beans or rice.

This is something I have thought about a lot, given that I live in an area where most of the folk believe that in TSHTF situation, the government will come to their aid. Most of my neighbors -- if not all -- don't stock any food, seeds or supplies. Their 'arms' consist primarily of machettes. I can make anything I want.

To properly address your question, if I were a different person than I am and had zero resources, I shudder to think of what I might do to survive. I know this about myself. I would hope that I wouldn't steal or kill to stay alive if I hadn't prepared in any way myself. I can't swear to what this bizzaro-world me would do.

a reply to: centarix

well just like the original Mad Max, i'd build me a bad ass hot rod, preferably a armored 4x4 with a big block and a blower on top.
then i'd go looking for a dude named the night rider.

a reply to: centarix

I'm an engineer.

I have power and food because I store it.

I am the new king and I wear leather and have weird masks.

I also have people around me who have bad haircuts and run around screaming with spray paint.


In reality, I'm probably dead a number of ways because I always try to do the right thing.

Wait, what? Is the OP describing a scenario, or the way we live now???

Oh, I see. I'm not robbing anybody. Neither are most of you. And the reason is cost/risk. Pulling a stunt like that = betting all your money on a single hand. Most people, even those who are morally ambivalent, are good enough chess-players to ask, "What happens 15 minutes after the neighbors get home?" Answer: "I'm not sure but they probably won't come knocking on the front door."

Rabbits. 4 breeding pairs can feed your whole family, and getting groceries for them can be done at little risk to yourself.

If my neighbors have any brains, they probably have their hoard booby-trapped. Otherwise, why would they appear to leave it unguarded. They are probably cannibals, and their unguarded home is the bait.

And now as of today I just recovered my Katadyn survivor 06 water maker.

originally posted by: centarix
The economic collapse turned out much worse than imagined. Price controls are extreme causing hardly any goods and services to be sold at all. Many things if you want them, you will have to use the black market. Gasoline is hard to get. Food is hard to get. Your children are hungry. You have had only a couple bowls of soup in the last week. You know a couple of people in your neighborhood who you noticed have quite a lot of food, but won't share any of it with you. Their security is quite lax, and their house cannot be seen from the road. You are armed, and they are not. You know when they will be gone for several days. The survey question is: would you try and take that food when they are gone without their permission?

In the scenario you suggest, I would wait until they leave and then take all their stuff. And then burn their house down, because in a SHTF scenario I have no qualms about becoming a looting, pillaging, barbarian.

I can't imagine any of that in the OP's scenario being true.

If they hoarded food, but didn't have the means to protect it, then they simply would have been looted prior to me being on the scene. If not, then lucky me.

Likewise, they certainly wouldn't leave such a place for some arbitrary reason (and I'd assume if they did, that they didn't plan on coming back).

I'd also suspect a trap. Another can eat first. I'll wait a few days, just to ensure it isn't poisoned. (because that's what I'd do, and unlike the movies, most poisons may not show until a few days later).

Of course, like some said, I wouldn't be in that position in the first place.

Unless you are a prepped person and bugged in, with a group....your best bet is to offer your services to such a group in exchange for the basics.

The approach to this survey is all wrong.

It should have been framed as your scenario is the jist of what the common folk faces, where as in here in it should have been how the survival minded/pro/expert/practitioner wouldn't be in that scenario to begin with.

Anyways, here's my answer:
HOWTO: Be wealthy after the collapse (be a Mad Max Millionaire)