Hello fellow Internet citizens, wanted to discuss a topic near to my heart and mind today. Right now, I have a very close friend working on a post or two, which I will be putting up for your perusal and information here really soon. The guy's as sharp as they come, and not only is he a prepper himself, but has various other experiences (both educational and Life) that have helped him to get to where he is today, and where he continues to go. He has some various training that compliments what I have, so he's not only a great friend, but a really good resource to have around for information, and just to bounce ideas off of. So, be on the look-out, that will be up soon.
And that brings up a good point of discussion to mind, which I'd like to go into here. Like many of you reading this, I am very fortunate, and blessed to have several friends who I know I could count on in times of need. A few of those, they are preppers also* and are definitely included in any longterm plans that I may make. Now, I naturally would help my non-prepper friends to the best of my ability, that goes without needing to be clarified. But, that said, it's great that I do have a few friends who really "get it" and so those become assets instead of liabilities (in the strictest of terms). Like myself, they are like-minded preppers, and I count them as staunch allies. And really, those of you reading this really, really need to keep this in mind. I have only seen a few internet preppers discuss this topic. The fact of the matter is this: you will need friends in pretty much every survival situation. Think about it for a moment. A lot of preppers talk about stockpiling food, guns, ammo, home fortifications and so on, and that's all great. But the fact is, having friends to call on, whether it be as using their home as a BOL**, having them around in a disaster situation as an extra pair of hands to help, and an extra sense of judgement, or even putting a shotgun in their hand and having them to help you repel attempted home intrusion in the even of a total WROL situation; ALL of these situations can be made easier with your friends being there. But online, I have seen some preppers saying things like "Well, I wouldn't call my friends because then they'd want to come stay with us, and use our generator power, or eat from our food stores, or drink some of our water." or "Well, I don't really want to have to look after extra people." Frankly, I find that mindset disgusting.
Listen. Here's the fact of the matter. As usual, I'll skip right to the common sense. First thought in my head? You can't stay up forever. It's that simple. That's just one simple example. If power is out in your neighborhood after a bad natural disaster, it's a given that looters may come prowling your neighborhood to see if there are any easy pickings. If that happens, and it's just your wife and yourself, what will you do? "Simple UP, I'll stand watch while my wife sleeps, and then she'll stand watch while I get some rest." Hey, that is fantastic. In a situation where your wife has trained, prepped, and studied to the point where she has a similar threat-response skillset to yours, that is just great. But fact is, most preppers don't have that. Hell, I myself don't have that. My wife is intensely intelligent, fierce, beautiful, and tenacious. But do I think she'd have the same ability to repel an attempted break-in with overwhelming force and terminal finality? No, I don't think so. For one thing, I am physically much, much larger and stronger than she is. I will meet an attempted break-in with terminal force, no other way to say it. In my state of residence, this is allowed per our laws (thankfully).
And to be clear, there are no surprises here, she reads this blog. She has an array of skillsets that highly compliment mine, and she does train periodically with firearms and is a great shot. When I travel for work, I am comfortable in my knowledge that she would be able to defend herself from a standard break-in. But in a serious, disaster-type extended situation, people are going to be desperate. An alarm sounding (most alarms won't even be working in the case of a power outage!) or a present homeowner won't deter a determined perpetrator. I can readily admit that I would most likely move her, our supplies/preps, to another more fortified location if the need was there, or else I would call on one or more of my friends to come stay with us. Primarily I would do this to provide the best protection for her that I could. And frankly, that means another big burly guy with experience in firearms, such as one of my close friends, or another prepper friend of mine who's really good with a shotgun. It's that simple.
And hey, let me touch on the "Friends will want to eat my food, drink my water, need my ammo!" mindset. You know what? First of all, you should be taking a couple extra people into account anyway. What's the worst outcome? Alright, so you saved up enough water supplies to last five people for two months in the event of a major natural disaster. Excellent. Well, hey, the disaster happens, and one of your friends is able to make it to your location. So, it's you, your wife, and your friend. Well, that two month supply of water for five people can now be stretched out even further because it's just the three of you. Hey, you saved up a year's worth of food for two people, and you have two friends (a good buddy and his wife) make it to your house, and all they brought was their water supplies, guns, and some ammo? Well, a year's worth of food for two people is still going to be able to last four people well past any natural disaster being put to rights by local government infrastructure. What? You have enough ammo to outlast any horde of zombies, and your buddy and his wife who brought their guns only have a few boxes each? Well, so what? If they're helping watch your home, than dammit, give 'em some damn ammo from your stores!!! Use your head, here. I will end the rant by saying I don't understand the "It's just me and my family against the world" mindset. In any truly end-of-society situation, you are going to want as many dependable friends around you as possible, simple as that. Because bad guys? Yeah, they have friends too, and you can bet they're going to band together. So, it's on you to even the odds.
As a last note, please understand that when I say "friends", I am talking about close personal friends, not friendly acquaintances such as Steve the Mailroom clerk at your place of employment. I do not disclose my preps to anyone outside of my immediate close circle of friends as a general rule, and I would suggest that you inact the same security mindset, which I have talked about before. It sounds silly when you first think about it, but honestly? Having a beer at a company function and talking about your shared enjoyment in sports isn't the same thing as seeing how people will truly act in their personal lives. And the last thing you need in your immediate vicinity in a tense survival situation is an unknown quantity like people you don't know that well. So, don't risk the headache (or worse). Only allow like-minded close friends to know about your preparations. Include them in your plans. Be included in theirs. Understand up front that you may be called on to help support them with your supplies, just as they understand they may need to support you with theirs.
At the end of the day, human beings work together better, and can accomplish more than they can on their own. This is the basis of any strong, stable society. Don't discount it. Stay safe out there.
- Unnamed Prepper
"If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself."
- Henry Ford
*Amazingly, they were preppers independently of any urgings on my part. Always great to find out you have a shared interest beyond the usual fare.
** Bug Out Location
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