[SoilToSoulMS]

Basically the old adage ‘buy lots of beans and rice’. I hear that being said too much still. Hear me out…Beans and rice are great to have, certainly! But, not if you don’t know how to use them and eat then often already. Better advice is to learn proper food storage, and apply those skills to the foods you already eat. So you can stock up on what you and your family actually eat. Can you imagine having to eat beans and rice all the time? Heck no lol. It might seem like a common sense thing, however we seem to have a shortage of that going around, too. Unfortunately, it can’t be bought.

[JerseyGiantChick]

Sadly there are more people who do not know how to cook from scratch, and so children not learning to cook just buy and order ready food.

[SoilToSoulMS]

Yespecially, so many seem to not even know how to book water these days, is sad.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Great answer! People who only eat beans and rice will learn real quick what malnutrition is….haha.

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

And constipation!!

[SpagsUnfiltered]

And who doesn’t like a little post SHTF scurvy or rickets!

[JerseyGiantChick]

They must lurn fast, we all be to busy with preparing and being nuts. Just make them believe that, to make them all busy staying away from us nutshells.

[Mud]

You want IRL experience intel on an almost beans and rice diet…..Well here it is from an American.

Mind you we were too poor at the time to afford decent food + bills. Things are better now but only due to enacting a long plan over time to make things better……Like reducing cost of living and bills.

Me and my brother lived off almost only pinto beans and white rice for over a year. We ate them in flour tortilla burritos, plain in a bowl with butter and salt. I had coffee for breakfast with a little milk.

Short story is this, YOU WILL GET PALETTE FATIGUE NO MATTER WHAT. Somehow my brother managed to choke down nearly 2x as much as me during mealtimes after the 1st 6th months.

I myself started losing weight, had a hard time eating, my energy level was not bad but still I was easily fatigued, sleeping was ok because we ate and then went directly to bed so belly full made sleeping easier.

What most people won’t realize without experiencing this 1st hand is the vitamin and mineral deficiencies that occur over a long time period.

Trying to find a decent position to sleep was difficult at the end of the limited diet because my RIB CAGE GOT SOFT AND STARTED TO FLEX, so It became noticeable and partially painful to roll around in bed for a time, also curly ingrown hairs started to pop up all over my body (potentially a sign of scurvy).

Those symptoms went away after a proper diet but took around 6 months to relieve them all….Meanwhile my brother was fine and didn’t complain at all about any issues……What can I say? He’s a champ for sure.

So……..This is my personal advice from personal experience…..If you decide to “beans and rice til the end of time”, Buy multivitamins and Calcium supplements at the minimum.

My best advice is get more than just beans and rice to live off, learn to forage if you can where you live, foraging is amazing because the nutrients come from the land that is not usually tainted by mankind’s industry.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

This is EXACTLY what I was hoping for with this thread. Someone with real world experience.

Thanks so much for sharing!

[SoilToSoulMS]

Wow! Thanks so much for sharing your story. It is definitely enlightening to hear real world experience on this type of thing.

[JerseyGiantChick]

Thank you for sharing, all can lurn from your experience.

[Mud]

cute type of chicken

• This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by  Mud.

[JerseyGiantChick]

Well thank you Mud, you just made my day.

[coyotech]

I’m not a great gardener, yet. That will improve with more practice, but meantime I’ll be eating squash, potatoes, onions and various herbs. My fruit trees also did OK in the past. So I would have to adapt my diet to what I can grow, and it would be kind of odd! But you do what you’ve got to do, and eat what you’ve got to eat. Another option is to make friends with your neighbors if you’re in the country. That’s how I get eggs, milk, chicken and goat meat until I’m set up enough to raise my own. It’s how I get water, and how I’ve gotten several other useful things. Of course if you make friends only for that, people will notice and start to avoid you. Friends take work and loyalty, but they are good for you, even if you’re not socially inclined.

[Billt21]

On the same vain as the beans and rice. Buy the one year package of storage food and you are set. See Venezuela where I read about a guy that had two years of food that he ran out of years ago. Ops. Or the garden in a can that has not taken in account your growing conditions or dietary needs.

Countering it is hard because most people want the No work fix and or they don’t want to think about the possibility of you know, bad. I really like teaching the tried and true method of by extra of what you eat with mini goals like get an extra month ahead.

And the gateway drug of a fresh tomato

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Laziness will be the “prepper gardener’s” greatest enemy.

[Mud]

I think unanticipated injury will be the prepper gardener’s undoing more than likely.

Most gardeners, that actually garden worth their salt, are not lazy.

But blisters, thorns, splinters, cuts, bruises, scrapes, sprains, jungle rot, and broken bones……..If you can’t handle the pain like our fore-fathers could, that is what I think will be the undoing of this generation of gardening preppers.

Almost got my head kicked off by a steer one time, didn’t anticipate that but never made the same mistake again. Lucky the hoof got caught in the fence or I would have finished the race early.

I’ve lifted 100 lbs of metal chunks while on crutches (broken ankle in a boot from Goodwill) in a basement that flooded with raw sewage. Picking weeds bent over on crutches playing the long game (season to season) is much more mentally and physically draining, especially knowing your sustenance depends on it.

Slow and steady wins the race, unless you want to finish the life race early.

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

Extremely valid points! The easiest of tasks could injure you because you are not focused on the task at hand. Complacency can be deadly. Great post.

[Mud]

I got a Venazolan in NYC that shared his story with me on his traveling from country to country in South America, then made the pilgrimage from Peru to NYC on foot, by bus, etc etc.

He said garden plants would be stolen before they even would produce fruit.

He’s working 2 jobs now, living in a shelter, and I’m encouraging him to do community service on Sundays as a small help to pay back what America will give him. Hopefully he will understand what Ellis Island is all about and embrace the American Spirit that takes the worlds tattered humans and turns them into the best and brightest.

Right now we have an open border crisis and the only thing that seems beneficial is to encourage the decent human beings to come and for the trash to stay away. It’s amazing to me the USA didn’t have enough migrant workers this year to pick crops with all the illegal immigrant crossing the border.

[Stoutlander]

“Buy seeds.”

I believe too many people think it will be like farmville and they can just throw some seeds on the ground and they are set.

No offense to the other posters, but the whole “buy more of what you use” will be great for short term disasters, but I truly believe that what is coming will require lots of long term preps. Prepping is just the beginning step. To come out of what is coming will require homesteading skills. There will be many unforeseen problems ahead and the long term preps will get you through them. Last thing, prepare for more relatives showing up at your door. It’s easy to say now that you might tell them to pound sand, but there is a good chance that you will feel sorry for them and this will require more long term preps. Rice and bits of protein has gotten many people through war times in the past.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Farmville….haha! I remember how easy it was to get a three star mastery badge for your peas! But yes, having a seed bank is a great way to starve to death if you never plant and grow and learn. Especially if your seeds aren’t bio adapted to your area.

[Raspberry]

This goes along with the seeds comment above but the idea of buying “survival seeds that’ll last 25 years!!”.

Riiight.

If you leave these sealed up, you have no idea what you’re getting or if they’d even germinate.

I really don’t think if you’re not gardening along the way, you and your so called survival seeds are going to be able to figure out how after tshtf.

[Pukalani-Farm]

LOL! Right?? And those “survival seed packs” have things like carrot seeds that only keep for 1 season 😂

[SpagsUnfiltered]

My group bought an “emergency seed vault” almost 17 years ago. We instantly had our best gardener plant it. It’s been a go too garden now for over a decade and the seeds yielded plants that yielded more seeds that became bio adapted over a few years.

Buying a seed bank and leaving it on the shelf in the basement is a recipe to starve! Great comment.

[DrumminSon]

Worst advice is buy gold and silver because you will be able to trade it for food. Ammunition probably gold and silver I don’t think so…

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Gold and silver are good preps, but everyone, like you said, has the wrong idea about it. Gold and silver should be so far down the line on what you stock up on. And realistically, it’s not for instant barter. Most people won’t care about old coins when they are starving and cold. You’d be far better off stock piling lighters, airplane bottles of vodka and tobacco than silver and gold right off the bat.

Now I still believe in holding precious metals, but not for the same reasons everyone else does. At some point the world will normalize. At some point the lights come back on and the system reboots. When THAT happens, I plan to be able to buy back into whatever system comes online if for nothing else than to add an extra layer of security to whatever world I find myself in.

That being said, I have set myself up so that I won’t need to barter for food, fire, water etc. I have those bases pretty well on lock down (baring a complete invasion by Team Murphy). So I will absolutely trade what I have for silver and gold right away because my plan is super forward thinking. Unfortunately, most people who stock precious metals think they will end up in a Mad Max world where Barter Town pops up overnight. Most people won’t even know what happened for weeks in most places let alone have time to set up prepper super cities.

Good post.

[Mud]

I’m going to say this 1x here and here only.

If you want Mad Max knowledge from an incredible Sci-Fi author…… here it is.

Almost no 1 knows of this series but it is a storehouse of knowledge on the subject.

Enjoy reeding thru it if you choose to do so.

“Death Lands” by James Axler

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

👍

[SpagsUnfiltered]

I always need new reading material. I’ll look for these.

[TagNBee]

“Store 3 days’ worth of food and water, this will get you buy until the authorities show up”

[JerseyGiantChick]

Germany says 10 days, Husband is just over that shock. We have had a talk after he told he had a discussion at work. I told him I am so sick and tired from all that is going on, and he needs to be my man now because our son and I need him to work together. No more denying, sticking head in the sand and hiding.

Days, weeks, months are a joke, but can give a chance if all do it and stop making fun of those who do prepare.

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

@TagNBee Buhahaha! The lesson is what ever the government tells you to do, do the opposite!

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Best answer! “Trust the gubment!” Hahahaha

[Granny-Hatchet]

Barter with bullets…bad advice IMO.

First bullets are finite. Even if you reload your own ammo casings; there’s only so many times you can reuse that casing. Not to mention, that if we actually get to a point where we’re having fire fights on the streets, how often would you be able to collect all the casings in such a situation? Second, trading ammo puts a huge target on your back. As I said ammo is finite, but those with ammo will also have power. When you have power, there is always someone that wants your power. And there is always someone with power who wants/needs to be more powerful than you. They’ll come for your ammo, if they win, they’ll take that ammo and everything else. Whether you like it or not, you’re not Rambo, And nobody is going to step in and be your stunt person. Third, the alphabet government will (and probably already are) putting their people in plain clothes hoping to barter for your ammo. They’ll stretch you, frame you, and hang you out to dry.

Many of you talk about being the grey man. Flashing ammo around is far from grey.

Fourth, anyone that has food after a situation that calls for bartering ammo, probably already has ammo of their own as well. Look at this group for instance. Most of us raise and grow our food. And have our peppy Le pewpews. And probably have the ammo we need. At least for a while. So there’s not much we are going to need to barter for. And what would you need from someone who wasn’t/isn’t prepared? What could they have that is worth your power? Or giving away your safety?

Keep your ammo, trade the things that are less likely to make you a target. Knowledge..skills. they aren’t going to kill you for your soap. They might steal some seeds, but if they don’t have the knowledge to grow those seeds, well..they might get lucky, but the odds aren’t great. So your knowledge of how to grow that food is much more precious than the seed itself.

Don’t get me wrong, in a bad situation anyone can become a target. No matter what. If you’re lucky or blessed, you’ll become a target before you barter those “bullets” away. That way you’ll at least have a fighting chance.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

This post highlights a forward-thinking barter mentality and I like that. While I seldom say “never” or “always”, I certainly see the wisdom in not trading off your ammo supply no matter how good it is. I would have to be in a pretty dire straight to trade off ammo post SHTF.

Thanks for the post!

[KramitDreams]

I’ve often wondered what I’m gonna need from others that aren’t prepared but for us that live in rural subdivisions there are some things, we have 5 kids so we would go throw more than most families and 5 kids go through a lot of socks 😆 but on a serious note we have 3 sheds of wood but if for some reason we burned all that I would trade for wood maybe even water if like we’ve been for 2 months without rain so our barrels can run dry. There are lots of people with pools and a pond on the backside. We did get rain today but we have realized in these months we won’t have enough water in a drought. My husband thinks though that in a bad situation it would be like the blizzard we had and everyone would leave their homes bc that’s what happened we had no power for two wks. People will flee to neighboring towns, hotels, city ect..and then we would have access to their wood and water for free lol

• This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by  KramitDreams.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

That’s probably very very true.

[Barred-Rock-or-Brahma]

“Trust the plan.” I’m constantly amazed by those who see what’s going on with their eyes wide open, but still believe with every fiber of their normalcy-biased being that someone is going to swoop in and make things right before they ever actually miss a meal.

For the third or fourth generation born into an anomalous period of prosperity, going “back to normal” might not mean what some think it means.

[JerseyGiantChick]

Sure trust them all blindly, going to get info at the fire department because they are responsible for the preparedness. See what they do for water and food, just want to know and if I can help out.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

100% Agree. At no point should anyone see politics as more than sports. It’s something to bet on for fun and ignore at best. And certainly people should have learned by now that no one is coming to save you.

Great perspective as always buddy.

[JD-in-GA]

I like to say: Be aware, informed and avoid complacency, especially at the local level, but don’t be rabid about it.

Even if you don’t depend on govt for anything, govt still “has what it takes to take what you’ve got” and right or wrong, will always claim the righteous, moral, justified side of any dispute. For the most part, all we can do is keep a weather eye, prepare (and vote) accordingly.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Very true. They believe they own everything and everyone. So I agree that we keep a watchful eye.

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

Worst advice is to not do anything. Seriously we won’t know what was right or what was wrong until it comes to that point. Granted there are some common sense things that work. I would bet nobody or 99.9% of folks on here have never been through many of the prepping scenarios such as Grid Down, EMP attach, Big Gov attacking citizens, Chinese Invasion, etc….. Rely on each other and fill in all the holes you can to be ready. IMHO you should start with the greatest possible scenario that would happen and work on that first and so on down the line till the least possible scenario happening.

Always be thinking of the holes.

Food security is #1. No doubt in my military mind.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

It’s like the old saying, “Prep for a zombie apocalypse, even though there is no such thing. Prepping for that means you’ve prepped for everything.” That may be a bit tongue in cheek, but the premise is solid.

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

Solid! Very Solid like my noggin!

[SpagsUnfiltered]

😂😂

[HoneysGarden]

I’m not so sure about that “zombie apocalypse” – some speculation on potential effects of a certain injection coupled with 5G indicate a possibility of zombie-like behavior, and there is also some evidence that movies are used to ‘tell’ us what’s coming – and we have a LOT of zombie movies! So, I wouldn’t rule even that possibility out!

[SpagsUnfiltered]

I suppose that’s true too. The zombie saying came from before 4G was a thing in the US, so maybe we need to update it a bit. hahah

[coyotech]

Water security is even more important than food security.

[PapaFarmer]

While I understand what people are saying in criticism of telling folks to have beans and rice, you must all understand that a complete collapse will bring everything down to the basic necessities…water, shelter, and food. A person with water and shelter CAN live on beans and rice, although not well. Your health will not thrive on that alone. The good things about beans and rice are relatively easy storage. This will aid in survival of a really bad situation. Obviously for the long haul, though, skills that can be traded, crops that can be grown, knowledge of natural health, water sources and purification are essential.

So, essentially what I advise to strive for is this:

1. A means to ensure safe water.

2. Some kind of shelter to avoid rain, heat, cold, etc.

3. A supply of long term food to get you through the first few weeks of the emergency.

4. A knowledge of gardening and combating pests for fresh food.

5. Skill with animals, wild and domesticated for raising and food.

6. Basic carpentry skills with hand tools.

7. Learn about effective composting that works.

8. Security for you and loved ones is also very important.

And, I know there are many more items. The key is to study, learn, store what you can, get your finances in order, and put some of this in place before things get bad. Learn the life skills that were common knowledge 200 years ago.

Am I there? Not by a long shot. We do what we can and seek to be helpful and patient with others in their journey.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Great answer! I think the criticism is more of the “buy beans and rice” and then the actions stop there. I certainly have beans and rice in my preps. A good prep plan, as you indicate, should be in layers and based on all nutritional leads.

Thanks for commenting!

[JD-in-GA]

Though there is plenty of bad advice to be found in the prepper community, I’m still thankful for the “marketplace of ideas”… Can’t have good advice without sifting through some bad advice…

Gold and Silver: Good for transporting wealth across economic crashes or across country (if you have to move, you can’t pack your house in a backpack), but horrible for post SHTF daily transactions. Don’t expect me to make change and the spot price will be untrackable and vary wildly from person to person, town to town and region to region. Not saying it’s useless, but I wouldn’t store any gold until after all other preps are maxed and I still had excess wealth left over.

Seeds: They are perishable and the germination rate drops in storage for most seeds. If you don’t garden *NOW*, then you will be clueless and frustrated when you have no choice later. Working up the ground to establish a new garden is the hardest part, but once you get it established, you’re golden. SO START NOW, even if it’s just a container garden and add more each year. Learn how to save seeds for next year.

Freeze-dried food: Most over-priced packaged deals I’ve seen are full of rice and oatmeal and the stuff has that “freeze-dried” taste and feel AND it’s bloody expensive!! Instead, put the same money in canning jars/lids/canners and along with your garden, you have a perpetual food storage option. You just have to get from harvest to harvest.

Bugging-out: Worst possible option unless you are forced to do it against your will and have no other choice. Like if your house was burning down around you. Instead, bug-in and work on building your community/group/tribe of family, friends and neighbors. More and more folks are prepping, or at least understanding of prepping. Having local support is far, Far, FAR easier than abandoning all your preps and trying to live only on what’s in your backpack.

WROL: Folks read post-apoc novels and start thinking that will be reality. I serious doubt it’s going to turn into Mad-Max. For one, politicians and govt are *DARNED* stubborn things to be rid of and a functioning govt can’t exist if you fantasize about NOT being held responsible for your actions in a WROL scenario. We may even see official “justice” administered even more harshly and swiftly. In the case of “wolf-preppers” and marauding gangs, those activities draw a lot of attention and will likely result in both a reward being posted and a sanctioned posse to hunt them down.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

I love this answer on so many levels. Especially the last two points you make.

Bugging out is what I call “prepper porn”. After living in virtual luxury for 40 years, how does one actually anticipate living out of a BOB? How do you plan to deal with something as simple as itchy feet and crotch because you no longer have a washing machine? How do you plan to learn to deal with the fact you will almost always fail at foraging and hunting when it’s you and your family of 5 trampling through the woods? Bugging out should be a group thing where you and your group have a retreat that is established years in advance and yes it should be a last resort. There will not be small prepper towns popping up for quite some time unless the entire world crashes. And yes, the politicians are securing their bets, so you’d better believe they will still be in control.

I think this mentality is so pervasive because people yearn for the freedom of say, the old west, but have no clue about the hardships associated with that level of freedom. It’s a symptom of living in such a repressive society that punishes individualism, hard work and not being a drone. We all yearn for a freer world and I think instinctively we all know we will never get that without a super large paradigm shifting event and that is almost guaranteed to be horrific.

[JD-in-GA]

To me, bugging out is forced and unpredictable (you house is burning down around you) and not because someone flipped the “apocalypse switch” overnight. And if you *must* bug out, it is quite likely you lost situational awareness and have been caught by surprise.

But if you already have someplace to go, that’s just going to your “home away from home”. it seems they would want to go *well before* the stores are completely empty and the gas pumps are dry and before they are forced to “bug out”.

And to be honest, if my house is burning down around me, I’m “bugging out” to the yard or the neighbors. Then once it’s put out, I’m rebuilding right there. It’ll take a case of dynamite to blast me off my place. Got way too much blood and sweat invested in it and no desire to start over from scratch anywhere else.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

I think all things considered, it’s ok to have things like a freeze drier etc, but only if you have checked off more important boxes first. I believe in a three-tiered food system, and I’ll make a video about that shortly. But I don’t have a free direr, I haven’t gotten there yet. I have other things that are far more important to me. However, I have friends who have them and use them and love them. I feel like they can be a worthwhile thing for the “now”. And yeah, if you have a solar system and an EMP Shield on it and it’s pretty well able to withstand things, sure, it can be used post SHTF.

I like to think of prepping in layers. The right now, the time in between and the long term.

[Summerhat-n-Chicks]

I agree with you on many levels, especially the freeze-dryer issue. It seems like many sort of jump on the band wagon with that and suddenly freeze dry their complete pantry. Yes, a great long term storage option, but what if there’s no electricity?! You spend all that money on something that now becomes a storage cabinet unless you add that to your solar system. When the lights go out, I’m prepared to go full Amish, everything manual and fire. Like you said, prep like it’s 200 years ago.

Also, yes, the precious metals are mainly for your wealth to carry over when things recover, but also, for me it was important to have gold and silver for anything related with the bank and the house. I believe/hope that I can make payments in metals to hold the house in case other income sources dry up.

But, heck, there’s some good advice out there. 👍👍👍

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

If it gets that bad there will be no one to enforce mortgages.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

👍

[Summerhat-n-Chicks]

Yea, you might be right.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Jeeeez….way to make this seem like a fun time…..

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

@SpagsUnfiltered Buhahaha

[SpagsUnfiltered]

😂😂💯

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

Make it through the first 30 days! Then lets talk😂😂😮

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Yeah, let’s see what happens after the insulin and statins are gone. Hell, I doubt most preppers will make it more than a month because not many have a plan for what to do when the trash trucks aren’t running and the water isn’t flowing.

Dealing with refuse will be a HUGE issue. People don’t know just how much they throw away and they certainly have little understanding of why they can’t just burn everything.

[JD-in-GA]

If public utilities are down and not coming back any time soon, how many of them will think about, or even know how to, do something as simple as digging a latrine. And that’s in the ‘Burbs. I can only imagine the smell in the densely populated urban cities… Imagine how bad it would be in New York.

Depending on the outages, that could start in days… GOD help them!

[SpagsUnfiltered]

That’s going to be more disgusting than the types of international cruises that lead to monkey pox outbreaks!

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

Burning your trash! You might as well invite everyone over your house for supper! Hahaha!

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Right? And let’s not pretend that burn pit exposure won’t be an issue. Want constant bronchitis, chest colds and early death in the apocalypse? Well, for the low low price of laziness and lack of preparation, you can! But wait! There’s more! HAHA

[Summerhat-n-Chicks]

And just wait a couple of months+ down the road when after a while the dead add up, especially in the inner cities and the homeless population. When the morgues are full, what then?

Not sure how fast this will happen, but it just might catch us sooner than we like. Guess FEMA has to resort back to all the plastic coffin they stashed.

Just watched a video from FSS where he discussed this situation and that these things are nothing new and we better prepare ourselves mentally.

[Louisiana]

Why can I not make comments in your community. I am a member?

[SpagsUnfiltered]

I see two comments from you. So not sure if it’s just not showing up on your end?

[Louisiana]

You will be better off chunking the Statins. They treat a problem that is not a problem. You cure what causes the cholesterol to stick to the arteries, and the cholesterol will just float around in the blood stream. They cause you to have to get on drugs to treat the bad side effects of the Statin Drug. If you have been hurt. You may be able to join in with others in class action Law suits. https://lawbench.org/class-action-lawsuit-against-statin-drugs/

[SpagsUnfiltered]

I have heard lots of bad things about statins. Admittedly I’m not an expert to know. I do know a few people who have been on them who say they really messed them up.

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

Statins sounds like Satan, Just saying!

[SpagsUnfiltered]

😂, yes. But to be fair, so was that hot pepper sauce I enjoyed last night….

• This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by  SpagsUnfiltered.

[PetraTilling]

I have never understood how everyone throws around the statistics of how many ppl will likely perish in the first hours, days, weeks of a shtf event but also think that they will not be one of them.

I see a heavy emphasis on the survival aspect, which is likely for under 5% of the total population, but, nothing about what a good death might look like, arguably a 95% or greater possibility.

Does anyone prep for death on their own terms in any way or is it simply all about attempting to make sure you are part of that 5% no matter how unlikely and just rolling the dice? Do ppl do both?

This is not a jab at prepping or prepers. It is a genuine curiosity that I’ve always had.

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

I’m going to die by the sword if it gets nasty. I’m not going ant other way.

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

A couple reasons people will think they will survive.

1. It’s human nature to survive. As a living being it’s in your DNA.

2. You wouldn’t be prepping and learning skills or be on this platform if you didn’t think personally you would make it through and survive. It’s not logical to do these things and know you are going to shit the bed.

[SpagsUnfiltered]

These are numbers that have been put out by the DHS and generally have to do with survivability based on many factors generated by think tanks and simulations. They are general statistics and of course like most statistics should be taken with a grain of salt.

However, these numbers are what the DOD uses for war games, occupation simulations and are based on good solid concepts.

The reason that it is assumed so many will die is based on the aptitude of people in general. Even people within the prepping world tend to be older, overweight, low income and reliant on many things.

I take all of this into account, and also add my personal experience in putting on dozens of shows, expos, festivals and other events where I have had exposure to thousands of preppers, homesteaders and survivalists over two decades.

Most preppers don’t consider many factors that are pivotal to survival in places like Burma, Mexico, West Africa and places right now that are undergoing the very circumstances that they feel they will one day charge forth, bug out bag and .22 rifle in hand and conquer.

So that’s really where I make my determinations from. Not a place of judgement as much as a very real view of people in general who have no clue what the world they believe will come to be, will be like.

I also know that there is a high chance that I will be one of those who die. We can’t out prep Murphy. I just believe in hedging my chances as best I can.

I hope that makes sense.

Thanks for commenting and challenging us! I truly enjoy the conversation.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by  SpagsUnfiltered.

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

I am probably crazy but when I am out in public and see people I ask my self are they surviving? Am I the only one that does that?

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Nope. I am constantly gaging people. Old mentalities from the Army don’t fade. I also open carry a handgun everywhere I go until wintertime makes that unfeasible. So my head is always moving, I’m never lethargic and I pay attention to everything. I look at everyone and decide my chances of winning against them.

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

@SpagsUnfiltered Dito. Head on a swivel always. I guess when you serve those habits stay with you. Good to hear I’m not fully crazy! 😂😂😂😂

[SpagsUnfiltered]

Not fully, but perhaps together we can be 2/3’s crazy…haha

[FreeManatOverlookMeadow]

@SpagsUnfiltered Roger that 2/3rds crazy !