Survivalism has been an American tradition since the 1980’s (arguably since the early 60’s) and it has grown exponentially with the blossoming of Conspiracy awareness.
Unfortunately, the image of ‘survival’ that has formed in the mind of ‘survivalists’ might differ drastically from reality.
I am not going to speak against preparedness or survivalism, but WILL argue against the unreal scenarios many people are imagining.
Which leads to a very important point:
1) Never Confuse Survival with Confrontation
It is important right from the beginning to decide if you are going to attempt survival or confrontation.
Survival consists of surviving against all odds.
Confrontation consists of taking on the enemy regardless of the odds.
In many instances, confrontation requires self-sacrifice. Confrontation is war.
My first point for the survivalist is to never confuse the two.
One path requires your ingenuity, strength, resources, cunning and will to let you and your loved ones survive.
The other path requires your ingenuity, strength, resources, cunning and will to make war on the enemy. It does not necessarily go hand-in-hand with survival, and most definitely does not go hand-in-hand with your family’s well-being.
Survival would include you taking care of your family.
Confrontation would entail you leaving your family (hopefully in safe hands) while you engage in combat.
It is muddled thinking on these lines that leads to a lot of avoidable grief.
I am stressing this one factor because I see too many people confusing survival, family, and confrontation and putting it all in the same pot.
This practice could be preparing a whole lot of unnecessary tragedy and grief for your loved ones (see Randy Weaver and Waco).
The way things are today, I am 100% for confrontation, but I am totally against people being deluded by the (government-sponsored?) fantasy that they can confront government forces while taking care of the safety of their families.
What the heck, at first opportunity, the government will use your own family's survival as a trump against YOU, which is what they have done throughout history by threatening the well-being of those residing with you and then taking them as hostages.
And one more thing.
I take issues with governments who expect people to ‘die for their country’ but treat people who are ready to die for their own ideals as lunatics. The true lunatics are people who give up their lives in furthering the causes of corrupt governments.
Having made the distinction between ‘survival’ and ‘confrontation’, let us continue.
I believe the fantasy-like aspect of some of these scenarios may disintegrate (to the detriment of their believers) once they hit reality head-on.
To see what a ‘collapsed’ society would look like, you need to look at history.
Study Communist Russia, Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany, WW-II, Haiti, Somalia, Rwanda, Africa in General and Afghanistan…
..now imagine yourself and your survival get-up in those scenarios.
For starters, many of the above scenarios require only one major step for survival:
Get Out!
It would have been useless to try to ‘survive’ the Communist Russian Revolution, the Nazi German Revolution, the Communist Chinese Revolution, the Cambodian Revolution or the Rwanda revolution.
These were all unopposed preparations for genocide.
Your best ‘survival’ decision in these cases would have been simply to GET THE HELL OUT.
On the other extreme you have Somalia and Afghanistan.
I don’t even understand why those places figure in maps as countries.
It’s probably because they are being held together by the UN, international aid…and map companies which keep drawing those places as a country.
Starvation, thirst, violence and death have been their long-time reality.
Guess what.
They still have governments!
It seems that governments at this extreme level of collapse begin to consist of “warlords” who control what amounts to armed gangs.
So you see, government just doesn’t seem to go away!
No matter what the stage of deprivation of a country, the government persists!
The only good news is that the deprivation is a stage.
It will end…sooner or later.
Realistically, you must ask yourself:
“What you will do to get through this stage of deprivation and suffering…
… so you can come out alive on the other end?”
Ergo the first lesson:
2) Think of the crisis as a TEMPORARY SITUATION which has a beginning and an end through which you and yours will have to survive
This puts a realistic time frame in your planning.
One year is an achievable time frame (though it will require heavy preparation as to food stocks, etc).
But keep the mobile option always at the back of your mind.
As mentioned before, there are special out-of-control situations in which it is simply better to leave, not dig in (Nazi Germany, Communist Revolutions, Fukushima, a nuclear strike, a meteor strike, your home becoming part of a battlefield etc)
3) Expect and be prepared to deal with GOVERNMENT PRESENCE
Governments are like cockroaches.
They exist and prevail in the worse of calamities and circumstances.
Whether your looking at Afghanistan, Somalia or Leningrad, 1941 (outright cannibalism)you have some sort of government surviving in the worse of possible conditions, and this includes conditions of mass starvation, thirst and death.
Government, like the Jonestown enforcers always seem to be above it all.
So expect some sort of government or enforcement group to be throwing its weight around during the time of crisis (even under the worse of circumstances)…and…
…be prepared to deal with it.
I know what follows does not sound macho, but try to understand.
Dealing with it means pretending to go along with whatever the enforcers say while doing your own thing to survive.
Do you have guns? Nope. (you got them hidden away)
Do you have hoarded food? Nope (you have it hidden away)
Is this your only place of residence? Yes (you also got a stashed hideout in the woods)
Get it?
You try to work around them as best you can while making use of your preparation.
I am not saying all this in a cowardly fashion.
Don’t confuse survival with confrontation.
If you and your family are trying to survive, this is what you will have to do – you will have to use the art of concealment and hoarding.
4) Make MOBILITY part of your survival preparedness
Whether it be to another county, another state…or another nation, have a plan, the resources and the will to relocate.
Whatever scenario you look at, things look pretty grim for the individual independent resistor – even in out of the way collapsed places like Somalia or Afghanistan.
Those warlords, once they have fixed your location, will just keep sending heavily armed punks to your compound until you find yourself in an ‘Alamo’ situation (and you know what happened to the Alamo).
This does not portend well for the individual survivalist.
Numbers add strength, they also facilitate doing things like moving, changing location, hiding or standing guard.
Whether you are trying to survive Hitler or Somalia, it pays to have friends about you (whether related or not).
Ergo, the third lesson:
5) Make yourself part of a SURVIVAL GROUP
The more people you have on the same page, the more chances you have of surviving.
It doesn't have to be a giant compound.
You don't even have to live at the same location.
It could simply be a set of nearby families who think and believe as you do and who are willing to help out either with an alternate place to stay, trade, etc.
The bottom line is the more people you have aligning with you as a team, the better your chances are of surviving.
Need to relocate?
Maybe you can convoy with them.
Roadblocks?
Maybe somebody can drive ahead and report to your 'convoy' via walkie talkie.
Camping?
Maybe somebody on their end knows this part of the woods.
The examples are limitless.
Its enough to say that the more people you have preparing and aligning with you to survive, the more resources you will have at your disposal.
Ergo, the sixth lesson:
6) KEEP A LOW PROFILE AND HIDE in whatever way necessary
The next comment is not going to sound very macho either, but remember, we are talking about something much more important than being macho here.
To survive, it frequently becomes important to hide.
Every animal (whether predator or not) uses the art of hiding to accomplish survival.
The survivalist fantasy of openly challenging and surviving all comers is a fantasy.
If you attract attention, you have just cut your chances of survival in half.
Whether trying to survive Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Somalia, Afghanistan an earthquake or Planet-X, keeping a low profile is of utmost importance.
If you attract attention, you will eventually attract undesired attention…whether it be from starving people, criminals, warlords or the government.
You don’t want to brag about your survival preparations.
You don’t want your set up to be noticeable.
Be warned: there are many innocent ways to attract attention in a hostile and deprived environment.
Do you have a big two story house?
Do you live in a fancy neighborhood?
Do you have a large survival stash others know about?
Do you plant your own food on your property?
Do you have a private well others know about?
Do you have a big gun collection others know about?
Do your clothes, car or house display indications of wealth?
Do you display bumper stickers, flags, t-shirts or other items which criticize government?
There are many ways to attract attention, and there are equally as many ways to keep a low profile or even hide.
An ideal hideaway (for those who can accomplish it) would be simply underground and out of the way.
7) Be prepared to SURVIVE EXPOSURE
This means surviving without electricity or gas in the hostile side of climate where you reside.
Remember, this will be a particular challenge where it snows.
You will have to burn wood- a lot of it- to avoid freezing to death. Make sure you have a lot of firewood (or some other fuel) available, accessible or stockpiled. Remember, living trees don’t burn and people can see a chimneys burning for miles. There are some alternatives to chimneys (like wood chip, compacted newspaper or pellet burners) but remember, people will be able smell as well as see your chimney.
Surviving in Winter without gas or electricity is hardcore and requires serious preparation. On the other hand, snow and freezing weather discourages undesirables.
An alternate solution to toughing it out in the snow is to head south.
Many people already are (because they can no longer afford natural gas prices).
A lot of the southern parts of this country suffer no snowfall and maintain temperatures above 50 degrees year long. Check out your daily national weather for details.
8) Have access to WATER
In connection to the above. Many places in which it does not snow, suffer from water deprivation.
Always make sure you have access to water, whether it be from a well, a pond, a canal, a creek or a lake.
Water deprivation will kill you in 4 days.
Water is important.
Stocking up on water is a waste of time and space, especially if you must regularly replace the water in your containers. Even a huge stock will be depleted in less than a year. Think about this.
If you cannot afford a well, then stock up on ceramic filters (Berky is highly recommended) so you can drink from whatever local water source is available.
(Your water heater should be your first source of water once the lights go out)
Remember, many other people will also be drinking from that same water source (and dying from it) because they forgot to stock up on big ceramic water filter systems that work without water pressure.
9) Be prepared to SURVIVE FOR A YEAR
Even the worse of crises end within a year.
This means that after a year (if not before), some sort of societal and government system will reestablish itself and gain authority over you and your neighbors.
The year of crisis is over…and you have survived and reentered society – congratulations.
However…
If all resistance has collapsed and you disagree with the social and political nature of the new system which has established itself, then it is your responsibility to LEAVE (the sooner the better).
Remember, the mobility option is also a part of your survival scheme.
On the other hand:
If the SHTF crisis (and I’m talking massive thirst and hunger) lasts longer than a year, then you’d better start making some plans to become mobile.
Sedentary (immobile) societies exist only when there is plentiful food and water.
Societies which live in deprivation become nomadic.
We are no different.
Cities and towns without food or water become death houses.
If it gets to that point, start thinking about the movie "The Road."
10) Be prepared to HIDE YOUR GUNS
When the great disarmament comes, the government will not have or even be able to handle the data on the millions of gun owners this country has.
Most of the confiscations will be break and take.
They will go through the house, search it and confiscate all weapons.
You can either resist to the death or simply refuse to play the game.
Not playing the game means you have selected, prepared and utilized hiding places for your guns, which are no longer inside your residence.
So that when the government enters your house and searches it, they find nothing.
The guns they said you might have, have been sold for cigarette money…get it?
They can’t tell you any different.
Once the government thugs are gone, you may retrieve them, but always keep them hidden in secret places in or near your home at all times (keeping in mind thethugs might return at some later date).
You will need your gun to protect yourself and to hunt.
And if you are a true patriot, a possible brutal stand against totalitarianism.
Any society in crisis mode is victim to criminal predators, no matter how tight the police presence may be.
Desperate people will do anything to survive, and in crisis mode, they know there won’t be any special investigation into their heinous deeds.
In crisis mode, if you get seen, you get killed.
But if you are not seen, you're home free – no investigation, no questions, no jail time, no punishment., perhaps not even any curiosity about who even committed the crime. The enoforcers just don't have the time for this.
Criminals that understand this become the successful predators in any crisis.
You have to study the history of cities under siege to understand this reality and why crime flourishes in a state of crisis and deprivation in spite of police presence.
Prepare yourself to survive, but do so realistically.
Read the history of what became of other societies in conditions of collapse.
Keep the concepts of Survival at hand:
1) Differentiate survival from confrontation
2) Understand the crisis is temporary
3) Expect government presence
4) Be Mobile
5) Join a survival team
6) Keep a low profile / hide
7) Be prepared to survive exposure
8) Have access to alternate source of water
9) Hide your guns
10) Make survival preparations for 1 year
End of Part-I
Go to Part-II
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