Is prepping and survivalism worth the effort?

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Silent Earth

A True Doomsday Prepper
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Is prepping and survivalism worth the effort?


The first part of survival relies on LUCK as much as good judgement. Luck if the unexpected lands in your back yard (meteor, bomb, quake, tsunami, crashed vehicle, riot, warfare etc) and you survive the initial catastrophe. Good judgement (making correct choices, having the right kit, having the essential skills etc) is what keeps you alive afterwards.

Simply being AWARE and UNDERSTANDING of the risks and threats you may face as you go about your daily work, travelling, your choice of career, where you live and work, current political affairs etc. Understanding the potential risks and understanding what steps to you need to take if something happens gives you a huge advantage over the average person in the street. Having survival skills and equipment greatly enhances that advantage you have.

Are you prepared to rely on the state to help you out in a disaster? The UK government is woefully under equipped and prepared to deal with a large scale incident, some examples spring to mind. First the prolonged ice storms and severe cold snap of 2010, the government had to go cap in hand to the private owners of 4 wheel drive vehicles to help rescue people and deliver supplies, the forces and councils could not cope.

In the previous winter two inches of snow around the M11 motorway area saw thousands of motorists stranded overnight as the authorities could not cope. In Bostcastle Cornwall the very small scale localised floods a few years ago saw all FIVE available of England and Wales rescue helicopters in use leaving the rest of the country without air cover for 24 hours.

In the floods of 2013/14 the UK government could not even provide enough SANDBAGS to go around and they had to BORROW flat bottomed rescue boats and high capacity water pumps from Holland to make up for the shortfall.

And let us never forget the government and polices response to the riots and public disorder that originated in Tottenham, London, As the riots, looting and arson spread the authorities response was to withdraw the police for their own protection for the best part of three days and left the public to fend for themselves.

Look at the government’s response to large scale strikes by transport workers, apart from muttering some comments of outrage and indignation the government simply left millions of public transport reliant commuters to their own devices to get themselves to work or home safely.

Consider the governments standard response to a terror alert in most UK cities, IE stop the public transport systems and turn off the mobile phone networks!!

Consider the UK governments response to the forthcoming power supply crisis caused by the EU insisting many of the UKs older power stations are closed down for being too dirty, not only has the UK government not got in place the building of enough new power stations but they have declined on cost grounds buying more mobile backup generators to keep essential facilities working if a shortfall in energy supplies causes blackouts.

I’ll not go into the almost weekly public health scandals over the NHS or lack of dentists or food scares like BSE or Salmonella in eggs or drinking water pollution incidents, or toxic baby formula, or E.Coli coated vegetables from Spain, or shortages of essentials that pushes many wise people to start producing as much of their own food and drinking water as they can.

Take a look at modern society.

Millions of people do not keep even a set of spare fuses or a torch and batteries at home in case of a power cut.

Equally similar numbers do not even have a basic first aid kit or the skills to treat even basic casualties. People with First aid training are still a tiny minority in British society.

Millions of drivers do not know how to check their oil and fluid levels on their car or how to change a wheel.

Millions of people (According to a Social Trends survey) buy food DAILY , only keep a pint of milk at home and have no more than one of two days food in their homes. Sociological research from LEEDS showed that as the number of flats and apartments increased in an area the less food and supplies were kept by the citizens, most relying on the close proximity of the 24 hour mini stores for groceries purchased either daily or even for each meal.

Millions of people keep only about £10 worth of petrol in their vehicles, and huge numbers of commuters have absolutely no idea about alternative routes to and from home if their primary route is blocked.

Few people keep emergency candles in case of power cuts in 2014 compared with over 2/3 of the population in the mid-seventies during the frequent power cuts caused by strikers.

Very few people can use a Map and Compass correctly or navigate cross country.

During the prolonged ice storm in the winter of 2010 people were contacting the emergency services saying they were without food after only 24 hours. Many people phoned 999 to say they did not know what to do as soon as a power cut occurred.

Some years ago I think it was the Reader Digest or some similar publication did a survey that reported that over 70% people did not know how to reset a circuit breaker or change a fuse in the domestic distribution box.

Again from the ice storms of 2010, The AA and RAC were overwhelmed by people unable to extract their cars from snow drifts or how to get off an icy stretch of road, importantly many of these calls came from owners of high end 4x4s with AWD and traction control systems. This apparently even included some “expert” police drivers !!

85% of 4 wheel drive vehicle owners / regular users have never attended a driving skills course on how to best use their vehicles.


Self-reliant survivor or State reliant refugee, its YOUR choice and your choice alone.
 
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Geez that's unbelievable, no it's quite believable.

The good news there is that if you are a capable person you are way ahead of maybe 90% of the population, so from day 1 you have a big advantage. Add a prepping mindset and a dash of luck and you will be in the 1-2% of people that make it.
 
Is prepping and survivalism worth the effort?


The first part of survival relies on LUCK as much as good judgement. Luck if the unexpected lands in your back yard (meteor, bomb, quake, tsunami, crashed vehicle, riot, warfare etc) and you survive the initial catastrophe. Good judgement (making correct choices, having the right kit, having the essential skills etc) is what keeps you alive afterwards.

Simply being AWARE and UNDERSTANDING of the risks and threats you may face as you go about your daily work, travelling, your choice of career, where you live and work, current political affairs etc. Understanding the potential risks and understanding what steps to you need to take if something happens gives you a huge advantage over the average person in the street. Having survival skills and equipment greatly enhances that advantage you have.

Are you prepared to rely on the state to help you out in a disaster? The UK government is woefully under equipped and prepared to deal with a large scale incident, some examples spring to mind. First the prolonged ice storms and severe cold snap of 2010, the government had to go cap in hand to the private owners of 4 wheel drive vehicles to help rescue people and deliver supplies, the forces and councils could not cope.

In the previous winter two inches of snow around the M11 motorway area saw thousands of motorists stranded overnight as the authorities could not cope. In Bostcastle Devon the very small scale localised floods a few years ago saw all FIVE available of England and Wales rescue helicopters in use leaving the rest of the country without air cover for 24 hours.

In the floods of 2013/14 the UK government could not even provide enough SANDBAGS to go around and they had to BORROW flat bottomed rescue boats and high capacity water pumps from Holland to make up for the shortfall.

And let us never forget the government and polices response to the riots and public disorder that originated in Tottenham, London, As the riots, looting and arson spread the authorities response was to withdraw the police for their own protection for the best part of three days and left the public to fend for themselves.

Look at the government’s response to large scale strikes by transport workers, apart from muttering some comments of outrage and indignation the government simply left millions of public transport reliant commuters to their own devices to get themselves to work or home safely.

Consider the governments standard response to a terror alert in most UK cities, IE stop the public transport systems and turn off the mobile phone networks!!

Consider the UK governments response to the forthcoming power supply crisis caused by the EU insisting many of the UKs older power stations are closed down for being too dirty, not only has the UK government not got in place the building of enough new power stations but they have declined on cost grounds buying more mobile backup generators to keep essential facilities working if a shortfall in energy supplies causes blackouts.

I’ll not go into the almost weekly public health scandals over the NHS or lack of dentists or food scares like BSE or Salmonella in eggs or drinking water pollution incidents, or toxic baby formula, or E.Coli coated vegetables from Spain, or shortages of essentials that pushes many wise people to start producing as much of their own food and drinking water as they can.

Take a look at modern society.

Millions of people do not keep even a set of spare fuses or a torch and batteries at home in case of a power cut.

Equally similar numbers do not even have a basic first aid kit or the skills to treat even basic casualties. People with First aid training are still a tiny minority in British society.

Millions of drivers do not know how to check their oil and fluid levels on their car or how to change a wheel.

Millions of people (According to a Social Trends survey) buy food DAILY , only keep a pint of milk at home and have no more than one of two days food in their homes. Sociological research from LEEDS showed that as the number of flats and apartments increased in an area the less food and supplies were kept by the citizens, most relying on the close proximity of the 24 hour mini stores for groceries purchased either daily or even for each meal.

Millions of people keep only about £10 worth of petrol in their vehicles, and huge numbers of commuters have absolutely no idea about alternative routes to and from home if their primary route is blocked.

Few people keep emergency candles in case of power cuts in 2014 compared with over 2/3 of the population in the mid-seventies during the frequent power cuts caused by strikers.

Very few people can use a Map and Compass correctly or navigate cross country.

During the prolonged ice storm in the winter of 2010 people were contacting the emergency services saying they were without food after only 24 hours. Many people phoned 999 to say they did not know what to do as soon as a power cut occurred.

Some years ago I think it was the Reader Digest or some similar publication did a survey that reported that over 70% people did not know how to reset a circuit breaker or change a fuse in the domestic distribution box.

Again from the ice storms of 2010, The AA and RAC were overwhelmed by people unable to extract their cars from snow drifts or how to get off an icy stretch of road, importantly many of these calls came from owners of high end 4x4s with AWD and traction control systems. This apparently even included some “expert” police drivers !!

85% of 4 wheel drive vehicle owners / regular users have never attended a driving skills course on how to best use their vehicles.


Self-reliant survivor or State reliant refugee, its YOUR choice and your choice alone.


Spot on...great post Northern. Great post!
 
Wow. For a second there I thought you might argue that it's NOT worth the effort. Then I thought you were going to make a case that luck had as much to do with survival as preparedness. Good post.

I've said to my wife time and again that the #1, absolute, most important thing when it comes to preparedness is MINDSET. As you pointed out, most people are relying on someone else to save their hide. Once you realize that, you start looking at what are the most likely causes of crisis, and then how to handle them. The masses aren't doing that, but hopefully they will start before they're caught with their pants down. Thanks again for the post.
 
Northern Raider,
you write down wise words, that about food applys to the city dwellers here also...atleast there I think I'm ahead of 99% of my surrounding..only problem here is centralheating..once it's gone,it's gone,these modern houses don't have any back-up heating system any more,which leads me to get a kerosene heater for emergency, one warm room will do for me.
I've tried to convice my oldest son to keep "emergency food" at home..just the way I do,like he suggested to me years ago,now it's my turn
 
Is prepping and survivalism worth the effort?


The first part of survival relies on LUCK as much as good judgement. Luck if the unexpected lands in your back yard (meteor, bomb, quake, tsunami, crashed vehicle, riot, warfare etc) and you survive the initial catastrophe. Good judgement (making correct choices, having the right kit, having the essential skills etc) is what keeps you alive afterwards.

Simply being AWARE and UNDERSTANDING of the risks and threats you may face as you go about your daily work, travelling, your choice of career, where you live and work, current political affairs etc. Understanding the potential risks and understanding what steps to you need to take if something happens gives you a huge advantage over the average person in the street. Having survival skills and equipment greatly enhances that advantage you have.

Are you prepared to rely on the state to help you out in a disaster? The UK government is woefully under equipped and prepared to deal with a large scale incident, some examples spring to mind. First the prolonged ice storms and severe cold snap of 2010, the government had to go cap in hand to the private owners of 4 wheel drive vehicles to help rescue people and deliver supplies, the forces and councils could not cope.

In the previous winter two inches of snow around the M11 motorway area saw thousands of motorists stranded overnight as the authorities could not cope. In Bostcastle Cornwall the very small scale localised floods a few years ago saw all FIVE available of England and Wales rescue helicopters in use leaving the rest of the country without air cover for 24 hours.

In the floods of 2013/14 the UK government could not even provide enough SANDBAGS to go around and they had to BORROW flat bottomed rescue boats and high capacity water pumps from Holland to make up for the shortfall.

And let us never forget the government and polices response to the riots and public disorder that originated in Tottenham, London, As the riots, looting and arson spread the authorities response was to withdraw the police for their own protection for the best part of three days and left the public to fend for themselves.

Look at the government’s response to large scale strikes by transport workers, apart from muttering some comments of outrage and indignation the government simply left millions of public transport reliant commuters to their own devices to get themselves to work or home safely.

Consider the governments standard response to a terror alert in most UK cities, IE stop the public transport systems and turn off the mobile phone networks!!

Consider the UK governments response to the forthcoming power supply crisis caused by the EU insisting many of the UKs older power stations are closed down for being too dirty, not only has the UK government not got in place the building of enough new power stations but they have declined on cost grounds buying more mobile backup generators to keep essential facilities working if a shortfall in energy supplies causes blackouts.

I’ll not go into the almost weekly public health scandals over the NHS or lack of dentists or food scares like BSE or Salmonella in eggs or drinking water pollution incidents, or toxic baby formula, or E.Coli coated vegetables from Spain, or shortages of essentials that pushes many wise people to start producing as much of their own food and drinking water as they can.

Take a look at modern society.

Millions of people do not keep even a set of spare fuses or a torch and batteries at home in case of a power cut.

Equally similar numbers do not even have a basic first aid kit or the skills to treat even basic casualties. People with First aid training are still a tiny minority in British society.

Millions of drivers do not know how to check their oil and fluid levels on their car or how to change a wheel.

Millions of people (According to a Social Trends survey) buy food DAILY , only keep a pint of milk at home and have no more than one of two days food in their homes. Sociological research from LEEDS showed that as the number of flats and apartments increased in an area the less food and supplies were kept by the citizens, most relying on the close proximity of the 24 hour mini stores for groceries purchased either daily or even for each meal.

Millions of people keep only about £10 worth of petrol in their vehicles, and huge numbers of commuters have absolutely no idea about alternative routes to and from home if their primary route is blocked.

Few people keep emergency candles in case of power cuts in 2014 compared with over 2/3 of the population in the mid-seventies during the frequent power cuts caused by strikers.

Very few people can use a Map and Compass correctly or navigate cross country.

During the prolonged ice storm in the winter of 2010 people were contacting the emergency services saying they were without food after only 24 hours. Many people phoned 999 to say they did not know what to do as soon as a power cut occurred.

Some years ago I think it was the Reader Digest or some similar publication did a survey that reported that over 70% people did not know how to reset a circuit breaker or change a fuse in the domestic distribution box.

Again from the ice storms of 2010, The AA and RAC were overwhelmed by people unable to extract their cars from snow drifts or how to get off an icy stretch of road, importantly many of these calls came from owners of high end 4x4s with AWD and traction control systems. This apparently even included some “expert” police drivers !!

85% of 4 wheel drive vehicle owners / regular users have never attended a driving skills course on how to best use their vehicles.


Self-reliant survivor or State reliant refugee, its YOUR choice and your choice alone.
It's kind of sad to look at how niave most people are. Gives you a bad taste for humanity overall. Aren't we supposed to be the smartest animal on the planet? Good post, I just wish you would submit it to a major paper and see if they will print it for the masses.
 
YES! But, the Bible says the way is narrow and few there be that find it...for some strange reason I think that includes plain old common good sense, too! Don't see much of that anymore! Everyone more worried about what they want instead of what they need...entitlement, something for nothing...there are consequences to those choices! Think I will hold onto my "prepper" attitude...I know I will never be fully prepared in my preps, but I do at least something every day...whether it be to learn something worthwhile or to practice scenarios made up in my head! I LOVE being prepared!
 
since I began to prep,I've found that I'm more at ease knowing;I have food,medicine,first-aid supplies,hunting and protective "tools" ;) , learned a thing or two from you friends and if neccesary the will to use that knowledge..

I deffinately feel more secure 'cause I know I can help my family
 
atleast our 5 year plans have a possibility to succed, unlike the sovjet 5 year plans ;)
 
I feel in my gut that every skill I learn towards self sufficencey will help make our lives easier one day. I know if I had to depend on my chickens, rabbits, and gardening, I have a fighting chance of not starving to death now. Just three years ago I wouldn't have stood a chance. I'm hoping that if we do have a disaster or pandemic I will be able to not just survive, but will be able to survive comfortably. Each year I learn a little more and with practice get closer to the goal.
 
I feel in my gut that every skill I learn towards self sufficencey will help make our lives easier one day. I know if I had to depend on my chickens, rabbits, and gardening, I have a fighting chance of not starving to death now. Just three years ago I wouldn't have stood a chance. I'm hoping that if we do have a disaster or pandemic I will be able to not just survive, but will be able to survive comfortably. Each year I learn a little more and with practice get closer to the goal.

Pretty much my situation to a T. Heck, we're even set up for low-tech transportation (horses), though I really wouldn't want to be in a saddle all day, hehe. We may be adding some goats to the mix soon too....I'm still kind of researching that one...but so far, seem pretty low maintenance and low cost.

Like you, my goal is to make my family comfortable after a disaster, not just survive.
 
are thinking some of my colleagues are smarter than I thought, one lady said when having a smoke ; you are like a prepper with your garden and other interests ;)
 

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