Musings on Survivalism

Introduction

I'm a survivalist. I'm also a single mother of 5 kids and a registered nurse struggling to make it from paycheck to paycheck. I have no experience in the armed services and am not in the prime of my youth. The point being-all a survivalist MUST do is survive. Preferably without any significant losses; but, in any case-survive no matter what the losses.

So you realize the country (indeed the world!) is going to hell in a hand basket? Politicians have gotten too big for their britches, forgotten who pays their salaries and that they are all public servants-not masters? The judicial system seems to have lost it's mind and any semblance of common sense. Taxes are extortionate. Privacy is non-existent. There's a village full of do-gooders telling you how to raise your children and yes, Big Brother IS watching you. I would add that (thanks to the H.A.A.R.P. project) the sky is falling but Chicken Little beat me to it.

There are a number of groups available that agree to all the above so you're not alone in your complaints but if you haven't joined any groups it may be because you're alone in your solutions to those problems. Good for you. You have more sense than most. This is written for you.

So, you don't have the religious fanaticism of David Koresch or the terrorist mentality of Timothy McVeigh and can't (or won't) subject your family to a subsistence existence in a remote cabin like Randy Weaver? What's a survivalist to do?

You could join the John Birch Society and write angry letters to your Congress critter. Yeah. Right. The JBS has been around for a long time cranking out letters that get generic, pacifying responses. The last JBS meeting I attended had a speaker that announced that the JBS was losing it's battle to curb the trend towards a one world order and advised it's members to stockpile beans and ammo.

The skinheads and other race/religious separatist groups have a point but not much of a point. There's a saying that goes: the dogs may fight among themselves but when the wolves come, the dogs will band together.

As a survivalist you may be a "pampered pomeranian" with an annual 6-figure professional career income, a collectors edition of every gun on the market and a well-stocked, plush "retreat" on your paid-for remote 160 acres. Or you may be a minimum wage mutt with grandads old .22 rifle and living in a trailer park with bad plumbing.

No matter what your case, you need to realize that the wolves are here and we don't have the luxury of bigotry. We need all the help we can get and frankly, turning down a loaf of bread when you're starving just because it comes from the hands of a black Catholic is supreme stupidity.

The United Sovereigns, AKA "We The People" are my personal favorite. They're usually well-informed and unafraid to go to court to fight everything from traffic tickets to tax evasion. They will be useful during the restoration to rebuild a constitutional republic form of government (for those who started with one). I don't think they'll survive any anarchy but I hope they do.

The military type groups that I've seen are mostly weekend warriors and Rambo wanna-be's; full of swaggering, bellicose braggarts. They do, at least, practice some survival situations but their thinking is flawed in several respects which renders their training much less useful.

Lastly, there are the self-proclaimed survivalists who aren't with any group, fire maybe 50 rounds at the local gun range once a year, drink heavily, smoke like chimneys, eat bacon sandwiches every meal and whose only exercise consists of running their mouths and jumping to conclusions. The only thing they read is the weekly TV guide but they're gonna survive because they "don't take no crap offa nobody By God!"

I call this group the "By Godders". They're easily recognized at the gun shows by their brave remarks such as, "By God they can have my gun when they pry my cold, dead fingers off the trigger", at the PTA meetings by such declarations as "No one's gonna teach my child *** education, By God! They can learn that filth after they get married!", etc.

If you have any doubts about whether you're in the company of a b.s.ing By Godder, check the body language. Their irrational statements are usually accompanied by a sharp nasal inhalation of unfelt confidence (a snort), followed by a cocking tilt of the head, a half smirk/half snarl that smacks of white trash vulgarity and a yanking up of their sagging trousers to cover up the exposed crack of their fat ****s. If that type survives a crisis of any sort it will be only by sheer luck and probably at the expense of someone else.

This article is for the average citizen who is neither extreme right or left in their political leanings, works to support a family, is dismayed by what they see on the nightly news, disheartened by the lack of paycheck left over at the end of their bills and discouraged by the down-spiraling trend towards a type of government that our founding fathers would not recognize.


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Most survivalists that I know or have met share a basic concept of how they will survive. There are a few creative varieties to the same theme but ALL of them are flawed. Here's the scenario:
1) Anarchy hits. By whatever definition your version of anarchy entails-the economy collapses and we enter a worse depression than our predecessors; giant meteors hit the earth and ecological disaster ensues bringing widespread famine, disease and eventual global chaos; surprise! the cold war wasn't really over and the Russians have just landed in Hometown, USA sparking a world-wide nuclear war. You get the idea.

2) You pack up the babies, grab the old lady and everyone goes running to the four wheel drive pickup parked in the driveway to race down the nearest convenient highway to the nearest convenient hills.

3) You "live off the land" until anarchy subsides.

4) You clairvoyantly know when anarchy is over, return to your hometown a hero and leader among all the ravaged masses that didn't have the good sense to listen to you and pick up your life where you left off before anarchy hit.

I'm often amazed (and amused) by how many otherwise intelligent people see nothing wrong with that plan. Let's examine it a little more closely.

Will you have a special premonition that allows you insight as to WHEN anarchy is going to hit? Even Jesus Christ said He didn't know the hour but YOU'RE going to know? If anarchy becomes immediately obvious to anyone with even one eye open do you honestly think you'll make it to your 4WD and down the street unscathed? Will your pickup be IN the driveway at the necessary moment?

Let's assume you're not having that bad of a hair day and the truck is operational AND in the drive at the crucial moment. Got a full tank of gas? Oops. Alright, I'll cut you some slack. Truck's fine, in the drive and has a full tank of gas. How far can you get on a tank of gas? You dash out into traffic-all 360 million people just as scared as you are and trying to get the hell outa Dodge. Depending on whether you live in a big city or a small town I'd give you a max of 20 miles before running into a major problem.

You're stuck in a pile up of drivers that all have the same idea as you and the rogue parasites in the smoking jalopy next to you see that you have a good vehicle with a back end full of supplies they don't have. You promptly get a bullet through the temple, yanked out of the driver's side, your family gets booted out onto the road (if they're lucky) and there ends all your years of garage sailing for just the right camping gear.

You've planned ahead for that contingency? Got your significant other armed with a 12-gauge ready to blast anyone that even looks at you cross-eyed? Can your S.O. hold their mud in an armed confrontation? Can they pull the trigger in a kill or be killed situation. Many veterans admit (and statistics show) that killing another human being is just not in us to do. At least not easily and not without accompanying psychological trauma that's yours to keep as a souvenir for the rest of your life. Even if you and everyone in your group can kill and to hell with the guilt and regret, you can't just shoot your way through that pile up of stalled or wrecked cars. Now you're on foot.

By the way, was everyone in your group conveniently located at the dinner table when anarchy hit? It could come when you're at work, kids are at school or summer camp. Did you already have everything you think you need packed? Did you have to stomp around the house searching for the flashlight? Was your gear in a state of good repair?
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Let's say the gods smile upon you and despite all odds contrary to probability you actually get to the hills or whatever retreat you've planned and are now going to start living off the land. Has anyone in your group ever tried actually living off the land? It's been my experience that the land is not that generous. It can be insufferably hot in the summer, lethally cold in the winter, and pneumonia producing in-between. That's just the weather.

There are predators that can hunt those deer better than you. Eat them first. They're in competition for your food supply That includes owls, cats of all sizes and dogs. Then there are insects. Blood-sucking vectors of death and disease. Is everyone in your group immunized? I highly recommend keeping your vaccinations current. DPT, MMR, Hepatitis B, tetanus, etc. The Health Department in your area can give you all these shots for a nominal fee. If you tell them you're traveling outside the country you can get some of the more exotic immunizations too. Don't get all your vaccinations in one week or you'll most likely get sick as a dog. There's a vaccine against rabies that would be wise to get if you're going to live amongst wild creatures.

You live off the land for, say, 6 months and luckily no one in your group dies from predator attacks, malaria-carrying mosquito bites, incorrect mushroom identification, major infection from a minor scratch, starvation, hyperthermia, hypothermia, dehydration, etc. You're all 20 pounds thinner but none the worse for wear. You're tired, hungry, dirty, depressed and would kill for a cold beer or even a roll of toilet paper. (Forgot about that poison sumac!)

You wind your way back to civilization only to find it's gone. It WAS anarchy, after all. Maybe your old neighborhood still stands but is now inhabited by strangers. Any number of "what-if's" could arise pre or post chaos and you can't possibly prepare for all of them or even a goodly number of them.

You can't show up at your board meeting tomorrow morning wearing a flak jacket and gas mask or an Uzi strapped to your thigh. Being a survivalist means rolling with the flow; adapting to whatever changes you must face.

You either have military type training or you don't. If you have military training and didn't serve in Operation Desert Storm, then you're undoubtedly middle-aged, probably overweight and not in great shape. No problem. Weight and shape are fixable. Being middle-aged is not necessarily a handicap. It may even be an asset. If you're like me, you're too tired to sow any more wild oats. Having a stable life prevents all kinds of drama and trouble. Being just another drone means you keep a low profile. That's important for survival.

So, rule number 1 is: Keep your mouth shut! Don't tell everyone you know (or ANYONE you know) that you have guns, ammo, stockpiles of food, etc. News like that just makes you a target from every source. You'll be targeted by alphabet groups of government (FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, etc.) to see if you're a subversive, drug runner, arms dealer, terrorist or some other type of competitor with our government officers. You don't need that kind of attention. Being vocal about your beliefs doesn't convert or enlighten very many at all. It just lets your neighbors know that when the feces flies, YOU will have all they need or want in your house.

Even if you successfully fend off the roaming hordes of marauders intent on robbing you it will probably be at the undesirable cost of having to shoot them all. Even if you would just love an excuse to shoot all your neighbors (and their little dogs too), you'd certainly bring excessive amounts of unwanted attention upon yourself for doing so.

You may have learned in the military how to shoot, navigate, snare and hunt but what about your wife and kids? Can any of them skin a rabbit, set traps, recognize the business end of a weapon or even find their ****s with a search warrant? Heavy load to carry all by yourself. Better teach them now if you have any training at all in any field whatsoever. If you have no combat or survival training and only know how to fix cars-teach your family how to fix cars. And GET trained. You don't even need world-wide anarchy to hit for some skills to be useful.

You could have a "personal anarchy" situation and call that training into use. Say you and your wife are going out to dinner and suffer the misfortune of getting a flat tire. You pull over to the side of the road, drag your overdressed self out of the car and begin the unpleasant task of changing the tire. Somebody pulls up behind you and you naively assume it's some good Samaritan come to offer assistance. Hopefully, you're right. But if you're wrong and it is instead some crank-sucking opportunist just pausing from a night of robbing liquors stores to pick off some easier prey, you may have to "engage the enemy". Your wife could finish changing the tire and run over the bast**d if you're having a tough time getting your opponent to understand the meaning of the word "NO!". Or, say you have to work out of town this weekend-just the wife and kids at home. All YOUR military training won't save them when the gang-bangers kick in the door and decide to rape your wife, steal your guns and butcher your kids. Everyone in your group needs training. What a surprise to the gang-bangers if 10-year old Susie lands a round house kick to the bad guys jaw while "the little woman" pulls her .380 and plants a few well-placed rounds on the SHPOS.

My youngest daughter at 4 years old knew basic CPR, how to do a field dressing, stop an arterial bleed and that 98.6 was a normal body temperature. Obviously it's not hard to learn.

The needs of a military are not the needs of a family group. The military needs to "take ground", rack up casualties/kills, recover losses, demoralize the enemy and so on. Your family or small group just needs to stay hidden and keep quiet. All you MUST do is survive.

The military has "acceptable losses". Is 20% of your family an acceptable loss? The military can take heavy casualties and keep going, evac their wounded to a hospital, draft more soldiers to fill their needs but you have no such options. Where will you find the heart to keep going if your family suffers heavy (or any) casualties? The military finds it necessary to "take a hill" or some other tactically strategic piece of ground. You can just leave. There are millions and millions of acres of land in America. Why fight to the death for an inch of it?

Ragnar Benson mentions the undesirability of becoming a "fugitive" in a crisis/survival situation. I agree but you still need to be instantly mobile and not so stubbornly attached to a particular piece of ground that you'd lose sight of the primary objective-surviving-to keep that ground. The military has (or acts like it has) a bottomless pit of tax-payer dollars to fund all it's needs. You do not. More than likely you'll wind up with what you can carry on your back with replenishment of supplies coming only at great personal risk to your group.

When the military has a group that's been fighting long enough, is tired, over run or has served their time, they can ship in a fresh bunch of cannon fodder and tuck the weary bunch into bed back at the base. If you engage the enemy or the enemy engages you, you'll surely fight til there's no one left. If you're pursued for weeks (or even hours) and grow weary, you can't just cry, "King's X" and expect to be helo'd home. You'll just have to keep going until you drop or can arrange for a reversal in your scenario.

A strapping 20-year old lad may be able to sling an 80 pound pack over his shoulder, trudge all night through the mud and still do fairly well in the morning's round of combat. I doubt you or your family can do so well. I know I can't. Take a sack of dry concrete (80#), put it in a backpack and try carrying it around the block, then give me a call.

The entire comparison between a military group and your group is in no way intended to disparage those who served in the armed forces. Much of what I've learned over the years has been via a vet. God bless them one and all. It is merely to point out the disparity between a military's needs, options and manpower, etc. and your own. You are not a military group nor can you afford to think or act like one.

Rule # 2: Get Real! Assess the needs, strengths, limitations, assets and liabilities of your group and make necessary adjustments to insure your groups survival. Be honest with yourself and with each other. No need to be cruel. At the country club or bowling alley you probably brag that your kid is the smartest kid alive but in a survival situation you may find yourself wondering if you sired (or gave birth to) the missing link. Self-discipline is paramount. Notice I said SELF-discipline, not despotic tyranny. If you set yourself up as a little Caesar your group may incite to bring you down, preferring to take their chances with the enemy rather than put up with such abuse. After all, if anarchy hits, your loved ones can stay home and be slaves. Why should they subject themselves to the rigors of a harsh environment to get no better treatment than slaves. Be kind to one another-you're all you've got.

Now we come to the matter of the survival retreat. You may think that choice of weapons is of primary concern (and it is) but even the women, children and family pet will have an opinion or preference regarding the retreat. Make your list of pros and cons for where to build, how big to build, whether to buy or lease land, how much to stockpile, what to stockpile, who to bring/invite, who to leave or throw out.

Once you're resolved the above consideration you can tear up your list and use it to line your bird cage. All the above-mentioned considerations assume you need or should desire a stationary shelter.

Rule #3: Never assume anything. If you were going to survive in a fixed location with stockpiles of needed supplies why did you ever jump in the pickup and leave your house? More urban survivalists will probably die from an acute (or chronic) case of nest-builders syndrome than from any other post chaos situation.

David Koresch had quite a nice retreat in a good location was well-stocked, manned and gunned. All he lacked was a big aerial target on the roof that read, "Drop explosives here". No matter. The government, in a heroic show of saving the children, killed the children by figuring out exactly where to place their combustible gases. Koresch violated rule #3 by assuming he was dealing with a reasonable entity that would not murder him on national TV. Remember that no piece of ground is worth your life. If your position is compromised-get the hell out!

If you have the time, you can poison the water supply on your way out or rig up a welcoming surprise for the new tenants that they're sure to get a bang out of. If you're grossly offended at having to leave a really choice location, you may even want to come back and personally express your displeasure. Not wise or recommended but it may be an option.

Randy Weaver was secluded, had a pretty self-sufficient set-up but violated rule #1 by inviting unwanted attention to himself with disastrous results. Lay low, be quiet, Be a ghost. Squash any childish desires to rise up in taunting defiance. Eschew any ill-placed machismo that makes you want to prove your manly bravery. To whom are you going to boast? If there's anyone out there whose opinion you value, they're probably already in your group.

Travel light. Be quickly mobile. Avoid any fatal attractions to property. If it gives you comfort, think of the whole world as your house. If the "room" you're currently occupying becomes too crowded, simply move to another. Necessity is a mutha and you may find yourself in the unfortunate position of needing to defend your ground. If you have wounded or sick, if you're too weak to move on, you're going to experience a great bit of difficulty in launching an offensive (or even defensive) campaign. You may get lucky in such a situation and even dumb, blind, doo-dah luck counts although I personally hate to depend on it.

If winters in Northern climates offer soul-sucking, blistering cold-move South. Why submit to the rigors of a torturous and potentially lethal environment if you can travel a few days (or weeks) to ensure your warmth and an undoubtedly better food supply? It may be safer to "dig in" up North in winter than to attempt travel to known areas of active hostility so those potentialities must be considered before making a decision.

How many will be in your group? Just family? Does that include your lazy, loud-mouthed brother-in-law because sis says she loves him? Better to cut your losses at the onset and leave them both behind than to introduce that sort of unstable element into your group dynamics. You're very best MAY not be good enough to guarantee survival but weak links will virtually assure your suicide.

How will decisions be made in the group? By democratic process or by authoritarian mandates? Democratic process is fine in peace time but in war/ anarchy a group functions more efficiently if they have a recognized (and respected) leader.

Will you take in "strays"? While out foraging or hunting you come across some woman with maybe a couple of kids. They're all ragged, dirty, hungry and are now looking at you as their new Messiah. Do you take them "home", feed them, give them chores? The rest of your group may not appreciate your gallantry. Are you willing to take food out of your children's mouths to feed someone elses? How many chores do you have? Are you building an East wing onto your tree house or planting a garden which makes an easily recognized (aerial) geometric pattern of your location? You're not doing that nest building thing are you?

And what were you thinking being spotted so easily by anyone? It could just as easily have been an armed group of sociopaths. In all cases of accidental encounters whether they be ragamufins or sociopaths, do NOT let them know you are with a group, have a semi cozy niche carved out for yourself, any supplies other than what you're carrying or that you're even staying in the area. "Just passing through" is your story. You may be lucky and only get robbed and beaten badly. In the case of ragamuffins you may (willingly) be deprived of your daily pemican rations and smile while they bless your name before God and the angels.

When you send them on their way make sure their exit does not cross the path of your retreat. In fact, your retreat should not HAVE a path. We are all creatures of habit and tend to come and go the same way. A "man trail" is just as easy to hunt from as a deer trail. Try to be smarter than your dinner by not creating a trail.

Survival is all about enduring the crisis at hand. We all love our creature comforts and there are any number of things we can do to make life more comfortable even during hard times but making life comfortable is a different mindset than survival. All a survivalist HAS to do is survive.

originally posted on P2S

[edit on 11-2-2010 by whitewave]

Thanks for the good laugh.

I've posted on these forums before and find that most of the people don't have a concept of how to survive.

I live in the country. I have a large garden. We buy food by the case when it's on sale. For most survival situations, I'd just go to my house and live my life. That's when I figured out that I am a survivalist. I didn't really know it until I stared reading about survival.

We have food clothing shelter and supplies so we could last a number of months without any help. We didn't plan it that way, it's just our life.

Usually when I read a post in the survival category, it's about how many guns you'll be packing when you bug out. How about, how will you live once you've gotten to the hills? You'll be competing with all the others who ran for the hills.

Best of luck.

Than you Whitewave for one of the better threads i've read on the survival forum for a while.....starred and flagged.

CX.

yep...good writing ... all true and full of common sense...you must be a Texas person.

Originally posted by GBP/JPY

yep...good writing ... all true and full of common sense...you must be a Texas person.

BLASPHEMER! I'm a home-grown, corn-fed Okie girl!

Thanks all for the kudos and I'm glad I could give wildbob a chuckle.
Survival means different things to different people and, after dealing with blow-hards for years, I've come to realize that most people don't have a clue.

Being a survivalist (whatever the survival situation) requires rolling with the flow, adapting to the circumstances, and especially important: a mindset that commits to staying alive, no matter what.

I read a suspenseful true tale of a guy whose boat/ship sank. All his preparations and supplies were worthless. He couldn't grab anything that would make his situation more bearable. He just needed to stay afloat until he could be rescued (more than 36 hours later). Most people (hundreds) on that boat did not survive. Some were killed by sharks, many drowned. Some just gave up and sank.

Bushcraft is useful to know and I generally think that the more skills one possesses the better one's chances for survival but, above all, you must be committed to staying alive no matter how uncomfortable or unpleasant the situation.

young lady... seriously one of the best written threads I have seen on survivalism as yet...

you covered a good amount of information.... all my family has been into survival for decades.... myself for over 35 years...

keep it up my dear...

WW, i'd like to throw in another "type."

the DO-IT-YERSELFER
( a.k.a. "self-sufficiency enthusiast," when a college grad)

No camo or weapons, but usually more than 2 children present. In the home, look for "decor" such as lanterns, as well as "tools" in bathrooms and cellars that include crank flashlights and radios, crowbars and small shovels, camps saws, etc. Check for modified fireplaces, complex backyard grills and "camping equipment" that seems to be in near constant use.

Large gardens with composters, large woodpiles, and a busy kitchens are other halmarks. Also, note the frequency of homemade gifts, especially canned or baked goods, given at social occasions.

Vehicles usually have "tools" and "travel" bags that have obviously been in the vehicle for a long time.

Subtypes include:

Crunchy Earth Mama
Female into homecooking, homeschooling, and cloth diapers. Her kids are used to eating butter from a canning jar. Telltale signs include a stack of rewashable cloth "wipes" near the toilet, along with an unused roll of paper for guests. Clothes are often handsewn, and improved with things like homemade baby slings, matching handsewn baby bags, and after-market pockets on skirts.

Flannel Dad.
Lots of flannel and workboots, with "hobbies" like hunting, fishing and gardening that markeably reduce grocery bills. Look for backyard smokers, fuel stills, or underground waterstorage. Hunting may be done with a bow, fishing may involve spearfishing or castnets for baitfish. Often sells firewood by roadside on weekends. Probably has guns in the trunk or behind the pickup seat, also for sale to other flannel dads.


In all cases, there is a marked absence of cammo, confederate flags, or firearms. They often look like hippies, but have center-right politics.

whaddya think?



[edit on 11-2-2010 by tovenar]

[edit on 11-2-2010 by tovenar]

reply to post by tovenar



I think I fit into your category of a do-it-yourselfer. I'm not quite the crunchy earth mother (I prefer being called Gaia, thank you. ) but I'm pretty self-sufficient. I did home-school my kids (for a few years) and made some lovely gift baskets for X-mas. Who DOESN'T like home made wine?

As the economy continues to decline, I think we'll see more of these do-it- yourselfers or, at least, I hope so. Better that than an increase in the help- yourselfers (those that help themselves to your stuff).

People who hunt and fish and generally take responsibility for their lives are usually the more independent thinkers and interesting people, I've found. Maybe it's just a personal preference?

[edit on 11-2-2010 by whitewave]

reply to post by lilwolf



Bless you for the "young lady" remark. There'll be a little something in your stocking next Christmas.

I've been doing this type of preparations, training and education since the mid 70's. Still learning. Spent almost a year out in the wilderness with 4 of those kids and found out what worked and what didn't. The books aren't always correct. Doing it yourself is a great teacher, imho.

It would seem that I fall into the do it yourselfer category, .

I built my own house, barn, and sheds.

I keep chickens. I live in flannel when I can.

I have tools in all my vehicles.

Invariably when discussing the topic of survival, the nest-builders pop in to give advise and suggestions on how to make life comfortable for less money. These well-meaning and resourceful people are not surviving; they are "roughing it".

Roughing it and learning clever ways to "make do" are aspects of the survival mindset but they are not the main element of a survival mindset. We all enjoy being comfortable and intensely dislike being uncomfortable. It's only natural to want to be surrounded with pleasantness and ease of living. It's what we've grown up with and become accustomed to.

I went into Bass Pro shops last month (love that store!) and they had every gizmo, gadget, thingamajig and whatsit that a prepper could want. It was hillbilly heaven. There were large metal multipronged forks for toasting your bread and even the portable stoves (and ovens) for ease of toasting. I stood there in a hypnotic trance salivating over all the "cool stuff" until I finally snapped out of it and realized I could save $60.00 and just use a stick over a bonfire. If I had any bread.

Living a subsistence lifestyle in the middle of nowhere is not the same as surviving. Having a cellar full of canned, home-grown vegetables is being a prepared individual with foresight. Being a survivalist means eating bugs if need be and being thankful you found some to eat. It's not to say that you can't try to make your situation more bearable or take pleasure in the small pleasures or comforts you find and experience along the way, but it is to acknowledge that staying alive for another day does not depend on having your Ipod charged.

Great thread I loved it and simple truths are hard to come by and you seem filled with them.

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
Great thread I loved it and simple truths are hard to come by and you seem filled with them.

That's not the first time I've been told I'm "full of it".

reply to post by tovenar


Your crunchy earth mama came close to describing me with one
big exception...I am armed!