Would you survive what Venezuela is going through?

originally posted by: Zcustosmorum
a reply to: JAGStorm

US sanctions certainly ain't helping

Let's invest in weapons of destruction and bully other country's through sanctions while throwing back bread crumbs as "aid", what stupid is this?

And the stupid are those who rather believe the lies of a socialist dictatorship which shut down all newspapers, and radio stations that were critical of Chavez and his policies... Not to mention the FACT that Venezuelans have been having problems with food since before OBAMA imposed sanctions in 2014...

Yup. I would simply leave the country by legal or illegal means.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Water comes from the well.

Food: got land teeming with whitetail, a nearby river to fish in, and chickens for eggs (and meat if I start incubating this year). I also have plenty of room to grow veggies.

Power would be the problem, mainly for heat, well pump, and refrigeration. Working on that.

Wife is on insulin, so that could be an issue, but we get it by three months supply. Depending on where we were on the supply, it could be OK for a while or not. I'm on an aspirin a day, and keep a stock of them, and a statin which wouldn't be life-threatening if I had to miss it for a while. And I have nitro pills, but I rarely need them.

Anything else I can get off zombie corpses... ammunition, etc.

It would suck, but I'd survive. Redneck. Survive us what we do.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

You forgot to address how you would deal with the foriegn intervention part that would cause you to go into "redneck survival mode".

That's the crux.

a reply to: Involutionist

You forgot to address how you would deal with the foriegn intervention part that would cause you to go into "redneck survival mode".

Er, no, I covered that:

originally posted by: TheRedneck

Anything else I can get off zombie corpses... ammunition, etc.

TheRedneck

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

The FACT is: Venezuelans have been having "problems" with "infrastructure on many levels" due to over TWO DECADES of American imposed sanctions due to Chavez refusing to let America pilfer its resources wothout a fair shake.

This has been going on way before Obama took office.

Your opening sentence of your comment was:

And the stupid are the ones who would rather believe the lies...

Ironic words...

a reply to: TheRedneck

Not intelligently. You addressed the topic like a cowboy....

We better be able to survive what Venezuela is going through, because the way the rich are siphoning off all the money in our economy will eventually lead to the demise of America. It's already had a huge cost, yet too many people still buy into the American dream which, in fact, is just a fantasy for nearly every American. And that is by design. It does not have to be, however; but it's up to the people to vote for representatives that will represent their needs and desires over that of the rich.

a reply to: Involutionist

Not intelligently. You addressed the topic like a cowboy....

The question concerned my approach to survival under similar circumstances that we see in Venezuela. If my response, which was based on actual expected actions in such an event, does not meet with your personal feelings about what should be done, too bad, so sad.

I do possess a well for drinking water. I do possess enough land to support me via hunting and gardening. I do live near a river which has abundant fish. I do need to work on supplying power for heating and refrigeration. I would scavenge for what I needed, and I would be willing to defend my home. Those are simply facts.

Stating facts is not unintelligent. Denying facts is unintelligent, and you are openly denying the facts presented above.

TheRedneck

This idea of "living off the land" by hunting (poaching) game animals will only last for a short time before the game animals disappear. It isn't really common knowledge these days, but back during the depression era people harvested a lot of wild game to the point that animals like white tail deer and turkeys and became extinct in some regions.

The wild game populations became so decimated that it took many decades of wildlife management for people to even find the tracks of deer and other popular game animals in their area. Not only that but immediately after the hunting pressure occurs the animals change their normal habits and become very hard to hunt and trap. Once enough of the populations get killed, they may never rebound again without intervention. Wildlife management through the Department of Natural Resources was created by hunter and outdoor groups because of the loss of game animals during the 1930s. Licenses for hunting and fishing still support these efforts today.

Although I'm not certain, I'd imagine the same thing will happen with wild edible plants. In such a scenario, you'll be eating bugs and rodents like field mice until they're gone, then mud pies will seem like a good meal.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

That would likely happen in more populated areas. I have enough land so I can manage what I have without destroying the ecology. If anything, we have too many whitetails here now. We could take 20 deer tomorrow and leave a healthier herd.

However, with the general state of (un)awareness of ecological principles, those who do not understand how to maintain a herd will likely have the issues you raise.

TheRedneck

a reply to: JAGStorm

You ask some very real questions here since it's not so much a survival question as a how do you thrive question. Long term survival is about thriving without government provided resources.

If the crap does actually hit the proverbial fan I don't think surviving in place is a real option, even for those who have property in the rural areas. Anyone still accessible via roads will be very vulnerable. Gangs (tribes) will form quickly and it will be impossible for individuals or families to fend them off.

Those who will thrive are those who go entirely off the grid and have the knowledge and backbone to literally live off the land. Even then, many if not most would fail.

We in Alaska have an advantage in this scenario, but even here you would need to immediately go off grid and the cities would be a very stupid place to be.

Fragile people would not fare well. Survival requires a backbone of steel. If a person can't eat something that would gag a maggot and work from the time the sun comes up until it sets won't make it. People who can't kill and slaughter animals won't survive.

*Note - It's sad to see politics infecting this thread. You did not even ask a political question. Those who make everything about politics are really getting to be obnoxious and tiring.

originally posted by: Blaine91555
We in Alaska have an advantage in this scenario, but even here you would need to immediately go off grid and the cities would be a very stupid place to be.

My strategy for Anchorage would be to wait out the first 3 months or so totally off grid, then place a single bottle of Seagram's somewhere in the middle of the park strip surrounded by makeshift weapons and let the remaining population go Thunderdome style on each other to get that last remaining booze... 300,000+/- enter, one leaves, pick off the lone survivor after the bottle has been consumed and voila! No more problems.

I'd like to say I'm joking, but the strategy would probably yield results here.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

I honestly think booze would be one of the best barter materials a person could have. Having a stash of cheap vodka buried somewhere, would be more valuable than having gold. He who controls the booze, controls the Universe.

I've often thought about what if and my head always goes to get off grid while everyone else is trying to hold the city together. Get out while you can still stock up on supplies and don't look back. I'd be very happy in a makeshift shack, just me, my wife, lots of ammo to hunt with and some fishing gear.

I had a few months experience doing just that with my first wife in Idaho in the 1970's. To say I enjoyed it would be an understatement and we were only a few miles off grid. Every morning just before daybreak I'd split some wood, get a good fire going so it was warm for my wife when she got up, grab my dog and just spend the morning wandering the woods and maybe shooting a couple of Cottontails or catch a few brook trout or cutthroats out of the creek. I'd spend entire days watching the game trails so come hunting time, I could get my deer opening morning before anyone else showed up. I can't recall a time I enjoyed more.

a reply to: Blaine91555

If one could make it to the Whittier tunnel, and seal the Portage side avalanche doors shut, they'd be doing well for themselves, honestly. In the winter you'd have about 300 people to deal with, max. The trail over Portage Pass would be the only land route into the town unless someone docked in Shotgun cove and approached from the east. It would be purely to buy a little time, acquire (read: steal) a boat and supplies and head to an island. Hell, a couple like Middleton even have decent cabins and facilities established on them.

a reply to: JAGStorm

In socialism, all you have to do is get a job with the government.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

I think having a boat and residing on an island would be a great idea. The only problem I see with that, is you would stand out more and be more noticeable; easier to find.

I'm not sure I'd even want to be in or near a remote village in a crap hit the fan scenario. At least for a while until the madness had run it's course.

When I first moved here I looked at a couple of those old bunkers over that way which were for sale at that time. A few of them looked like they had been prepped to live in or had someone actually living in them. Put a few extra feet of soil over the top of one and you would have a very large space that would be as easy to heat as a small insulated cabin. A person could be very comfortable in one of those.

I can't even find a photo of one or mention of them online now. They were just outside of Whittier on a jeep road. A row of maybe 15 of them. Looked to be maybe 30 feet wide by 60 or so. Probably old ammunition and supply bunkers for storage.



They looked like this, only they were not joined together and had some land between them. The one I walked through did not appear to even have any cracks in the concrete walls.

originally posted by: Blaine91555
I can't even find a photo of one or mention of them online now. They were just outside of Whittier on a jeep road. A row of maybe 15 of them. Looked to be maybe 30 feet wide by 60 or so. Probably old ammunition and supply bunkers for storage.

I know exactly where and which ones you're talking about. If we're talking true doomsday scenarios here, like post apocalyptic lawlessness, I'd rather stake a claim to the nuke bunker built into the tunnel itself. That beast is lined with leaded concrete and setup to serve as a fortress for an emergency crew following a nuke hit on the US. I doubt the DOD still stocks any provisions there, but structurally it is as sound as it's going to get.

The beauty of Whittier and what makes it an easier go than just about any village in the state is the fact that 85% of its 300 winter residents all live in the tower. If the power went out, almost all of them would book it out of town. That damn tower and the tunnels under it are spooky when lit and heated up, I can't imagine anyone sheltering there in darkness and no heat.

a reply to: Blaine91555

If the crap does actually hit the proverbial fan I don't think surviving in place is a real option, even for those who have property in the rural areas. Anyone still accessible via roads will be very vulnerable. Gangs (tribes) will form quickly and it will be impossible for individuals or families to fend them off.

I think you'd be surprised.

Rural folk tend to band together when threatened. The first fight would be the hardest, but anyone entering a rural community already under attack would likely be quickly picked off before they could get very far.

Not to mention, we know the lay of the land. I know, for instance, the only accessible ways through the woods around my house, and it's no problem to quickly rig up alarms (tin cans tied to a trip wire are pretty effective). 'Shiners of old used similar techniques and were generally able to hold off even the Federal government.

TheRedneck

Heard on the am radio that they were eating their pets in Venezuela.