Please take this advice: Be careful what you tell others.

reply to post by havok


I think you're right. I tend to share a lot and believe that all people are good. That's most likely my biggest downfall. The more I read ats, I start to feel that some of these people are like the family I never had cause I can talk about things I couldn't speak of to others and not be judged much for it.

The thing is that a lot of people want something for nothing and seem to have the attitude of, why should you have something that I don't have. It is made worse, as has been said, when people boast about what they have, especially in front of others who don't have much. I have walked past houses on recycling day, and have observed many people who have put packaging outside their houses, for 50" plasma tvs, expensive computers, etc, sometimes thousands of pounds worth. They are openly targeting themselves as targets for robbery, and people do the same thing with stockpiling, except they advertise it with their mouths. A lot of people can't wait to tell others how clever and interesting they are, saying things like " I sleep out every weekend to prepare myself ", forgetting the fact that their house is empty and in most cases vulnerable while they are away. We do need to keep our mouths shut and realise that it is not what other people think of us that matters, but what we think of ourselves !

Everyone has had great replies so far.
Gemineye makes strong points as well as NoRegretsEver.
Actually there are alot of valid responses here, and I thank all of you.

But no matter how you look at it, inevitable or not, just be careful.

We can offer advice and help to others, that's just part of being compassionate.
And there's alot of that here on ATS.

I just want readers to be leary of who they talk to.

I don't want to cause paranoia, or panic...
Just remember this:
Only you can rely on yourself.
Because when you back a hungry, ravished dog into a corner, it will bite.

People will do anything to survive.

Like alot of posters here, I already have family saying "I'll just come to your house."
To me, that's a cop out to never get prepared.
That tells me that people still have their priorities out of whack.
Everyone should have at least one month of food in their pantry.
But again, it's like believing that nothing can go wrong.
Just like how people rely on our gov't to tell them the truth or keep them safe.
Ain't gonna happen.
Murphy's Law.

Originally posted by UKTruth
All this is a little disappointing.

If and when the 'end' comes, surely the remaining survivors need to build a new world, without corporations and governments telling them how to live and what to think. This awakening can only come from within.

Killing people for trying to take your food seems a little bit like 'todays' thinking.

To really survive, people WILL need to come together and form communities based on mutual benefit. Share resources and skills to survive, not for profit or personal gain.

So I would say if someone comes to your home, hungry and scared, then shooting them is not the answer. Feeding them is. If they try and take by force, then fair enough, but be careful not to shoot and ask questions later!

To those that think that they cant share food because they will have less for themsleves - think again. One person provides resource to help grow more food and potentially has skills that you dont that can help you survive. On your own, eventually you will either die or be left out of the new life that others will build around you.

Ummm............Your right........they're called....fiefdoms.........if you think that some utopia will magically spring forth from the ashes of a broken world.......sorry......You'll have every strong arm and half-charismatic jackwagon spill out of the prisons or existing criminal organizations......that already have people exploitation down to a fine art.......continuing...
The OP has some excellent advice.......the unfortunate and ugly truth of any SHTF scenario.....will only lead to predator and prey.....The strong and the smart will survive, the weak will perish and the herd will be thinned, trimmed, pared down.....If it wanes apocraphal, Those that have become hard, will rule, the rest will be herd and slave.........

Simple, territorial, human nature.......nothing more........when your starving and feral......enlightenment becomes the first victim....

YouSir

Good thread. The bible even backs up this idea. In one case the king of israel invites a babylonian king to see all the treasures of the house of david. Soon afterwards god's prophet comes to see the king of israel and asks him "what did you show him" he said "all the beautiful treasures of the house of god!" the prophet replies: "because you did this thing, everything that was in there will be taken from this house and be brought to babylon nothing shall remain" and later that very thing happened when babylon sacked the city......all to get those treasures

so it stands, dont show off your goods because it will be stolen by those who want it

Originally posted by havok
As in any subject relating to privacy, or personal property one must think about this.

Why would you tell people what you have/own?

I only say this from personal experience.
I haven't led anyone to believe that I have any supplies.
Yet, the other day, I was asked if my 'bomb' shelter was finished yet.
And no, I'm not building a shelter.
Mind you, I don't make a habit of talking about my preparedness.
At all.
Seems that people joke about what they know about you and ridicule follows.
So these conversations never come up with me anymore.
I've learned the hard way:
The less people suspect about you, the less they target you.

While posting almost anonymously here on ATS seems safe, I ask you this...
Who do you think of when you need to borrow something you don't have?
If you have little funds to purchase, you think of the people you know might have said item.
Friends, family, neighbors, etc...

So look at it this way, going out and calling yourself a 'Survivalist' or even mentioning you have stockpiled goods to others is a good way to pin a target on your home/persons. Definitely don't even think about telling a local news station any info either...If you boast about how much food you have or how big of cache you've amassed, remember one thing, there's always one person who doesn't have it, and jealousy is the killer of many people.

Just a little reminder to be mindful of where/how you store things.
Inform only those you truly trust to keep quiet about locations.
Even those you think you can trust might do some boasting in your name.
(it happened to me)

Even those who prepare have enemies.
For those who didn't prepare will prepare to take what they don't have.
From places they planned on from the start.

Even talking in public places has its 'ears'.
If a conversation starts up, let them be the first to disclose any information.
Never give up your location and always prepare for surprise visits.
All to often I see people bragging about what they have.
For me, and I'm no thief....it's easy pickins.


This is not paranoia.
This is survivalism.


Hope this tidbit helps.

edit on 6-4-2011 by havok because: Spelling

It bears repeating. I made the mistake of mentioning some preparedness at work, and the fact of the matter is many of us ATS'ers are a pretty small minority, even non-ATS survivalists are a small minority, and the majority is threatened by anything that does not conform to its oppression. And of course there's the jealousy bit as mentioned when the moment of truth does arrive and those less prepared are flooded from their holes.

Why tell anybody anything? Let the time come when food is scarce and let the hungry know that you have a stash and where it is. Just shut up and do your thing... Its not a bowling club, its SURVIVAL

Ummm...I'm not a survivalist...and ummm...I don't have any food stored...and...um... I live in...ummm...South Africa...yeah...that's where...

We all know just how smart our mothers were.

When I read this thread I couldn't help but want to share one of my mother's best "sage advise"

" Never say what you don't want repeated"

" Never write what you don't want read"

" Never do what you would not do with your mother watching."

This may seem overly simplistic, but I think it will go a long way to help people stay out of trouble. Even the self inflicted kind.

reply to post by getoffmylawn


Thank you for that reference.
It is an extremely valid thought.

Basically it just goes to show what being an actual survivor means.
Not just getting a stash, but building a skillset also.

You see survival is not just the ability to withstand any situation with what you stored.
It's also the ability to overcome any obstacle put in front of you.
Being able to hunt, fish, build shelter and provide fire are all key elements.

Those things you can't horde.

It reminds me of a time at the local BMV or for non-US residents, the drivers license place.
I was asked about why I needed something and I replied, "Because its my right."
Then I responded by saying that I read my states constitution.
The person said "Why would you need to read that!?"
I replied, "Because everyone should know their rights as a citizen!"
They rebutted with, "No, you read it to see what you can get away with."
I was furious with the last remark and ended conversation.
Enough said.

Ignorance is rampant these days and people are actually more stupid than I thought.
I give the public too much credit.

So it does bear repeating:
Please watch what you say to random people.
With the website now operational to turn in suspicious people, anyone is at risk.
You can thank your federal gov't for that one!

Best advice, keep to yourself and mind your own business.
Although this is common sense, most people think gossip runs the world.
Like I stated before, ridicule comes with jealousy.
And if you are targeted because of what you've said to others...
You can only blame yourself.

Anyone can get information about you these days.
Why make it any easier?

Think about it like this: when you see a locked door, do you not wonder what's behind it? When TSHTF...your neighbors will come to the house that is being defended.

Why not let people "raid" your house? Come in, take a look at how empty your shelves are? Let them see you have nothing and they won't want anything from you. Then, once they leave, go out to the little store house you built in the woods and break out the snickers, jerky and coke? It will be basic instinct for everyone to mob the guy who is defending his supplies. So let them see that you are struggling and they'll move along.

Also...there won't be any gas so you will only have to worry about those within a few miles. After a month or so of acting like you have nothing, most will have fled the area or starved to death. Then you won't have to worry about those pesky neighbors and those who are left will be the survivors, at which point banding together might be good. Let the weak and dumb die off before we come out of hiding.

this is a great thread-i never let pewople know what i have.
but i love to hunt and fish and i live in a nice suburban neighborhood and they see me dragging a deer in and want some.
when i tell them i don't have enough to give away they get pissed off
anyone who hunts will agree with me- a 120 lb deer will give you about 35 lbs of meat if you are lucky
coyotes and groundhogs my friend and i make sausage and slim jims out of but you don't get alot

I never really thought of it that way. This site and the people here never fails to amaze and intrigue me. I actually like talking about survivalist and conspiracy theories with my friends at school but they never really go into it much. All they know of is the illuminati and its eye but that's about it. I'll keep in mind what you said mate. I really have to keep my big mouth shut. lol

reply to post by JohnnyCanuck


That's why you add random death products into your stash. Someone kills you for your stash then they will have to risk dying seeing as you'll be the only one to know your system. Also stashing things in your home is a bad idea, better to make a bunker somewhere remote and just live there away from these supposedly nice people that would kill you for food rather than try and work with you to rebuild a community and society. If any of you survivalists out there see anybody stealing it should be time for a quick death for that thief, or at least a pair of missing hands. Also, if caught in a disaster and the state tries to take things from you, well that is theft treat them accordingly, doesn't matter what law they think they can use to steal your survival stuff it's yours and it stays that way over your dead body (but preferably theirs).

keep some taint kicking around like a vial of delusid, or make an extract of datura, you can load up some food with a lethal dose of narcotics and that'll deal with the theives pretty quick. There are also sorts of poisonous, barely detectable things you can lace things with.

This also reminds me of 'the colony' and how they'd keep their food on the shelf, easy to find, easy to steal. That's what you do with a handful of death products. Trust me if everybody guarded themselves like that there'd be nobody stealing food they'd all be asking for it, trading, or working. If you don't do that then you make it profitable for people to come and murder you in your home for your stash. It's amazing how repetitive the stupidity is on the colony, if even simulated poison I would have had that whole camp from season 2 dealt with easily within a few days with good 'ol death food.

If a time should come where I have to shoot my neighbor over a pot noodle in some radioactive wasteland...that will be a time I don't want to necessarily live through...why bother packing up a bunker full of dry foods and your zombie apocolypse survival kit...the problem is, your surviving through a hellscape of life that will probably not get better for mankind..

and chances are, it would have been done by us to begin with...if we can screw up the planet that bad to where such a senario is worldwide, then frankly, we as a species need to simply die out and call the human experiment a fail.

Once my can of peanut butter runs out and the dog has become a meal, then ya...time to find a nice and quiet way out...humanity is past the survival to simply exist stage...thrive or die.

Add:
Actually, if it came down to that, I may be inclined to take all of my potential survivor stuff and drop it off at a neighbors before...let them try to suffer through life a bit longer and I will just take an early exit and onto the next thing....enjoy the spam...I die with a clear conscience

and on another note i gat a dui(which was bogus i was in my yard and hadn't been driving)
i had to take classes and the final day the instructor made an example out of me. i had nothing to drink for 4 days because i was hunting.
he wanted me to tell him what guns i have in front of the whole class and got mad/irate when i refused to tell him
it's noone's business what guns i own

Well it really depends where you live i guess. I live in Indonesia, an extreme earthquake prone country with the most of active volcanos in the world + flash floods and normal floods and landslides happening yearly during rainy season.

on top of it you get the period ethnic tensions (more than 300 ethnics in indonesia) and also small border skirmishes with Malaysia.

Everyone i told that i store food and invest into real gold bars , for in case SHTF, thinks it is a good idea here

reply to post by havok
Yes one hundred percent, not only that but blabbering about what you have does two things, tells everyone what you have and lets the gov know what you have, in either case you set your self up as a target. best too keep your supply's secret, fine to give give advice but do not say i have such and such.

reply to post by havok


The world as we know it ends. Suddenly *everyone* is thrown into a panicked scramble to survive, a mad grab for water, food... protection and shelter. Initially the chaos would unravel most communal and neighborly ties. After a while, though, unless you are on a secluded mountain with a well-stocked bomb-shelter or underground home, you'll be a part of the disintegration of civilization.

After the mob scenes have played out, those who are left are *mandatorily* challenged with the survival of the country, if not the human race itself. Humans THRIVE when working together. In fact, no more generations would emerge if we don't work together. We are a social species. Therefore, regardless of whether or not a person believes he/she is tasked with the weighty endeavor of species survival, you are, in fact, the holder of that smoldering torch.

Initially, the OP is right. You must defend yourself from attack ---just to *survive* that stage of civilization's breakdown. Once you weather that storm, the task is to rebuild groups of people into some form of community. Never more so would we need to breach the vistas of our differences. Skin color, religious beliefs, prejudices aside... We're HUMAN BEINGS trying to fight for existence in the face of catastrophe, much how it was portrayed in the fantastic movie "Independence Day."

We need people and LEADERS with the insight to see with better eyes than some of us are viewing the world THIS VERY DAY. With this in mind, why not BEGIN THIS BRIDGING today? Why not try to see the best in others, and, in turn, bring out the best in OURSELVES?

This won't work in all neighborhoods or groups or communities. But, it will work in some. Some people might form bonds and make a plan for a catastrophe BEFOREHAND. THAT would be better than a single person or a single family holed-up in their home, for you have to sleep sometime. You can't be on guard 24/7. A group of people can always have someone (or more) on guard.

If/when a global catastrophe hits, we're more likely to survive it if we are prepared and if we are bonded together in groups beforehand. Of course, discretion is important, for if you do form groups, you may not want to include "unsavory" types (rapists, druggies, bullies, racists, etc.) or people who seem to be outright psychopaths or harbor some form of noticeable insanity or mental instability, and these people might be dangerous. Basically, choose your allies well, and when the S hits the fan, even people you might have considered "unsavory" might, when it boils down to it, have qualities and skills necessary for the group to survive. There is a lot to weigh.

Originally posted by TheLastStand
better to make a bunker somewhere remote and just live there away from these supposedly nice people that would kill you for food rather than try and work with you to rebuild a community and society.

See, that is why this would fail...

a true community survival plan would be:
-Where to take the food so the entire community could pool and use/ration
-Setting up of a local watch and have groups going from house to house to -help- out anyone whom may have had an accident during whatever event happened, including any medical attention
-Long term food and shelter issues/solutions
-migration help if possible
-communications systems
etc.

society survival is not about putting blades around your canned soup and thinking of ways to kill your neighbor at the instant something bad happens...that counter-productive.

Of course the issue is, if you spoke with your neighbors about making a shtf system, they would probably ask you "well, what possible senarios would cause that"...then thats when the foolish comments start about obama's red army marching the streets, china nuking us, haarp, aliens, etc...(hint, best to just say something like potential meteor disaster, earthquakes, etc...2 month plan...don't discuss the upcoming reptilian invasion)