In a SHTF scenario... who would you take with you?

This thought occurred to me when I was alone, listening to System of a Down, going through my preps...

My room mates are good friends, but they have no real respect for me, or any tact. No matter what rules I set, they would break into my stores and eat all my food--food which, given the scenario, I would have made a well-thought-out plan for.

Sure, I would want to save them--but these people have the biggest breakdowns you'd ever imagine at the MOST NORMAL problems in life. I don't think they'd have the drive to survive, so to speak. They expect someone else to take care of them, and whine if it doesn't happen. They're beyond change, beyond any real concept of independence.

Also, they're all a couple years older than me. They're adults. If they're really worried about it, they can take care of themselves. I educate them every time I learn something new about any possible SHTF stuff that might go down, so it's their responsibility from there, right?

I'm not quick to abandon my friends, don't get me wrong--but I KNOW they would get us KILLED.

Not to mention, I have a younger brother, sister, step brother, step sister, and about ten little cousins I'm really close to. And, my family has a little extra food stored up, but they don't really prep. Those kids would all be screwed if something huge went down.

I would rather plan for the kids, my fiance, and myself. First and foremost.

That's just my opinion.

You don't have to reveal much about whatever plans you may have, it's not something you particularly advertise.

But, I was curious to get other people's perspectives on this issue. It's been on my mind for a while now.

Give it some serious thought, evaluate your values, and the people around you.

Who would you protect? And why?

I know this has probrably been posted a HUNDRED times, but it festers in my mind. Personally, I believe I should be more responsible for the kids, rather than my room mates. Besides... my little sister is a prepper novice, ten years old and brilliant. She would help a LOT more than my room mates would.

Consider these people and situations in your life. Who would be more likely to help you? And who would be more likely to get you killed, or to submit to authorities?

Just a thought I had. If you haven't given it much thought, you should.

What is supposed to happen in your scenario? Global thermonuclear war? Financial breakdown? Secession of a state with following civil war? Extinction of the common bee? Meteor-hit with >100m width? Each and every scenario has different outcomes.


For example:
When will food in stores be available again? 1 Week / 1 Month / Never?

Is it possible to survive with manual work? You would need as many workforce as possible.

Is the human race due to a catastrophe of global scale on the brink of extinction? You would need as many fertile women as possible, along with enough fertile men.


Therefore, my only advice: rescue as many people you could completely trust as possible, near regardless of their skills. Those can be acquired over time. Trust as in family-trust will be one of the most precious things on earth, as those people wouldn't get the better of you.

Jessica Biel. No wait! Two Jessica Biels!

Originally posted by ManFromEurope
What is supposed to happen in your scenario? Global thermonuclear war? Financial breakdown? Secession of a state with following civil war? Extinction of the common bee? Meteor-hit with >100m width? Each and every scenario has different outcomes.


For example:
When will food in stores be available again? 1 Week / 1 Month / Never?

Is it possible to survive with manual work? You would need as many workforce as possible.

Is the human race due to a catastrophe of global scale on the brink of extinction? You would need as many fertile women as possible, along with enough fertile men.


Therefore, my only advice: rescue as many people you could completely trust as possible, near regardless of their skills. Those can be acquired over time. Trust as in family-trust will be one of the most precious things on earth, as those people wouldn't get the better of you.

Right on, but the children are actually a lot more likely to help me with the workforce stuff than my friends (that's pathetic, isn't it?), although that's not the only reason I'm planning for them. They're all between the ages of five and thirteen. They can't prep for themselves.

I don't think my friends can be converted of their dependent nature, but I hope I'm wrong. It would make me ecstatic if they proved me wrong.

As for scenarios... I would say;

Imagine civil unrest, minor at first, then spiked over time, like this.

What will happen in a SHTF scenario?

That thread breaks it down pretty thoroughly.

Of course kids should be saved as they are the future. I also would save my hubby as i need someone to rub my feets
People close to you and who really matters, when SHTF there will be a lot of people who are trying to plea your good heart to help them, it will be hard to say no but in some point you most likely must.

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


I just had this conversation with my daughter about our swimming pool......Would we watch our neighbors young children die from dehydration just so our water would last longer?? No, we would share and rebuild our community the best we can through being kind to our neighbors.

IF we felt threatened in any way due to our kindness, our thoughts and actions would change accordingly.

Everyone who i love,my kids,my fams,and even my dog.

Originally posted by dollukka
Of course kids should be saved as they are the future. I also would save my hubby as i need someone to rub my feets

People close to you and who really matters, when SHTF there will be a lot of people who are trying to plea your good heart to help them, it will be hard to say no but in some point you most likely must.

Another thing that might get me killed is the "Damn, I have to help them." stuff.

Example; I'm traveling with survivors and see a man bleeding to death in the road. I go over to help him.

As soon as I get close, I get ambushed. Thugs jump out from behind the cars and shoot me to death.

Some people would do things like that... mortally wound a man, then use him as a trap to lure other survivors in. Kill the survivors, take their stuff.

I would most likely be one of those people who claim not to "care" about other people outside of my circle, and emphasize how we should do our best not to get wrapped up in other survivors' problems, but on the inside, feel the exact opposite. I tend to do that in my daily life.

I could see a lot of people in a SHTF situation, and their good hearts being their downfall.

It sucks, but I'd rather die with a good heart than live without a heart I suppose.

My first question is: If you don't trust those people [and by the way it sounds, don't particularly like], why would you live with them? Truthfully, they sound like the very ones to avoid in a SHTF. There are many with the prepper mind set, find some of them for room mates.
Save the people you love and trust. If you don't or can't trust someone, you will waste valuable time and energy worrying about and second guessing them. Add to your group as time goes on. Find people you respect and trust who have skills that will be needed. Bottom line is, If you don't trust them to help you survive, don't waste resources on them. Notice that one word that runs through all this?

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


If you are a family man your responsibilities are your kids before anyone else.. Good heart or not you have to calculate the risks you are taking in every actions you make.

Originally posted by DAVID64
My first question is: If you don't trust those people [and by the way it sounds, don't particularly like], why would you live with them? Truthfully, they sound like the very ones to avoid in a SHTF. There are many with the prepper mind set, find some of them for room mates.
Save the people you love and trust. If you don't or can't trust someone, you will waste valuable time and energy worrying about and second guessing them. Add to your group as time goes on. Find people you respect and trust who have skills that will be needed. Bottom line is, If you don't trust them to help you survive, don't waste resources on them. Notice that one word that runs through all this?

It's a bit complicated. We all ended up living together because, all at once, we had nowhere to stay, so we pulled together and got an apartment.

But their morals (not that they really have any, lol) clash with mine and my fiance's on nearly everything.

They pretty much sum up everything I can dislike in a person.

But, over the passed year, I've grown a tolerance to people different from me (really hard to do, haha) and I've gotten rather close to them. So, I guess you could say I love them, but I really DON'T like them at all.

I couldn't tell them that, it would kill them. But it's the honest truth.

The "love/hate" stuff is where it gets complicated.

Still, I would pick the children first, hands down.

Originally posted by dollukka
reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX

 

If you are a family man your responsibilities are your kids before anyone else.. Good heart or not you have to calculate the risks you are taking in every actions you make.

True (I'm a girl, by the way)

I'm the "big sister." To everyone.

In all seriousness, my cats. I inherited the responsibility to take care of them when I adopted them and I couldn't live with myself for abandoning them. I've given them a pretty good life and I can't imagine the anxiety and other suffering they would have to live through suddenly being left to fend for themselves out in the world. They are happy, loving cats and they deserve much better than that scenario.

Originally posted by dainoyfb
In all seriousness, my cats. I inherited the responsibility to take care of them when I adopted them and I couldn't live with myself for abandoning them. I've given them a pretty good life and I can't imagine the anxiety and other suffering they would have to live through suddenly being left to fend for themselves out in the world. They are happy, loving cats and they deserve much better than that scenario.

That's awesome

My dad, dog and computer.

That's it.

My dog and my cat. I would like to teach the dog to hunt so she knows how to find herself food. I suppose it's naturally ingrained, but I don't know if she'd actually know to eat stuff that still has fur/feathers. She's on a raw, prey model diet so I might use a site called RodentPro to get her used to the idea. They sell whole carcasses (from pinkies to guinea pigs to quail to rabbit) with everything still attached.

My cat knows how to hunt already, and of course he taught himself.

I wouldn't take my girlfriend as she is a total hypochondriac, A paper cut turns into a life threatening gash with her, so i would probably take her as far as i could.
I would however take her brother and my best friend. My friend does archery as a hobbie so has a good shot and could help us hunt and stuff and also would stand by my side no matter what happened. Her brother on the other hand is athletic and very hands on. As for me in the group, I am a fully qualified mechanic, and carpenter so i can help with the sheltering and also maybe try to get a vehicle going if we stumbled upon one. I also have great map reading and orienteering skills and a great sense of direction so we should avoid getting lost .

Actually coming to think of it i would bring the future Mrs Snoopie because i am not a great cook, so she could cook what i gather and stuff. Also she has a good brain on her so could help problem solve.

My family-and not just because they're my family.My hubby is a ex-soldier,in the marines division my country had during our Border War.Also he's tough,extremely sensible and has other helpful qualities.My 15 year old daughter is stoical,sensible,capable,and propably strong enough to knock a grown man out cold Scottish blood in them.My son,though he's only 6,is a pretty smart kid himself.So i would definitely be with them,as a family working together,we'd have a fair chance,i guess.We're not people used to many luxuries to start with,so i figure at least we wont be whining about what we dont have anymore,and just pitch in and make the best of it we can.

Wife, kids and my dog.
Got some people I'd hook up with too, but that's about it until we'd have enough stuff for our mad max type community.

I had friends like the OP's when I was in college. When you are young and broke, your are thrown into a group of others with whom you actually have very little in common. It's about like making roomates of the the people waiting at a bus stop.

As you age, your friends kind of begin to sort themselves out. You will find opportunities for you and your mate that lead in other directions---directions that introduce you to people more like yourself. And the same for your roommates.

In an emergency, go home. The others will be doing the same. Just don't bring them with you!