[fourbore]

I have had a good life, a long life, and I don't fear death so doomsday scenarios don't dictate how I live. If everything goes to hell it will be because we made it so by our actions and lack of actions. You get the world that you deserve. No, I will not prep for the end of civilized society, but I will fight to preserve it.

Yes and no. Most likely and the unavoidable scenarios are natural. Meteor, Yellowstone a virus that was not man made ... to name a few. Some once in 1000 year storm might isolate an area for months. Or once in 1000 or 10,000 year anything you can think of. I am with you on the fear and pre panic mode of thought. Just lets not be to quick to jump on the Global XYZ bs beating up on humanity. It maybe true, but not the only or even major consideration. Stuff just happens and it was not my automobile that had anything to do with it. There are too many people but eventually one way or another that will play itself out. That is the "yes" piece of my reply.

 

[Tempest2]

I have had a good life, a long life, and I don't fear death so doomsday scenarios don't dictate how I live. If everything goes to hell it will be because we made it so by our actions and lack of actions. You get the world that you deserve. No, I will not prep for the end of civilized society, but I will fight to preserve it.

I would suggest one minor revision to this reasonable POV: Add a year's supply of food using the same formula as myself:
Containers filled with supermarket rice, flour, sugar, dry beans, gallon bottles of vegetable oil, nuts, etc. I've probably got $200-$300 into my "years supply," and it takes up one corner of a closet.*
I offer this for this reason: You might want to stick around for a year after the balloon goes up just to see what happens. The recipe above is not a balanced died, but with some swapping you can fill the gaps. At the end of that time, revert to the original plan. And who knows, maybe the situation doesn't turn out to be the end of life as we know it.

*I don't include some way of cooking in a power-out scenario, so add this: A Coleman stove and a year's supply of white gas.

 

[Webley One]

Response -

From the OP: Most survivalist conversations revolve around violence erupting in the face of social collapse. The focus leans toward guns and off-the-grid survival retreats.

Today, something resembling the Great Depression of the 1930s might present different challenges. I'm picturing a slow strangulation of commerce that leads to very thinly stocked store shelves - including grocery shelves.

IOW, different kinds of extended disaster are possible, and the well-rounded survivalist whacko is prepared for the most prominent possibilities. In my case, for violence erupting in the face of social collapse I have a gun collection that will curl your hair, with ammo and magazines to match. Plus living in a rural/small town locale (almost) a full gas tank from big population centers.

For a slow strangulation of commerce that leads to very thinly stocked store shelves, something resembling the Great Depression of the 1930s, I've got a year's supply of calories stashed away. Not necessarily balanced meals, but with a little swapping I'll be good.

In short, we can't predict what kind of disasters may occur, so it's prudent to prep for the leading suspects. This thread is focused on the second type, a Great-Depression type event on steroids. This website is fully-loaded with threads about preps for the other variety, the shoot-'em-up kind.

Frankly, the hard-times variety seems more likely than wholesale societal collapse into violence, so ignoring the former and focusing all your preps on the bang-bang version doesn't seem like very well-rounded prepping.

Tempest2,

Yessir, point well taken; we may ONLY have a 1930s type depression down the road. But, what if several different scenarios occur at once? I prefer to prep for any, and all, scenarios. Be well.

Webley

 

[fireman]

I did know one Amish very well. The family and community in passing and the one man quite well. The subject of firearms never came up. They were in PA and only seen on my visits. Not close to home.

The ones around here are good people. Just got back from doing some business with them while the wife exchanged recipes and such with the wife.

 

[Doggoneit]

I would suggest one minor revision to this reasonable POV: Add a year's supply of food using the same formula as myself:
Containers filled with supermarket rice, flour, sugar, dry beans, gallon bottles of vegetable oil, nuts, etc. I've probably got $200-$300 into my "years supply," and it takes up one corner of a closet.*
I offer this for this reason: You might want to stick around for a year after the balloon goes up just to see what happens. The recipe above is not a balanced died, but with some swapping you can fill the gaps. At the end of that time, revert to the original plan. And who knows, maybe the situation doesn't turn out to be the end of life as we know it.

*I don't include some way of cooking in a power-out scenario, so add this: A Coleman stove and a year's supply of white gas.

But the meds that keep my wife and I alive are bought 90 days at the time. I can't grow insulin or blood pressure meds in my back garden... Besides that, if you have a years supply of food, don't ever go outside, because I will be hiding behind a bush ready to ambush you for it. I am sneaky like that.

 

[fullchoke]

But the meds that keep my wife and I alive are bought 90 days at the time. I can't grow insulin or blood pressure meds in my back garden... Besides that, if you have a years supply of food, don't ever go outside, because I will be hiding behind a bush ready to ambush you for it. I am sneaky like that.

I've got the same problem as you, plus we need to keep that 90 day insulin supply cold or it's only a 30 day supply. The one advantage I have over you, is I will be behind the other bush waiting for you to come out with the goods in hand.

 

[IamElmerJFudd]

I just need a couple more cans of SpaghettiOs, and I'll be ready to face YTK.

 

[Doggoneit]

I've got the same problem as you, plus we need to keep that 90 day insulin supply cold or it's only a 30 day supply. The one advantage I have over you, is I will be behind the other bush waiting for you to come out with the goods in hand.

I have to warn you, I taught Jerry how to shoot; he got about half of it.

 

[jyo]

Yes, the world is vastly overpopulated---there's not really enough food to feed the starving poor around the world! As has been pointed out, meds will disappear and simply will not be restocked, this will make us "Old Folks" some of the first to go because when the meds dry up, we stop living! And that's a fact! Growing your own food takes time (and skill) that many city folk just will not have---even if they can just get safe water supplies... I've lived thru four major riots, and three major earthquakes, plus the recent China Virus (that was a real eye opener) and know all the guns and ammo in the world won't save your arse if you don't have enough food or clean water to weather the first 6-7 months... The grand plan of shooting the hungry mobs of your fellow city dwellers as they try to steal your stuff or just kill you and take it probably won't pan out like you think it will...
Yeah, some neighbors will band together and form survival groups, this will extend their time of being alive, but things will run out and bickering will have them at each others throats sooner or later...! Myself and my wife are reasonably prepared for things like riots, EQs, etc.---Viruses will be trickier---but we're already older and have lived our lives well, so the satisfaction of surviving this long will probably be enough for us---good luck to the rest of you...!

 

[Tempest2]

Yes, the world is vastly overpopulated---there's not really enough food to feed the starving poor around the world! As has been pointed out, meds will disappear and simply will not be restocked, this will make us "Old Folks" some of the first to go because when the meds dry up, we stop living! And that's a fact! Growing your own food takes time (and skill) that many city folk just will not have---even if they can just get safe water supplies... I've lived thru four major riots, and three major earthquakes, plus the recent China Virus (that was a real eye opener) and know all the guns and ammo in the world won't save your arse if you don't have enough food or clean water to weather the first 6-7 months... The grand plan of shooting the hungry mobs of your fellow city dwellers as they try to steal your stuff or just kill you and take it probably won't pan out like you think it will...
Yeah, some neighbors will band together and form survival groups, this will extend their time of being alive, but things will run out and bickering will have them at each others throats sooner or later...! Myself and my wife are reasonably prepared for things like riots, EQs, etc.---Viruses will be trickier---but we're already older and have lived our lives well, so the satisfaction of surviving this long will probably be enough for us---good luck to the rest of you...!

Roger-that on the fantasy of "shooting the hungry mobs of your fellow city dwellers."

Nearly 50 years ago I learned the basics of survivalism from Mel Tappan's "Survive!" column that ran briefly in Guns & Ammo. His basic recipe began with this: "Live more than one full gas tank distant from major population areas."

I was then a young city boy who since childhood had been attracted to living in the country, and reading this confirmation pretty much defined my agenda for the coming years and decades.

One minor mod on "not really enough food to feed the starving poor around the world": That's really a political/governance problem in a small number of political hellholes around the world, more than a population problem.

 

[fireman]

Yes, the world is vastly overpopulated---there's not really enough food to feed the starving poor around the world! As has been pointed out, meds will disappear and simply will not be restocked, this will make us "Old Folks" some of the first to go because when the meds dry up, we stop living! And that's a fact! Growing your own food takes time (and skill) that many city folk just will not have---even if they can just get safe water supplies... I've lived thru four major riots, and three major earthquakes, plus the recent China Virus (that was a real eye opener) and know all the guns and ammo in the world won't save your arse if you don't have enough food or clean water to weather the first 6-7 months... The grand plan of shooting the hungry mobs of your fellow city dwellers as they try to steal your stuff or just kill you and take it probably won't pan out like you think it will...
Yeah, some neighbors will band together and form survival groups, this will extend their time of being alive, but things will run out and bickering will have them at each others throats sooner or later...! Myself and my wife are reasonably prepared for things like riots, EQs, etc.---Viruses will be trickier---but we're already older and have lived our lives well, so the satisfaction of surviving this long will probably be enough for us---good luck to the rest of you...!

The world is not overpopulated nor starving to death. The only food issues are distribution. There is plenty of food. Heck, in the US we pay farmers not to farm land. Also, the US is an obese nation. If all the fatties actually just ate the required amount of calories instead of gorging themselves at McD's or the Golden Corral buffet, there would be enough surplus food to ship to Africa to more than feed them.

 

[14tony]

I have had a good life, a long life, and I don't fear death so doomsday scenarios don't dictate how I live. If everything goes to hell it will be because we made it so by our actions and lack of actions. You get the world that you deserve. No, I will not prep for the end of civilized society, but I will fight to preserve it.

At 83 I'm already on the short end of the stick. I have enough food to last 2-3 months only because I live in a very rural area and only go to the nearest town when I have to. Water is not a problem and I'm well armed. My wife is in poor health and probably wouldn't last more than a month or two. So not really worried about it.

 

[Tempest2]

The world is not overpopulated nor starving to death. The only food issues are distribution. There is plenty of food. Heck, in the US we pay farmers not to farm land. Also, the US is an obese nation. If all the fatties actually just ate the required amount of calories instead of gorging themselves at McD's or the Golden Corral buffet, there would be enough surplus food to ship to Africa to more than feed them.

You could pretty much end this post after "The only food issues are distribution."

I still snickered at the rest though. 😇

 

[DisasterDog]

"Live more than one full gas tank distant from major population areas."

A full gas tank goes a long ways, there’s only a small portion of CONUS that meets that criteria.

 

[fourbore]

The world is not overpopulated nor starving to death. The only food issues are distribution. There is plenty of food. Heck, in the US we pay farmers not to farm land. Also, the US is an obese nation. If all the fatties actually just ate the required amount of calories instead of gorging themselves at McD's or the Golden Corral buffet, there would be enough surplus food to ship to Africa to more than feed them.

The population is growing exponentially. I am not worried. Nature has a way to correct this and I wont be around to see it. No worry here either.

 

[Lostinspace]

I just need a couple more cans of SpaghettiOs, and I'll be ready to face YTK.

Haha if things get bad I'm going to my mother inlaws I'm sure she has months supply of canned spaghetti , beans, spam and a freezer full of pork chops. Not because she's worried but because she forgets what she has so she keeps buying. She's my ace in the hole

 

[Pál_K]

The world is not overpopulated nor starving to death. The only food issues are distribution. There is plenty of food. Heck, in the US we pay farmers not to farm land. Also, the US is an obese nation. If all the fatties actually just ate the required amount of calories instead of gorging themselves at McD's or the Golden Corral buffet, there would be enough surplus food to ship to Africa to more than feed them.

Quote of the Day: Sam Kinison

You want to help world hunger? Stop sending them food. Don’t send them another bite, send them U-Hauls. Send them a guy that says, “You know, we’ve been coming here giving you foo…

returntothe80s.wordpress.com

About two years ago I went to a Golden Corral for the first time: walked in the door and the young lady told me it's a buffet style, "all you can eat for $19."

I can't afford that - or rather choose not to.

I'll spend $2000 on a nice rifle or camera lens, but live and eat like a peasant. The most food I have at home at any given time is a three-day supply of packaged food or microwave meals. I have no pots, pans, or plates. Never did.

I have two extremely nice rifle scopes I have yet to mount.

I haven't bought any new clothes since 2013.

 

[Tempest2]

A full gas tank goes a long ways, there’s only a small portion of CONUS that meets that criteria.

Small and getting smaller, as vehicle range appears to get larger.

The updated version of the suggestion is, "Get as far as you can, and hope most of the masses only have 3/4 of a tank or less."

 

[Tempest2]

The population is growing exponentially. I am not worried. Nature has a way to correct this and I wont be around to see it. No worry here either.

Is it? Depends (and made me look):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_rate_of_natural_increase

"...As of 2024, the total fertility rate of the world is estimated at 2.25 children per woman,[8] which is slightly below the global average for the replacement fertility rate of approximately 2.33 (as of 2003).[9] However, world population growth is unevenly distributed, with the total fertility rate ranging from the world's lowest of 0.8 in South Korea,[10] to the highest of 6.7 in Niger.[11] The United Nations estimated an annual population increase of 1.14% for the year of 2000.[12] The current world population growth is approximately 1.09%.[5]"
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_world

They're still breeding like rabbits in the basket-cases, but the overall rate of growth appears to be declining.

 

[fireman]

Is it? Depends (and made me look):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_rate_of_natural_increase

"...As of 2024, the total fertility rate of the world is estimated at 2.25 children per woman,[8] which is slightly below the global average for the replacement fertility rate of approximately 2.33 (as of 2003).[9] However, world population growth is unevenly distributed, with the total fertility rate ranging from the world's lowest of 0.8 in South Korea,[10] to the highest of 6.7 in Niger.[11] The United Nations estimated an annual population increase of 1.14% for the year of 2000.[12] The current world population growth is approximately 1.09%.[5]"
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_world

They're still breeding like rabbits in the basket-cases, but the overall rate of growth appears to be declining.

Yup. Most of the western world is in decline. Place that can least afford it are the ones increasing in size.