What if all of this is for nothing

[zgunbear]

 

Besides, it keeps me out of the pool hall.

 

Good enough reason right there. I have some preps. We could go a while with out gong to the store.

The foodpreps have helped while I have been out of work

Have some ammo. I buy a box or two when I find them. 

[Rightdefender]

By the way if you have all the ammo you can store and no friends your dead by the time you use four mags.

[Chris]

When the shtf I will have no shortage of friends. I fully expect everyone who knows that I prep to show up on my front door step.

[Rightdefender]

Those may not be friends

[Troutburger]

When the shtf I will have no shortage of friends. I fully expect everyone who knows that I prep to show up on my front door step.

Ass grass or gas, nobody rides for free.

[Spots]

"Prepping" is a new term, one I didnt even know 5 years ago. While most would consider me a prepper, its how I was raised. I grew up in the mountains and we would get snowed and iced in without power for at least a few days every winter. I grew up with a dad who was raised dirt poor, who built or made 95% of what we had with his own hands. Thats why I garden , hunt, can foods, and raise live stock. Its also why I learned and practice blacksmithing, wood working, timber felling, carpentry and masonry, horse logging and working, and dozens of other old fashioned skills that are in a steady decline. A world changing event may never happen. But most of what I listed above has kept me employed and paying bills even without a full time job last year. The rest put food on the table and could put a roof over my head if the need arose.

Tapatalk ate my spelling.

[whitewolf001]

All I know is if I have done all this and the damn zombies don't come, I am going to be pissed. Just in case though I have prepped for just such a emergency, I have included in my preps several box type fans and a case of laxatives.

[JWKilgore]

I know there are many people who have spent a good portion of their time and money to making "preparations". Has anyone ever thought what happens if nothing bad ever happens and all the supplies and work was for nothing? These are some of the things I ponder....

sent barefoot from the hills of Tennessee

Last year a coworker was passing around a list of ammo. Four pages worth, one "type" per line. It had everything from 9mm to 12ga to .45ACP to 30-30 to .223 to .40 to .357Mag.

 

I bought 300 rounds of 9mm +P and +P+ Federal and Speer personal defense ammo for $90. I kicked myself for not buying more.

 

This is on topic because all that ammo was originally purchased by a prepper/hoarder who up and died before TEOTWAWKI happened. His widow sold an entire storage unit filled with ammo and supplies for pennies on the dollar to a friend of my co-worker, who probably made a fortune re-selling it box by box.

 

So yeah, if nothing bad happens, either your progeny will take the stockpile you started and continue the tradition or else they'll sell it off.

[whitewolf001]

Also keep in mind that these are skills and items that you can pass down to your kids. If they don't wanna pursue them then that's okay, that's their choice but if they decide to continue your legacy and something DOES happen, your bloodline will have a much better chance of survival which, when you look at it, this is all life boils down to, living so that we may pass on our genetic legacy.

[Timestepper]

Schrodinger's cat...

 

:hat:

[Randall53]

I believe in a true collapse, Marsal Law will be instituted and the HLS will confiscate everything, with any resistence being met with deadly force. The streets of the USA will look the Bosnian War of the early 90's.

Not something to look forward too.

[TMF]

Our military can't secure an area the size of Texas from insurgent activity. Been proven. Now with downsizing of our armed forces I believe, once they were finished laughing their asses off, our top generals would advise the POTUS that such a plan is impossible to implement if there is even a little resistance. This conversation will probably segue into the next conversation which will be the JCS removing the POTUS from office by force.

[Randall53]

Our military can't secure an area the size of Texas from insurgent activity. Been proven. Now with downsizing of our armed forces I believe, once they were finished laughing their asses off, our top generals would advise the POTUS that such a plan is impossible to implement if there is even a little resistance. This conversation will probably segue into the next conversation which will be the JCS removing the POTUS from office by force.

Even that scenario don't give me a sense of relief. that is how dictators come to power.

[Guest copperhead_1911]

Good point. 

 

The thing is something always comes up. Just the trayvon thing shows how we could ( big could) have racial unrest. You combine that with democrats doing everything they can to make minorities feel victimized and not want to get ahead by believing they are artificially kept down. 

 

There are always various weather issues 

[Reaper]

I plan on ending up somewhere fairly remote and "off grid", think Mountain Men or Life Below Zero, so I think it will all have its usefulness at some point in my life.

[TMF]

Even that scenario don't give me a sense of relief. that is how dictators come to power.

Sure, I get that. I guess what I was trying to say is that it couldn't happen because it is logistically impossible, and that doesn't even take into account the human factor. Democrats don't need to use military force to destroy this country and limit our rights. They do a fine job the way they do it now.

[nightrunner]

I really hope that all the prepping is for nothing. But I fear that its not...

[whitewolf001]

Indeed, hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

[Guest copperhead_1911]

Indeed, hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

And that was before Obama was in office. Now sadly I think you have to almost expect the worst in addition to preparing for it.

 

I think instead of E pluribus Unum  I think the motto probably should change to "abandon all hope ye who enter here" Thanks to Obama.

[Raoul]

And that was before Obama was in office. Now sadly I think you have to almost expect the worst in addition to preparing for it.

 

I think instead of E pluribus Unum  I think the motto probably should change to "abandon all hope ye who enter here" Thanks to Obama.

Actually based on what O wants it's more like "Abandon all hope ye that already live here and actually pay taxes".

[Timestepper]

Thought about this some more and realized that, due to my rather catastrophic ankle injury earlier this year, it kinda' already has happened to my wife and I. I mean insofar as my becoming suddenly disabled with pretty much ZERO income for several months, it really gave a us a chance to test our preparations. Indeed if it weren't for the prepping we've done, we'd have been more or less completely helpless from the start. As it is we've gotten by reasonably well with just a little outside help from friends.

 

It hasn't been fun, but we've learned a lot from it and now know what changes we need to make in future preparations to avoid the pitfalls we've encountered thus far.

 

Question: "What if all of this is for nothing?"

 

Answer: Then you count your freakin' blessing that you never actually had to put it to the test... And then you really give thanks that you've never stumbled and put a .357mag 158gr JHP through your ankle or suffered some other equally idiotic & crippling accident and had to suddenly find out the hard way whether your prepping ideas actually work.

 

What if all of this is for nothing? Well, it's not for nothing --- Because it doesn't take a government or societal meltdown or an electro-magnetic pulse or even an earthquake to put it to the test. Just one stupid little accident... I found out the hard way that only Superman is truly invincible. The rest of us are frail and human and only one stupid little stumble away from finding out just how freakin' important prepping actually is.

 

...TS...

[Guest Republican]

If a catastrophe wasn't possible, would we even be having this discussion?

I dont like when people say "you will probably die in a day or two during a shtf scenario, so why prep".
Well, so what if you do. At least you did your best for yourself and your family. It's hard to describe what makes a man do the things he does, but the thought of his family starving or being butchered is a pretty strong motivator and it happens every day in other parts of the world.
The ammo shortage has been good for this country in a lotta ways, think how many more people are prepping this year than last year. I hate the shortage and prices, but I feel proud that fellow Americans understand the importance of having necessities on hand.
This thread is making me paranoid. :)

[UncleJak]

If a catastrophe wasn't possible, would we even be having this discussion?


I dont like when people say "you will probably die in a day or two during a shtf scenario, so why prep".

Well, so what if you do. At least you did your best for yourself and your family. It's hard to describe what makes a man do the things he does, but the thought of his family starving or being butchered is a pretty strong motivator and it happens every day in other parts of the world.

The ammo shortage has been good for this country in a lotta ways, think how many more people are prepping this year than last year. I hate the shortage and prices, but I feel proud that fellow Americans understand the importance of having necessities on hand.

This thread is making me paranoid. :)

don't be paranoid. ....
They're watching you right now...

sent barefoot from the hills of Tennessee

[Jamie Jackson]

Timestepper;

 

I hope you're mending well and Thank you for your post.

You summed up my thoughts very well on this topic.

 

 

We've prepped for several years now, and our efforts have always been aimed at decreasing our dependency on an governmental entity, and improving the quality of our daily lives. So far, so good.

 

We've had to rely on our stores a couple of times over the past few years, where a family illness limited my work hours (you must take care of those you love). It made the difference between us being able to pay our mortgage or not. We feel truly Blessed because of the efforts we put forth.

 

 

Someone mentioned Katrina:

I lived in Pearl River County, MS (you know...where Katrina actually hit) and worked out of New Orleans. 6 weeks of no power and water, and 9 days of no access to any entity (Fire, LEO, EMS etc.) helped us to be incentivised, see the true holes in our preps, and take corrective action.

Believe me, the veneer on society is friggin' thin. It doesn't take much to make folks panic and do some really stupid stuff.

 

 

We are social creatures and genuinely need other people. Having, or forming a M.A.G. or a Mutual Assistance Group is something I hope people will consider. Shared skills, knowledge, and work benefit the whole group. Just a thought.

 

 

So no....I never feel it's all for nothing. I actually feel it's my duty, my obligation, to those I love and whose care has been entrusted to me.

And our lives are already the better for it.

 

:2cents:

Edited September 9, 2013 by prag

[JAB]

If a catastrophe wasn't possible, would we even be having this discussion?

I dont like when people say "you will probably die in a day or two during a shtf scenario, so why prep".
Well, so what if you do. At least you did your best for yourself and your family. It's hard to describe what makes a man do the things he does, but the thought of his family starving or being butchered is a pretty strong motivator and it happens every day in other parts of the world.
The ammo shortage has been good for this country in a lotta ways, think how many more people are prepping this year than last year. I hate the shortage and prices, but I feel proud that fellow Americans understand the importance of having necessities on hand.
This thread is making me paranoid. :)

 

As to folks who say, "You'll probably die in a day or two so why prep," I think it depends on what kind of 'SHTF' scenario as far as survivability.  Sure, in an all-out apocalypse, one might not survive more than a day or two.  Heck, depending on the nature of the apocalypse and aftermath, those who are killed in the initial event might be the lucky ones and surviving might not even be all that desirable an option.  Even still, not surviving more than a day or two indicates an end brought about by violence, injury, nuclear strike or some kind of fast acting pathogen.  Such an end would be relatively quick and, to my mind, isn't really the kind of death that prepping is intended to stave off.  To me, saying that it isn't worth prepping even a little because of that is kind of missing the point.  A natural disaster or temporary (or even long-term) interruption of food/fuel supplies, etc. would be pretty survivable.  So, let's say that you aren't dead within a couple of days.  Do you really want to die a slow, miserable death from starvation or lack of potable water?  Do you want to die a lingering death due to getting an infection in a relatively small wound that could have been treated if you had stocked up on even basic first aid supplies?  Even more importantly, how would you feel about dying of food or water deprivation all the while knowing that the situation is temporary and that you could have easily 'made it' if you had just stocked up on maybe a month's supply of food and water but, because you didn't, you are toast? 

 

I am not prepped for an apocalyptic TEOTWAWKI event and probably never will be.  I simply don't have the surplus resources (time, money, etc.) that I think would be necessary to prepare for such a thing nor am I entirely convinced that such an event would be all that 'survivable'.  I am slowly but surely building supplies to be prepared for other - and much more likely - events in which a little preparation could go a long way toward survival.

Edited July 29, 2013 by JAB