This way of thinking is why most people wouldn't survive a major catastrophe. They think they know so much but having chickens that eat feed store food---already prepared for you--does not make you a survivalist.
You have to be more than that...and it isn't about what you have already done..although that helps. It helps if you have the knowledge on how to butcher animals and eat wild plants and tie knots...sure...if the catastrophe allows there to be wild animals and plants and rope still....but it might not.
Sure the more you know the better...that just makes sense. Learn everything you can!
However, I really think that the people who would make it through a major catastrophe are the ones who can make due with what they have. They are the people who can:
-fix a plumbing problem without calling the plumber
-make a fire without a match or a lighter or a store bought "fire stick" etc.
-gather wood without an ax
-make or find clean water without a filter
-find food
-find or make shelter
-take what they needed if necessary
The list could go on and on but basically, it is the people who can "Think". Those who can make something out of nothing ...and you can't "teach" that.
Well, maybe you can. I grew up "doing without". I grew up "making due". It comes pretty naturally to not buy what I can make--to actually shun buying what I can make.
But that isn't all..you would have to have the ability to take what you needed if all else failed and you couldn't get it yourself...and some people think they would never do it...and I think they wouldn't make it...or they don't really understand how the survival instinct in humans works because we can justify a lot of things..but humans have been justifying taking from others to survive for a long time now and in a catastrophic situation they would be justifying a LOT and if you couldn't do it...you wouldn't make it.
Like I said, I don't believe in catastrophic occurrences...I think our society is pretty much beyond that now but if one did occur, I think we would be left with only the people who could "think and live with change".
I think you are right. So many members of our "Consumer Society" would have no idea of how to fend for themselves. They have no initiative, and want everything "dished up on a plate" for them. Their idea of survivalism is doing without the mobile phone and the take-away pizza for at least 24 hours!!
ReplyDeleteI have written this post several times and then deleted them. Just never quite dared say it. So glad someone understands what I am trying to say.
DeleteAnd how many would be able to survive without their air-conditioning, or electric heaters, cell phones / tablets, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhen the US had a power outage ( and thus petrol shortage) last year the images on the TV were hilarious. L-o-n-g queues at petrol stations, supermarkets, etc because everyone suddenly wanted to make sure they were OK. In a protracted outage the stores will run out - then what will they do?
Anyone who doesn't have some dry / preserved food and access to providing for clean drinking water is making like an ostrich...
It's like people are insane every time we have a storm but then on the last one where we lost power for several days, people we at wal-mart buying candles. Suddenly they realized that the milk and bread they had bought before the storm wasn't much help...lol.
Deleteit's a fine line between extreme prepping and being ready for difficult times, but I'm with you on this, being a survivor is a state of mind as much as anything. Teaching ourselves to be self reliant and learning new useful skills should be an ongoing task for those who wish to survive. My husband and I are agreed that if there was some disaster that threatened our world we would probably need a gun to protect what we have.
ReplyDeleteBut since you don't already have one that you know how to shoot, if anything happened you would be without a gun...
DeleteAn interesting post. I always hope we'd survive. I'd to anything to protect my girls and hopefully I'm going to equip them with the knowledge they need to do well in any situation. I'm not a prepper but I'm slowly making sure we're more prepared for what ever the world throws at us.
ReplyDeleteThis is the what I believe as well. Only my kids don't follow me in this. They never had it bad so don't understand that it can happen. However the last time the power went out and it was storming bad my brother said he almost headed to our house because he knew we had all the "stuff"...humm, not sure how I feel about that, lol.
DeleteKnowledge is the best power in any instance. We haven't called a plumber or electrician to fix anything for us in forever (if ever). Husband hates plumbing but can & will do it if needed.
ReplyDeleteWe never have called anyone like that and Phil fixes our cars as well but those are getting a lot harder still he can do all the maintenance on them anyway.
DeleteIt is only a matter of time until something happens, probably based on debt and dependence on cheap oil(it is still cheap). I have been experimenting with growing grain as chicken feed and it will take a tremendous amount for just a few chickens, not hard to grow but hard to process and store without equipment, which can be made. I would say eating chicken would quickly become a luxury. It would take a group of working people and a few acres to survive and prosper, there is a difference, you can run through the woods and eat grub worms to survive. I think it takes working together with others in a community to survive the next dark ages. Hogs may be better than chickens in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree. There are several breeds of chickens that will do great free range. Though they may not be as meaty as the chickens we see in the stores, they can survive just fine on their own. In NH our chickens (just a bunch of mutts) used to perch way up in the trees at night. I do agree with you that it will take a community to survive, however, finding the right people for that community may be impossible. They would all have to be the kind of people I mention above AND all be really hard working and that is pretty much a dying breed today. Hogs are very hard to keep contained and still let free range enough to put on weight besides, they need corn for them to really taste good....keep on learning :)
DeleteMy dad was a survivalist. He figured if we had a really bad economic collapse he would have to make sure we could survive for about a year before things stabilized. That meant food storage. He had 5 gallon buckets of things like wheat, powdered milk, honey, and salt buried in the backyard. We rotated it throughout the year (lord I hate powdered milk). Though our mill for the grain was electric powered we did have a hand powered one too if we needed it. My job was to know all the edible plants in the back woods (and we had a national forest in our back yard so it was big). He had an arsenal and we were all taught how to use it. Because the reality is if it is bad enough the people with the guns are the ones that will survive. My dad hunted and taught us how to fix things like outlets when they went bad and basic plumbing. He could make anything with his mill, lathe, and welder. He even had a tig welder. And made his own bullets. He used to bow hunt too and fletched his own arrows. We had a wood stove and wood in the back yard to heat the house. He and his neighbors would have survived. He was always into helping the community and he'd appreciate the network of people watching each others backs. In the CO mountains everyone knows everyone else, unlike where I live.
ReplyDeleteI'd die fast in any collapse he was thinking about. No guns. No huge food stash. And without my medication I can't breath, so after that runs out I'd be gone. I figure 95% of the disasters that I'd see in my lifetime, I'd only need to live a month without help. That I can do. Fresh water is always the biggest issue in that time frame. And I think pretty easy here. The last disaster I lived through was the Boulder flood. I was visiting my parents at the time. Their phone has been in and out for a month so we didn't expect that anyway. They lost power for over a week. But they have a generator that kept everything up but their electric stove - though they had plenty of other ways to cook. He even kept the internet up for the neighborhood if any neighbors had power (the t1 lines go through him and a radio tower on his little summit). So we could skype people and keep up with the news. Except for the roads all being washed out (and that took months to fix) it was like nothing had happened at my dad's house.
Sounds like your dad would live through anything but I agree with you, we probably would no have to live through more than a...well we'll say a month at the worst. Right now I would not be really prepared for that but my neighbors would definitely not be prepared!
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