Awareness and Getting Involved

[MichiganMilitia]

Wow, there are some really good discussions taking place in this new subforum, and I'm very thankful to Jerry for moderating and to everyone who contributes.

So now to the meat of things... My fiance isn't thrilled about this whole preparedness/survival thing. She's okay with shooting my guns (mostly my AR-15), but she isn't terribly excited about it. Along the same lines, she is okay with the idea of me carrying concealed, but she doesn't want to really consider it for herself.

Much of my family and many of my friends show a similar front: They are accepting of my "hobbies" but they don't want to get their hands dirty.

What is the best way to introduce these people to ideas like keeping a few weeks of extra food in the house and having a "Bug out Bag"? They probably think I go to sleep at night with my tinfoil hat on, so how do I show them that being prepared is a good idea? (I like to call it "being prepared"... they would probably call it "being paranoid".)

Any advice or good plans would be really appreciated, especially for helping my fiance see things from the "always better to be prepared" perspective.

Thanks fellas and keep up the good work!

[Irving]

I have a similar problem with the door being unlocked at our baby sitters house. I'm considering dropping off my daughter, driving around the block, then running into the house with a ski mask on.

I'm not sure how that will help your problem though. I'd suggest that if that is not their mind set, then treat them like they treat you. Accept them for the way they are, but don't try to push them to change, as I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate it very much if they were constantly trying to get you to stop carrying. Maybe just be prepared yourself and let them learn the hard way. I know you have their best interest in mind, but sometimes people just don't want to change their life style.

[theGinsue]

Use the situation currently going on in the D.C./East Coast area.

A major storm occurs. Are you prepared to be home-bound for an extended stay or will you be trying to brave it through the snow/ice/etc. to get essentials?

The power went out. Do you have anything to keep you warm and/or provide you with light?

The water main broke leaving you without water. Do you have any water stored to give you something to drink or allow basic hygiene cleansing?


Perhaps we should store up a few items "just in case".



Does that help?

[jerrymrc]

Use the situation currently going on in the D.C./East Coast area.

A major storm occurs. Are you prepared to be home-bound for an extended stay or will you be trying to brave it through the snow/ice/etc. to get essentials?

The power went out. Do you have anything to keep you warm and/or provide you with light?

The water main broke leaving you without water. Do you have any water stored to give you something to drink or allow basic hygiene cleansing?

Perhaps we should store up a few items "just in case".

Does that help?

I think this may be the best way in so to speak. After the one storm that after 3 days the shelves were half empty I took the wife in there (king Soopers). We walked through the store and I could see the look on her face. I told her. This is 3 days. What is it going to look like in 7 if the trucks don't get through?

That completely changed the way she looked at it. Before she just put up with it even though she likes to go shooting and camping.

[KevDen2005]

I think Ginsue brings up an excellent point using D.C. as an example. We have all seen terrible storms here and once again I point out that I think everyone on this forum are pretty much like-minded thinkers.

I was always taught as a kid to be prepared, having jackets and proper tools in cars, firewood, etc. I think we can get our families and friends on board a little better by identifying the very real eventuality of a major snow storm or something of that nature. Someone else pointed out on the forum on a different thread that every time you go to the store to have by a couple extra cans of something (something you are willing to eat). I also hate going to the store so I try to buy as much as possible (without it going bad) to lessen the amount of times I go to the store.

My girlfriend (Soon to be wife) is very on board with shooting, guns, CCW's, survival, preparation, etc. I know that not everyone is not as fortunate to have that. Always be prepared for that snow storm or being stuck at your house four a couple weeks and when the Zombies attack you will actually be a lot more prepared.

I feel that I can't stress enough about practice. Having a plan is great, and a good idea, but has anyone ever practiced? Everyone here goes to the range to practice, all the campers on here practice getting water, building shelters, making fire, etc. and sometimes do it without even noticing they are doing it. Practicing the bug out situation I think would be a good idea.

I personally think of two plans, one where I will stay and one where I will bug out. Keep in mind that at any time I may have to bug out after I have chosen to stay. And for all the people with families, this concept is new to me, practicing with everyone is essential because all the survivor guys on here know how easy it is to take care of one self rather than 3-5 or more additional people

[jerrymrc]

I have practiced with many of the items I have. That even goes for that damned whole egg powder. Used to go dry camping for a couple of weeks at a time to my spot in the middle of nowhere.

Spent the night in the camper once when it was 25 outside just to see if my heating plan would work and how much kero my lamps were going to take. I was not happy for about two hours.

[trlcavscout]

Use the situation currently going on in the D.C./East Coast area.

A major storm occurs. Are you prepared to be home-bound for an extended stay or will you be trying to brave it through the snow/ice/etc. to get essentials?

The power went out. Do you have anything to keep you warm and/or provide you with light?

The water main broke leaving you without water. Do you have any water stored to give you something to drink or allow basic hygiene cleansing?


Perhaps we should store up a few items "just in case".



Does that help?

That is the way to go right there. My wife almost has a panick attack when she thinks of this stuff. Unfortunately she is part of the majority that would rather wait till it happens and then panick then to just prepare a lil bit. PPPPPP!!! I cant get here to take a plan seriously, but I have one ready and precise details for her in case I am out of town or at work when it happens.

If your loved ones arent willing to prepare, all you can do is modify your plan to help them. All others are on there own.

[jerrymrc]

from today's news.

In the capital, government workers jostled with other residents in supermarket check-out lines, often 30-people long, to stock up on whatever staples were still available. Delivery trucks had trouble reaching many area supermarkets, leaving customers seeking cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables and even Diet Coke staring at empty shelves.
David Fiore, 49, an employee of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, said he had gone to four stores looking for milk on Monday, with no success. By Tuesday morning, his local supermarket had restocked and he left with a 1 gallon (3 liters) of milk, more than he usually buys.

Like has been said. If you are having trouble starting ya need to hammer this home. My being prepared was nothing more than the outgrowth of how I grew up. I think the longest we ever went was 10-12 days without power. We also had no way of getting out due to all the trees brought down by the ice storm.

[Irving]

What kind of dummy goes to four different stores looking for milk? That would be the same as driving to four different stores to find donuts.

[Seamonkey]

Use the situation currently going on in the D.C./East Coast area.

A major storm occurs. Are you prepared to be home-bound for an extended stay or will you be trying to brave it through the snow/ice/etc. to get essentials?

The power went out. Do you have anything to keep you warm and/or provide you with light?

The water main broke leaving you without water. Do you have any water stored to give you something to drink or allow basic hygiene cleansing?


Perhaps we should store up a few items "just in case".



Does that help?

I think that's a good approach also. When I lived in Northern VA we saw the mad rush to the stores when ever a storm was coming in or there was a threat of snow. Nothing like CO of course but big for that area. I lived with my sister and we got into keeping a pantry of food items. She cooks a lot and so we had powered milk One storm we couldn't get out of the house for 5 days but we had food.

If you point out the obvious storm/loss of electricity/flood scenario most people could relate.


For the communications, I don't know if big brother can or would shut down cell towers but the problem, IMHO, is overload. If everyone's trying to make a call it will overload the systems (towers, phone lines, data centers)

Back when I used to work for a certain telco, they managed PIN's for emergency responders. People with the pin would have their call placed at the top of the line when dialing a number. While it's important for you to be able to talk to your family the responders are using the call for status reports, coordinate efforts and such (you hope).

I know the GPS satellites are controlled by the military and civilian access can be turned off which is why there was a stink years ago when the Europeans were doing their own version of GPS. US Government can't shut that one down. Maps and a compass baby!

Ham radio's should be fine since they operate on radio waves unless there's a jammer on the frequency. You and the receiver would need power to the equipment but the actually capability would be there.