The idea that you can survive social collapse unscathed without the means to defend yourself, your family and your property is naive, foolish and a death sentence.
It’s not hard to find examples of what happens today when the “system” breaks down. Just look at New Orleans after Katrina. It was chaos and the cops turned out to be worse than the looters. Speaking of the looters, they were shooting at the helicopters that were showing up to rescue people, probably including themselves. How insane is that? If it all falls apart, the rules won’t apply anymore and when they no longer constrain the population, the worst of the worst will surface.
Then, the law of the jungle applies and only the strongest will survive. The difference with man is that we rose above the animals and developed tools. The strongest now is not about muscle, claw and fang. The strongest today is the smartest and the best prepared. Like they say, God made man, but Colonel Colt made them equal. It’s an old worn cliché, but it’s true. A tiny old lady with an AR-15 can defeat a prison hardened, street fighting, 200 pound man if she is smart, well prepared and of a mindset to fight back.
If we experience the complete economic and social collapse that so many are predicting, you will be on your own. If you have prepared and have some food and supplies set aside, great. That proves you are smart. After all, what’s the downside? If nothing happens, the world gets back on track and the danger abates, you will have too much food. Is that really a problem?
But if this collapse happens, there are going to be millions of people who did nothing to prepare. They live off the “system,” which means they expect the lights to be on, the water running, the sewers to be working and the grocery stores to be stocked.
Most of them are probably good people. People, who play by the rules, go to work every day, pay their taxes and would never think about taking something that does not belong to them.
But, what happens when the system they depend on, the system they have a total belief in, fails? Everything grinds to a halt. Their water is no longer safe to drink; they have no food and no way to get any more food. Perhaps they have been forced out of their homes by looters, fires or even government troops. They are lost, disillusioned, hungry and desperate. They are watching their children starve or perhaps they are sick and need medical help. These people are scared, hungry and desperate.
Now, suppose they discover you have food, water, shelter and medicine? “So, I’ll just share,” you say, “I am a giving person.” Very noble, I admire you. But, what happens when the next group shows up? Will you share then? And the next group? And the one after that?
I know is harsh and brutal to think about, but how are you serving your loved ones by giving away all the food, equipment and medicine that you put aside for just such an emergency? It won’t take long before you are in the same sinking boat as all those people who didn’t prepare.
Now, consider that you decide not to share. What happens when those desperate people show up at your front door? You tell them no, but how do you stop them? By “reasoning” with them as several people have suggested to me in discussions? Good luck with that one. They are hungry and you can’t eat “reason.” The facade of civilization has crashed, they are no longer the reasonable people who paid their taxes, worked nine to five and would never steal. This is survival and in survival the rules don’t apply.
Now just imagine that it’s not one or two people trying to take your food, but a dozen, or 50 or 100. If you do not have the ability to defend yourself, your loved ones and your property, and if you survive the encounter, you and your family will be joining the ranks of hungry, homeless, desperate people because everything you did to prepare will be gone.
There are over 316 million people in the United States. Most have done nothing to prepare for a crisis. If you are among the few that did prepare, it will have done you no good if you can’t defend what you have.
I’ll leave the moral issues of this for somebody else. I have already made up my mind. My family comes first. I will not steal another man’s property, but I also will not let him steal mine. Nor will I let him harm my family. I think the morality is clear here. I recognize that some do not see it as clearly and I wish you luck.
In my mind, it could not be clearer, if your prepping does not include guns, ammunition and training on how to use them, you are not only wasting your time and your money; you are setting yourself up for failure.
