“How do I meet up with other like-minded individuals?”
That’s a question that pops up from time to time. Trouble is, you don’t want to ‘out yourself’ to someone thinking that they are of like mind and then find out that they aren’t. You’ve then tipped your hand and now someone else is going to start their tongue wagging about that ‘survivalist guy’ who chatted him up in the elevator at work. When it comes to networking, it seems like being a survivalist is like being gay – you don’t want others to know who you are, but at the same time you cant meet others like yourself unless you are willing to risk tipping your hand.
I mention it because I just had one of those serendipitous meetings. Here’s how it unfolded:
Im at the post office standing in line to use the automated postal center (sort of a postal ATM for getting stamps and such.) I notice the older gentleman in front of me has a small radio on his belt. I can see the display and it appears this isn’t some sort of FRS radio but a Yaseu of some fashion. My curiosity is piqued and since I have nothing better to do standing in line I look more closely. He’s wearing jeans, a forest green button shirt, and light hiking boots. His belt is leather, but not heavy enough for a gun belt. I figured the radio was a work thing or somesuch, but its my experience that people into preparedness usually have some outward manifestations of it…usually in the way we dress or the crap we carry on our belts. Casually, I ask “Is that a little 2-meter radio”? He says “Yup.” And goes back to getting his postage. Not too talkative, I figure, so I continue waiting in line. When he’s done he turns to me and says “Are you a ham radio guy?” I say that, no, Im not but my wife is and that she’d probably like to have a little radio like that. He says he and his friends are in a group and have them ‘for emergencies and preparedness’. As you can imagine, the little light bulb went off in my head. No kidding, I say, I think we may both be kind of like-minded individuals in that regard. We make some very meaningless and vague small talk and I know exactly what’s happening here..we’re sizing each other up. Is the other guy really ‘one of us’? I said that it sounded like we had the same interests. I said that I had a few friends who were into the same things, buying & selling silver (he seemed to perk up a bit at that) and that I had a line for selling freezedrieds. As the conversation winds down he gives me his name and number and says to call him sometime. He wishes me a happy 4th of July. I tell him Im planning on spending it at the range like I do every Patriots Day and Independence Day. He moves in closer (because there are a few other people who have come into the post office and are standing around) that he and his friends will spend it ‘training’ (his words) at an indoor range they have. He also told me of a forum that they keep, which I had to hunt down a bit because he misspoke the URL - BSOSCBlog.com
Interesting stuff. I think I may have run across a few of these guys at the Hamilton gun show a time or two.
In my mind there are two schools of thought on OPSEC. Don’t tell anyone anything, and hope you stumble into someone else that telegraphs their survivalist leanings in a way you can identify. This method probably has a higher success rate in places like Montana or Idaho than in New York or Chicago. The obvious downside is that, just because you share a “hobby” with your new-found acquaintance, doesn’t mean that you’ll click on the more important things that make a survival group successful or not.
The other school of thought is to try and recruit people who you already get along with and who already possess a valuable skillset. The downside here is that you have to “out” yourself as a survivalist to a certain extent just to have that conversation. However, if you know the person well enough that you consider him or her a friend, you probably already know their political/social views and leanings, and have a pretty good idea of how the conversation will go.
Personally, I’d rather reach out to the policeman, the doctor, the lawyer, the hunter, the gardener, the engineer, the cook, etc. that I already know and like–and then try to get their mental gears turning towards the “what-if” questions that in time leads one to become a survivalist.
Start with friends who have skills and try to teach the mindset…. or start with strangers who share a mindset and hope you become friends.
BTW – Cheaper Than Dirt! has those $0.97 HK mags you mentioned some time ago back in stock.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ItemDetail.aspx?sku=MAG-304
My brothers and I recently invited the first person outside family to our “retreat” (i.e., a “farm,” unless you’re BATFE, then it’s a “compound”) should TSHTF. The invitee is interested, but the retreat is as far for him as it is for me. So it starts…
What I have done is invite coworkers to a local shooting range. Once there, they see other people shooting and realize it is fun and empowering. From there, some get involved with Appleseed. Some will start even buying a little extra at the store and store water, etc. It is like growing a tree and it takes patience but if my dad can come around, practically anyone can in my opinon. The key is to slowly help along the way and not just overload someone with too much information. I tried that and freaked out my aunt and she called me “Alarmist” for the longest time. That is until she had something happen to her in a parking lot that scared her. Now I take her daughters to the range and I get homemade brownies out of the deal.
Holy chit!! Another survivalist living in Montana??? What are the chances??
LOL.