Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Anyone remember what the first rule of Fight Club is? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

The first rule of Fight Club was that you do not talk about Fight Club.

Although not 100% the same, the first rule of preparedness is that you don’t talk about preparedness…at least, not in certain circles.

Security is always at the forefront of most peoples mind when they talk about preparedness. Theres that whole guy-in-camo-with-an-AK47 image that is called up when the word ‘survivalist’ comes up. Theres a small degree of truth in it, but that’s not what this post is about. Theres no shortage of people who can go on and on about that type of security.

Theres plenty of times the last thing you want is your neighbors, your family, your boss or your government knowing what you have, how much of it you have and where you keep it. We protect ourselves by restricting, as best we can, and selectively releasing information about ourselves and what we are doing.

Some people order their freezedrieds, gas masks and medical equipment through private mailbox services using other people’s names and paying by money order…to stay off ‘the lists’. Theres some merit in that, although I think that, other than firearms, its probably not necessary. What is necessary, however, is to exercise a bit of security in other matters.

If you get goods from a ‘survivalist’-related business (Mountain House, Century Arms, etc.), remove your address and name from the packaging before you throw it out. Same for any gun periodicals (Shotgun News, Guns & Ammo) that you throw out. Take your name and address off it and, if you want to be really thorough, obscure the return address so that as far as any dumpster-diver is concerned it’s a discarded empty box. If it’s a box that’s covered in company logo, ‘sterilize’ the box (meaning remove the address/name markings) and dump it elsewhere…the garbage dumpster at work, perhaps.

Don’t go overboard on the bumperstickers. You can express yourself without telling the world you have a garage full of ammo. Cryptic messages like “molon labe” aren’t clear to everyone, but even that may give away too much. On the other hand, sometimes an NRA window decal (in rural areas) will work in your favor.

Be aware of how you dress. When I see someone wearing quality boots, BDU-style pants (although usually made to look like Dockers [5.11 for example]), a Wilderness-style or ‘rigger belt’, Leatherman tool, and a well-made backpack all I can think is “probably on the same page as me”.

Be aware of how strangers would view your household. The AK leaning up in the corner of the living room, the bookshelf full of ‘extremist’ literature, and a kitchen stacked counter-to-ceiling with #10 cans might make the plumber, electrician or cleaning service’s tongues wag. Tuck it out of sight if you’re going to have company. I usually don’t let anyone into the house unless I know them pretty well but every so often a plumber or other tradesman is needed and then its time to do some ‘sanitizing’.

Even if you don’t believe that things will be bad enough that neighbors will come kicking in your door for the food you’ve ‘unfairly hoarded’, you should believe, even in these ‘normal’ times, that someone will kick in your door to steal your expensive guns and electronics gear. People get ripped off every day even when there isn’t an apocalypse, it just makes good sense to keep the expensive battle rifles away from the neighbors prying eyes if you can.

Theres a host of other things you might want to do to keep your profile relatively low, but surely you can think of a dozen others. But, theres a price you pay for this sort of thing – isolation. How do you find people of like mind to network with? For lack of a better term, how do you develop survivalist gaydar? That is to say, how do you find out if someone shares your interests without tipping them off about your interests? After all, its always nice to have someone you can discuss things and share ideas with, as well as go in with for group purchases.