The red pill of preparedness

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

Theres a saying that “When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail”. As of late, my hammer is the desire to not be an unfortunate victim of the times and every problem looks like a disaster in the making.

In short, I think all the doom and gloom swirling about has gotten me into a little funk. Obviously Im still disheartened about how the elections turned out. I read the various news wires about economic failures, unemployment, bank failures, food prices, stock market woes, etc, etc. Couple that with a few real-life incidents of friends and family suddenly finding themselves in economically dangerous waters because of ever-changing circumstances and you’ve got a recipe for feeling pretty darn bleak.

The solution? Well, information and reason go a long way towards relieving fear and uncertainty. I can sit here and know that I have enough fuel, food, guns, ammo and equipment that if the world ended tomorrow, I’d be your king.

But still, on an intellectual level I know we’re okay and that we’d come through prety much anything with flying colors. But at the same time I still get a visceral reaction to the news that makes me wanna run to WalMart and fill grocery carts and gas cans. Maybe thats the problem with being into preparedness – you become so acutely aware of the threats and dangers around you that you can never go back to having a nice, complacent everyday life where ‘planning for the future’ means nothing more than dropping money into your 401(k). But once you take the red pill theres no going back, I suppose.

I think preparedness is like that red/blue pill scene from the movie. You take the blue pill and you keep doing what everyone else does, you never worry about violence or hunger or the myriad of curve balls life can throw at your head. You take the red pill and you look at camping equipment with an eye towards subdued colors, a car’s top speed and styling take a backseat to its ability to traverse crumbled trails and clogged roads, a trip to the supermarket becomes an adventure in shelf life and serving size, being careful about what you say about what you own becomes second nature, etc, etc.

I can see where, when your interest is staying on top of the news of potential Very bad Things, a person could wind up feeling a bit overwhelmed at times but I think I’d rather have those infrequent bouts of sober reflection than to be hungry, cold, helpless and homeless.

I trek to the bunker, turn on the lights, and view the Great Stash O’ Food, the floor-to-ceiling cases of ammo, the stacks of fuel drums, the blue barrels of wheat, corn and rice, the stacks of batteries, the sleeping bags, the blankets, the flashlights, the radios, the water purification, the barrels of clean water and then I feel that maybe I dont have a thing to be worried about.

Given the choice of the blue pill or the red pill, and knowing that sometimes being aware of the fragility of the status quo can be a little disconcerting, I think I’m glad I went with the red pill. Sometimes it may seem a little intimidating, and sometimes I may feel a little out of sorts because of current events, but at the end of the day I can feel safe and secure which makes up for all the other stuff, I think.

15 thoughts on “The red pill of preparedness”

  1. But still, on an intellectual level I know we’re okay and that we’d come through prety much anything with flying colors.

    Though you are still taking steps to prepare TEOTWAWKI, the fact that you will say above out loud says a lot about the USA. There is NOTHING wrong with being prepped for the worst case scenario. And it’s nice to occasionally see someone *ready* for the worst case scenario that is OK with things actually working alright in the end. (I have no footnotes, but from what I have read recently, it seems to be an either/or situation.)

    We’ll get through it – some of us just easier than others – because of prep levels.

  5. Re: Guns. Lots of guns.

    June 12, 2008

    Jul 28, 2008: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

    Not going anywhere this year. Wait for the 2009 version that will be closer to H.R. 1022 then the old 1994 version that allows post ban rifles.

  6. I trek to the bunker, turn on the lights, and view the Great Stash O’ Food, the floor-to-ceiling cases of ammo, the stacks of fuel drums, the blue barrels of wheat, corn and rice, the stacks of batteries, the sleeping bags, the blankets, the flashlights, the radios, the water purification, the barrels of clean water and then I feel that maybe I dont have a thing to be worried about.

    The thing that troubles me (and I’m sure, you too) about this is that as safe as this stuff makes you, you can’t really keep the Man from taking it from you if he wants it badly enough.

  8. Surveillance.

    “Persuasion,” if they think they can get away with it.

    Or alternately, catch you while you’re out and about, and lock you up, then you’ve still effectively lost it.

  9. Well, you’ve certainly convinced me. Guess I should just save myself the trouble and throw all that stuff away now since The Man won’t let me have it.

  10. Come on, you know that’s not what I’m getting at.

    My point is that it’s easy to fetishize/idolize Stuff. Thinking you’re going to have absolute security in this world is folly, whether it’s stuff you’ve accumulated by hard work and cleverness, or stuff that the government promises to give you (delivered to your doorstep on the backs of rainbow-scented unicorns). Maybe you don’t have this problem; maybe you have conquered it. But I know I still have to wrestle with it every time I think about who’s running the Congress and I see Glock magazines or something on sale. Will a few more make me any safer or happier? Beyond a certain point, probably not; it is an inner struggle.

  11. I don’t think I’d say theres any fetishization or idolization going on. I just happen to think its alot easier to keep from starving to death if theres large quantities of stored food, and its alot easier to stay warm and mobile with a large quantity of sotred fuel. I would suppose that .gov could always seize it under some sort of edict but realistically if things have gotten to that stage then I would think I’d have taken even greater pains to hide the stuff.

    Willa few more of X make me safer? Absolutely. Every case of food I put back rings a little bell in the back of my head that says “Theres four weeks of independence and security”, every can of ammo I stack up says “Here’s more security for me and my friends”, every drum of fuel that gets secured says “Here’s 75 miles to safety”.

    Is there a certain point beyond which its just jerking off? Probably. I dont think I’ve reached that point yet. Theres a segment that feels they need seven years worth and Ive nowhere near that.

  12. Gear

    It’s not just the Man that people prepare for. That’s the hot topic right now because of the election, but I actually think it’s one of the less likely scenarios to prepare for. Preparedness is more about a worldview than just mere gear.

    I myself am more concerned about:

    1. The economy. How many people are losing their jobs right now? Will I be one of them?

    2. Food shortages.

    3. Fuel shortages.

    4. Hurricanes. Gulf Coast. We deal with it.

    5. Other natural disasters – blizzards aren’t much of a threat here (see point #4) but wasn’t it two years ago a fair portion of the Eastern seaboard got their power knocked out by a snowstorm? Didn’t that outage last quite a while? How about the floods last summer in Ohio?

    6. Terrorism – and let me clarify I think that the threat stems less from jihadis blowing up 7-11’s and more with them trying to bring down our power grids or release bioweapons.

    7. Lastly, when the Man comes around.

    Of course there are no guarantees, but I would rather be ready than caught unprepared.

  13. Re: Gear

    Oh hey, I spotted your LJ just the other day, you and I seem on the same wavelength on a lot of things.

    To be perfectly honest, I fear people in O-Thor-It-Tay more than I fear natural disasters. (And I live within striking distance of major hurricanes too.) I think that is because there is less I can do to control them, avoid them, or respond to them, as odd as that sounds. I’m not sure where man-made social disasters, like long-term economic depression or food shortages, fit in. That demands more than just “preparedness,” but a permanent life makeover. One must then ask oneself whether making that sort of change in advance of any crisis, is something you desire on its own merits. You have to decide how far you’re willing to go and then be content with that decision.

  14. For all of those that think it can’t happen, this was posted on MSN three hours ago. These poor people would probably kill me for a case of Mountain House in my store room.

    MHANGURA, Zimbabwe – Katy Phiri, who is in her 70s, picks up single corn kernels spilled from trucks that ferry the harvest to market. She says she hasn’t eaten for three days.

    Rebecca Chipika, a child of 9, prods a stick into a termite mound to draw out insects. She sweeps them into a bag for her family’s evening meal.

    These scenes from a food catastrophe are unfolding in Doma, a district of rural Zimbabwe where journalists rarely venture. It’s a stronghold of President Robert Mugabe’s party and his enforcers and informants are everywhere.

  15. For Better or Worse

    as we all travel into that unknown land of the future, being prepared for worst gives one peace of mind while others freak out and take the black pill issued by their government. live long, secured, and free, Wildflower 08

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