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Saturday, December 25, 2010

Preparedness, security, guns and calling it as I see it.





Today during Christmas lunch my wife’s family dropped by. After giving the kids what “Santa left for them at grandma’s house” and eating we ended up talking about current events during desert.
Light was out again at my mother in laws house. Yesterday they spent Christmas eve over at the house of other relatives and power went down there as well. When someone drove my mother in law and sister in law back to their place, they saw that most of the neighborhoods they went by where pitch black.
My mother in law told me that this Thursday, they robbed the bank around the corner from where they live. The robbers hit one of the clients and he died of a heart attack. The man died around 10AM. The cops arrived, then the ambulance but since he was dead on arrival and it was a crime scene they left him there in the sidewalk and only picked up the corpse around 6 PM.
This type of thing happens very often. Specially with older folks but adults in their 40s and 50s too, they get scared during the robberies and die because of heart attacks. It also happens when they torture people during violent home invasions. The cruelty some people are capable of is underestimated by most law abiding citizens.

She also told me of another robbery she witnessed recently. A Toyota Hilux was driving around the neighborhood, smashing display store windows and stealing merchandize. They would smash the glass and cut the padlocks of the rolling grille doors with bolt cutters and steal what they can quickly, then get back in the car and hit another store. During another incident a Bingo joint was robbed. Since they couldn’t get through the armored door they simply cut a hole into the brick wall of the building.
What’s the purpose of these examples? It’s the other side of the coin. On one side we have the financial meltdown, with unemployment, inflation and a broad spectrum of situations we must prepare for, but on the other side we have the consequence of the economic collapse, the violence, the lawlessness and crime. Hyperinflation is no joke, you’ve got to prepare for it, you need  to know what to do in case that coma moves a digit to the right all of a sudden. I went through that and it does send a very cold chill down your spine to feel the money in your pocket melts like that. But inflation wont kill you. Bullets, fists, knives and sticks (or heart attacks)  will.
I was just checking a new “Preparedness” website, one of the dozens that have been popping up since “preparedness” went mainstream and is offered like gadgets for perfect abs. Sterile, politically correct, and of course, little or no mention of this side of the coin. These type of emergency preparedness websites and books are almost out of FEMA. They look nice and tidy, (better than my messy blog  ;-)  ) but you can just see the business guy behind it and how its clearly all about the money and so very little about real preparedness.
These marketing type gigs are usually easy to detect. Designed for “click through” efficiency but little content. Same thing for the books. Every possible trick is used to stretch maybe 50 pages of real data into +300 pages.
I’ve been applying a little technique lately. Instead of wasting my time I just read the table of content. If the book (or website) even implies that its intended for anything other than wilderness survival and it doesn’t give serious consideration to “the man is wolf to man” problem (Homo homini lupus),I just stop wasting my time right there. The topic is that important, and anyone trying to sell you “preparedness” info but not willing (worried about losing the more PC type market) or capable of covering it due to ignorance of the subject isn’t worthy of your time and money.  The marketing textbook basically says to avoid the word “survival”, or even worse, “survivalist”. Preparedness is more politically correct. Avoid mentioning guns, its taboo and will turn away the sector of the market composed of sissies. That may be good sales scheme but it sure as heck is poor ethics. 

The economic crisis is already alive and well, the social consequence is just around the corner. People will and already are suffering this. You guys see it yourself clearly with all the emails you send me about violent crime, home invasions and other incidents that weren’t nearly as common before.
During good times you can afford to say useless BS, but when the chips are down and S really HTF beating around the bush and being politically correct about what’s going on will get people killed.
It’s wolves, sheep and sheepdogs out there guys, and this year will bring even more wolves. They are the natural consequence of our times. Just wait until the children of the “new poor” turns into adulthood. Children that saw their parents losing their jobs and not finding one again,  saw them drink, commit crimes and go to jail Poor kids that grow up hating the middle class. Just wait until the unemployment checks stop rolling in. The problem is already there, there’s already more crime than before.
Just wait a couple more years.

FerFAL

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I prefer the term "preparedness" to "survivalist". Perhaps I'm being too optimistic, but "preparedness" implies preparing just in case there's an emergency while "survivalist" implies preparing like a madman because SHTF will absolutely and positively happen in the next few years.

Anonymous said...

I was hoping after the comments made in your last post that you would give us your thoughts Ferfal. I think it is easy for those of us in America to speculate and use politcally correct optimistic terms such as "emergency preparedness" because we are still fairly SAFE and prosperous here. You should see how much money is floating around. Stores jam packed full of people still buying all the latest gadgets. Hardly any crime that you here of. I don't remember the last time I heard of a bank robbery. Infact, the banks seem to be doing great. ALWAYS calm, free lines, open and the bankers are awful nice to us. Greeting us at the doors, providing cookies, offering to take our coats for us. It actually makes me feel a little leary? Like something is up and they just aren't telling us.
Anyway, here if you talk about "preparedness" (even the word prepardness gets the eyes rolling let alone "survivalist.") Here if you talk about preparedness people call you a "doom and gloomer." Of course, Once TSHTF here as a whole, I see that changing very quickly.

Anonymous said...

To the 2nd Anonymous, it is slowly sneaking up on us. I live near Amherst, NY. In a very affluent area, an armed robbery of a Citizens Bank was attempted. When the robber left the bank, a citizen with a permit to carry opened fire on him, missing him.
The bank robberies are more brazen and the thieves are spreading out into the suburbs. The newspapers no longer report gunfire in Buffalo, NY or Niagara Falls, NY, if they did, they would have to report it by the hour.
After the next presidential election, the shoe will drop, we will kick the can down the road til then.
Glad I bought the book and other stuff and yes you are right, I've had people laugh at me for stroing food, water, medicines and guns and ammo. I honestly believe it will be needed in a few years.
God keep you and your family, Ferfal!

DaShui said...

Hey FER FAl,

Yesterday the bank called my father, somebody (not him) was using his debit card to withdraw $2500 (the limit) every day. He works in a bank, these type of frauds (and others) are increasing exponentially. So our crime wave is just more hidden than Argentina's.

Anonymous said...

What are your thoughts on this article about homicides drastically dropping in Los Angeles
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-crime-20101217,0,1871598.story

Anonymous said...

The crisis is here, in my small town the number of families applying for energy assistance has quadrupled. People who would get $800 dollars are now getting $127, maybe. Lots of frozen pipes. It might be a heat wave down south but up here in the US it is cold. Remember to keep your water supplies at close room temp. Not only is frozen water harder to work with, but drinking it lowers internal body temperature. Not a big deal for younger folks, but children and the elderly can be effected.

Adventures in Self Reliance said...

Well I consider you my main guru on giving me focus on what I wanted to prepare for. Yes I use the term preparedness cause I think that's what we do, we prepare for 3 days without power or 6 months without work or an economic collapse or a Zombie apocalypse.
Prepare is what you do before it happens. Survival is what you do when it happens. At least that's how I see it.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous from Amherst.

I live in Ft. Lauderdale but grew up right next to you in Clarence, NY. Folks. This much I have to say. At one time Amherst, NY was labeled "The Safest City in America". It has been so safe that people would leave their cars running in the mornings to warm up before work. Unattended. If Anon is talking about Amherst like this, then you'd better wake up. Because what he said shocked my imagination. If that city is dangerous, then all of them are.