I’ve got quite a lot of rice and beans saved up, and some canned goods and I’m a mechanic by trade, 2nd least likely to die in an Apocalypse scenario, 1st being Doctors, of course.

I’m rural and have running water just a short walk from the property if the well stops pumping and I’ve got an old revolver with a few rounds in case I feel like checking-out early.

You guys?

  • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    1562·
    16 days ago

    I don’t have much to add except this highly relevant post made by Dee Xtrovert in 2009 on MetaFilter about their experience in the siege of Sarajevo:

    Well, unlike the majority of you (I assume), I actually lived several years in a period of savagery and killing, during which nothing - food, water, electricity, phone, clothing, sense of safety, school, the ability to go out in public, etc - was available, except during totally unpredictable, brief and sporadic occasions.

    Of those who couldn’t leave my city, Sarajevo:

    Some people (very few) were prepared for what they thought would be the “long haul” - this tended to be a couple of months. These people were widely seen as lunatics and dangerously pessimistic ones at that.

    Most people were not at all prepared. This included my family. Many of those - like my family - considered the idea of “preparation” to be an affront to the decency we felt most people possessed. Were we wrong? Well, I don’t know. We suffered greatly; my parents were killed. But speaking only for myself, I never felt I cheapened my soul by betting on calamity. Today, that still feels like it’s worth something.

    But here’s the main point: “Preparing” for the disaster really didn’t do anyone much good. Those who “prepared” ate a little better for a while. They stayed warmer for a few extra days. They enjoyed the radio for a while longer (via batteries.) But in the end, they ended up hungry, cold and bored too, just like the rest of us. Guns and weapons helped no one directly and were even of little to no use in the defense of Sarajevo, since they were toys compared to the shells, bombs and high-powered armaments of the attacking forces. The worst parts of war were psychological - the fear, anxiety, boredom, loneliness, paranoia, bad dreams. Respite from those things came with sharing food with a neighbor, finding a piece of clothing that would fit someone you knew, commiserating with others in your position, figuring out how to make make-up from brick or french fries from wheat paste and spreading this newly-acquired war knowledge around the mahala.

    We knew who had extra food and supplies. For the most part, they weren’t attacked or hassled or bothered. Contrary to what these survivalists say, those in dire times generally hold on to their personal sense of pride even more than they do in normal times. I’d take a bite of a friend’s salad without bothering to ask in normal times. I’d never have done that in wartime, no matter how hungry I was.

    Within the domain of those trapped in the city, civility greatly increased.

    You often hear how Holocaust survivors felt guilt at surviving. Well, during war, that was a feeling everyone was aware of - people started dying right away (my parents were killed near the start of the siege, for instance) - and there was a palpable enough common sense of karma to make everyone into good Samaritans. None of us understood why we survived while others didn’t. I shared food when I had it, even though I often knew I wouldn’t have a crumb the next day. Which was no big achievement, because nearly everyone did the same.

    Those who’d prepared, well, the majority of them shared their food and whatever else they had as soon as someone else was clearly in need. I can’t swear it, but I think they felt a little foolish to have been so self-obsessed, and giving away that stuff might have lessened that feeling. There were a few people who hoarded things until they ran out of stuff - eventually everybody ran out of anything worth hoarding - and they soon became wishful beggars like the rest of us. Again, I can’t swear it, but I hear stories, and it seems that these people suffer from post-war trauma, guilt and nightmares more than the rest of us.

    Those survivalists, I feel sorry for them. It’s no way to live.

    Added emphasis is mine. I’ve had this bookmarked for about a decade or more now.

    In short, stop stocking up, start building community. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    • jasonwnclife@lemm.eeEnglish
      47·
      16 days ago

      This right here. It is almost impossible for the average citizen to prepare in the sense of stocking up on supplies in a way that will last longer than a few weeks, months at best.

      Without community… you are fucked. You may well be fucked even with community.

      • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
        325·
        16 days ago

        Meh, agreed and disagreed. A few 50lb. bags of corn and rice go a long way. A 5lb. bag of potatoes can go forever. Well, corn too I guess.

        But the main catch is that you have to have land to grow it on. My wife and I are tiny and our yard is pretty big, but I doubt we could feed ourselves off it. We’re fortunate to have a couple of acres of part swamp, put “uplands” in Florida. It would be a daily chore to boil and process water though.

        Here’s something survivalists haven’t clued in on. They figure .22 rifle and 20-gauge shotgun can get all the small game they like. Add in an AR-15, or better yet, a real hunting rifle, and game like deer seems abundant.

        I spend more time in the wilds than any 20 random lemmings put together. There ain’t that much game to be had folks, and what little there is would be 100% wiped within a week of locals facing food shortages, let alone starvation. Yes, even the coyotes would be food, not a single water moccasin would survive. We’d be straining the swamp water for minnows.

        Since I was born we’ve lost 74% of the animals on this planet. I’ve seen it, lived it. The best prepared are going vegan in a fucking hurry.

        • mojofrododojo@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          14 days ago

          and game like deer seems abundant.

          it even may be, when game isn’t the primary source of protein - but once it becomes so, the fields will be empty.

    • SacralPlexus@lemmy.world
      161·
      16 days ago

      This was an interesting read, thank you for sharing. I’m not sure that I find the advice completely applicable to the threats I perceive though. She is describing a situation of open warfare and siege. Our family has tried to prepare a bit for upcoming unrest but I don’t think we foresee it as open siege on a city. In the USA, military might is so advanced that I think any sort of siege/operation is likely to be catastrophic and quick.

      The scenario I think is more likely is a more extreme version of the mass supply chain disruptions we experienced during Covid. Longer periods where multiple items just aren’t available. In such a situation it would be good to have extra rice and beans on hand to get you through gaps in availability. Also feel like I should mention that you can get a cheap bidet that you can install yourself from hardware stores for like $100 USD - in case toilet paper disappears again.

    • dohpaz42@lemmy.worldEnglish
      14·
      16 days ago

      Hoarding and not sharing is the real shame in times of need.

      There is nothing wrong in with being prepared for any contingency; especially when you feel you can see it coming. Even if the extra food, batteries, or water only lasts for a short time, that’s a short time you didn’t have to worry about those things. When you can extend someone else’s peace of mind, even just a bit, then all the more better.

      It is a tragedy that it takes such travesty for people to be human with each other.