The Most Often Forgotten Survival Preparations

Alt-Market.com
July 31, 2012

I think it’s safe to say with some conviction that in the year of 2012 the concept of survival prepping is NOT an alien one to most Americans.

When National Geographic decides there is a viable market for a prepper TV show (no matter how misrepresentative of true preppers it may be), when Walmart starts stocking shelves with long term emergency food storage kits, when survivalism in general becomes one of the few growing business markets in the midst of an otherwise disintegrating economy; you know that the methodology has gone “mainstream”.

There is a noticeable and expanding concern amongst Americans that we are, indeed, on the verge of something new and unfortunate.

Is it the big bad hoodoo of the soon to expire Mayan Calendar?  For a few, maybe, but for the majority of us, no.  That jazz is a carnival sideshow designed to make the prepping culture appear ridiculous.

We don’t need to believe in magical prophecies to know that there is a catastrophic road ahead; all we have to do is look at the stark realities of our current circumstances.

It does not take much awareness anymore to notice looming fiscal volatility, social unrest, the potential for unrestrained war, and the totalitarian boldness of our government.  I’ll take the wrath of Quetzalcoatl any day over the manure storm that is approaching us currently.

With some estimating a count of 3 million prepper families and growing in the U.S., the motto of “beans, bullets, and band-aids” is finding a home amongst legions.

However, being closely involved in the survivalist movement during the past six years and speaking with literally thousands of preppers, it has become clear to me that we still have a long journey ahead of us before we can claim true efficiency and mastery.

Sadly, having a stockpile of food, weapons, and some slick tactical gear is not enough to ensure a high likelihood of survival, at least not in any of the social collapses that have occurred in the past century around the world.  It’s a start, but only just…

There are a number of detrimental weakness to the survivalist movement and considerable holes in prepper knowledge that must be addressed now while we have the time and relative safety to do so.

The greatest threat to the common survivalist is not economic collapse, roving bandits, Blackwater mercenaries, or predator drones; those dangers are a piece of cake compared to the threat of an overblown ego, which will get a man killed faster than the most sophisticated smart bomb.

If we cannot accept that there is always more to learn, and room to improve, we have been defeated before we have begun.

The following is just a short list of the many areas in which there is obvious and acute inadequacy in the movement overall…

Secondary Retreat Locations

Never put all your eggs in one basket.  I hear a lot of tough talk from some survivalists who claim they would rather die than leave their property.  Of course, I suspect they will see the error in this brand of bravado when the legitimate chance of death actually arises.

There is no harm whatsoever in having a backup plan.  I’m not sure any survivalist who doesn’t is really a survivalist.  Stand your ground when necessary, but don’t let pure pride and stupidity prevent you from living to fight again another day.

Physical Fitness And Health

You may be the Tom Berenger-like master sniper of your particular county, but if you can’t run a hundred yards with your rifle rig without going into coronary thrombosis, then you aren’t going to live long during a collapse scenario.

Even those preppers who have age as an excuse…don’t really have an excuse.  I personally know survivalists and homesteaders in their 60’s and 70’s who could physically outmatch numerous other preppers of the same age or younger without much effort.  The difference?  They make a concerted effort to take care of their health.

Sometimes certain wise-cracks made by the insipid yuppies of our modern era against suvivalists are true, and we should take serious note when this occurs.  The primary insult being that many of us are far too fat to outrun or outfight a paper sack, let alone a determined opponent.

I have, to be honest, seen chest beating antics from more than a few clinically obese “preppers” that were truly embarrassing.  On the bright side, this does not have to be a permanent hindrance to our success.

The solution is simple:  Eat less.  Eat healthier.  Exercise more.

A person who has attained a high level of physical fitness has done more than prove his prowess.  He has also proven he has the will and the passion to pursue a directed goal and achieve it, regardless of difficulty.  This is where the adults are separated from the children in this world.

Are you willing to endure extreme difficulty to win something of legitimate value?  Do you have the self discipline to forgo certain luxuries and comforts to gain long term advantages?  Or, would you rather take the path of least resistance and certain doom?  Personal health is no joke for the survivalist.

Community Building And Networking

Organization is not the strongest suite of the survivalist movement for a number of reasons.  The first being that our paranoia completely impedes our ability to work with others.

Now, to be clear, it is not paranoia if they are really out to get you, and with multiple leaked documents like the MIAC Report, the Virginia Fusion Center Report, and the DHS reports on “right wing extremism”, it is not as if our concerns are unfounded.

However, the movement needs to realize that the primary object of labeling us as “extremists” and categorizing us as potential threats to national security is to create crippling fear.  Their main goal is to condition preppers to censor themselves, and to stifle their own organizational efforts.

Solid community, even open formation of community, is necessary for countless reasons.  The more we isolate ourselves from one another now, the more alone and vulnerable we will be tomorrow.  Calls for “OPSEC” should be embraced to a point, but they can also become an excuse for laziness and inaction.

No prepper who goes it alone during crisis is going to come out unscathed, if they come out alive at all.  This is the great forgotten lesson of survival, from the Depression and Weimar Germany, to Argentina and Bosnia; those persons and families who were isolated simply did not make it.  The wide spectrum of skill sets and supplies needed to establish a survival foundation are far too many for any single prepper to attain.

The logical fallacy that usually prevents survival networking is the argument that if you are a bigger group, you are a bigger target.  This thinking shows a lack of prioritization.  During a social or economic collapse, EVERYONE is a target.

National chaos does not make distinctions between those who never shared their survivalist tendencies and those who did.  The DHS might, but they are not the biggest threat to the common prepper.  The most dangerous environment for the prepper, no matter what the circumstances may be, is one in which he has no support.

If you do not have ample neighbors and friends on board with the prepper lifestyle, and who can be counted on in an emergency, then you are not ready, nor are your chances very good.  Period.

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