RICH PREPPERS 2
As I’ve said before, I was
researching survivalism all through High School, starting in the late 70’s. At first it was mostly guns but after I was
loaned a copy of Clayton’s book, it was all nuclear fallout shelters ( plus,
still guns ). Also being a Dungeon &
Dragon geek, I had plenty of graph paper.
So, when I wasn’t designing game worlds, I was designing shelters. These were my first improbable probing
thoughts into how I was going to survive
the stab in the back the savage Reds inflicted on their way to global domination. By the time I got into the military, these
old infatuations started to slowly be replaced by reality. I tried playing D&D a few more times
before giving it up, I got my first subscription to Soldier Of Fortune but
never renewed it, and I moved on from playing on graph paper after realizing
the costs associated with even the most rudimentary shelter ( let alone the
mansions I had created at times ). Didn’t
some poet say something about Giving Up Childish Things? Not that those activities were immature or
foolish, but the childish expectations that went with them were. As an adult, you shouldn’t have the free time
necessary for role playing campaigns, not if you are looking for a mate, a
career and a family. One would hope you
outgrow the mental age that gun magazines target ( it really is rarely much information
after a certain point and more picture porn ) eventually, and pining after a
sports car or a fallout shelter are teenager fantasies. Or should be.
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I must say, it doesn’t
seem like that many people in the prepper field have advanced beyond Childish
Things. They are playing at third world
banana republic general-hood, dreaming
of too expensive cars ( still the pimply lad proclaiming by golly he’ll get the
girl if he just had a hot rod! ) and just know, both consciously and
subconsciously that when they grow up and go out on their own they’ll have a
billion dollars and all their problems will be solved, can I get an Amen?! Money is a necessary tool but it never solved
anyone’s problems beyond short term basics ( in the long term, all money
becomes worthless, and in the long term all associated problems that went along
with money creation destroy societies ).
Every prepper site that caters to the gun magazine levels of fantasy,
and the fallout shelter level of preparedness does a long term disservice to
its readers. We all need money to live
and to prep. But needing THAT level of
money leads one down the Rabbit Hole of binding dependence, and far worse, it
blinds people to their own abilities. If
you can’t make a lot of money, you won’t survive. So making money comes before surviving. ALL survival equipment could be replaced by
skills at some point, negating the need for money ( Stone Age tools, anyone?
). Granted, no one has the time or
inclination to do so, needing a whole new life skill set and just surviving in
a computer chip Petroleum Age post-industrial economy takes twelve hours a day
for most of us. But the point is, there
IS a survival strategy beyond just earning money.
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How much longer do you
really think our money is going to be worth more than a square of toilet
paper? Beyond your lifetime? Sure, if you are already on Social
Security. Perhaps. You read about Weimer Germany, you read about
modern Zimbabwe, and you go back to worrying and struggling to make even more
money for your survival preps. I don’t
hate rich people because they have more than me. They chose a life of wealth creation and I
chose one of silent contemplation. Each
was correct for that person. I don’t
hate guys that are “players”, getting laid all the time. That is literally their life’s work and I
have no time for that nonsense. What I
hate rich people for is their snobbish attitude, as if dollar bills are a
scorecard to who is smarter. Really? You think having more money at this point in
history is a GOOD idea???? Who is going
to be more intelligent when the infrastructure holding up that currency
collapses? You? Now, tell me, are preppers living in a large
urban area smarter than one living in the boonies? Why?
Because they are making more money.
So simple, how could I not see the obvious correlation? Nothing is about survival with rich
preppers. It is still all about
money. Some stupid ass eight grade
graduate in a ball cap and torn jeans ( a set of cammo’s are too expensive )
and a beat to crap twelve gauge can set a trap for a bug out vehicle with a
shovel and an ax and have all the supplies he needs-without money. But don’t mind me. I make below middle class wages, so I must
not be too smart.
END
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In the end, all survival plans can be undone by other human beings who decide to screw up your plan. The endless preparation/ambition for a command post with rotating 24-hour-a-day guards armed like Army wannabe soldiers makes for great fiction and fantasy, but as you say, one hillbilly with an IQ around room temperature can usually figure out how to undo the best laid plans. That is what people excel at (figuring out how to break things). I'm a proponent of laying low and trying not to get noticed. It has worked well in most all of my jobs to-date, and me thinks it is a better survival strategy in general.
ReplyDeleteLying low will at least bring the numbers against you way down.
DeleteNo bugging for me. I'm too old to run anywhere so I'm stashing dry food and grains. Trying to live as cheap as possible and collect hardware that don't run on electricity. I am a fair mechanic, electrician/trouble shooter and general jack of all trades including kitchen table gunsmith. I was raised on a farm by poor folks surrounded by poor folks so working to survive was the norm then and I think will be the norm once more. If you have no skills that leaves only violence as a trade and that job will get you killed sooner or just a little later. I know the drop outs pretty good around here, they are already taking from the rich every chance they get but most of them trade what they take for crack or meth asap. Those boys and girls will be tough to handle for while if things fall off real quick. Nice hair you have there....
ReplyDeleteI constantly worry about not having a viable skill. Writer, manager, cop, mostly just stable economy professions.
Delete1 Corinthians 13 : 11
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
your bible minion
See comment below. Thanks
Delete"Didn’t some poet say something about Giving Up Childish Things?"
ReplyDeleteActually it was the Apostle Paul.
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
-Novice
Okay, I wasn't sure. But you got to admit it is a bit poetic. Thanks.
DeleteMan, Jim your hair (and curmudgeon attitude) hides a mind that is right more often than a Swiss watch. About this (money/toy pursuit vs. knowledge and basics) is just another one.
ReplyDeleteOh, money and toys can help, even at this late stage of the game, but generally ones efforts are in fact better spent making connections, learning skills, knowing the environment you currently live in, etc, than trying to get any job making less than 5x the average wage in ones area. (not that you should be unemployed and able bodied either- that has a bad social stigma and means you have to use your preps to live now.)
Sure, becoming a Banker or CEO might be worth it money wise (and possibly even with some community connections) but that could also just put a big target on your back as the collapse accelerates (look at what happens to the new rich in places like Mexico- constantly living under the threat of extortion and kidnapping, etc...). And since you probably aren't already a VP in a company your chances of becoming the big chief are slim enough to make it almost equal to buying a lotto ticket.
Better to spend time and skull sweat learning skills, buying what you can afford now, and getting a better view of what it might look like later on down the way.
But mostly the hair, right?
DeleteThe hair is only so nice because of the heat generated by the brain beneath it. Or is it all the fertilizer dumped on your head? I forget.... maybe both...?
DeleteMy hair is so wonderful that when the crap roles downhill to me it just rolls off. Of course, being full of crap does fertilize from underneth.
Delete