Thursday, February 1, 2018

old and grumpy


OLD AND GRUMPY
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While it is true that Young And Dumb are ideally suited to fight wars, so full of testosterone that only F--k Or Fight is the guiding principle, almost none of us are young anymore.  Most of us, when young, might be able to work like mules but we are singularly devoted to rearing a family ( I speak of the historical norm, not the current MGTOW video game playing narcissists ) and have little aptitude towards wisdom or inclination towards investment.  So while young and strong we tend not to be real preppers ( done right, not the pussy preppers gathering back-ups of luxurious on-grid living ).  That takes experiencing Real Life to give us wisdom.  So by the time we are ready to gear up for chaos, we are near grumpy old men.

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Being older makes for much smarter survivalists, but it also makes for rather poor fighters.  At least in the conventional sense.  If you can rid your soft and gooey barely functioning brain from silly notions such as “PT with my militia homey’s” or “tote everything and the kitchen sink because I must be a mighty ninja”, and just forget trying to emulate young bucks in the military, you still have many advantages over the boys with boners.

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The young are endowed with strength, endurance and health.  But that is about it.  Many a day you might wish you had any one of those three, or even a little of each, but the brain chemistry that gives you those rarely gives you the gifts you gain with age.  Not just wisdom, but patience and experience and especially cynicism ( which is a gift rarely appreciated as it should be ).  These all make for a rather good guerrilla fighter ( as opposed to an eager young warrior who cannot control himself ).  And guerrilla fighting is a great way for you to avoid the crowds and mobs, either of which hurt you offensively or defensively. 

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Remember, you are supposed to be “staying away from crowds”.  Joining the fight, fighting for justice, that is a young mans game.  The old humpers just want to see another day with minimal disruption.  They’ll fight smarter, because they have little ability to fight harder.  They don’t mind springing an ambush and melting away during the confusion, while the young guys are chomping at the bit to Get Some.  If you can minimize the need for strength and endurance, and maximize your mental attributes, age shouldn’t hinder you.  Hey, it’s not like you have much choice in the matter.  A few of us will be able to hide in the boonies but most will need to fight due to location.

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Now, before we continue, obviously you understand you must be in better shape than most your age.  But that by no stretch of the imagination means you need to be “PT’ing” all the damn time ( just walking or biking and a good diet will suffice ).  PT is for young bucks needing to cart a mules worth of supplies long distances.  Old bastards should be smarter than that, minimizing the gear they carry because they are NOT emulating the military doctrine of a group of 18-25 year olds.  All that ammunition you are carrying because you think you need “suppressive fire” and someone to “cover me” while you assault?  Those are soldiers tactics, not warriors, and you would do well to remember the distinction.

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Soldiers die for the State, warriors fight to survive to fight another day.  Don’t believe me because your drill sergeant filled you with jingoistic claptrap?  How do you make contact with the enemy so that the air force or artillery can drop bombs on them?  They ambush you.  You are the tripwire.  Well, your corpse was the tripwire.  Where do you think the term “cannon fodder” came from?  Fodder is animal feed, by the way.

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Okay, how do old grumpy geriatrics excel as fighters ( insurgents/guerrillas/warriors, not soldiers )?  First, they are probably pretty good at sucking up and working through pain.  Just from getting older and getting out of bed.  If you are indeed in better health than your peers, one of the ways you do that is to minimize drugs which merely mask pain and create other ailments as a side effect.  The price for that is accepting pain.  Second, they are probably lighter sleepers, plus being able to go longer with less sleep ( they aren’t doing anywhere close to the exercise that wouldn’t necessitate more sleep eventually ).

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They actually have patience.  Few of us have any when young.  We need to Get ‘Er Done.  As you age, you gain the wisdom to slow down and improve your performance.  But mostly you are so damn weak and weary you take everything slow anyway.  Patience is great for marksmen and sentries and ambushers.  You are in no hurry to Get ‘Er Done, so there is no rushing or distraction.  Your sex drive is diminished ( thank all the gods! ).  This helps you to be more wise and more patient.  And more focused!

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Cynicism is an underrated skill/outlook.  To be cynical is to not only trust others less, it also helps you trust your own abilities less ( from fantasy closer down to reality ).  Both are very helpful figuring out how to fight.  Also, being cynical helps you have less patience with BS ( even as you gain patience in other areas ).  The young are swayed and blinded by BS.  The old will have as few helpings as possible, being more cynical and jaded and taught in the school of hard knocks ( wisdom ).

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And lastly, old people are far more comfortable in their own heads.  Being more cynical, they hate more and trust less, and being cynical and wise means they have less time for BS and start preferring to spend more time with themselves ( because you become more and the more the smartest person you know ).  Group bonding is still great, but quiet time is just as important ( less energy for the effort required for group dynamics, plus less energy to leave and travel to a gathering ).  Being more cynical means you don’t necessarily want to encounter and deal with young whippersnappers, either.  They are exhausting, both for their energy levels and enthusiasm, plus their idiocy of views.

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No one is saying 75 year old grandpa can go on patrols.  It is still a younger mans game.  I’m merely saying a old fifty or a young sixty might only be Slow But Sure, but they are devious and cunning too.  Staying secluded and hidden for the die-off, even without a tribe full of young bucks, is entirely feasible as old fighters can get the job done-sometimes better.  As long as they play to their strengths rather than the enemies.

END ( today's related link http://amzn.to/2Fj9TBZ )
 
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20 comments:

  1. whats that saying?

    Old age and treachery will overcome youth and enthusiasm every time.

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    Replies
    1. Damn it, that's the one! I had been racking my brain as I wrote this and it wasn't coming to me. Thanks.

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  2. Simply a masterpiece. Overdue contribution on it's way shortly.

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  3. The old need to focus on front-loaded fights: ambushes, traps, IED/EFP's for military targets. Combined operations using some motivated young men as quick reaction force/mop-up force to distract while the old move out from the trap conserves the valuable young while risking the relatively worthless older fighter. Copy the weak and victorious Afghan Pashtun fighter, who drinks tea, gardens, has many sons, and occasionally gets passed an explosive device to place well-in-advance of an ambush (so the weeds can re-grow over it). He might also get paid to dig some holes in places that might be a good placement for an IED, but put an empty bleach bottle or other junk in the hole. A fake IED placement is almost as good as a real one for stopping a convoy with good roadside disturbed earth detection, with less risk for the hole digger "I am digging medicinal roots for my sick mother!". The point is to increase cost of occupation, not necessarily to kill or win against soldiers.

    +1 on patience and pain acceptance by grumpy old people. Revenge is motivating, especially when a person can be sure of hitting the actual badguy, not his hired minion. A good enough target might be worth a one-way trip, which if that inevitability is accepted, makes mission success much more likely. How many Czechs or Poles would have accepted a suicide mission to kill one of the German or Soviet top 5 political leaders in 1942? What if hundreds went forth? At very least, movement would be restricted and security cost would go up greatly.

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    Replies
    1. Not bad-instead of the old dudes going out in a storm to die on an ice flow, suicide mission. Add value to the death that helps the tribe anyway.

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  4. even us 50somethings with damn coronary disease could be useful ... pretty damn close to our expiration date anyway and not like we have anything to fear

    could be badass at espionage, insurgency - and most have families to protect, and in a grid-down situation would be highly motivated

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    Replies
    1. And the fat humpers can waddle closer to the target while taking more gunfire.

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    2. Yep, I'm on coumadin / warfarin blood thinners due to mechanical heart valve. Without blood thinners, I'll likely stroke out at some time without. A death sentence built in.

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    3. Damn, that sounds unpleasant. Of course, in a world without antibiotics, are any of us too far behind you?

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    4. I'm in the same boat as him.

      I need warfarin so my 2 heart valves.

      And the worst of it is, it costs only around $150 a year for what I need. So a enough for ten years would only cost $1500.

      And I can't buy it.

      No, they regulate like it was some kind of pain killer.

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    5. I think they regulate it like that so you can't bet against inflation. I had faith in the medical industry a quarter century ago. Since then as the money grubbing became worse I just assume the worst ( as in, they really do want to kill me ). Costa Rica now has better health care as an industry as a whole than we do now.

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    6. I’m not that familiar with the heart condition that the two gentlemen above are afflicted with, but there could be something that might help to give them at least a fighting chance in a post collapse society. Maybe consider stocking a boat load of aspirin. Or plant some willow trees (easy to grow, but like lots of water) and brew up a willow bark infusion. My late father took loads of aspirin. One day a nearby neighbor came by that had been a pharmaceutical rep, and commented on my father’s multiple bruises, and asked if he had taken lots of aspirin. So the effects can be strong, and possibly in a bad way. But when the alternative is death, what is there to lose.

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    7. Even if you can't find a jobber supplier, even at retail they are cheap enough.

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    8. 10:37 and EasyCompany could D-con stocking work as a Coumadin supply? I believe that is the active ingredient in that brand of rodentcide. Great hair James! Lake Erie Pirate

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  5. And don't forget that good old sabotage can cause more havoc and trouble for an enemy than capping a few soldiers. Especially when the saboteur is in the inside. Feign stupidity - lack of concentration and offer apologies for the 'mistake'.

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  6. for security a couple of dogs and doddering old folk with small bladders make a great combo. Randomness gets built in from the old folks, sharp senses with the dogs, and even a single shot 9mm is should be plenty loud to wake the rest of the tribe to the danger.
    Older folk usually have quite a bit to contribute to the tribe if people are willing to work at it.

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    1. I think the "old person goes for a last walk in a winter storm" is an outlier. Most tribes gladly support the old. Babysitting, knowledge, and I love your weak bladder description, back up sentries. Hell, have a pot and pan by the outhouse and they can clang it together for an alarm ( or, everyone wears a whistle. Amazon sells them by the dozen, metal so they last a long time )

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    2. Thanks for the reminder to pick up a cheap couple dozen metal whistles. I was thinking the gun makes the old folk feel like they have a chance against the prowling mountain lion or individual raider AND gives notice

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    3. I'd certainly arm them, as you suggest, but the whistles give you an option if you can help wasting a round. Here is the link to get me the commission:
      http://amzn.to/2Beaeaa
      Hell, $3 for ten and free shipping, I'm thinking about buying another box myself.

      Delete

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