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Another poster reminded me that we should have a conversation about the "why" behind our reasons for preparing, or trying to live more self-sufficiently. In my case, it happened around 2005 - well after the Y2K mania. In 1999-2000, I saw nothing but blue skies.
But by 2005, I began to notice the rising price of gold, the effects of the Patriot Act, the growing household debt levels, the real estate bubble, the higher prices of gas and meat, police militarization, and a greater than usual polarity between Americans. I was not pleased with the goings-on in DC, nor the events in the Middle East. I suspected that all was not "right" in this world.
If you are here on this forum, something about world events is probably making the hairs on your neck rise a little more than usual. At what point did you begin to feel that you needed to address these concerns? What were the cause (s) of your concerns? And what, if anything, do you feel compelled to do about it? This may be an important discussion for us to have!
always been into the "frugal" lifestyle but seriously got into prepping in a BIG way after 9/11 and our own London 7/7. watching the twin towers collapsing on British TV finally did it for me.
I've always lived pretty self sufficiently, and because I lived in the wilderness, did a lot of survival as well such as learning the wild edibles, how to start a fire without matches, knapping stone, etc.
Being stationed in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo after their civil war really brought home the evil that men can do when the strongman that kept order dies, and how quick government forces as well as the warlords and factions can take a place back to mass killings and concentration camps.
I went through a major flood in 1964, I was permanently impacted by the death, the suddenness, and the rage of the rain. In 30 mins the water came out of its banks and expanded over 1 mile wide and 30 feet deep. I saw cars with people going down the rushing water to never be seen again. It was months/years before the 3 foot deep mud had been cleaned up on the streets and the bridges rebuilt. It was a Tuesday night and the TV show "Combat" was on. Almost the whole flood occurred during that 1 hour show.
In 1975, Jan 10th, the worst blizzard in my life it us. 60mph winds, minus 5 degrees, and lightening. The snow was so heavy that during the more intense times I could not see the hand in front of my face. I was at work and walked home in the middle of it. There was nothing moving, even a 2.5 ton county snow plow was stuck in the middle of a major intersection. Several people froze to death in their cars. It took 3 days before any thing was moving and weeks before we were back to normal.
Again in 1975 on May 5, I survived an F-5 tornado that killed 3 but should have killed hundreds. After the tornado I walked through the damage area and saw nothing except house foundations with water gushing out of the water pipes that had been torn from the house that was completely gone. I saw a car sitting in the middle of an intersection with the emergency lights blinking as it sat on its roof with no damage on the car. It took years to rebuild the area which was 3 miles wide and 20 miles long. I can still see all of this like it was yesterday.
So I have always been a prepper/survivalist all my life. I know how fast the world we live in can go bad in hours.
There hasn't been a single event that I can point at. I'm getting older and have achieved a level of financial stability that allows me to take my nose from the grindstone a bit more often than when I was a young man and I see potential problems ahead.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the future but I do like hedge my bets whenever possible.
Now more worried about robots taking over most of the jobs and living in a tent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigpaul
... watching the twin towers collapsing on British TV finally did it for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MTSilvertip
.... how quick government forces as well as the warlords and factions can take a place back to mass killings and concentration camps.
Homelessness and unemployment are real concerns today. The "tiny house" movement is a testament to that!
It seems that many of our woes here in the US date back to 9/11. The Patriot Act, police militarization, wars in the Middle East, "terrorism" used as a rationale to curtail our freedoms, etc. None of it was/is good.
It's always wise to observe what happens in foreign countries. Human nature is the same in all countries, and what happens in one can definitely happen in another. Keep an ear to the ground,
I know how fast the world we live in can go bad in hours.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eastcoasting
I'm not there entirely yet...I'm cautiously optimistic about the future but I do like hedge my bets whenever possible.
Yes, the suddenness of an event can take your breath away. And then the world is different.
In order to live a productive life, we must all be cautiously optimistic. Otherwise, we couldn't function. That is not the same thing as being in denial. Awareness comes gradually to most of us as we grow older.
I grew up in a significantly self-sufficient and prepared rural household. We lived in a region prone to floods and tornadoes. Everyone in the area was prepared for that back then, but today they are not.
My parents lived through the Great Depression and WWII, so they were always mindful of how things can change. Remaining debt free was of the utmost importance. We had a farm and a general store. Anyone remember rural general stores? The store was an additional source of income but served another purpose as well. It was a way to have a wide range of supplies always on hand at wholesale prices.
Some things that are considered survival skills today (hunting, fishing, foraging, etc.) were just a part of life. Few of my peers were taught or practiced these skills even though many of their parents saw the same events. While growing up we were lucky enough to travel abroad multiple times. None of my peers experienced that either.
When I became an adult, it was off to college, joined the rat race and lived the city life. By the late 90s, I'd had enough and began planning our escape to the countryside. By 2001, we were settling in to a more self-sufficient and debt free lifestyle in a rural location.
My goal is to enjoy myself. Living more self-sufficiently and debt free just happens to be a part of what makes life so immensely joyful for me. I also enjoy studying all the things I never had time for before. I have already traveled to all the places I cared to. The events you touched on are just background noises. There is nothing I can do about it other than continuing to insulate myself from as many of the adverse effects as possible. I just observe and carry on.
My four grandparents died off by the late 1990s. None of them ever able to over-come the shock of losing their farms in the 1930s. Becoming homeless migratory farm-workers and climbing their way back up to home-ownership again. Hard work, frugal living and a hatred of bankers and lawyers was kind of like their creed.
My parents were around 6 and 8 years old when bankers forced each of their families to vacate their farms. They each came of age in migratory farm-worker camps. From those beginnings they did very well for themselves during their working careers. With full-time jobs and through share-cropping they eventually managed to own a farm. They did not carry the same level of hatred for bankers and lawyers, but distrust of government and the system remained with them through-out their lives.
They managed to instill a few things into my siblings and I. We grew-up being called 'Okies'.
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