When SHTF, How Will You Deal With The Unprepared?

When the SHTF, the non-preppers will come knocking. Have you thought about how to deal with them? Will you offer assistance or turn them away?

The sad truth is that there aren’t that many preppers out there and in your own neighborhood, it is possible that you are the only one who is actually prepping; the only one responsible enough to prep for any disasters that can potentially hit your region. You have built a stockpile of food and water, first aid items, firearm and ammo, fuel. You have BOBs in place. You have a bug-out plan. So when it happens, you and your family will be the only ones prepared while your neighbors grow desperate. And desperate people can be dangerous people.

There might not be that much concern if the crisis lasts only 72 hours but what if it lasts a month? Past events have taught us how unprepared people act just a few days after a natural disaster – they turn to violence, they loot, they steal from their neighbors, they blame the government and everyone else except themselves. If the disaster is great enough that the world as we know it ends, there will be hordes of dangerous people.

First step to dealing with the non-prepper…

Tread carefully and make operational security your priority. Prep under the radar because if your neighbors got wind that you are building an emergency stock, they will make a bee line to your door when crap hits it.

Keep a close eye on what’s going on in your neighborhood. Observe your neighbors and try to know as much as you can about their political views and feelings or thoughts about prepping or being self-sufficient. If they garden and grow some of their own food, that could be a good sign but don’t go discussing your prepping activities until you know where your neighbors are coming from. By observing, you can discern who among your immediate neighbors might pose a danger to you and your family during prolonged emergency.

Will you help the unprepared or will you turn them away?

Helping others when you are in the position to help is definitely a good thing. But will it still be a good thing in a SHTF situation?

If you decide to help neighbors who come knocking at your door, you need to make sure that you have prepared enough. Do you have extras? How much can you spare?

Keep in mind that these unprepared individuals don’t have anything: food, water, medicines, etc. and they will view you as the one source for everything they need. They might even tell others that you have stuff and bring a horde of askers and takers to your front door.

As a prepper, you mainly think about your inner circle and you build your supplies around your needs. It is not your responsibility to prep for your neighbor too. So before you decide to offer assistance, think about the consequences of your good deed.

Turning away non-preppers might be easy at the beginning and you may be able to make them leave just by saying that you don’t have anything. However, in a long term crisis, people will notice that you are not the only one panicking, that you are not on the streets looking for food and supplies, that you are mostly at home and that you are OK. They will become suspicious and they will soon figure out that you are prepared. What do you do then…?

Are you ready to defend your supplies and your family?

When a horde of desperate non-preppers come to your house with the clear intent of stealing your supplies and even hurting your family, will you be ready to use force to protect what is yours?

Knowing that you might need to use force when the situation presents itself is part of prepping. So before the crisis even hits, be sure you have security measures in place. There should be enough ammo for your firearms. You should have enough training on how to properly use your self-defense weapons. When the need to defend yourself and your loved ones arises, do not hesitate because a show of indecision, no matter how fleeting, could become a disadvantage to you.

There are many things you need to think about when it comes to dealing with non-preppers. But the best thing to keep in mind is to be careful. Do not let everyone know about your preparations and trust only those whom you share the same ideals with when it comes to prepping and survival in a crisis scenario. Have means to defend yourself but at the same time, have a plan (bug out place, emergency-ready vehicle, safest route, etc.) in case you need to take flight and get out of that place fast.

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The Prepper’s Dilemma: Bug In or Bug Out?