Guest Post: Do You Hope TSHTF?

Today’s post was submitted to us by NoSox, a faithful reader who has been with us for a while (sometimes he comments under another name.) He wrote out his thought processes on his personal situation how how things may come into play if there is a catastrophe…have all of us thought our issues out to this degree, or are we merely coasting along on cruise control? Some things to think about…

I would also like to put out there that SHTFblog.com LOVES guest posts, as a way to freshen up our viewpoints and get perspective from another point of view. If you feel like submitting a guest post, please feel free. Type it up and email it to [email protected] and we’ll do our best to get it in.

Onto NoSox’s post!

-TRW

Are you hoping TSHTF?

The other day at the office my like-minded co-worker asked me for my opinion on a very interesting question. He asked did I secretly wish that society would go nuts just so I could have a chance to use all the weapons, gear, and training that I’ve acquired over the years. Without a thought I responded with a resounding HECK NO! Now don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of carrying my side arm in a space age shoulder harness without concealment but other than that there isn’t one thing about TSHTF that I can visualize as being pleasant.

Some others in the office think it would be ‘cool’ to have a scoped .308 and pick off zombies from our high rise windows. While I do agree that zombie target practice would be amusing, anyone who watches  ”The Walking Dead” has a good idea that life in that type of situation is FAR from fun (just think of the tank scene from Season 1). Zombie scenarios aside, the event of a societal collapse due to much more feasible causes like hyper-inflation, EMP attacks, and the like, the aftermath and mode of operation going forward would not be pleasant. Let’s take a look at a few aspects to put it in perspective.

[The following is based on the assumption that I would be locking down in my home (or nearby family home) instead of bugging out since I haven’t built my cabin yet and I haven’t finished scouting the Forest Service cabins on my list due to the winter snow.]

Food & Water

When things go off the rails there will be a run of Olympic proportion on food, water, household supplies, and gas. If you don’t already have your supplies tucked away then you’re in for a shocking scene when you get to your local big box store. You’re also facing the possibility that the cash tucked away in your safe is not even worth anything to buy goods with or that vendors are price gouging(as they did with gas during Katrina). God forbid the day when $100 only gets you 4 gallons of water and a 12 pack of noodles. As we all know when people begin to miss meals they will go to drastic measures to procure food. That means stealing/looting/robbing/shooting just to eat and feed their children. It’s going to ugly out there very quickly.

Even for those of us who do have food and supplies stocked up the question is how long will it last? Currently I have about 5-6 months of food and if we ration from the start it could last longer. What happens when it runs out? Yeah I have my traps for rabbit, fish in the pond, and my shotgun for the geese in this area but that’s a much different way of living than we do in our normal day to day lives. Another point to ponder is how long will these animals be around?

I have a 2 month’s supply of water and there are two ponds nearby with a means to filter it as a secondary source BUT that means I have to go outside and walk a few blocks to procure it and expose myself to danger. There are also empty University owned homes in my neighborhood which have drilled wells and front yard taps but once again I’d have to expose myself to danger to access them. That situation is not one that I would call pleasant or entertaining.

Urban Survival

Do you really want to be on full alert RED status with your AR-15 in hand peeking out of the upstairs window watching everyone who walks by? Can we say stressful? I’d much rather be on YELLOW at the movies with my wife watching the latest & greatest showing from Hollywood. Now don’t get me wrong if those events did happen I’d be more than ready to board up the house, gear up and do my duty but I’m definitely not hoping they do. Our beloved soldiers do it every day so it can be done but that type of situation is not normal for civilians and will require someone to always be on watch and paying attention to the surroundings. There are only two adults in my house and even though I have two good dogs to help it still requires one of us to be in the ‘LP/OP’. Do I keep the dogs quiet or let them bark as a deterrent? In time the die-off would clear the streets and ‘somewhat’ relax the situation but it would be much more intense than our current daily lives.

Next is the issue of my extended family. My parents, brother, and adopted cousins live 2 states away and even though they are ‘aware’ they are not as far along in their preps as I am since they just started a few months ago. I just purchased some handheld HAM radios for my wife and I to use around town but I need a bigger HF rig to communicate back home (and also train them in how to use it). I have plans on moving them here but it hasn’t happened yet and I would be going nuts knowing that they possibly could be in danger.

My wife’s family lives in town but they aren’t of the Urban Survivalist mindset. I do though have full confidence that the men would adapt quickly as they are smart, familiar with firearms, and due to weather concerns understand the need for supplies. The best scenario is to pack up all our supplies and head to the family house since it is huge and can accommodate all three families. It also has an awesome tactical advantage of being in a cul-de-sac on top of a hill overlooking the ENTIRE city. I know for sure their next door neighbor is ready and we would be able to have some type of community effort going on. The issue once again would be food for her family since they aren’t actively stocking anything at the moment. That would be in total 4 men, 3 women, 1 child, 2 infants, and 5 dogs……yeah we need more food! One of the infants isn’t even born yet as we’re expecting her in June and that’s an entirely different set of issues to handle!

Hopes & Dreams Unfulfilled

The last aspect of this I want to speak on is the psychological effect of TSHTF. My son is gifted academically & physically and I want him to be able to pursue any goal he desires. You think he’ll be able to play football or soccer when the craziness hits? NOPE! How about go to college and push himself in whatever profession he chooses? NOPE! We would be able to home school our children with me being an Engineer and my wife being a History grad but that doesn’t substitute for interacting with other children the way most people do these days.

My family loves camping, hiking, shooting, and wilderness exploring but that’s different from urban mayhem as a standard environment. As humans we motivate ourselves by hope and looking forward to good things ahead of us in the future whether it be vacations, retirement, grandchildren, restoring a ’67 GTO, [insert your dreams here]. TSHTF puts a serious rain cloud on that parade and without hope people mentally begin to change. I don’t want that for my family and I’m sure all of you feel the same.

In conclusion, I love my guns, gear, and research but by no means am I looking forward to actually having to use it. I’d much rather use my guns on weekend range trips & hunting, use my tactical training for paintball wars, and view my food storage as simply an extra-large pantry to rotate through. This question has made me analyze some things about my family’s survival and incorporate a few things on my to-do list. What did it do for you? How would you respond? Comments? Questions? Thanks for reading!

-NoSox