Do you know who the enemy might be?

Steve Martin - December 12, 2022

Advice

Under the “situational awareness” heading, is knowing who to watch and who to trust in our preparations for anticipated emergencies and dealing with them afterwards. During the recent political unrest, I had a local who was a member of a certain fringe group and he was bold enough to put a huge sign in his front yard advocating changes to our government he was demanding, and on a particular day in January, he made a trip to DC to express his opinion. He’s one I’ll keep an eye on if things go from bad to worse. I am also aware of a neighbor who has that ” if the SHTF I’ll just use my firepower to take whatever I need from everyone else” attitude. Another one I’ll keep an eye on. Be aware of the extremist in your midst, not paranoid but aware, BEFORE the SHTF. They might be a potential problem when the time comes, or an ally. I tend to be too suspicious of others motives….a hazard of having spent some time in military intel: everyone is up to something, you just have to figure out what it is and if it’s good or bad.

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Be aware of the extremist in your midst, not paranoid but aware, BEFORE the SHTF.

I agree but I always state the most dangerous people you will deal with after the SHTF, is not extremists or mass hordes evacuating a city.  IMO the most dangerous people will be starving neighbors.  Folks you know well & who will be out and about near you after a crisis.

Sure you can put up barriers & run off strangers, but you can’t run off neighbors.  If you and yours are doing well and your neighbors are starving, what do you think they will do?  Allow their kids to starve?  I caution preppers to consider how you will deal with such neighbors.

 

I caution preppers to consider how you will deal with such neighbors.

The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule requires forethought and planning.

 

I still think the butler did it.

 

Online radicalization is remarkably fast and easy these days (there is a podcast about the Don’t Tread on Me flag-bearing woman who died on 1/6 by being crushed to death by fellow insurrectionists, and she was a non-Trump Republican who got ensnared by QAnon within 48 hours – 2 days of online scrolling did this to her), and echo chambers don’t do us (the national us) any favors, either.  

My email listing, due to having watched multiple health and nutrition webinars/docuseries, is a rat’s nest of Fascist Shilling in the name of “freedom” and “patriotism.”  The scare-mongering from Anti-Vaccine Pushers is remarkable (it’s gotten worse the fewer mandates we have, which tells you something right there, lol) in its venomosity, I hate to say, and I’m someone who used to enjoy learning about Alternative Health. As with any medication, terrible side effects and allergic reactions are 100% real with vaccinations. BUT, vaccinations also work when enough people get them (3 million plus lives saved via COVID Vaccines has just come out) and people who want Polio back aren’t really thinking things through in terms of death and devastation wrought by infectious diseases. 

I’ve also become fascinated by the existence of women who hate feminism, but seem to get their Lists of Female Heroes It’s Okay to Like from Only Certain Men (men/fans from the Manosphere), LOL. Anti-Feminism and Misogyny is used by all nationalities and religions over the world to lure men into Far Right Hate Groups. It’s a way to get people adjacent to racism and antisemitism, etc. in a more socially acceptable manner. 

Anyway, I’ve been nervous about a lot of things since 2016, and the Permission Slip for a lot of groups has made them very bold and open about what they want and who they want to hurt. Not everyone will act, but I’ve been expecting another Timothy McVeigh for awhile now (he got radicalized at gun shows in the 1990s). 

There are a lot of Americans/People who need Mental Health Support, including Preppers and Prepper Adjacents. I find I get Galaxy Brain from thinking of too many things at once, and sometimes you can only do small things, or one thing, and not all the things. But there are people with addiction problems, stress issues, financial issues, housing issues, PTSD, medical and mental health issues out there, and just poor IQ or EQ folks in the world. I sometimes think lack of Emotional Intelligence/Sympathy/Empathy causes a lot of unnecessary problems the world over. 

I live in a smaller city next to a bigger city, so it’s very well populated where I live, but I don’t think I’d feel safer in a rural area, either, not unless I was very careful in selecting the area, etc. 

 

who’s the enemy post SHTF?

EVERYONE ELSE, trust no one!