As a retired history teacher, I know better than to attribute any nation’s rise or fall to simplistic answers. Every nation’s socio-economic situation has a lot of moving parts. I’ve known preppers for the better part of 5 decades (I’m 63) and the reasons why they are prepping keep changing. IMO, best to just do what you do if you enjoy it and not give too much energy to why.
This post is 3 weeks old so I assume it was prompted by the election. Easy to say now but my answer would be no, we aren’t anywhere close to the conditions that would lead to the kinds of unrest many here are prepping for. If the wealth inequality and 300k dead in a year that already exists hasn’t prompted civil unrest then I don’t see it happening in regards to the pandemic. I do see possible wars and unrest on the distant horizon due to climate change and food insecurity. China wants to dominate the world and though they always have a 5 year plan they might not do anything for another 10 or 15 or …. who knows. I think prepping is mostly a hobby that gives me the illusion of control. Even at my low level of prepping I’m ahead of 99.5% of the population and I like those odds.
Thank you for keeping it cogent, yet hopeful through all this.
Re: pet friendly hotels….Don’t forget Airbnbs. I have a pet friendly Airbnb and get lots of one night drive throughs. I also board dogs in my home. So in some evac situations taking a pet a few hours away to safety and boarding them is an option. In true, shtf situations I don’t even want to think about pet ownership. Kudos to those you you who have.
I absolutely agree that this is a great post. This kind of info will be important without the apocalypse so I’m screenshotting the whole thing and am going to make a folder on my computer with your hyperlinks. And if people are really worried about an apocalyptic SHTF scenario (I’m not, but many here are) then they need to know about birth control and childbirth. My prediction is there would be more childbirths than gunshot wounds. I’m also happy to be too old to have to prep myself for it.
I have some extra food and supplies but nothing “prepper” level. I have real N95 and KN95 masks if I need to go out to stores. I got dental work done and dr’s appointments scheduled for soon. I’ll be taking my dogs to the vet soon. The primary thing I’ve done is invested in my “outdoor living room.” It’s a covered patio with a modular outdoor kitchen and now I’ve added a TV, more electrical, and outdoor drapes. I have a propane grill and fire table and electric heaters and throws. I live in a temperate climate (El Paso, TX) and am hoping for a record warm winter. My primary concern as a single 63 year old female this winter is my mental health. I don’t have a family I have to worry about and I’m also not worried about any video game style civil unrest. I’m not even that worried about covid as as long as I distance, have masks and don’t hang out indoors with a crowd. I have an above average secure home in a typical surburban setting, so in terms of high crime due to economic distress I feel secure. If it’s really apocalyse level then I’ll deal with it then. I’m a lot more worried about global upheaval from climate change than our mismanaged covid response. I can protect myself from covid.
I feel worse; not optimistic about anything.
I feel that my friends are generally safer than average but we are no where close to being this safe. And then when I consider folks who are going to political rallies, Sturgis or racial justice protests, it’s easy to see why we have such high case numbers. Also given the complete politicization of the vaccine process, I don’t know how long I’ll wait before getting a vaccine. I’m also highly privileged but sad and frustrated anyway.
It appears that the blowback from all corners is going to be strong. Too many people, especially in rural areas depend on the USPS. And now, even more people depend on the mail to avoid going out during the pandemic. This is an ill thought out blunder….I hope.
5 months ago when I thought it would be a very hard 2-3 months and then some relief in the summer, I felt mentally prepared, and I was. I felt like “I was built for this.” I’m not a “prepper” but as an airbnb and in home dog boarding host, I had lots of supplies. I supplemented with more in early March as I realized early on how serious it would be. I had enough for 3 months if my home water supply was safe, which I had every reason to believe it would be. I’m used to living alone, I was ready. What I didn’t anticipate was the complete and utter failure of the government and society to do what was necessary. I now feel completely hopeless. Things will get anything but worse over the the next 6 months. Sure, I won’t starve and I’m privileged to have plenty of creature comforts, but otherwise I’m in a depression that equals what I was seeing a shrink for in the early 2000’s. I’m hoping cooler weather will help motivate me to start doing some serious exercising.
It seems that looking like a cyclist/messenger/delivery person wearing a helmet and protective eyewear would be a low key looking as one could get aside from wearing no protective gear at all. In any case, anyone who wants protection from droplets and aerosols for covid should wear eye protection.
If you have special gear on and you are near an area where protests are ongoing, yes maybe that makes you a target. However, a meta analysis in the Lancet emphasizes that eye protection is also important to protect from the novel coronovirus. So maybe if protective eyewear becomes more widespread you won’t stick out so much. What kind of helmet are you looking at wearing?
I hope things work out for him one way or the other. I think you should have some confidence that if he feels he should retire that you will see things with new eyes whether it is spending less or doing different work. I’ve only met one teacher who regretted retiring but she’s in a special situation with a bit of a slacker husband who never grew up.
I traded my 2005 Tacoma 4wd for a 2018 Crosstrek. I loved it but realized when the new Rav4 came out that I’m a Toyata loyalist. So I traded my crosstrek for the 2019 Rav4 Hybrid. It’s AWD and would meet many needs. There is an “adventure” model that might be better. I’m not a real prepper but the RAV 4 has a lot more room to store stuff or stretch out and sleep. Both get outstanding gas mileage, obviously the RAV hybrid is slightly better. My brother in law has has a Crosstrek since 2014 and loves it. I’ve owned Toytotas since 1988 and never needed anything aside from regular maintenance. RAV 4 is very popular and won’t stick out. If it were the apocalypse I’d be looking to carjack a rig like the Wrangler with Turtleback. LOL.
Medium term impact of the BLM movement is the deployment of paramilitary forces in Portland. Civil war and martial law being imposed in place of a peaceful transition of power after the election was, in my mind, a movie script. Then came clearing out Layfayette Park for a photo op, and now Portland. I’d like to believe normal rule of law, checks and balances and respect for democratic traditions would be enough but I can’t unsee what I’m seeing. These aren’t tin hat conspiracy theory posts, these are real police actions. I own one shotgun and I used to have one handgun. I didn’t think I’d ever buy another but I’m thinking about it now.
If he’s 61 and has no co-morbidities and you feel you can both handle the stress then I say go back. When it gets bad they will suspend in person classes anyway. Does he have leave he can take to reduce time in the building? I came up with a 5 year plan when I was 55 and ended up retiring early at 57 and have no regrets even though some of my retirement plan includes doing Airbnb and in home dog boarding which are now much less than in non-covid times. Best of luck to you.
Since TX doesn’t have true teacher unions and no teacher strikes it’s hard to imagine mass walkouts. In states where teachers can strike it’s hard to say for a different reason: they don’t want to be seen as abdicating a duty in the midst of a crisis. Most teachers I know would be willing to take a bullet to save kids but where there is a massive lack of support on top of the lack of respect and defunding that’s been going on for years. (Trying not to talk politics and run afoul of forum rules, not sure if I was successful.) What will be a problem is teachers retiring, teachers calling in sick more, a substitute shortage (which is constant already anyway). I have two friends in their late 50s who had no intention of retiring this year but if the school goes to in person teaching they have their paperwork ready. There will also be teachers quitting where they can afford to. Some will stay home and homeschool their kids. Many are in wait and see mode now. Expect to see the articles in the fall about teacher shortages as well as high absenteeism from kids. It’s going to be a mess any way you look at it.
And if things are really janky don’t forget you have the entire interior of your car (if you have one). Many people have a lot of wasted garage space. They have shelves that can be hung from the ceiling if all the wall and floor space is taken. My garage walls in El Paso TX have no insulation in them so the remove the drywall trick would work there as well. Some people don’t have garages or uninsulated ones.
Do you own your condo? I have some ideas if so. I had a closet with a large wasted space at the back of it. So I took out the back wall and got about 20 cf of storage. Even if you don’t have any strangely constructed spaces like this you can still remove drywall from the back of a closet and put up some 2×4 shelves (like the one the boxes of kleenex are on) and store an amazing amount of stuff in that space. I Also my water heater and furnace are in a closet on a platform. Under that closet is a huge wasted space. Of course I have to keep it unblocked because its the intake for the furnace blower but there is still a lot of room under there. I can fit multiple small boxes in that space through the vent cover. Also don’t forget any vaulted ceiling spaces at the top of a closet or cabinet if you have them. I also recently converted a “coat closet” near the entry to a pantry. I can store coats elsewhere. Best of luck to you.
I wouldn’t brave that kind of thing in pre-covid times. It’s the grossest example of our national excess consumerism. If covid sounds the death knell of that ridiculousness, great.