What was it that made you like this?

[bbird]

I'm not sure if this question goes here, and it's kind of a loaded question with many ways to look at it.

I was thinking last night after watching Jericho on tv. IF that disaster happened in real life how I would react. For you all who haven't watched the show. A small Kansas town realizes that parts of the US are getting nuclear bombed and the town is trying to find shelter before the radiation hits them.

My question really isn't about how I would react though, I started thinking about what was the turning point for me on why I believe I should be prepared for something like this. What was the reason that I and my family started believing that survival was up to US. Then if you guys know me, my mind really started roaming around on thoughts and I started thinking about what gave me the mind that I can't trust the government, that tin foil is my friend?

Seriously, my whole thought process is different then it was 10 years ago. I look back, and I am a totally different person then I was. I realize that not everybody thinks like I do, and some might call us paranoid.

Can others who prepare, are leery of government, fight the system, want to be off the radar have a certain memory of when they changed? Have you always been like that?

I have to think about how I will answer, but will make another post and try to explain how I got to be how I am later.

[Kathy]

Actually I've always been pro-preparedness. I suppose it comes from living with two parents who were Depression era children.
The stories I heard growing up made me realize that we are interconnected but still on our own when times get tough.
My folks were big into being debt free, stocking up and having things set up for those 'just in case' times.

So it was just natural for me to follow suit as I became an adult. You know the funny part is my brother is their biological child while I was the adopted one and he shunned and poo poo'd all of the preparedness ideals in favor of a full out hedonistic, money focused life.
I still can't understand why two kids growing up in the same household would be so totally different on their approach to the subject and even more amazed that it was the adopted kid who followed their example. ;D

[bbird]

Isn't it funny how that works out. Same thing happens to me on a few things, and it makes me scratch my head and wonder if maybe my brothers were the adopted one's instead of me, lol.

I'm still working on what it was exactly that made me change. Concerning food storage, storing survival equipment ect. I grew up like that because in the winters there was no getting out in the bush. Somewhere along the line though, I did take things for granted and my thinking was....hmmm, naive/carefree/not responsible.

Around the year 2000 our lives went to the pits and we learned that the government was not there for us, and basically we were on our own. I don't remember being worried at all about Y2K though. I was concentrating on staying alive, keeping my family safe. Taught the kids how to protect themselves, got us supplies, weapons and made plans on what to do in a emergency. Not Y2K emergency but more on the run emergency.

Now, dh was always prepared, or wanting to be prepared. I think it was because he was older then me. He has always had a harder look at life, been more skeptical, and even though he won't admit it a little paranoid and only trusts himself. He says I live in laa laa land most of the time, and I'm not street smart. I will be the first to admit that is true. My childhood and growing up years was very protected, and I was taught to respect authority.

Maybe that is why I question things so much. I know the facts, I know the smart thing to do but deep inside I still have this thought that "Nothing will happen to me." Even though things have shown themselves to me, and by experience I know what will happen.

I guess I am thinking why I am typing, and hope that makes sense. In conclusion....I guess I have gradually came to this way of life, even though I have lived this life. Maturity is a hard thing to have sometimes, lol.

[Deleted]

I remember the exact moment. I was reading a news article about the Russians wanting to sell us their Mir space station for 3 million bucks. We didn't want it, because it was falling apart, so we said no. "We" being the wonderful US of A government. But the Russians were in dire straits trying to figure out how to fix up their space station, so they then asked us for a loan. So we GAVE them (if I remember correctly) FOUR HUNDRED NINETY SEVEN MILLION dollars so they could repair it. They tried, but ended up intentionally crashing it a couple years later.

So, we could have bought it outright for $3 million and crashed it ourselves, or we could have said forget it, it's your problem, and spent nothing, but we spent $497 million and it was crashed anyway? That was the most illogical thing I had heard to that time (I've heard lots more since then), and it made me start paying attention. The more I've learned the more angry I've become. And I was raised by parents who thought the govt was just the coolest thing since sliced white bread. They thought they were "being taken care of." HA! The rest of my siblings are just like my parents. I'm the only one in my family that's a "rebel."

I'm not going to go into any details, but I've found out enough to take me way past untrusting and suspicious. I'm on my own, and I know it.

~Lannie

[bergere]

Hubby being in the military. Before that I was clueless.
Finding out we are just guinea pigs to the government. That they could do what they want and we basically have no say.
Fighting for ones country means we sign "All" of our rights away, for life.
They do not have to tell us anything, and if they cause a problem, they blame the people they hurt. This government is totally out of control.
Then when hubby got out of the Navy and even though he was a hard worker, he was only able to get contract jobs, until we moved here that is. That was very hard. If we did not have the Garden fully going and the animals at the old farm, we would not of been able to eat.
Sold my truck because we could no longer afford it.
We scrapped by by the hair of our chinny, chin, chin.
Since then I try to stock up as best we can.

Would feel much safer if we could get all these bills paid off. But will take another 15 years. 98% of them came when I was hit by the speeding blond and small amount when hubby was out of work.

Now with State or government able to take our land at will, tapping our phones, wanting to make us tag our animals and tell them every movement every day, checking accounts and emails/internet.... I feel a lot less safe.
They say they are doing it for our own good but I do not see it that way. Sigh ~~

Then the possible natural disasters. IE,, St Helens and the like.

Hubby now has a real full time job Thank goodness and I hope beyond all it lasts for years.

Anyway,,,, that is my many long winded reasons for liking to stock up.

Deb, please pass the tin foil.... I need to make an extra large hat.

[bbird]

Thanks for answering!! Very interesting to see that we all have our own reasons. Yet, can come together and help each other out and give great advice on being prepared.

I just had a cool thought. Wouldn't it be fun to get together and make christmas wreaths for our doors and while we are at it we can all make our own tin foil hats too! lol

[kitaye]

In all honesty I think I am a little whacked in the noggin. Whenever I get under a great deal of stress I start hording things. When I was a kid I would take one of everything we bought at the grocery store and hide it in my bedroom. My mom thought I was bonkers.

When I got older I canned but not a whole lot. But if I got stressed out I would go buy 20 packs of lined paper or 100 pencils. Silly things like that. Eventually I would get out of the stressful situation and things would go back to normal until the next big stress moment.

When I moved to Canada I found myself under stress and hording again. I only realized last week that my hording is directly related to how stressed out I am feeling. Under the current political environment I am on edge all the time, plus work keeps the pressure on too. Now, though, I channel it into useful things like food, firewood, and other survival type items.

[pauline]

my mom was a prepper and i have tried to out prep her for years until i moved her in with me now we gang up ( by each of us telling him seperately how much we want it.) on dh when we find something we want for prepping as well as cause it is cool looking and would be fun to own i've even got him buying bolts of material to pack home as he stops at stores to restock the fridge in his semi with munchies.

[antiquestuff]

I'm honestly not really sure how I ended up like this. I was a stupid, pro-govt. sheeple, nothing will ever happen bad kind of person until maybe 4 or 5 years ago. Hard to point at any individual thing, many things combined as I started reading about things. I've long had a self-reliant attitude to some degree, but it's gotten a lot stronger in recent years...

[Deleted]

I think we all started out as stupid sheeple, unless our parents had already wised up and raised us otherwise. It's human nature to trust "authority" and you have to be taught to DIStrust them. I used to think my mom was the smartest person, and now... well, she's one of those stupid sheeple and there's nothing I can do about it because she's convinced I'm a looney. Well, maybe so, but if TSHTF, I'll still be eating in a year and she'll have died of starvation, along with the rest of my family. Either that, or they'll all decide it's a fine time to come visiting those whacko homesteading relatives of theirs! LOL!

~Lannie

[momo]

One of my first memories is being a little kid and living in Florida when we had the Cuban missile crisis, along with frequent hurricanes. I guess it made an impression.

On top of that, my Dad always stocked up when things were on sale and I always have too. Especially when I was living on less than paycheck to paycheck I always made sure I had a well stocked pantry of sale items.

[Deleted]

My Momma taught me to be prepared as much as possible. She's still trying to find a way to get her Homestead, but she's never given up. She's able to live with/make due with alot less than most people. I, of course, rebeled and hated her 'paranoid hippie ways' until I had a few experiences in the Adult world.

I have dealt with identity theft, people making false reports to child's services, and some much more intense Government ungliness. Hubby used to work for the State and has seen the reach that they have. NO THANK YOU.

I would be perfectly happy off the radar and we're getting there!

[qbvii]

VERY interesting thread.
As for prepping: what to do?, I am NOT a "packrat", not a hoarder. Storing stuff goes against my nature.
I never was one to hoard and the instability of my life the past few years has pushed it further.
Losing our home, losing my possessions.....just reinforced to me the lesson that you can't hold on to things.

I guess the way to look at it is that you are storing food and supplies to be USED LATER.........? Hmm, maybe that would work.

All beside the point anyway; we don't have anywhere to put anything.
Well, actually we do but we don't have anything to haul it with, we don't have a truck.......
blah blah..............

[ree]

I grew up on a farm, so we didn't call it prepping, we called it getting ready for winter ;D. But the need to always have a reserve stuck and has been a lifesaver many times. I am concerned about the state of the world at this time and feel that we are better prepared to "roll with the punches" than some others, but I also really like this lifestyle.
But to really answer the question, the thing that pushed me over the edge on things are wonderful and all will be fine was doing environmental cleanups. Folks, it is a scarey world!

[Deleted]

ree said:

I grew up on a farm, so we didn't call it prepping, we called it getting ready for winter ;D.

I love that! I listen to MIL and FIL talk about growing up on the farm and how they would regularly get snowed in for days, sometimes weeks at at time.

I am new to this mentality but I see the chaos and confusion when something goes wrong. I'd much rather be holed up at home with food and supplies instead of standing in line hoping for a cup of water and a crust of bread.

I worry that if something goes bad wrong, though, that the government will use aerial photos to figure out who had big gardens, etc. and will comandeer food and supplies. I don't know how I feel about because on one hand, we should share with those in need but on the other hand, there's a big difference between sharing and having the government steal from you.

/VM

[moongazer]

viamedia said:

ree said:

I worry that if something goes bad wrong, though, that the government will use aerial photos to figure out who had big gardens, etc. and will comandeer food and supplies. I don't know how I feel about because on one hand, we should share with those in need but on the other hand, there's a big difference between sharing and having the government steal from you.

/VM

Isn't there som law against hording? Stockpiling?
I read about it a long time ago.

My desires and concerns to stock up have been there a very long time. Just never acted upon them until the last few years.
I have quite a few LDS friends and like their ways about stocking for emergancies, lay-offs, illness, etc.
It makes sense.
I also have some major concerns about the government.
It worried me quite a bit.

[antiquestuff]

moongazer said:

viamedia said:

ree said:

I worry that if something goes bad wrong, though, that the government will use aerial photos to figure out who had big gardens, etc. and will comandeer food and supplies. I don't know how I feel about because on one hand, we should share with those in need but on the other hand, there's a big difference between sharing and having the government steal from you.

/VM

Isn't there som law against hording? Stockpiling?
I read about it a long time ago.

My desires and concerns to stock up have been there a very long time. Just never acted upon them until the last few years.
I have quite a few LDS friends and like their ways about stocking for emergancies, lay-offs, illness, etc.
It makes sense.
I also have some major concerns about the government.
It worried me quite a bit.

There are unconstitutional laws like that, allowing them to declare martial law and take anything they want. My state's Constitution explicitly forbids martial law, yet they still have aws in place to do so. That's what the Second Ammendment is for...the final protection of life, liberty, and property. I'd suggest you do prep and just keep in mind the possibility of govt. theft as another thing to prep for. Me, I'll not see them take anything, be it me, or my supplies. I'd sooner die than let satan win, and burn my posessions than let satan take them.

[Kathy]

I think that's why it's wise to have a secondary stockpile, just in case you're not home when or if they ever institute martial law.

That old addage, Don't put all your eggs in one basket is a very wise saying.

[Deleted]

I know this sounds nutty. It was the y2k thing. We started thinking practical. I like my lifestyle. I seem strange to other people. Hey, my family and I like it.

[angiem2]

tnborn - with me it was Y2K information from one of the s/w engineers at the s/w company I worked at. showed me what stood a good chance of happening, then research and a background of wishing to be more like "Little House on the Prarie" and reading.

I don't have nearly enough, but do have some, and information to help with some.

And it's not hording, it's just taking advantage of sales when the time comes. Just like my next door neighbor. But it's not hording.... (thinking this is the smily angel)