Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2006 3:21:08 GMT -5
Hmm...I'm late arriving on this thread.
Always an independent person, I guess I was a "prepper" in sleeper mode until my neighbor here "activated" that part of me...he's involved in the neighborhood emergency response team, and upon my move to this house, he invited me to participate. Well, I don't on a formal level, but after first writing him off as a paranoid whackjob, and getting to know him and his wife, I realized he was on to something.
And so my interest in self-reliance took a new direction.
I don't fear my government nearly as much as I fear most people's reliance upon government. I like knowing that I have a solid network of prepared neighbors and friends right here in the city. I also like knowing that we're not as unusual as we may think...it's becoming more and more accepted (in part because of Katrina, no doubt) to be prepared, and realistic about government intervention.
As a kid, I spent a lot of time on the open ocean with my parents, where government assistance in emergencies was off the table completely. Piracy, equipment failures, storms, wrecks, being stranded, rescuing another crew, whatever was always a possibility and in fact all of these but the first happened to us at least once. So at an early age, I learned to administer injections, give stitches, shoot a gun, carry a knife at all times (more as a tool than a weapon), navigate, use the radio, fish, etc. Dad was a rabid Boy Scout, and so "being prepared" was instilled in all of us. Having the bare emergency essentials was always a given, but mostly just out in the wild. Applying that preparation to everyday life came later for me.
It's less unusual now. In these times, post-Katrina, anybody who would ridicule another for being prepared is the one at risk of being ostracized by the mainstream. At least, I'd like to think so. Maybe "Jericho" will help us reach the tipping point. God knows we don't need another major disaster.
Always an independent person, I guess I was a "prepper" in sleeper mode until my neighbor here "activated" that part of me...he's involved in the neighborhood emergency response team, and upon my move to this house, he invited me to participate. Well, I don't on a formal level, but after first writing him off as a paranoid whackjob, and getting to know him and his wife, I realized he was on to something.
And so my interest in self-reliance took a new direction.
I don't fear my government nearly as much as I fear most people's reliance upon government. I like knowing that I have a solid network of prepared neighbors and friends right here in the city. I also like knowing that we're not as unusual as we may think...it's becoming more and more accepted (in part because of Katrina, no doubt) to be prepared, and realistic about government intervention.
As a kid, I spent a lot of time on the open ocean with my parents, where government assistance in emergencies was off the table completely. Piracy, equipment failures, storms, wrecks, being stranded, rescuing another crew, whatever was always a possibility and in fact all of these but the first happened to us at least once. So at an early age, I learned to administer injections, give stitches, shoot a gun, carry a knife at all times (more as a tool than a weapon), navigate, use the radio, fish, etc. Dad was a rabid Boy Scout, and so "being prepared" was instilled in all of us. Having the bare emergency essentials was always a given, but mostly just out in the wild. Applying that preparation to everyday life came later for me.
It's less unusual now. In these times, post-Katrina, anybody who would ridicule another for being prepared is the one at risk of being ostracized by the mainstream. At least, I'd like to think so. Maybe "Jericho" will help us reach the tipping point. God knows we don't need another major disaster.
