Friday's Thoughts and Other Stuff (Five Fallacies of Prepping)

Dear Preppers and Survivalists,

Retired Capt. Brad Johanson

reads a hand-written note from
Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Travis Rhinehart (ca 2010)

photograph by

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class

Heather Seelbach

What's Up!
You wouldn't believe it. I actually handed someone (that I would never meet again) a note with the blog's address on it!

What a violation of OPSEC!

Plus, I was embarrassed. The blog looked like sh*t : - (

So, ... I have been working on rearranging and organizing, the mess.


The Future
Needless to say, I have also been working on a few long-term articles about prepping.

What else, eh?


Five Fallacies of Prepping

Buchenwald Survivors

arrive in Haifa (ca 1945)

source

To the Promised Land 

by Uri Dan

#1 - Your Family Must Prepare

Other folks will tell you that you and your family are going to die; you're a bunch of sheepeople for believing the government will help, after an event; and other (not so thoughtful) comments.

Don't believe them because there have been many disasters where people have survived the event. Take hurricane Katrina, almost everyone survived.

The war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, and many others? Where do you think Iraqi, Afghan, Syrian, Ukrainian, and other refugees come from?

Lastly, the most devastating and wide scale event, The Holocaust? People still survived.

A Refugee Family

from Ching Pung Men (ca 1950)

source

defenseimagery.mil

#2  - Food and Water are the Most Important Prep

Food and water are important for you family's survival but not the most important. The most important prep is to have a plan and an emergency evacuation kit.

Yes, a plan that covers such things as ...

* Who picks up the children from school and how to correctly do that

* How to shut off water, electricity, and gas to the house

* What to do, in case of ..., until a responsible person gets home

* What happens if someone gets sick

and, ... Much, much more.

Lastly, the easiest way of dealing with an event is to evacuate, so have a prepacked emergency evacuation kit, ready to go.

Holding Off a Band of Pirates (ca 1895)

source

The Novels of Captain Marryat

 #3  - A Gun will Protect You During an Event

A firearm, by itself, will not protect your family during an event. It is only one, of many tools, to be used for your family's protection.

You also need lookouts to warn you of potential dangers. You need training to effective use your firearm. You also need ammunition and many other things.

Lastly, you need the 'Will' to properly use your firearm, to protect yourself and your family, during an event.

The Renaissance-era Sukiennice

(Cloth Hall or Drapers' Hall)
in Kraków, Poland, (ca 2012)

Photograph by

Jorge Láscar

#4  - Your Family will be Able to Barter for Needed Items

Most preppers, incorrectly think, they need to store items for barter, such as cigarettes, silk stockings, and candy bars ; - )

As we have seen, in various recent events, barter doesn't work because everyone is looking for the same things, food and security. Only once a reliable food supply and security has been established, will people be willing to trade for other items.

The same is true for storing silver and gold.

Mike Tebulo, left, an Olympic marathon runner,

races toward the finish line with
British Armed Forces Lance Cpl. Francis Okumu, (ca 2012)

photograph by

SGT Chris Hargreaves, B.A.F.

# 5 - You will Arise to the Challenge

Lastly, many preppers believe they will be able to build a fire (without burning down their shelter) to provide warmth for the family, reload a handgun (under stress), treat a large cut (in their partner's abdomen), and many other tasks because they read about it in Prepper: Surviving the Tough Times Ahead or other 'survival' manual.

That couldn't be further from the truth.

You and your family must practise the skills you will use during an event, such as navigation, purifying water, taking a poop, and many others skills.


Lastly, A Warning
In this article, I tell you that you and your family don't need to prepare. That is true.

But, ... Do you really want to look into your children's eyes, as they cry from hunger, and tell them; there is no food to feed them during an economic event.

How about, looking into your partner's eyes as you both slowly die from dehydration because you didn't store two-weeks of water for a major regional earthquake.

Or, ... Live under a tyrannical dictator because you didn't support your nation's ideals, by purchasing a firearm, learning the safety rules and how to shoot, and voting during elections.


Link:
The Survival Mom - The Living Off the Land Fallacy
http://thesurvivalmom.com/living-off-land-fallacy/

Freedom and Liberty Forum - The fallacy of suburban preppers and bug-out plans.
http://freedomandliberty.boards.net/thread/87/fallacy-suburban-preppers-bug-plans

Gray Wolf Survival - The ‘Two is one and one is none’ fallacy
http://graywolfsurvival.com/208978/the-two-is-one-and-one-is-none-fallacy/

The Prepper Journal - Teamwork In Prepping
http://www.theprepperjournal.com/2013/11/23/teamwork-prepping/