Adjusting the odds

It is interesting when you look back at what we were like as a society only twenty or thirty years ago. We were honest, law abiding and god fearing folk. I don’t mean we were all bible thumpers but we all had high morals and didn’t wish harm on others.

Interestingly enough that was probably the last time when were still were able to produce everything we really needed close to home. We didn’t need to rely on people thousands of miles away for necessities but instead they provided luxuries and treats. Items we liked and wanted but didn’t rely on to live. Argueably the peak of our society.

We didn’t live in a surveillance society, a police state and we had, and accepted, that we had responsabilities to others. Except for the odd exceptions, and you will always have them, even our crooks had honour. Our politicians had a duty to the country, banks were simple stores for money and the NHS didn’t give diseases to people who came in for treatment of minor illnesses.

Back then if we had an event like a solar flare or an EMP we would have lost or TV, our radio stations and had all our tapes wiped. A catastrophy I’m sure you would agree but slightly less than that same event now. Back then we would still have had transport, cooking, heating and I suspect we could have lived until our music was replaced. People were growing their own food and were in a sharing mood. We would have helped each other out and would have banded together for strength.

Nowadays, we would lose our transport which would remove the ability of suppliers to keep us going in food. People would riot and anyone who looked like they had a stick of gum would be knifed to death. Our streets having few guns, for our safety. Inner cities would become unlivable for decent people and anyone who had their own garden or allottment would find that their food was gone. Simply taken by others. Most people would not band togethers and, ironically, recent immigrants would fare best. Not having lived the way we have they would find returning to the soil easier and having a community spirit they would find banding together easier.

This puts us in a bit of a position. Having prepared for an event we need to be able to benefit from the sacrifice we have made to prepare. Stocking up and having items we don’t need for a while instead of buying the latest cars, TVs or simply drinking it away. We are also spending out most valuable resource, time, to prepare, investigate options and educate ourselves. So we need to carefully consider what will happen after an event. Watching TV shows on life after an event doesn’t do it. They are making entertainment for people, it is not a documentary. They never seem to have problems getting fuel, they have plenty of ammo and although food is scarce they can always find some. They are not realistic and should not be considered a valid source of information. They can give you ideas though, things to consider and for that alone they are worth a watch.

It is my belief that we will need to keep away from people after an event. New people in our lives would be a danger to us and from what I have read in forums and read on blogs even preppers would be a danger. Only people that you have built up relationships with and trust already should be trusted. The risk is just too great and although that is not showing community spirit I stand by it. It doesn’t mean we cannot help people where we can , and we should if we can without compromising ourselves. Once things have settled down then we can start being more open and reach out to strangers but at the start you need to ensure you are safe and secure.

For most of us that means not being in a major town, somewhere where there are lots of people around and where your homes are not going to be broken into by hungry feral youths. There must be some places in towns that you can use, you just need to find it. Look around. For some people. myself included, I live on the edge of a small town and believe I have planned to surve random searches. I’m not 100% there yet but working on it. Those living in the country have a better chance of keeping out of it but that can be a double edged sword. Someone can sneak up on them and we all become complacent after time.

Keeping your head down succesfully means you don’t have to take risks hunting and forgaing, it means that you have enough food, water and heat, for the winter, without having to go out and you keep your trips out to a minimum, perhaps just to dispose of waste.

Bear in mind that nothing is perfect. You can’t guarantee survival you can simply adjust the odds in your favour and that is what you must strive to do if you are serious.

Taking into consideration the societal changes that actually decrease your chances of survival. Our new uncaring society, our reliance on external food sources, our reliance on power for most of our tools we should look at ways to increase our chances of survival.

There are simple ways to do this; Putting aside food and water are ways, learning how to grow your own food and putting aside seeds are another, learning first aid and so on are also ways but there is no mathematical formulae you can use. Your house could be ground zero for a nuke, the place where the meteor crashes into the ground or simply the place where they cannibalistic biker gang turn up and make home. You are juggling figures that you don’t really know and even the government with the billions they are spending cannot be certain of survival.

Look at what you can do to increase your chances whilst avoiding things that reduce your chances. Sometime you have no options and, for example, have to take a job in London but that doesn’t mean you can’t prep you just have to look at ways to store the supplies out of the way of scavangers. You can also made different decisions, for example to put aside two years worth of food and water and not venture out until things have settled down. You should also consider dead bodies, out in the country you can bury them but in an inner city this is impractical, where can you bury 10,000 people?

Do what you can to maximise your chances; Store food, water, live in the country on a smallholding away from any towns, keep livestock, grown your own food, have a stream with fish in. Most of us can’t do them all but we can look at everything we do to increase our odds no matter what our situation is. Remember it is just like insurance, insurance you don’t want to claim but if you do you need to make the most of it. You won’t have any chance to make changes after the event.

It’s a gamble but like every gamble you can improve the odds and you owe it to yourself and your family to do so.