mentality of survival and its everyday application

[Rex in OTZ]

It has been amuseing reading over several survival forums over the last 4 years, one thing I've been keenly aware of is the mental barrier that requires folks to think & act in a survival lifestyle, it don't take a disaster to realize survivalism isnt about stockpiling guns, survival compounds, talking I'll of the government, BOB's and Zombies,SHTF and TEWAKI,special survival vehicles or resurgence the Commie Red Hoard, its just making do every day, simplifying your life, its a frame of mind that requires no major news worthy event to utilize.
Relying on others to save you in a time of crisses, when rescue personnel most likely are having a time of it themselves, we have them quite often in these parts, its a way of life, so we come to learn to fend for ourselves here in the Alaskan Bush.
 we drive what winter Alaska hadnt killd, homes are small & efficent, with back up systems (water barrel and honey bucket) colman stove, our BOB is really what we carry when we travel and hunt. Our survival clothes are our work clothes, a survival situation dont require a wardrobe change to be addressed, its the ordinary everyday stuff that will get your goat, not the Undead or the Avian Flu or crash of the global stock market its most likely a loose piece off roofing upwind of the electrical substation during a blizzard or the drifted under water hydrant that gets dozed while plowing snow in the winter, never hurts to be self sufficent, and not come to rely/expect others to come to rescue you.

[blind ear]

Man has allways survived against nature, we are still here.
 
A starving man surviveing against another starving man is a task of faceing the worlds all time smartest and most agressive preaditor.
 
A preaditor  is what a city of people without power and transportation (food on the shelf) will become.
 
Survival is always a matter if degree, until it is you. Then every situation is the ultimate. You are depending on you!
 
ear

[Old Syko]

Playing the part of the victim has become a lifestyle these days. 


You don't have to live in Alaska to understand how to be self-supporting and sustainable.   

[powderman]

Playing the part of the victim has become a lifestyle these days. 


You don't have to live in Alaska to understand how to be self-supporting and sustainable.

 
Very true. Too many people take what they have for granted and are happy to let somebody else provide for them, big mistake. The gimmee gimmee mentality is very widespread. POWDERMAN. 

[SHOOTALL]

I agree with the OP but how many cities in AK have over a million people in them ? How many folks live with in the walking distance of 2-10 million people ? Some of the ideas expressed about hordes are well founded. In Hati the people fled the cities then returned after the little food in the argi areas was gone. The idea of a bug out bag is new to some as they have never faced a problem big enough to force large numbers of people to leave an area. If you talk about a fire hydrant being a problem to those who faced a great hurricane you would get little attention in the South though in your area its a killer in winer.
 I suggest what you need to be ready for depends on where you find yourself when the need arises. Most won't be near their bag if at work or out shopping .

[tacklebury]

My dad started me off on a diet of survival thinking when I was 5.  As I grew older, the methods and mentality have changed some, but it's always in my mind, "What would I do if this happened?".  I appreciate his training very much and in a few tight spots, it's come in handy. 

[Victor3]

The more I read on survival/preparedness, the more I realize just how unprepared I am for an unpleasant prolonged disaster.
 
I've prepared to die instead. Way less complicated. 
 
 

[reliquary]

I wholeheartedly agree that "where you live" plays a great role in what you should be prepared for and what contingencies you should reasonably expect.  The survival bag I carried in the vehicle or on the LBE while stationed in AK are quite different the ones I had on the East Coast or have here in rural TX.  The basics are the same...guns and ammo in the safe, food in the pantry, stored emergency supplies, something in the car to keep you alive for a few days.  The common thread is:  anticipate and prepare as best you can.
 
Here, in a county of about 15,000, ~150 miles inland, we're routinely invaded by hungry hordes of government-supported leeches from coastal cities during storm season.  One can anticipate that, in the event of other disasters, the same things would happen.  Good-hearted people and agencies can usually sustain them for a couple of weeks with help from the state and FEMA.  No one in the community leadership has thought past that point.
 
I have.  I'm prepared with what I and my family will need to keep us alive and healthy for a year or more.   That is my idea of "survival mentality".

[SHOOTALL]

the anti hording laws can be a problem for those who think ahead

[reliquary]

I hadn't thought about anti-hoarding laws.  I read the discussion of 'em in another part of the forum. 
 
According to the nice people I called at the county courthouse and city hall, there are no such laws on the books in either jurisdiction.  I WILL keep my eyes & ears open, though.  Thanks for the reminder.
 
 

[myronman3]

  the best strategy for dealing with that is keeping your business, your business.   the less people know, the better off you are. 

[SHOOTALL]

Yep to keeping your business your's.
What do you do when away from home ? how about a trip where you travel farther from home than one tank of fuel will get you home ? How about travel in states that don't allow certian guns or ammo ?
 I crossed into Canada just before they closed the border , I was maybe 20 min past when the wife called to say it was closing . That was a funny feeling . I got caught on the wrong side of the river in a flood once. Things can and dop happen. Food , water , protection and cash are all insurance in times like these. Interesting note , on that same trip to Canada we stopped at Cabela's in Grand Fork. I used my VISA . Since this was about 1500 miles from home they put a stop on my card . My wife had to call me and inturn I had to call them. Now our cell phones have not worked so well over the last week nor have the land lines here. What would happen if all the phones were acting up , my card was closed and I was in another country ? About 4 tanks of gas from home ? Hey I would be screwed you betcha .

[Rex in OTZ]

You have the Hoarding enforcement agency kick in your door and snoop through your stuff?
If I chose to convert my paycheck into a asset like grain like bags of rice, whos to say I cant? If I wanted to convert my pay into rolls of Nickles why couldent I? In exchange for my labor Im compensated for my time and labor its called wages(asset), If I chose to exchange that into a consummable item its still a asset I earnd from ythe sweat of my brow and they think its unfair? go live in the land of Socialists and Communists if they want fair Life is never fair this is America the last I thought or is it America in name only? , Enforceing such a thing = some sort of Socialism.
They had scrapmetal hoarding during WWII where they barged onto a fellas property and forcibly seized his property due to the war powers act My guess he had some sort of compensation (but not fair market value), we arn't at war and shouldent be in a police state type totalitarinist environment.
http://www.wikiopens.com/federal-anti-hoarding-law.html
http://www.luc.edu/law/activities/publications/clrdocs/vol19issue2/keith_sharfman.pdf
I'm pretty shure the Govt is more interested in the idea your going to profit off a food stockpile through price gouging, so if you had 5 years worth of food and they thought you only needed 1 months worth is where they have issue, instead of going after the people breaking the law there going after the would be suppliers.

[Victor3]

I'm pretty shure the Govt is more interested in the idea your going to profit off a food stockpile through price gouging, so if you had 5 years worth of food and they thought you only needed 1 months worth is where they have issue, instead of going after the people breaking the law there going after the would be suppliers.

 Who then would be considered a profiteer? And who determines need?
 
 I'm pretty sure that if ConAgra raised prices 25%, the govt would turn a blind eye even if net margins increased by $1 billion (ConAgra supplies the US military    ).
 
 But what about a small potato farmer who raises his prices 100% and increases gross profit by $100,000 in order to cover increased manual labor expenses due to shortages of fuel normally used to run his equipment?
 
 Or you, with a pallet of sardines in your shed who raises prices 500% over normal retail for a whopping $1000 windfall in order to pay your mortgage for a month while your job is shut down due to the disaster?
 
 Heck, I'm gonna stock up on booze & cigarettes instead of food. Nobody can claim that those are necessities, and some would pay more for them than a side of beef if they had to choose. 

[reliquary]

I keep some emergency cash on hand in the safe at home, and in the event of total SHTF, plan to use it for last-minute purchases of alcohol and tobacco for barter items.
 
 OTOH, maybe I'll just start using them again if it gets really bad....

[Swampman]

The mind is our most important tool.  Sadly it's the one most "survivalist" lack.  I'm astounded at the total inability of most folks to problem solve, trouble shoot, or find a simple inexpensive & creative solution.

[Old Syko]

The mind is our most important tool.  Sadly it's the one most "survivalist" lack.  I'm astounded at the total inability of most folks to problem solve, trouble shoot, or find a simple inexpensive & creative solution.

Exactly!  It seems nowadays most show up for the fight totally unarmed.

[hillbill]

I keep some emergency cash on hand in the safe at home, and in the event of total SHTF, plan to use it for last-minute purchases of alcohol and tobacco for barter items.
 
 OTOH, maybe I'll just start using them again if it gets really bad....

heck jus buy 10 gallons of cheap vodka and vacum seal 20 cartons of cheap smokes.that alone prob get yu plum to alaska!

[reliquary]

I went to the local "Tobacco Mart", supposed to be the cheapest place in town, just for preplanning, and went into shock at some of the prices.  There doesn't seem to be any such thing as "cheap smokes" any more.  How does anyone afford to use it, anymore?
 
I may buy the old  "Bugler" loose tobacco and a readyroller gadget for the survival locker.
 
 

[jlwilliams]

The OP hit on a good point that I find amusing.  The internet concept of TETWAWKI, SHTF, undead apocolypse and all those other topics that get way more serious discussion that one would think they might.  Not so bad here, but you go to some of the other forums and you'll read people who are really planning on living through a bad movie plot.
 
  Speaking of tobacco for barter.  I used to work with an older guy who was something of an alcohol afficionado.  OK, I'll skip the BS and say it; he was a drunk.  He lived the winters in a motel (the summer tourists wouldn't stay there if they knew what went on there in the 'off season')  He used to tell us some stories of the comings and goings there.  Most of the people there in the winter were homeless during the summer.  He was sort of a 'big shot' there because he had a job.  Anyway, the residents were always on the hussle for their next ride to the liquor store, drug store or for smokes.  None of them had cars and few could legally drive.  He said one of his neighbors wold perform a favor (I'm trying to keep this clean, just fill in the blank with your imagination) for a pack of cigarettes.  This isn't an 'end of the world' or SHTF scenario.  This is a sorry old drunk giving the Lewinski massage...for a pack of butts.  Point of the story; tobacco is a powerful addiction and people won't easily go without it.  If you stockpile a few pounds of it, maybe even going so far as to get a tube stuffing machine and making cigarettes out of it, you will easily be able to trade them for whatever you may need.  Even just good will.  Handing a smoke or two to someone at a bad time may be worth a little break or help down the line.

[Lost Farmboy]

  I'd be more of the type to store some tobacco seeds. I plan to survive longer than the supply of cigarettes.

[reliquary]

LFB:
 
Once again, you've reminded me of why I go to these forums.  I now have some tobacco seeds on order, for the Doomsday Box.  Thanks, bro!
 
My dad grew the stuff "back when".  The soil in East Texas didn't produce the best product, but it satisfied the craving.  He'd make most of it into chewing tobacco: trim the leaves off the central stalk, alternate layers of trimmings and honey or cane syrup in a shallow wood box, pressed down.  Later, it would be cut into small blocks.  Some was loosely chopped and smoked in a pipe.
 
The hardest thing I ever did was quit the stuff, about 30 years ago. 
 
 

[hillbill]

i remember my dad telling how in the old days everyone had a plot of tobacco.it was very labor intensive. he said the kids did most of the work.i remember thinkin it might be easier just raise carn and brew shine.

[reliquary]

Yes, it is pretty labor-intensive, and yes, kids did most of the work.  Lots of caterpillars prey on the plants & have to be picked off, the leaves are harvested individually and there's a method to hanging/drying/curing them.  Having the stuff around for barter might be worth it.  I just found seeds very reasonably at newhopeseeds.com.
 
Alcohol is "low-tech easy" to make.  In my former life as a science teacher, I demostrated both kinds of fermentation in the lab by using sugar, yeast, and gallon milk jugs.  It ain't rocket science.  Distillation is simple, as well.
 
"Back when", my family made beer & wine pretty often and distilled some of the wine into a form of brandy.  Other locals made corn whiskey that was drinkable if you were desperate.  It takes a lot of corn that has to be ground and would (maybe) be better to keep for food.  OTOH, if one had a pallet of deer corn or corn chops...  =)
 
I've made wine from grapes that I grew.  I have four producing vines plus a muscadine and one year they made about 50 pounds more than we could use or give away.  Not bad. 
 
 
 
 
 

[reliquary]

I've been trying to put into words, what I am trying to do as far as survival goes.
 
I realize that you can't prepare for every possibility.  And I don't try to read the signs in the heavens and Jesus has already won the Battle of Armageddon for us, if St. John's vision is to be taken literally.  But there are folks in the world who want to hurt us as a country, and there are folks running around loose in this country who will hurt anyone as individuals if they get a chance. 
 
Plus, the global and national economies are very fragile right now.  We could possibly see another Great Depression, caused by any number of events.  I enjoy living and would like to continue to do so, with my wife and family around me, until it's my time to go.  I will do whatever I can to prevent that time from coming prematurely.
 
To that end, I have a wide variety of items stored to help us get through hard times.  I'm prepared to use 68 years of experience:  3rd generation Redneck farmer, 20 years as a soldier, 18 years as a science teacher, tinker-level "fixer of things", and a couple of acres on a lake to grow things on...to get by on. 
 
How's that for a survival philosophy? 
 
 

[Victor3]

  I'd be more of the type to store some tobacco seeds. I plan to survive longer than the supply of cigarettes.

 Couldn't hurt.
 
 However, my BIL, (a gardner by trade who could grow a Sequoia in a thimble full of sand) tried growing smokeable tobacco and gave up on it. He was a smoker himself and said the stuff he produced might be more useful as a chemical weapon.

[SHOOTALL]

you have to use the right seed and cure it correctly . I'm sure the dirt you grow it in also makes a difference. I helped my grand father and uncles grow tobacco they all kept seed . They would let several plants go to seed each year and collect it. The tobacco they raised was for cigar wrappers and chewing tobacco. Grandma would make twist out of damaged leaves and hang them in the porch . After about 6-8 mos people would get them and enjoy a chew , often it would be left until fall and enjoyed with a slice of apple or pear added. She said some would get it and pack a pipe with it. How you handle tobacco can also effect taste , it must come in order to be able to handle it with out messing it up. Remember that most modern cigs have any number of chemical taste added and seldom have the taste of unaltered tobacco.

[mannyrock]

 
    Did you guys see the headline news article today, about the squirrel hunter in Tennessee who became "lost" in the "vast wilderness" of the 13,000 acre Meeman Shelby State Park?
 
   I lived in Memphis for 28 years and visited that Park often.  It is riddled with pockets of roads, houses, campgrounds, etc.  It is only located about 25 miles north of the city limits.
 
   Apparently this idiot became separated from his two friends, and wandered around for FIVE days, before he found a road.  He claims that he "survived" by eating worms.  He says he found his way out by following "deer trails."
 
  Personally, I think it is an enormous hoax, perpetrated by someone who wanted to paint himself as some type of survivor and hero.  (Much like the volunteer firemen who are convicted of starting fires, so they can call themselves heroes by putting them out.)
 
  What a joke.  If you started at any point in that park, and walked for 1 mile in a straight line in any direction, you would probably cross two hard surface roads.
 
  And the press is too stupid to realize what a joke it is.
 
Mannyrock
 
 

[Swampman]

The easiest way to find your way out of a "wilderness" in the lower 48 is to stop and listen for a car.

[reliquary]

When I began hunting by myself, Dad took me for a drive around the area.  One side of the "box" I was allowed to roam in was three miles of state highway, one side was two miles of dirt road, one side was about a mile of county road, and the last was maybe a mile of gravel road.  He impressed on me that if I got lost, to use landmarks (or the sun) and just walk in a straight line until I hit one of the roads. Never had much of a problem.
 
Eventually I progressed into larger and larger "boxes", but the basics remained the same.  By about age 12, I mastered the use of a compass and still have one (plus survival supplies) in my hunting sack. 
 
This wayward squirrel hunter is swimming in the shallow end of the gene pool.