[gollum]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Mesuge', 'R')eality spoiler alert, reposted comment post from Kunstler blog:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')enCorp | November 15, 2010 9:52 AM | Reply
I'm really starting to think that he and everybody else is getting the nature of the collapse all wrong. It's happening now but it's slow. There is no tipping point, no cliff. Just slow decent, notch by notch, day after day, forever.
I live in Africa and believe me, yeast folk, you have no idea how much things can deteriorate, how poor you become, how many services can fail while at the same time there are still rich politicians and their business pals driving in big limos (more like BMW X6s round here) down new freeways doing exactly what they want. Where I live half the population under 30 has no job and no hope of getting one. A third of country live in shacks. There are plagues, no-go zones, corrupt pigs demanding bribes everywhere, more taxes. But at the same time more golf esates, more BMW X6s and more silicone breast implants than ever before! It becomes normal very quickly, trust me.
If you're waiting for some kind of poverty limit to spark revolt you're going to wait forever.

[americandream]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gollum', 'T')he key to revolt isn't how low you sink, it's how far from where you were at the start.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'I')'d say how's taht for ego.

[Revi]

I just re-read Dmitry Orlov's Reinventing Collapse. He really doesn't believe that hoarding stuff and hunkering down into survival mode is going to work. We'll all have to share what we have with our neighbors when it comes down to it anyway. No point in worrying about whether you are the most prepared or the richest once the collapse comes. Better not to have any conspicuous wealth.

Obviously it's better to have some simple things, but ostentatious displays of wealth mean you have to defend it as well.

[Ibon]

Altruism vs selfishness. Our DNA has been selecting for both of these seemingly contradictory impulses since we came down out of the trees. Surely both as a cocktail have to applied going forward as we pass through the bottleneck of overshoot. Make friends with both your kindness and self interest. You will need them both, one sitting on each shoulder whispering into your ear sage advice

[Crazy_Dad]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', 'A')ltruism vs selfishness. Our DNA has been selecting for both of these seemingly contradictory impulses since we came down out of the trees. Surely both as a cocktail have to applied going forward as we pass through the bottleneck of overshoot. Make friends with both your kindness and self interest. You will need them both, one sitting on each shoulder whispering into your ear sage advice

[americandream]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Crazy_Dad', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', 'A')ltruism vs selfishness. Our DNA has been selecting for both of these seemingly contradictory impulses since we came down out of the trees. Surely both as a cocktail have to applied going forward as we pass through the bottleneck of overshoot. Make friends with both your kindness and self interest. You will need them both, one sitting on each shoulder whispering into your ear sage advice

[Crazy_Dad]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('americandream', '
')
Self-actualisation would probably never get beyond mere speculation as our primal purpose would always win. Which is why the pendulum will swing in the direction of the collective as the contemporary paradigm increasingly fails to meet the needs of the individual, in the process threatening the collective. After all, the collective is merely the sum of individuals.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Mesuge', 'R')eality spoiler alert,

[vtsnowedin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Mesuge', 'R')eality spoiler alert,

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 't')hese people aren't waco survivalists, they are simply following the suggestions of the US...

[deMolay]

I disagree with Mesuge and agree with Pops on this topic. In Mesuges example, he cites Africa. There is a whole world of difference between Africa and the USA. In Africa those people always had nothing, no expectations of ever having something more. In the USA we have had generations of people who have lived on entitlements, especially in the cities. When the handouts end, they will be very unhappy and will probably turn violent. See Katrina for more info. In my case, I am retired, I have a well larded pantry, land and home paid for, all the tools and resources paid for. And I also have 9 granchildren who will depend on me and my preps if things go for a shit as we all expect. Only a fool would think only of themselves and not prepare responsibly for their welfare. If we are all wrong, I guess I will have to just eat my preps, that are all paid for anyway.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('steam_cannon', 'Y')ou're right that success is also a survival strategy. Though we don't focus on this, there are a lot of smart successful people here. Also I think many people here have put their career into overdrive since learning about peak oil. So I think a lot of people are pursuing this strategy, while making plans for if it doesn't work out.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '
')And for all the talk of survivalism, popular doom proponents are awfully wound up in good old capitalist enterprise.

[Maddog78]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'I')'d say how's taht for ego.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Crazy_Dad', '
')On topic though: I doubt I can be prepared for much. I work full time just to live. I'm light on my feet and I can think. I hope this gives me some sort of edge.

[Revi]

I think that it will be a very chaotic time starting pretty soon. Having a little food and a supply of water seem like reasonable precautions to me. A supply of wood in case we can't get oil is not a bad idea either.

I think a little preparedness is not a bad thing.

Just in case...

[Revi]

Here's an article on preparedness from the Silver Bear Cafe:

http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/1 ... rvive.html

I think it's timely. It may be time to restock on food.

Things may get dicey sooner than we think.

[truecougarblue]

I'd say a first step for anyone who doesn't have basic water and food covered for a long emergency is to visit http://www.providentliving.org

There is a great deal of useful information there, and they aren't really selling anything other than the idea that one should be prepared.

I control two different water sources about 20 miles apart, one is where I live. I have 350 gallons of clean veggie oil to run my truck in an emergency. I have a year's supply of food. My well insulated house only gets down to 50 degrees F with no heat in the winter, and up to 85 F in the summer with no AC. I have wood heat for comfort.

What is next? Trees and chickens at my new house.