[joeltrout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joelcolorado', 'I') love this thread and the gun thread. People have watched way too many Rambo movies to think they can survive this type of scenario.

Have you ever faced a mob? Or a gang of well armed men.?
Or a professional like me? There are too many ways to get to you as I have the patience of job. DONT step outside day or night? How long can you last?

If your house is set on fire, how long will you last. TO talk about post peak oil in that type of scenario is foolishness. The only way to survive in those kinds of situations is to band together against the mobs and roving gangs.

You might kill a few no doubt but will only delay the inevitable. You have read way too many books. And seen too many goofey movies. I have been in the real deal and you cant survive long alone

[joelcolorado]

Why would anyone with a family WANT this to happen sooner than later? Later is better as there is a chance that we can overcome the obstacles. THINK here.

Can you face seeing your kids starve? You need to regroup and not give in so easily to the fearmongering. I have lived in some impossible situations and men around me gave up but there were always enough of us who would not give up that pulled it thru.

Be part of the solution and not part of the mob. Be strong, be a real man and stand tall in these days. We need leaders now more than ever.

I drive 100 miles to work and 100 miles home. Using our old cavalier which gets 40 mpg and just surviving. Facing disability but I will NOT give up. NO WAY.

I only wish I could get with some of you and really chat and live for a week or so and show you just WHAT you are really capable of. You dont know it until faced with it and then it changes you forever. Have seen impossible situations overcome by sheer willpower. Man has this innate ability to rise to the occasion and overcome in the face and in spite of difficulties. Damn I like that about ppl.

[ROCKMAN]

Very interesting to see everyone’s take on the Sellis statement. No right or wrong answers IMO…just different perspectives. I’ll toss in my particular best case scenario: have some akin to an artificial PO smack us right between the eyes. Doesn’t so matter what the source: a “short” war with Iran or the Mother of all Hurricanes hitting the GOM. Something that would cause empty gas stations, long black outs hitting folks that have never seen one before, airline flights rationed, etc. Something that will absolutely get the PO dilemma across but not so severe that we can’t recover and start addressing the problem AS A COUNTRY.

The conversation reminds me of a theory offered long ago with regards to the Pacific theater of WWII. It goes like this: instead of Japan hitting Pearl Harbor they left us alone and just kept marching across Asia. Not unlike Hitler moving across Europe. After several years of amassing resources the Japanese would have been a much different opponent then they were on 8 Dec. In this theory, the US was lucky they attacked us when they did. It provided the incentive to ramp up. For those not too familiar with pre-WWII US attitudes you should know that a very large portion of the population opposed going to war to save Europe (including England) and had even less interest in saving Asia from Japan. Thus my silly best case scenario: a PH type event which we survive, for the most part, but also forces the issue while there may still be sometime for positive actions.

[MrBean]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joelcolorado', 'W')hy would anyone with a family WANT this to happen sooner than later? Later is better as there is a chance that we can overcome the obstacles. THINK here.

[vision-master]

This thread makes ya all sound like a bunch of wack-jobs....... an Golem the only one who makes any sense at all.

[ROCKMAN]

Ahh...good ole v-m...a person of few words...thank goodness

[gregg1961]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Spanktron9', '+')1
Just count each day as a gift to prep and trade dollars for hard goods.

[PonyBoy78]

If I were a religious man, I'd be praying every night that this doesn't happen anytime soon.

The time we have right now is precious. It's more time to prepare ourselves and our families. Killing debts (if you're so inclined), obtaining and stocking supplies that are currently abundant, enjoying the plastic pumpkins that still line the shelves in our supermarkets and department stores, sharpening our pre-petro living skills, etc etc.

Bottom line: the more time I have to prepare, the better my family's chances are.

I'm enjoying every day right now, even the bad ones. Sitting on this nice couch, laptop next to me, glass of ice water, dog sleeping at my feet, curtains waving in the breeze of the A/C.. It seems so insignificant, so mundane - but this is the kind of moment that I will look back upon and cherish. I can only imagine my grandchildren's reactions to this kind of plush lifestyle!

I don't want it to happen. But I know that this cannot be sustained for much longer. So I prepare, enjoy the here and now, and cross my fingers for more time.

[vilemerchant]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ROCKMAN', 'A')hh...good ole v-m...a person of few words...thank goodness

[ROCKMAN]

Sorry you got caught in the cross fire vile. I was just teasing vision-master. I really don't mind v-m running in and throwing a grenade every now and then. Debate, even feeble ones, are healthy. But the equivalent of saying "na na na" is neither stimulating nor entertaining. I even enjoy name caliing if it's imaginitive, you vile little worm you. OK..not that imaginitive but I'm late for a meeting.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joelcolorado', '
')I drive 100 miles to work and 100 miles home. Using our old cavalier which gets 40 mpg and just surviving. Facing disability but I will NOT give up. NO WAY.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'T')his thread makes ya all sound like a bunch of wack-jobs.

[Spanktron9]

Jenab6-

I hate to pierce your fantasy, but unless you are a member of an extremely small and highly skilled group of aboriginal american woodcraft experts, you have almost no chance of a "lone stand"/rambo/robinson crusoe scenario. If you believe that you will handle months and years of "isolation" and not be found, or fall victim to (further) mental illness, you may be worse off than the group of hippies living "off-the-grid" and driving on veggie-oil.

On another note-

I have thought quite a bit that those with current or recent military experience, especially spec-ops or small unit specialists. They would have a strong advantage physically, mentally and economically. These individuals have been hardened to enviromental hardship, have useful skills in scavenging, field medicine, security, recon, base defense. etc. Plus they fully appreciate the power of teamwork and the importance of unit integrity (working toward a common goal). I wonder if surviving communities won't "hire" some of these individuals for security in return for food, women, etc. Doesn't seem implausible.

I have several friends in the spec-op community and know that despite my size, strength and training, I would stand virtually no chance defending my family from even a small committed attack from them.

[joelcolorado]

Forget the women...i want food in exchange...i can get women..hahhahah


I drive cuz my wife is doc and has job here...for now.

[Sellis1012]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('thuja', 'S')o you're getting real excited for getting that pink slip from work. And then moving back in with your parents. And then not having enough money to pay for your car and internet subscription. And then you find you can't get another job except cleaning up toilets. And then your wife leaves you because she can't take the financial stress and moves back in with her family. And then your house gets robbed by some kids who live just down the street. And then you have to move to another city because the county government has gone bankrupt and businesses have all closed up. And then you move somewhere where you can trade 12 hour physical labor work days for crappy food and shelter...for the rest of your life...

That's what you're all hopped up about?

[Spanktron9]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joelcolorado', 'F')orget the women...i want food in exchange...i can get women..hahhahah

[Buggy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sellis1012', 'I')f I get a pink slip, millions of people are already dead. But don't worry, I just read today that natural gas is going to save the day.

[gregg1961]

Maybe it's just me, but I am one who DOES have some extra ammo around. However, my plan (at least in the near term) is to use that for hunting to put food on the table. Not only would I prefer to not use my ammo on my neighbors, I agree with the others that in the face of true adversity we will need to band together to get through. Solitude can be wonderful for a day, not for a life time.

[burritos]

Empirically, what would be worse(not what's worse for you, just what would be worse). You're walking into a kindergarten with a shotgun and blowing away 30-40 little children, or the effects of PO? Now if you wouldn't want the former to happen, why would you want the latter to happen?

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Spanktron9', '
')I have thought quite a bit that those with current or recent military experience, especially spec-ops or small unit specialists. They would have a strong advantage physically, mentally and economically. These individuals have been hardened to enviromental hardship, have useful skills in scavenging, field medicine, security, recon, base defense. etc. Plus they fully appreciate the power of teamwork and the importance of unit integrity (working toward a common goal). I wonder if surviving communities won't "hire" some of these individuals for security in return for food, women, etc. Doesn't seem implausible.