Our Beloved Monkey is Sick!

The Title says it all! What has happend to Survival Monkey? We are more divided today then ever before, and the daily threads and replies are really divisive, so much so that many members have simply un-plugged or simply don't hang out here any more! I know most of the Political crap threads ARE survival related, but they sure don't help us at all! Every day I see the same crap threads, same crap replies, and inevitably ends up being the same crap ending! Nothing good ever comes out of any of it, and now it's pretty much taken over the Monkey! I have been very close to pulling the plug and simply surfing the older threads on actual survival stuff, useful stuff instead of the mind numbingly divisive stuff we seem to have now

Frankly, I'm sick to my stomach with all the political crap, and would just as soon forget about it all, especially when logging in and seeing yet another thread about the doom and gloom and insessent attacks on our rights! Yes, I know we all need to keep watch on this stuff, but come on, the near constant threads on the latest doom and gloom isn't healthy, and it certainly isn't in keeping with what this sight is all about! Further more, When we have members bent on continuing to post these threads, and then other members who reply in very derisive manor, it sure makes the sight a sad place, and certainly adds to the numbers of members who have called it quits here, which makes me sad, I miss those good folks, I miss the good fruitful discussions with those of like mind, as well as those with a differing view of the world, and unique experiences to share and add to the Monkey Tree of Knowledge! I want my Monkey back! We are all aboard this sinking ship called 'Murica, we all learn to swim together or we drown separately, THAT is what brings us all together, and lets pass on the crap for a while!

 

I guess I'm not tracking... Someone else recently mentioned the 'doom and gloom' here but that is the reality of the moment we are living in. The world is changing, things are happening, big things, major changes... People who come here and stay have the same thought and outlook on life - which most the time is live and let live - but sometimes they need to rant, but to who, their Congressmen/Senators? Oh, I have done that and it's not worth the time. So, they blow off steam here among friends...what's the harm? Another way they do this is by posting things that anger them, mostly from the news media. Okay, maybe I get tired of hearing about the Muslim invasion, or the illegal immigrant invasion, or the whacko Leftists or nutso Rightists but again, what is the harm? I might read it, or briefly scan it or I might not. The choice is mine.

My point is, like it or not, this is the state of affairs of the world. People don't post this 'Doom and Gloom' because they get all warm and fuzzy doing it. They post it because they feel it is something important, something this community might want to discuss or perhaps they know something about it or maybe they just want to get everyone's opinion.

But, like it or not - this is what is happening in the world and I think we should be talking about it - all of it - not just the nice parts but the ugly, slimy, and backstabbing crappy parts too which means - politics - especially now days.

Anyway...that's my opinion. I like discussion with people from different parts of the world and aspects of life about - well - everything to include survival stuff and even 'Doom and Gloom' stuff. That is why I am here.

EDIT: Maybe I missed something? Something that freaked out some folks? What, the economics post? Hope for the best and prepare for the worse that is all one can do in life...

 

I can manage my politics, religion, personal “red lines”, finanaces and sex life without aid of The Monkey. What we started here and what made it different was friendship, knowledge and to a degree tolerance. I came here for information about the outdoors, living a different life, hunting/fishing, dealing with troubles of nature and man. These days I mostly log in with a morbid curiosity of what crap slinging match has happened so I can sit in the stands and watch.

I look back at the posting from 05 and note the difference, there were still fights and disagreements but they lacked the bile and intent (on that yes I am looking at you Chello) for “drama”. There was less tinfoil and much more practical postings.

I do understand that the world IS a different place and feelings are running strong in many. But there are about a billion other forums to piss and moan on about things without it becoming the “core” of this forum.

I am not saying it should be so here but I am a member on a forum that has hard and fast rules, No Politics and No Religion. It is I have to say refreshing. It’s amazing to watch people who I KNOW are polar opposites on those things happily converse about knives, outdoor skills, hunting and living an outdoor life while being prepared for about anything.

To me it is about balance and if I speak from my heart The Monkey has lost its balance.

 

One problem is that most things are discussed, links to e-books and information are provided so what then?
It looks that the most useful would be to (start) rate the info from bull dropping to excellent as there is much junk on the net.For the political crap yeah but sadly the rule, and every year more, so people relieve there frustration and you do not have to read it

 

I am totally fine without the Drama / Reality of today's political climate
Partly why I don't use the Shoutbox

 

On day 21 of the government shut-down my Neighborhood site was collecting food for federal workers and a Congressmen was providing meals. Leave out shut-down, federal workers and Congressmen and focus on 21 days and people without food. Twenty-one days and people have empty cup-boards. If that does not scare you then you do not get it. Survival Monkey is about being prepared. Today's news is no better then yesterdays so I often ask myself why are we wasting time beating the same horse everyday? It is dead, move on and focus on what you can do. Our Green Patch rarely gets posts. The medicine, skills and back to basics subcategories are floundering yet with the state of things, those subcategories should be thriving.

 

It might be nice if everyone starting another thread applied a simple litmus test to the topic:
Will this topic cause people to be more prepared?
Not more aware, but more prepared. If not, skip posting it.
There are dozens of good websites with all the awareness stuff. The vast majority of political and awareness posts here are just copy paste from those other sites and much of the time most of us have already seen it.

Please, original prepping content would be the best.

 

I may not always abide by this but I've gotten to the point that if it is a subject that has no positive result I avoid it. It's like having ones own ignore switch, just don't feed the trolls.

 

@Ura-Ki - I raised this off topic crap by pm with a staff member I've known personally for a LONG time. His response went something like this -

-Man does not live by bread alone. Over time, the forum has added bits and pieces to the menu so that things other than the main mission could be accommodated, it was easy to do under the old software. Removals could also be done back then, but didn't happen, no need at the time. The new (a couple years old now) software is less easily managed, plus it takes someone who has access. -

(He does not have access. It looks like the site owner is the only one with the software permissions and passwords.)

From my own perspective, there is so much rubbish being posted, all of it so far off mission, I've taken to reading only the posts that MAY have something interesting related to why I'm here at all. Plus I LIKE Chris Nuttal's writings.

@Airtime - I have some doubts that all monkeys are prepared to test their own thinking before hitting send. Would be nice --

@Bandit99 - I think you are a bit off with the idea of posting doom and gloom for warm fuzzies or for any other reason, but I do agree that the times are full of it. The question remains, does the monkey have to be just another place to read up on it? PLENTY of other sites for those exchanges to be read and digested.

@Andy the Aussie - "Spot on, mate."

 

From a "survivalist" point of view I see the tree as well balanced. Politics, doom, religion, all the way to galaxies colliding some one is prepping for something so it would by default be a concern what is going on around us and how it might effect us. The different opinions of (others) help (me) to understand (my) own opinions and methods on any given subject.There is an excellent mix of prepping threads to be had here more than any other forum I've seen out there. There are post that I personally really REALLY don't agree with but it is up to me whether I click on and read them. I don't feel the need for (someone else) to decide whether (anothers) opinion is something (I) should see or not. Plenty of mundane boring single vision forums with iron handed control out there. I have been to them. That's why I'm here and a supporter of the tree. Besides I can't leave as Chell still owes us pics of him in a feather boa and codpiece made from the shell of an endangered species! I wouldn't want to miss that by being somewhere reading the 37th separate thread on storing beans in jars at the Beans and only beans forum. Yeah I know, I really shouldn't post until my second pot of coffee. Deal with it!

 

To me Politics and Religion are one in the same I don't care and your not going to sway me so really no point to it
Information I can use
Opinion not so much everybody has one I don't care about opinion
True facts not fake news left or right

 

I'm working, but I'll get back here in a bit.

I came here from another prepper site, because it was not as interesting, tolerant or inspiring as the monkey tree.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence.

 

IMHO, we are actually not sick. Survival Monkey is actually a gauge of a particular demographic of the society we live in.

So after being a part of SM for the past 9 years, here is what I've observed about ourselves.

We are going to be interested in self-preservation and survival in hard times (political, economic, social)

Most here are Christian or believe in a higher power, but there are also humanist and maybe some that don't by into religion at all. god I hope there are some wiccans .. that would be awesome!
Don't think we have any Satanists.
So we are not going to have much tolerance for non Christians so we need a voice that will balance that out so we don't become a hate group and wind up on the SPLC's list.

We are either libertarian, or lean right. Some members are further right than others.
There are very few democrats or left leaners. So we are missing out on their input. and we will pretty much bash democrats every effing time. I myself think both the right and the left suck because they want to be our leaders as opposed to our representatives. If you are using the word leader when talking about your particular candidate .. you might want to research representative government a bit more.

Half of us probably have military or police background. So nationalism is going to be an underlying theme here. But Socialism and Nationalism are both bad because just a bit more and you wind up getting communists and Nazis. And we don't wind to wind up as Nazis (SPLC's list again)

I'm guessing the median age of membership is nearing 60. So we have a full 3 generation representative (grand parents, parents and children) skewed towards those that were in Vietnam or at least remember the hot war and the body count at dinner time, know that the USSR is evil. Remember the pretty much quiet as hell 80's and look at that as better times.

So a typical average new member here is going to be a 60 year old Christian grandpa that votes republican that puts their hand over their heart and takes off their hat when the national anthem is played. Thinks todays kids are idiots. Sees society as falling apart before their very eyes. That can no longer institute change by their own actions but hope to convince others that through postings of 'Information' from other like minded bloggers will open the eyes of others to our plight.

Problem is, if we do not have anyone that plays devils advocate from time to time and attempt to point out views other than our tribe we cannot see the big picture. If we listen to only those with whom we agree with .. we could be led unwittingly down a false path.

Do I agree with the posts that bash or demonize muslims, democrats, welfare recipients, the French. Nope. I just take note that a few members are mad about these groups and carry on. I take note of the quantity of such posts. I take note that the quantity of such posts are rising or falling. It's when members like BTPost or MotoMom start joining into the fray .. that I'll start to take notice .. I'll also get very worried that the end times are nigh.

We are a barometer of a segment of society, not the entire society. We need barometric information from outside of our region to see if a storm is truly coming.

So no, we are not sick. We just feel powerless to cause change in society and are crying out in pain; hoping that someone else can fix it. We've tried to fix it, we've become worn down and out. But we still have a voice and we hope it's enough to convince others to pick up the baton and carry it forward because we are not going to be able to much longer.

So post away. If it's propaganda or something that has an agenda .. imma going to call it out and possibly ridicule it. Mind you I have no disrespect for you as the poster, it's just the message that's being conveyed that I take exception with.

and on that note, i'm going to head off and take my daily Brain Force Plus and Super Male Vitality daily regimen and see what's new on HuffPost while listening C-SPAN and trying to convince my elected representative that he should support decriminalization of all drugs by introducing my proposed legislation all while waiting to see how many likes and replies this post gets!

 

Since I've used the Ignore button, I rarely see any of the drama. I'll admit I haven't posted a lot of stuff because of the reception by some folks here. It's all good, I'm pretty thick skined so on-line comments have no impact.

I enjoyed the short lived book discussions and prolly post way to much in the meme sections.

Still, this is a comfortable place to hang out and with judicious use of the Ignore function, damn near drama free. Right now it's -1F outside, I'm not going to be working on a garden or much of anything else - so I enjoy dropping by here so see what is going on...while sipping on a nice hot cuppa.

 

That was quick! I'm back!!

I've been reading and taking notes this morning, and I'd like to make some observations as I see it from where I sit. (Still displaced, with one home destroyed by Florence.)

I think The Monkey reflects the likes and opinions of the membership. A maturer group, who have been doing this for at least years, some for a lifetime. If I don't talk about storing grains, planting, making acorn flower (yuk!), starting cooking fires with flint & steel, or the merits of cotton t-shirts over old denim for char cloth it's because I thought everybody here knew all that stuff. Some prepping stuff I don't talk about, and I suspect I'm not alone, because it's nobody's business.

Some contributors have sadly seen their last Spring with us, while others have discovered something far more exciting than computer games or virtual reality. It takes a bit more work, but it sure has great rewards. Shhhhh! I've been doing it most of the time when I'm not sitting at the keyboard. I call it Actual Reality!

I could sit around and talk about knee and hip replacement, blood pressure, and cholesterol with a bunch of other broken old men, but I have better things to do. If you're a struggling 100 level prepper or comfortably above the 10K mark on every area you can dream up there's always something that'll catch you off guard. "The political crap" is where lots of these bad things will come from, and why I have learned to follow them on every source I can access. I value the opinions of people here who would otherwise just be a speck that I saw as I flew high above their A.O.. We even have foreign correspondents!

I'll see if I can post more interesting back-to-basic stuff now that I have better access to photo hosting. If newer members have an interest in the basics I hope they will speak up and ask questions. We aren't that scary.

I've been on single issue sites/groups for a long time, some have faded as interest/availability of things change, some have archived, others... like the Monkey have adapted and overcome. I like it here, and have learned much about tolerance, acceptance of the opinions of others, and even how to approach disagreements without puffing out my chest and picking a fight.

Oh, for those of you who haven't read the whole prepping by the numbers thing, it's a list you make and add to by quantity. 100 level prepper would have 100 gallons of water, 100 pounds of food, 100 rolls of toilet paper, 100 bullets, 100 silver dimes, 100 gallons of fuel, etc, etc. I see it as a long term investment strategy. You can add to the categories and quantity as a way of keeping the balance you feel necessary.

As always, there are topics that I don't have an interest in, or anything good to say about, so I say nothing at all. That doesn't mean that others don't enjoy them. I've met men who try to pick a fight with everyone. It's good to practice dealing with them at a distance... like here. Even trolls have their place. Me? I'm just a happy old range rat.

 

Right on.

I have a brother, nice guy, has a PhD and works for the FedGov. He one of the ones on furlough, not working, but will collect full back pay.
He is also nearly retirement age and is still living paycheck to paycheck.

We've had some discussions on this version of playing Chicken with people's pay. I have little sympathy for the sob stories - as an active duty member, we got hit with no paydays a few times and often military pay would see less 'inflation adjustment' ( a joke all by itself) than SS in an effort to 'save money'.

For the FedGov low-end employee (< GS5) , I get the frustration. I've seen people working and yet still eligible for SNAP - I was on food stamps while an active duty. E5 So while I may understand and have lived in their shoes for many years. it doesn't mean it has to stay that way. I leaned my lesson, never take a 'grant funded' gig, or one one where to sole source of funding is subject to the whims of the political class. Continuing education and a willingness to say - I'll try that will pay bigger dividends in the long run.

The divisiveness seen in full flower today, in too many ways, is mass media agenda driven. To that point, we rarely waste time on so-called news or opinion shows. Thinking back over my lifetime, the drive to divide Americans into smaller and smaller groups has gained steam and will - at some point, lead to a bad outcome. Except for the very rich. For them, it will likely be lethal.

As for the other -
This summer we are going to try no-dig potato growing. I'm also going to try a bit of 'guerilla' planting in the local park, also no-dig - I've picked out the area and watched it for two years. Going live on planting this summer.
I have finally gained access to a large garden area @ a nearby school, and have permission to run some plantings there over the summer while the kiddos are out - photos and feedback will be in the green section this summer. .

I've post material to the med or green section & have a suggestion. Rather than just click on the 'Like' - actually post something about that material - was it new? Was it of interest? Would you like to see more? Wish for a related subject? I'd rather not take the time to throw a rock in a pond that yields no ripples....and in this I'm sure I'm not alone.