I was reading at SurvivalBlog.com. Thought this was an extremely useful post: OPSEC and the Dangers of People You Thought Were Like-Minded, by R.S.O. in Arizona - SurvivalBlog.com So - having this guys knowledge - do you determine that the best defense is to be offensive when the SHTF?
If you're a month into SHTF and see these friends coming to see you . . . you might be endangering your family's lives by not shooting them. Sounds harsh, but, if you know they didn't have enough food/water for that time period and they don't look thinner, they've been taking from some other folks. I'm guessing though, what you're really asking is do you go out and hunt these guys down and get them before they get you. I guess we'll have to open back up that 'morals' thread now........
This is my exact question. They live in your community and they know your plan and you know their plan. How many people will they "murder" by taking their food and preps so that they can survive? Is it our duty to defend those that have prepped but do not have the vast "group" that many have created? This is 2 way moral issue. Is it a greater moral action to rid the neighborhood of these guys before they wreak their havoc or wait for many people to be "killed" before they are killed or for that matter, you and your family. At a certain point, people will tag along with these guys until they become a powerful gang. Then, it will be too late because their skills will be honed and their abilities perfected in taking down the preppers.
This is why we network with like-minded others, and get to know who is Trustworthy, and who is NOT.... Figuring that out after the fact is a very Dangerous Proposition... If you were floating, up the Inlet, here, in a Boat, and I didn't know who you were, Clyde, You would suffer the same fate as any other interloper.... .308 thru the Wheelhouse window at 1000Yds, and an invitation to turn around and go ELSEWHERE... but if you called on the MonkeyNet Channel and announced yourself, the Campfire would be burning, and you would be welcomed with Open Arms... Even though we have never meet, in person.... You come with Credentials, from our mutual Friends.... and that carries a LOT of weight, around here.... it is the same for MANY of my Monkey Friends...
Bruce - I totally understand your post on like mindedness. Yet, when we know a person that we thought was in our circle has said all the right things but turns out to be a Poser who has intentions to take from others......and we know about it.....in a SHTF situation do we wait for that person to strike (kind of like feeding an alligator, eventually it has to look to us) or do we do nothing and just "pray". This is a tough question because some would say it is murder while others might say it is preventing murder.
There is a fine line to be drawn, I have a close neighbor i trust and since we have talked he has put as much or more away than i have. He is on fire for prepping. If i would have never introduced him to the idea he could very well have dropped from when i was making my morning chore rounds for what i might have in my house. It's not going to be hard to tell who has food and who doesn't if your skin and bones your starving. If you have some food you will be healthy and even if you are able to wear larger cloths to look skinny you skin color will look better. I'm not going to broadcast all my plans, however i will get as many like minded people on board as possible so we can have each other backs. I never want to kill anyone if i can be prevented. Jason
Clyde, if you KNOW, or have Suspicions, that there is a Poser in your circle of Prep'ers, or Neighbors, you eliminate the threat, BEFORE, it becomes a threat.... You drop the Poser, and let him know that he is NOT "Welcome at your Fire" long before the SHTF, or as soon as you run across him, post SHTF Event. This is more a Urban and SubUrban Issue, than a Bush Issue, as we have very few neighbors, and most, I would trust with My, and my families, Life. Those that I do NOT have that Trust, already determined, from decades of interaction, already KNOW, where they stand with ME, and it is at 1000Yds.... if still alive... closer if already dead.... My Opinion, YMMV... as you see fit... It is a Good Question, for each of us to consider... and Answer, long before the SHTF....
Jason, Did you read the article? Your answer is far to simple. Trusted and thought you could trust is the issue, if you find out before the SHTF, then what? This is not about like minded....it is about those who profess to be like minded in all outward appearance, but who tell you ahead of time they will be predators. Clyde
Bruce, I think we are on the right track and since you are in the bush, your perspective is much different than than those in more densely populated areas. If you tell the poser ahead of time that he is your enemy because he is going to be a predator, then you have now made an enemy. Since most of us are not in the bush, you now have knowledge that this person will be a predator....he knows you now have that knowledge....and as a result, he may pre-emptively strike you first. He may decide, I can't trust Bruce when the SHTF....he knows to much. Is tipping you hat wise before SHTF or laying low for now and knowing this person is on your "not to be trusted list" make you wiser?
There are risks, either way, and you can NOT eliminate them... All one can do is minimize them.... Out here, there are very few Posers, as they can't make it thru the first Winter.. Mother Nature weeds them out, long before they become a threat, to anyone, besides themselves.... That is why I choose to live this far out.... I can see the results of THEIR actions, long before it impacts Me, or Mine, as can all the other Neighbors , who CAN live out here.... Any Poser is revealed, by Halloween, and for sure by Thanksgiving... We have PAID their fare back to town, on MANY Occasions, with the understanding that they NEVER Come Back... So far NONE have... Oh yea, there was ONE, who tried to come back, but the State Troopers picked him up, On an Out of State Warrant, at the Airport, in Town.... He is still doing time in Oregon... I think he has 15 years left on his Escape Conviction...
Bruce, This still doesn't answer the question of what you do if you know someone has decided that their way to prep is after SHFT, as discussed in the article I linked to in the first post, they intend to prey on the people who prepped . Maybe in the bush this is not an issue because you are used to being independent and at a great distance, however, in the 48 contiguous states, where all roads seem to lead to somewhere, do you take out the avowed predators before they take you out as you know their prepping plan is to kill you and people like you because you have all the shit they want and need? Clyde
We have had this discussion, here on the Monkey, before... with many points of view, presented... Specifically with a Monkey from Aridzoinia, who had such a Neighbor, that had let him know, that was EXACTLY his Plan.... The consensus was, then, that you keep such folks at ARMs Length, and took them out FIRST, when the Rule of Law, was no longer in operation.... I subscribe to such a Plan of Action.... ie the 1000Yd Rule....
BtPost, is both protected by having a clear field of fire, and nearly alone. To reach out and touch someone at a great distance, and every step incoming, IS his best defense (until help arrives), (well, that and maybe claymores) But for us city dwellers, it is more like riding a full bus with at least one guy you know has a knife, and the intent to stab someone for a seat. Do you attack him because of the knife, or wait for the knifing. As for myself, (the only one I can speak for) i would keep him in sight, and remain just out of reach, but close enough to take him down (unaware) when he attacks. To announce my intent would just make me his target, to attack before his strike would just make me the nut case, and in the popular eye, unjustified. To attack too late could cost someone their life, but you would be clearly in the right (publicly) when you take him from the flanks, because he is committed to his attack. Hopefully, his target can hold him off long enough for a rescue. There are no cut and drieds on this, but i can't kill someone, until he shows me intent of purpose. There are many who say what they would do....but how many will actually do as they say? These predator wanna-bees, could be all talk. I can't judge his words, just his actions. However, if his actions should speak roughly, so shall my rifle.
No, leave it, Clyde... It is a valuable Question, that does need to be thought out, discussed, and Answered... For each individual..
It never amazes me to see a person who may be typified as a villain, actually turn out to be a very trustworthy, honest guy. Society is complete sh*t. Some times, the guy with the leather jacket turns out to be the good guy, but social pressure and typical conditioned responses from the average clone zombie pushes the guy to adopt a tough attitude. It's going to be the people who have always rested in the middle, calm and silent, unprepared and doubting who will turn against others. These people are the real problem, and bear in mind --the majority. The ones who, for the most part offer a tough outward appearance and show a harsh attitude are probably going to be able to fight to protect their loved ones and themselves without having to prey upon others. This example doesn't exclude gangs, who fall in line with the typified nature of a predator type survivalist, however. You may be surprised to find out how cowardly some gang members actually are, and they usually try to get other timid and unprepared people to do their bidding and get their hands dirty. Society, being the garbage heap that it is, nevertheless, is also spotted with good people, too. Don't assume that the average Joe is gonna suddenly turn to preying on his neighbor, but prepare for it to happen anyway. All it will take is one "bad egg" to influence a group to take what somebody else has to ignite a powder keg. With as many government dependent types in society who generally are accustomed to handouts and socialist living, we have our work cut out for us...
It made my stomach turn to read that article - not that I haven't contemplated the existence of people as such but that they dwell / relish the thought of doing that to innocents when the time comes. I'm a Sheepdog - always have been ( beating up other people's bullies in grade school ) and always will be. I had a friend whom I had known and trusted since Sophomore year of high school and who I love like a brother, voice a similar train of thought once after we got into a discussion about SHTF/WROL and he had had a few drinks. I chastised him and have viewed him with suspicion ever since including opting him out of any further knowledge of prepping that I am doing. We still talk as I am a forgiving man but for OPSEC reasons every response on my behalf is measured and censored. Note the guy never said me or anyone I know in fact he qualified his statement by saying as much but to prey on innocents is evil and not do so when not being pushed to the limits of human endurance is calculated and premeditated evil. Be wary of such men.