What do you see when looking at your neighbors?

I watch my neighbors to the point they'd probably consider me a stalker, ha. I have the juvie delinquents, the crusty old guy, the cop who drinks, the divorcee who has a lot of boyfriends and 3 kids who hate her. Several vacant houses. I imagine at first glance Mr Crusty would be everyone's pick since he gardens and has guns, but after watching them for several years, my money is on the cop who drinks. I think a SHTF situation would galvanize him.

I don't really worry about them. Most of them will bail to go live with family elsewhere. I have other people who live a few streets over that I am sort of cultivating to be able to stand on their own though.

 

Well lemme see if I can set the scene...

"OMG OMG BEES!!!! I'M DEATHLY ALLERGIC TO BEE STINGS!"

Amazing how many people are deathly allergic to bee stings. I ask and ask, but the best I get is they got stung once and it rilly rilly hurt. Animal Control is on my side though so the 2 council puppets who are against them aren't getting much traction.

 

Mom and Dad, and one neighbor who is a woods men and heavy equipment guy. Next neighbor is half a mile away.

 

Have ya ever heard the old saying that they would have to pay to pump daylight in that holler ,well there is a quarter machine at the end of the pavement !!!

 

I see most of the people in my neighborhood as an asset rather than a threat. In time of need, the community in which I live in has always been willing to lend a helping hand. I will not discontinue this attitude toward my neighbors nor the community.

If the SHTF for real, do you have all the skills and resources available to you within your house to endure a long term situation without leaving and/or not letting your neighbors know that you are not starving or thirsty.

 

My immediate neighbors are a varied group. There is an older man who could be useful as he buys and sells at the local flea market. He has much in storage and knows where to find a wide variety of items. He likes me pretty good as I work with his daughter and caught someone breaking in to his house last year. I called the police. They caught the guy and I testified at the trial. There is a young couple. Nice and hard workers. A young man (very early 20"s) moved in with his girl friend but is now alone. His friends are there more often than not as they now have a cool bachelor pad to party at. Seemingly easy to manipulate as long as they can have their good times. Couple of families with teenagers. Nothing unusual, just many mouths to feed. A couple from New Jersey. Retired trucker and his girl friend with her two small children. Friendly, helpful, into motorcycles with good mechanic skills. There are many more as you expand out down the block. There is a good natural water source about 200 meters away. Surface spring and two creeks. I am a couple of blocks from the police and fire station. The neighborhood is crisscrossed with fences. While in downtown, there are natural choke points for defense. I have been working on kinda mapping the neighborhood and getting to know some of the neighbors better. I just can't pinpoint what is bothering me.

 

Keep in mind my attitude might be different if I lived elsewhere or closer to Portland and did not live within the same community I graduated high school from 30 yrs. ago. I had many years to build friendships here. I honestly feel blessed to live where I do.

 

Didn't really think there was that many in Far City, but then, I don't know about how many in Rolf Ton either LoL

I AM extremely good at seeing thru people. I pay attention to details most don't notice.

My neighbors, the standard Liberal Yuppy Wannabe types. AkA: Useless Type People. They prolly think I'm always playing in yard in summer, or working on house. They definitely KNOW I have guns, sum from Personal experience hehe As a result I bet the whole neighborhood knows, coming in my yard after dark, better bring clean underwear.

 

Stang, there is that many. Doesn't seem like it. I think they are all in Walmart. Rolf Ton has a little over 4000. There are about 68,000 county wide. I'm afraid my neighbors just don't find me that menacing.

 

Tommy Boy - BEES scene

 

This sounds bad but my wife and I moved into our house in 2003 there were only 4 houses in our division and we were the first to live here for about 2 week, this past sunday I came to the very true realization that we actually dont know a single other family out of about 125 homes, so we are certainly going to be GTHOOD.

 

If i remember right ...You have family close by ?
Oh...It's not good that you don't know your neighbor's...Just say'n

 

This is what I see when I look at most of my neighbors.

 

Greatest Line Ever Against Democrats - YouTube

 

A few SHTF assets, but mostly liabilities.

 

i only know one neighbor and they are very good at growing veggies and fruit. they have two little ones and no firearms because of that reason. looks like i can share mine for some extra food.

 

VICTIMS!!!

 

excellent idea. Ill have to see if the father wants to go to the range within the next copule weekends. Also that is great practice you did with your own children. If you take the curiousity away and show them responsibility then most likely no "bad" things will happen.(like the video i saw on here the other day of a guys 12 guage cooking off in his face"

 

Cross-linking these posts:
Classifying your neighbors before SHTF | Survival Forums
“I’ll Come To Your Place When SHTF” – No You Won’t | Survival Forums

If you've read The Jakarta Pandemic, a good example of what Tate refers to is the situation with Todd.
Know Thy Enemy (During the Collapse): Part 1 – The Unprepared Neighbor

I've read Rawles' stuff extensively and he lays out some rules to live by after the SHTF. One of those has to do with charity--in his words, "Give 'till it hurts."

I completely disagree with this depending on who you are giving to. I'm speaking about neighbors (like Todd)--the kind who are libs and think the .gov will take care of them**. These people are your enemy! See them for what they are. All of the bs that's going on now--if they agree with any of it, they are your enemy.

Tate makes a good point here:

** If you don't have neighbors or everyone around you has a bunker with 13.7 years of food and supplies in it, no need to tell us about it. You're set--go count your cans of Mountain House. The purpose here is to open the eyes of people who might be "seein' things for the first time."

Know Thy Enemy (During the Collapse): Part 1 – The Unprepared Neighbor
by GLEN TATE on NOVEMBER 1, 2015



This guy is your enemy. (During the Collapse, that is.)

He doesn’t seem like it; in fact, he looks kind of wimpy. He’s not a jack-booted Homeland Security trooper breaking down your door to take your guns, so he can’t be a threat, right?

Wrong. Dead wrong. He’s a bigger threat to most of you than the government.

Of course the government will be a threat, especially in urban areas where they will congregate and hold onto power in their fiefdoms. Gangs will also be a threat (more on that in Part 2 of this series). My point is that the guy pictured above – the unprepared neighbor – is the one most likely to actually try to take your stuff and, if neccessary, hurt you and your family.

Who is this guy and why is he a threat?

He’s the guy who lives next to you. Just an average guy. Maybe you even gently tried to bring up the topic of prepping with him. He looked at you like you were from Mars and said, a little sarcastcially, “Oh, like those people on Doomsday Preppers?” Being a good (feminized) male in the suburbs, he thought preppers were a bunch of right-wing crazies who just had some weird fetish about (icky, icky) guns. He had plenty of opportunities to prepare but spent his time and money on concerts, trendy clothes, and whatever else most of America thinks is more important than taking care of their families in a crisis.

Then the Collapse hits. Very soon his high-end grocery store is out of goat cheese and the police are no longer functioning. After the shock and total disbelief wears off, he is terrified. Not just scared, but lose-your-mind hysterical. He’s been awake for several days because of all the gunfire he’s hearing, the baby has been crying, and his wife has been screaming at him for hours to “do something!” (This, of course, is a story in itself because she was the one who told him he can’t have a gun like Todd and Chloe in the 299 Days book series.) Your unprepared neighbor is not thinking rationally. He’s desperate. Studies show that after about 72 hours without food, people – even “nice” ones – will do horrible things to feed themselves and their families. He needs to shut her up, get some food, and feel safe. He’ll do anything to make that happen. Anything.

He remembers that conversation he had with you about “having a little bit of food in case the power goes out during the next ice storm.” He remembers seeing you putting a gun into your car that day you went to the shooting range. It all becomes “clear” to him: You need to give him food and a gun. It’s only fair. Besides, he tries to reassure himself, you are a nice guy. You’ll help.

He walks over to your place. He’s nervous and scared of what he’ll do. He politely knocks on your door. You don’t know it’s him so you don’t answer – home invasions are happening everywhere and the last thing you want to do is let anyone in.

The knocking gets louder. Then even louder; by now, it’s pounding. Who ever it is banging on your door is angry.

Finally, you recognize his voice.

Should you let him in?

How you answer this is a personal choice and depends on the circumstances. However, my point is that you must recognize this guy for what he is: your enemy. That’s kind of harsh, but here’s why.

You can’t solve his problem.

You can’t feed him and his family for the next few months or even years or guard his place all night instead of guarding your own. You just can’t. That was HIS job and he failed miserably. He feels humiliated that he didn’t take care of his family – and his wife won’t stop yelling at him. You are the reason (in his mind) that his problem isn’t getting solved. So, instead of you being able to solve his problem, you ARE his problem.

Whether or not you let him in and give him a little food, he will start to talk to all the other neighbors who, of course, are not prepared either. They will decide that you’re a “hoarder.” Maybe the authorities are out looking for “hoarders” or “illegal guns” and one of the neighbors suggests that they turn you in. You get the picture. This guy is your enemy.

What can you do? Two things.

First, recognize that a seemingly harmless guy like this will, indeed, be your enemy. Recognizing this is the first – and biggest – step in successfully navigating this problem.

Second, get the hell out of that neighborhood at the first sign of the Collapse.