The following post was originally published over at 299Days.com.
By Glen Tate
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 necessary, 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 sarcastically, “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.
: Part 1 – The Unprepared Neighbor){kind=link}
Got them on both sides.
How true that is!
Remember, the Dog needs to eat too… Too harsh?
The clown that owned the property behind me chopped it up into lots and now I have an alien culture behind me. About 30 yuppie families most of which are employed at the local university. They are about 100 yards away, separated by trees. I have been very careful not to let them see too much. But I still see them as a threat. My next purchase is going to be barbed wire to have ready to erect entanglements in the trees and bushes between us. Good fences make good neighbors.
A very true statement Oren on the fences.
This topic is my worst nightmare….especially since i have minimal stores of anything, compared to most of you all. As i read this post, the differences between driving on ice in “traffic,” versus by yourself with NO traffic, came to mind. If i am able-and i in probable overestimation THINK i am-to navigate the slippery roads without “outside” influences making problems…say, an inexperienced or an unsafe driver….and safely arive at my destination, i am talking in to account a very limited known amount of i obstacles/hazards. (i DO admit the hand of God has blessed and rescued me more than i know most likely.) The REALITY is not only am i (possibly/probably) overestimating my capabilities, but there are many known/unknown obstacles/hazards to impede my travel, and therefore, safe arrival at the desired destination. KNOWN/UNKNOWN….this is the issue so often. “It’s what you don’t know AND what you don’t know that you don’t know that really puts a wrench in it.” Good topic and conversation….thanks.
Thanks Joyce for sharing.
Very difficult, if not impossible, to be “gray” in your own neighborhood…
So you are recommending that I leave my hard earned stash, by taking a small part of it and bugging out?????!!!!
FIrehawk,
I think the key is recognizing the possibility that you may have to if the situation becomes untenable and the choice is materials or life. With that in mind, you can find a lot of information about caching your ‘stash’ in diverse locations so that all of your eggs are not in one basket in books or various websites. I remember when I got into “prepping” and made the usual mistake of being gear heavy, even though my knowledge was adequate. I keep trying to find ways to pare down my gear so that I can move quickly, have what I need, and keep my loved ones safe. Good Luck.
When you are 70 moving quickly doesn’t enter into the lexicon. Not much is posted about what seniors have available to do. I would have to fight it out and hope my Marine Corps training in firearms wins the day.