Is prepping and survivalism worth the effort?
The first part of survival relies on LUCK as much as good judgement. Luck if the unexpected lands in your back yard (meteor, bomb, quake, tsunami, crashed vehicle, riot, warfare etc) and you survive the initial catastrophe. Good judgement (making correct choices, having the right kit, having the essential skills etc) is what keeps you alive afterwards.
Simply being AWARE and UNDERSTANDING of the risks and threats you may face as you go about your daily work, travelling, your choice of career, where you live and work, current political affairs etc. Understanding the potential risks and understanding what steps to you need to take if something happens gives you a huge advantage over the average person in the street. Having survival skills and equipment greatly enhances that advantage you have.
Are you prepared to rely on the state to help you out in a disaster? The UK government is woefully under equipped and prepared to deal with a large scale incident, some examples spring to mind. First the prolonged ice storms and severe cold snap of 2010, the government had to go cap in hand to the private owners of 4 wheel drive vehicles to help rescue people and deliver supplies, the forces and councils could not cope.
In the previous winter two inches of snow around the M11 motorway area saw thousands of motorists stranded overnight as the authorities could not cope. In Bostcastle Devon the very small scale localised floods a few years ago saw all FIVE available of England and Wales rescue helicopters in use leaving the rest of the country without air cover for 24 hours.
In the floods of 2013/14 the UK government could not even provide enough SANDBAGS to go around and they had to BORROW flat bottomed rescue boats and high capacity water pumps from Holland to make up for the shortfall.
And let us never forget the government and polices response to the riots and public disorder that originated in Tottenham, London, As the riots, looting and arson spread the authorities response was to withdraw the police for their own protection for the best part of three days and left the public to fend for themselves.
Look at the government’s response to large scale strikes by transport workers, apart from muttering some comments of outrage and indignation the government simply left millions of public transport reliant commuters to their own devices to get themselves to work or home safely.
Consider the governments standard response to a terror alert in most UK cities, IE stop the public transport systems and turn off the mobile phone networks!!
Consider the UK governments response to the forthcoming power supply crisis caused by the EU insisting many of the UKs older power stations are closed down for being too dirty, not only has the UK government not got in place the building of enough new power stations but they have declined on cost grounds buying more mobile backup generators to keep essential facilities working if a shortfall in energy supplies causes blackouts.
I’ll not go into the almost weekly public health scandals over the NHS or lack of dentists or food scares like BSE or Salmonella in eggs or drinking water pollution incidents, or toxic baby formula, or E.Coli coated vegetables from Spain, or shortages of essentials that pushes many wise people to start producing as much of their own food and drinking water as they can.
Take a look at modern society.
Millions of people do not keep even a set of spare fuses or a torch and batteries at home in case of a power cut.
Equally similar numbers do not even have a basic first aid kit or the skills to treat even basic casualties. People with First aid training are still a tiny minority in British society.
Millions of drivers do not know how to check their oil and fluid levels on their car or how to change a wheel.
Millions of people (According to a Social Trends survey) buy food DAILY , only keep a pint of milk at home and have no more than one of two days food in their homes. Sociological research from LEEDS showed that as the number of flats and apartments increased in an area the less food and supplies were kept by the citizens, most relying on the close proximity of the 24 hour mini stores for groceries purchased either daily or even for each meal.
Millions of people keep only about £10 worth of petrol in their vehicles, and huge numbers of commuters have absolutely no idea about alternative routes to and from home if their primary route is blocked.
Few people keep emergency candles in case of power cuts in 2014 compared with over 2/3 of the population in the mid-seventies during the frequent power cuts caused by strikers.
Very few people can use a Map and Compass correctly or navigate cross country.
During the prolonged ice storm in the winter of 2010 people were contacting the emergency services saying they were without food after only 24 hours. Many people phoned 999 to say they did not know what to do as soon as a power cut occurred.
Some years ago I think it was the Reader Digest or some similar publication did a survey that reported that over 70% people did not know how to reset a circuit breaker or change a fuse in the domestic distribution box.
Again from the ice storms of 2010, The AA and RAC were overwhelmed by people unable to extract their cars from snow drifts or how to get off an icy stretch of road, importantly many of these calls came from owners of high end 4x4s with AWD and traction control systems. This apparently even included some “expert” police drivers !!
85% of 4 wheel drive vehicle owners / regular users have never attended a driving skills course on how to best use their vehicles.
Self-reliant survivor or State reliant refugee, its YOUR choice and your choice alone.
