I had a very important question asked of me today.
What are you preparing for?
Interesting.
I think it all boils down to philosophy of use. I'm not going to have the same tools as my neighbour, and he won't be ready for the same event as me. My preparedness schedule focuses on events I deem likely to happen around me. Simply put, I prepare for things I believe are possible first, and not so likely second - I do not prepare for scenarios I deem impossible. Why would I?
Sure, there's minute possibilities, and I have considered them. For instance - the Fukushima incident a while ago opened my eyes to the possibility of nuclear pollution affecting me. When my wife fell on her foot, I realised the possibility for medical emergencies in remote locations - even worse, emergencies that I'm not around to help out with.
There are things we 'prepare' for without giving it a second thought. As Canadians, we buy winter coats in the fall because we know it's going to get cold. What's the difference between that and buying extra food, because we know we'll be hungry?
As for the guns - there's a special topic to be considered here. I don't personally view guns strictly as weapons. Guns, knives and other pointy objects are tools. Sure - they can hurt you, so can hammers. They're for doing very specific things... nothing more, nothing less.
Another philosophy that I adhere to actively opposes popular social theory. I do believe in bad people. Maybe not so much bad people, but people who continuously make bad decisions. I therefore prepare to deal with those people. I completed college as a Social Service Worker specializing in Crisis Intervention, I've taken Standard First Aid and I train as often as possible with the tools I require to deal with threatening situations.
From that, I ask you - what are you preparing for? What are you waiting for?
I'm not waiting for anything. As a matter of fact, a lot of the scenario's I envision are days I pray never to encounter.
"What are you preparing for?"
ReplyDeleteI always tell people to prepare for those events that HAVE happened and WILL happen again. Spend 80% of your time/effort/resources on those events that have already happened in your area: job loss, flood, house fire, etc. The other 20% is for the far out but still reasonable events: chemical train spill, looting, transportation stike (think of food not being delivered to your local store). Do not waste any time on end of the world crap or people from planet X, Y or Z.
I've been asked this myself from friends and family who thought I was going to turn into some kind of "bunker bunny".
ReplyDeleteOne of the easiest ways I've found to answer it, is to ask them "Did your Grandmother keep a Pantry when you were growing up? Did your Grandad have a rifle and ammo in the house?" Over 90% will answer yes, and from there I point out that they weren't survivalists, they just did what they needed to do, to ensure that they had the stuff they would need, when they needed it.
Whether that need comes from Emergency/Disaster, Economic reasons, or some other cause, it's all about being able to provide for you and yours.
Be warned though...this conversation has, more often than not, lead to a long conversation about prepping, and preparedness, and usually ends up with people asking if you'll help them get started. Not saying it's a bad thing, just don't start the conversation if you have somewhere to be in 5 minutes.