It seems there is some sort of hysteria these days about these “Doomsday Scenarios” and the End of the World or Economic Collapse. People don’t want to die so they decide they want to know what sort of items to keep around them to be prepared for anything other than a sunny day, and it got me thinking that maybe I should try to put some on a different sort of spin onto which scenario most everybody assumes will happen, like thinking it's going to be complete chaos and people running around rampant in the streets like something out of a movie like Mad Max, or some weird zombie apocalypse, I feel none of those scenarios are accurate.If there were to be some sort of mass hysteria or zombie apocalypse or any sort of just boring old civil unrest it is not going to be crowds of people running through the streets screaming and lighting people on fire or suddenly feeling the need to just be mowing people down in their Prius while marveling how great the gas mileage is.
If the event that took place was to a level that deprived us of services such as gas, electric, trash removal even police and fire protection services, it would be a slow burning fuse not an immediate rush of panic. Imagine your small town without something as simple as trash removal or when you lose power for 5 days in the winter, now picture losing power but there is no chance for a reconnection for months. How could you realistically expect to be prepared for something like that? You can’t, if you work a job and have the same bills I have it is not realistic to expect you can be properly prepared for more than a week of complete self-sustainment. With that being said just do an assessment of your surroundings, take a look at your neighbors, do they have a garden or have some sort of flag that hints they have military or police training. People such as this could be of great usefulness to your survival, just make sure you have something to offer to a group before you try to assemble one or you could find yourself on the outside looking in. Obviously this doesn’t mean have American Idol style try outs for your Zombie Apocalypse Squad, but just be a neighbor and have a casual conversation about their hobbies and make a mental list of people that you know or could get too quickly so you could start the process of preparing for when your supplies run out. This is where you get to see if you are able to sit back and wait it out or if you need to start the process of playing catch up and scrambling to find things to keep you and your group surviving.
If we are left with no one but ourselves to keep us alive for extended period of time we will need to be able to provide the basic necessities such as proper nutrition, clean water, medical care, security and some form of a chain of command. After enough time cut off from what we used to know as society things would change slowly and there will be a decline in basic humanity and compassion. Canned food will run out, fresh food will rot, that is when sheer panic will set in, unless of course you have prepared for a crisis. The hard reality of “Holy Shit, this is real”, and for the holy shit phase of survival to set in we don’t need Zombies or Godzilla. All we need is a car wreck into a ravine in the winter coming back from a ski trip or a home invasion. What will you do as your first act after saying Holy Shit? Your first move after the holy shit phase begins is what will determine the outcome. If you take one thing from this ramble you are now balls deep in to reading, remember this one instruction. Get off the X, this phrase is the key to surviving anything from Jason Voorhees swinging an axe at your head to knowing what side of your vehicle to get out of if you break down on the highway. Get up and move, do something don’t be that person who dies because you failed to act or you froze in fear. Fight or flight, there is no stand there and die option.
I guarantee if you are reading this you have either had a dream about or déjà vu or unfortunately lived through a home invasion or carjacking, these two examples are terrifying to think that could happen to you and for me I try to think of what two items I would say are the absolute must haves in these situations to help me best get out of or to deal with the after math of these scenarios. If I could snap my fingers and pause a home invasion or carjacking to get two items for my use in either of these situations I would grab my cell phone and my Glock 19. These two items can get you out of almost any undesirable situation that I can think of. Modern cell phones have taken the place of about 15 to 20 items depending on what apps you have installed. If you were asleep in your house and you hear the stereotypical glass break and your front or back door creak open the first thing that you should be doing is dialing 911, press send and grab your gun (if you have one). If alone put your phone on speaker and give the dispatcher your name and address and a brief description of what you are calling about and if you are armed make sure that the dispatcher knows this, you do not want to be mistaken for the assailant. Now having a gun doesn’t mean the next step is to go room to room gun blazing, use your brain and think and listen. Is this actually a break in? How many sets of footsteps do you hear? What language are they speaking and are they taking items or heading to a bedroom. If the person/people that have broken in to your home are taking your television you need to make the decision of do you let them take it and avoid confrontation and just file an insurance claim or do you try to stop the robbery by force of the threat of force? Is your $800.00 television worth your life or a wrongful death suit? If so then proceed as you will, but for me I’ll take the hit in my pride and insurance rates to avoid unnecessary possible jail time or worse endangering my family when it could have been avoided. But if it is clear they are not in my house for items I can go to the store and replace, that is something completely different. If the intent of entering your home is to cause you or your loved ones bodily harm you should again dial 911, press send, grab your trusty firearm (hopefully you have another person to arm as well), if there is children in the house clear to the rooms of the children and get them to your hopefully most desirable room to defend. Post up security at the door, this is where something like as simple as you chambering a round and stating out loud that the police have been called and that you are armed and you don’t want to die. I know if I broke into a house and I heard someone chamber a firearm of any king and spoke with authority regarding their will to live, I would get the hell out and move on to an easy target. There are few things in this world that will put fear into a person more than the sound of a shotgun chambering a round. But if that also fails to deter this person you need to be prepared to escalate things 1 step more. If on a second floor, do not leave the high ground. The funneling effect of a stairwell could mean life or death for you, ever stepped on a set of stairs in a house that doesn’t squeak? Neither have I, you will be heard and prime for bad things to happen. This also works in your favor, make this person funnel themselves you will hear them coming and they can move anywhere but up or down. I would in this situation sound out the second I hear someone on the stairs that they will be eating buckshot if they take one more step in my house, and advise them that if they value life they should leave immediately. If you are wondering why I am conservative on dealing with these situations, well sure if I had my old fire team from when I was clearing houses I would without a doubt go down in force and deal with the situation quickly and decisively but this isn’t that. Chances are this is you, in your undies; no shoes, half awake and you need to realize you may be at a disadvantage and the odds of you getting the drop on a burglar or someone trying to harm you is really out of the question. They will know you are awake and they will also need to make a decision, will they take what they can and leave or will they stay and try to harm you. Please proceed methodically and carefully if this situation unfortunately ever arises. And always call 911 first.
If you are in your car and someone taps on the window for you to get out and give them the car, immediately look, does this person have a weapon? If so get out happily give them your car and try to get your phone. Call the police and just have a beer and thank god that you didn’t get shot. There is no way in hell you are going to be able to do anything if a gun is pointed at you if you try to speed off they will see the panic in your eyes widen and they will most likely not shoot, but is it worth the chance? But if this person taps on your window with a knife or something they have to hold and swing to harm you and if you have the room to drive away just flip them the bird, call the cops and be on your way. But of course there could be the situation where your window is down and this person tried to grab you, if this happens I hope you have a knife, gun pepper spay or something to establish the upper hand for you. If your life is in danger and you have no doubt that your life will end by the actions of this person, you need to act in a manner to buy you another day on earth. But again if you know that you would not be able to gain the upper hand on the situation, decide if possible think if you can get out of the situation reasonably unscathed if so give up the car, time for a new model anyway. Feel free to practice real world but realistic ways to come out on top in the above stated situations but know your limits don’t make a small inconvenience into a tragedy, objects can be replaced.
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