Showing posts with label Help. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Help. Show all posts

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Introducing Prepping to skeptics

Our Government says we should ALL prepare for disaster and even provides a website (Ready.gov) to tell us how.  To promote this, they have declared that September is National Preparedness Month.



Yet, we all know someone we care about who is not a Prepper or even thinks it is foolish.  These people fall in to three groups:
  1. Likes the idea of prepping, but doesn't' have time, money &/or doesn't think it is urgent.
  2. Not interested in prepping and even resents the idea if presented with it too often.
  3. Thinks prepping is crazy and Preppers are lunatics; that a crisis will not happen, at least not one that will ever affect them.  Or if a disaster happens, the Government will take care of things. Despite our Government Recommending everyone prepare, these people think it is foolish. 
When one of our loved ones is like this, how do we handle it?  What can we do to help them?

The answer depends on what group they are in.

Group 1 is willing but just needs encouraging or help.  Having lunch with them, go hiking, camping, fishing or something together that you both enjoy.  Talk about prepping, tell them about a few basic preps that you have or would recommend to them.  Help them get started. Invite them to go to a camping store to buy a back pack, a.k.a. Bug Out Bag. Either that, or give them your old one. No one wants to have an empty Bug Out Bag; once you have it, you immediately want to start getting things to put in it. Share the Beginner Prepper List. Next trip together, go get a Water Straw or a fire starter, or something else.  Each month go do this.  Introduce them to the Rule of 3 to help set their priorities;  even better, the Step by Step Prepper Plan.

Group 2 requires a more strategic approach.  The first step is to realize how important it is to NOT push to hard nor too often.  Speak to them one on one, never as a group where you are out numbered.  Speak with love in your heart and avoid confrontation.  Back off if they resist, regroup and try another day and another way.  Gentle persistence over time is the key.

Giving strategic gifts that help them be better prepared is a good start.  For example: A good set of MURS Walkie Talkies for the nephew, kids or grand kids so they can play in the neighborhood and communicate. Play with the new toys with them. Pick “our channel” so they will know how to use them in the future if an emergency occurs.  

Give them a Crank Flashlight / radio and pretend a hurricane has taken out all communications and you are in the dark. Some of the Group 3 ideas below are also good for Group 2 and vice versa. If they start becoming responsive, send them a bucket of Beans, rice and oats and then share a prepper link and then back off for a while.

Group 3 is most likely impossible to reach.  They will be calling Preppers lunatics until a disaster occurs and then suddenly they wish they had listened. There is an old saying that you can't help someone who doesn't want help.

So your options are limited to Stealth Prepper Gifts and buying extra stores of your own so you can provide for them.  Even that may not work if they miss the Red Flag Warnings and wait too late and are lost before they can get to you.  Best case scenario, they are close to you and your preps.  If they are far away, you could lease a mini-warehouse near them and stock it with supplies.  This is not practical for most of us on a tight budget, but there are other less costly options.

Do NOT buy them a Gas Mask or other "Kook" preps (yet) as this will cause a major push back.

Start out giving them something sensible like rechargeable batteries and a nice charger, but also include a Solar Charger for when there is a power outage.  Another sensible gift are solar powered Lawn lights which provide "attractive highlights to the yard," an added element of security AND can double as indoor lights or solar battery chargers during a power outage.  After giving these gifts, allow them a chance to come in handy so that they see the value of having a few preparations.

If a Winter Storm is coming, loan them a Propane Heater or even a generator. but conveniently never get around to getting it back. IF they give it back to you while you are visiting them, set it somewhere it will be easy to "forget" and leave it at their house.


For each group, you can help in stealthy ways like this.  When visiting for a weekend BBQ, carry a large box of Strike Anywhere Kitchen matches to light the fire. When finished using them, put them away in their kitchen.  Also bring a manual can opener (not electric) and put it away in one of their kitchen drawers.

Take them to the shooting range/lessons, or buy the kids a BB Gun or Air Soft gun so they can learn shooting basics.  Be sure to give them Gun Safety Lessons.  Take them camping and supply them with a sleeping bag, a pack and the usual Camping Gear.  Teach them how to find a good camp site.

Later as they have come to recognize the benefits of a few of your gifts, ship them (direct) some water treatment or a months supply of food like beans, rice and oats. Or get the premium meals if you can afford them.

There are an endless number of ways you can help without ever mentioning the word Prepare.  I'm sure you can come up with some good ones; if so, please share them with us using the comments option below, or e-mail us using the form at the right, or visit us on facebook

For additional information see the following links:
Blog Table of Contents
US Government Recommended Preparations;

See similar topics by clicking on the labels below

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Gun Free Zone Facts

The Gun-Free School Zones Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate in October 1990 by Joe Biden then signed in November 1990 by George W Bush.  The Supreme Court soon ruled it was unconstitutional and it was revised in late 1996.  Since that time, the number of mass public shootings have increased steadily (bar graph below) according to page 8 of a study starting 4 years later (2000) by the FBI titled A Study of Active Shooters.

INCIDENTS WITH THE HIGHEST CASUALTY COUNTS:

  1. Cinemark Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado: 70 (12 killed, 58 wounded), July 20, 2012.
  2. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia: 49 (32 killed, 17 wounded), April 16, 2007.12
  3. Ft. Hood Soldier Readiness Processing Center in Ft. Hood, Texas: 45 (13 killed, 32 wounded), November 5, 2009.
  4. Sandy Hook Elementary School and a residence in Newtown, Connecticut: 29 (27 killed, 2 wounded), December 14, 2012.

ALL IN GUN FREE ZONES. Had one of the many law abiding victims in these shootings been armed, the casualties would likely have been much lower. Unfortunately, someone in a position of authority was responsible for making these locations a Gun Free zone, or more accurately, an Easy Victim zone.  To date, none of these decision makers have been held accountable.


In fact, if you look at the locations of the 160 shootings (pie graph below), about 86% are typically "Gun Free" zones.  

Note the comments in red were added for clarity and the link to the original report is included above.

The FBI has an educational video of an Active Shooter incident titled "Run. Hide. Fight. Surviving an Active Shooter Event."  If you watch it, 58 seconds into the video, there is an official "No Guns" notice on the door.  


That is most likely why shooters chose these easy locations.  The report does not mention any mass shootings in a gun store, and I've never heard of one.  On top of this, there are many documented cases of armed citizens preventing crime and far more that are undocumented, which makes sense because the crime never occurred.

So 5 years after Gun Free zones were approved, the frequency of mass public shootings begin to increase.  Most were in  Gun Free zones, especially ALL the ones with the highest casualty count.

From all of this, it seems obvious that Gun Free zones are dangerous places.  So what should we do? Avoid Gun Free zones as much as possible, get proper fire arm training/permits and carry a gun with you.   

It is better to be armed and not need it, than to need a gun and not have one.  Granted the chances are small, but most police officers never fire a gun in the line of duty, yet they still wear a bullet proof vest.... just in case; because the consequences are too severe if they need one and don't have it. 

We also need to start holding Decision Makers responsible. Civil suits can achieve this or perhaps amending the Gun Free Zone law to stipulate that Decision Makers are responsible for providing adequate security to ensure our safety when they create or enforce a Gun Free Zone.

For more information:

Blog Table of Contents 
FBI GUIDE ON ACTIVE SHOOTERS
NRA Gun Safety Rules 
The Best Gun
Terrorist Attack - Best Preparations 
Why I avoid doing business in Gun Free Zones

Terrorist Attacks are not just a US problem; see this Video:
Graphic Video of Paris Terrorist Shootings

Monday, July 13, 2015

Blog Table of Contents

Latest Ammo Prices


Topics: Scroll down to view

Beginners
Training – Children
Advanced
Food & Water
Edible Wild Plants
Disaster Preparations
Fire Arms & Security
Shelter
Medical
Wilderness Survival
Other
Political

Beginners:
 

 

Why we are ALL Preppers (for skeptics) 

Training – Children:

Home Schooling for Preppers
 
 

Advanced Prepper Resources:
 
 




Me Maw’s Goulash
Flatbread Recipe

Sustainable Meal Planning - Breakfast 
Sustainable Meal Planning - Lunch
Sustainable Meal Planning - Dinner
Sustainable Meal Planning - Snacks
Sustainable Meal Planning - Nutrition
Sustainable Meal Planning - Calories   

Understand Best By Dates 


Green briar (cat briar)



Disaster Preparations:

 


Firearms and security:

 
 
Investing for Preppers (Financial Security)
Security Patrol Pack (or Bug Out pack) 






 
 
 

Shelter:


Prepper links for skeptics:
Why we are ALL Preppers (for skeptics) 

 
 
Medical:

 
 
  

Wilderness Survival:

Survival Pack (Security Patrol or Bug Out pack)
 
 
Green briar (cat briar)

Other:
 

Political:



 
 

AMMO PRICES