Excerpt.
Population, Population, Population
If an apocalypse of biblical proportions were to take place, and by “biblical” I mean literally out the book of Revelation, where one third of the globe’s population is wiped out, then the US would be home to as many people as it was in the early 1970’s. Now, the ’70’s were bad–so bad, in fact, that they gave this country its first full-blown survivalist wave, the predecessor to the one that we’re currently in. But that decade was by no means the Thunderdome.
Wiping out two thirds of the population would bring us back to the opening decades of the 1900’s, the era of the early seasons of Downton Abbey and Boardwalk Empire. Neither of these two shows look anything like The Walking Dead to me.
Killing off a whopping 90% of the population would take us back to 1860, the year that Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th president of the United States. I also saw the movie Lincoln, and it, too, did not look like The Walking Dead.
Losing 99% of our population would take us back to the post-Revolutionary War period of the 1780’s. At that point, Harvard University had already been operating for about 150 years. Again, Rick Grimes’ group of survivors would be out of place here.
My point is this: with only 1% of our present population, humanity had arts and letters, transatlantic trade, a thriving stock market (in London, at least, and a few years later in the US)–in short, we had civilization. It was not a Hobbesian “state of nature.”
Sure, the immediate aftermath of a sudden event that wiped out 99% of the population would look pretty much like a textbook “state of nature,” but before long we’d be back to doing our thing. And I’m pretty sure the stock market wouldn’t take more than a few days off, at most. Which brings me to my next point.
The rest @ All Outdoor
And there you have it ! So tired of constantly being whipped up about "what's going to happen." I bought a kerosene heater just in case I lost power this winter like I did last Christmas for five or so days. Now that just seemed prudent, but nothing happened, so now I have to store my little tank of kerosene plus some small propane tanks somewhere so I don't blow up the house. It's better not to think/know too much?
ReplyDeleteYes and it will all come out in the wash! :) Kinda' think going back a few years might be fun.
DeleteNot the sharpest tool in the shed is he.....The massive TEOTWAWKI event is not impossible but vanishingly unlikely and surviving such an event has a massive element of chance. What this person fails to grasp is the difference between 'Prepping' and being prepared. And there is a difference. And what clever people do is try to prepare not for a specific contingency but to simply be as self sufficient as possible. That way their odds of riding out the bump in the road improve.
ReplyDeleteAnd the goal is to survive.....not just exist. And by surviving one is still around to be part of the reset. THAT should be the goal, not living like Robinson Crusoe on Mars.
Having only 2-3 months of food puts him ahead of most but it won't be enough....he needs to spend some time reading Selco at SHTF School or Fernando at "Surviving in Argentina". It's THOSE scenarios that can and will kill the unprepared.
This guy also misses the point of the horror of having a tyrannical .gov busybody hovering over us cutting the supply and commo lines. I mean, he does make some humorous points but he's not seeing the 1984/Fahrenheit 451 aspect of fiat currency, Real ID, Militarized pigs etc.
DeleteYes, many who lived on farms went through the depression noticing little had changed.
Deletea tyrannical .gov busybody
DeleteYou would think they would have all they could handle in the cities, depending on the scenario.
Oh, they will. I like Mark Matis thinking at WRSASome of us are not particularly concerned about getting “there”, but intend instead to deal appropriately with those who have brought us to this place. As many of them – and theirs – as possible. This is what will be the sand in the gears for these statist red bastards!!
DeleteEvil thoughts, how can I measure thee.......? :)
DeleteI already know I am not going to be among the Elite prepared ones, but I promise not to whine about it as things play out.
ReplyDeleteWell, we can make coffee from Pecans and eat them for nourishment. Just sit under the trees and we're good to go! :)
DeleteChicory.
DeleteI am planning on growing some to see if this is palatable. ( while i buy coffee in lg quantities for backup and barter).
I'll trade you for pecans :)
:) You can buy Chicory coffee from New Orleans for info.
DeleteMaybe it's me, but the author seems to be comparing apples to oranges.
ReplyDeleteSure in the past we had some extinction events (The black plague, the spanish Influenza of 1917, the yellow fever epidemic) and we sprung back from them with the loss of a large part of the population, but comparing that to today where 47% of the population is paid to exist and siphon off the system, I think the scenario would be much different after an event that removes the conveniences of modern life.
A very small % of the population are the ones that keep the gears greased and the food on the table. Remove them, or some of them and I think the dependence that we are being socially engineered to accept will ensure that the stock market won't be back in three days.
In my house we do this war game talking out about scenarios, what are the necessities and what needs to be done if things that we depend upon just weren't there anymore. 99% of your time would be spent on water acquisition/purification, food, safety, sanitation, transportation/medical.
All the while protection of yourself, family and home from the hordes who have never had to locate/grow/barter/prepare a meal for themselves. Unless you live in a remote part of Alaska, Idaho, or Wyoming, they will eventually get around to you.
Dependence breeds resentment. We see that on a daily basis with "teenagers" acting out. In no time in past history was the population as large or useless as today.
We barely have social order now, the only ones constrained by the rule of law are those that still respect our foundations. The foundations that are crumbling.
And as I've said before, remove the illusion that there is order and the rule of law and a lot of good people will just give up. Commit suicide or turn to drink/drugs. Heck, probably 1/2 the population is doped up now.
Some kind of disruption, say, removing 28 coal fired electric plants that provide electricity, or a temporary grid down scenario would be a cascade of dominoes falling down. Civilization is mostly an illusion at this point.
Or maybe I"m just too much of a pessimist.
A very small % of the population are the ones that keep the gears greased and the food on the table.
Deletethe hordes who have never had to locate/grow/barter/prepare a meal for themselves.
Dependence breeds resentment. We barely have social order now, the only ones constrained by the rule of law are those that still respect our foundations. The foundations that are crumbling.
Some good points.
If only 10% of the population is killed, the point of prepping is to not be one of those 10 %. Then, if you survive long enough, to live in basic comfort until normal services are restored.
ReplyDeleteIf a significant part of the population dies off, it won't be a "roll-back" to how things used to be 50 years ago. Key people will die with no one to replace them. There will be huge gaps in the infrastructure and delivery chains. It will take time to fill those gaps, evenusing extraordinary means. Prepping gives you that time.
plus... Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Riots, Snow emergencies, etc also disrupt deliveries of food, fuel, water and other basics of life (toilet paper?).
toilet paper
DeleteInteresting in that Cambodians have soap and water at their French style toilets and use that instead of TP.
Interesting in that Cambodians have soap and water at their French style toilets and use that instead of TP.
DeleteOmg. You are considering the waste of water/natural resources. I mean, the EPA has already set it's sights next on the wasting of water in motels/hotels, so it needs to monitor it.
I've never used salt water, but I guess it'll do. :)
DeleteWhile I don't agree with him in total, he does make some valid points. The idea of being a "prepper" in more practical terms is NOT to hope for that walking dead, end of the world, TEOTWAWKI fantasy situation (yeah, I like to think about it too) but being prepared for the unexpected situation, such as, being stranded in a snow bank during a midwest snow storm, or it's summer time with the temps in the 90's and you've just lost power, with the possiblity of not having any for days. Or maybe out of work for months. It is thinking what could go wrong and having a realistic plan in place.
ReplyDeleteIt is thinking what could go wrong and having a realistic plan in place.
DeleteYes, indeed.
Being prepared is a family duty but you can not prepare for one event. Prepare for what you may lose. Will electric power go out for a week, month, year? Will gasoline be priced out of reach or unavailable for a week, month, year? Will the grocery stores be in chaos or closed for a week, month, or year. How about medical care...will it be unavailable or gone for a week, month or year? It doesn't matter the cause but whether you can fill in a substitute or overcome the shortage. And that is on each and ever family head in the country. Have a little cash in the cigar box or a CB or ham radio for backup com? We have a lot of history of chaos descending on this country but after a long run of easy living are we remotely ready for the other side of life. If you don't have the money to overcome chaos then acquire the skills to overcome chaos.
ReplyDeleteThanks and reminded me of Richard Wright who was the foreman of one of my father's farms and a giant of a man with red hair. He told me he got up one morning during the depression and there wasn't one bit of food for his family. He started walking and found a farmer who said he could have all the apples on a certain tree for a full day's work. Richard told me it was the same as a million dollars.
DeleteForgive me but I haven't had time to read all the comments yet. just wanted to say,
ReplyDeleteif Brock hasn't already, that he and I live in hurricane country and the locals here
pretty much stay prepared all the time. It's a way of life. The only thing different in my preps now than before 9-11 and then Obama is that I'm prepared for longer duration situations and I have a lot more in the way of firearms and ammo. The reason I didn't have more guns and ammo before is that I knew I could buy whatever
I wanted anytime anywhere but that is no longer true. CH
On a side note, I bought a generator for down here in 2009 and still haven't used it. :)
Delete