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You’ve Got it All—Now How Do You Keep It?

After years of concerted efforts, budgeting, canning, lifting, organizing and educating, you feel reasonably confident that you finally have enough food, water, and other emergency supplies to last you one year.  But here’s the real question.  Now that you have it all, how are you going to ensure that you’ll get to use it when all heck actually does break lose?

I’ve posed this question to many and I’m dismayed to hear many of their responses.

Some say that they will willingly share their supplies with others. Guess what? So will I, if necessary. But don’t you want to be able to decide who you will share your goods with?  Unfortunately, that’s not likely to happen with any reasonable regularity.

Here’s why.

Suppose that an earthquake hits your area. (Where I live in the Wasatch Front of Utah, we’re right on a fault line and scientists say we’re due for a doozey of an earthquake. If you live in the Midwest near or in the states of Missouri, Tennessee, (comprising the Mississippi Valley) you are squarely on the New Madrid fault which is expected to have a 6.7 magnitude earthquake any time now.  So I think this is a reasonable scenario for many, if not all of our readers.)  Suppose that your home was somehow miraculously spared any severe damage to the point that you aren’t forced to flee elsewhere for shelter.  What are the ramifications that you will still have to concern yourself with?

First, ask yourself how many prisons or jails are within a 60 mile radius of you.  Are their walls built to sufficiently withstand an earthquake?  If they are, will there be sufficient security available in the midst of a catastrophic earthquake to keep the prisoners confined inside?  In the event of structural damage, do you really think that the criminals who are suddenly released from their prison walls, with no family or friends nearby, aren’t going to be on the prowl for survival supplies? Do you think they would just stroll into their local grocery store and purchase what they need?

How many violent gangs do you have in your area?  There are over 21,500 active gangs in the U.S. at present.  According to the FBI, there are estimated to be over 1,000,000 gang members in the U.S. who commit 80% of the crimes in our country.  Are you aware that MS-13 is the most violent gang of them all and has permeated at least 42 states in the U.S.?  One has to commit murder to get in the gang, and die to get out. (see http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-01-29-ms13_N.htm) Do you really think that in a time of chaos that they won’t be in search of appropriate supplies to sustain their group at all costs?  Think they are going to ring your doorbell and ask you nicely for some rice and water?  For more on MS-13, please visit MS-13 101 here.

Now let’s consider the abundance of drug addicts who live among us. There are currently over 7 million regular illicit drug users in America. Of course some of them will perish in such a catastrophic event, but the statistic of drug addicts comprising 2% of our current population will still hold true. Are you prepared to ward off 2% of the population suddenly unable to access their drugs?  Due to the force of nature, millions of drug users will be unable to obtain their “fix” and will do whatever they need to do in order to obtain more drugs.

What if it’s not something so sinister?  What if a desperate mother or father finds themselves in need of vital food, water, and medical supplies for their children? Can we rely on all of society, including desperate parents, to behave rationally as they watch their loved ones struggle? How long could you watch your children suffer before you’re desperately inclined to press the borders of honesty and decency to get what you need for them?

Let’s not forget the overall lawlessness and rampant looting which has consistently erupted in the event of chaos and panic (Can you say New Orleans or Los Angeles anyone?).  Then there are the issues of actual law enforcement making an appearance, but attempting to infringe unconstitutional requests on the survivors.

Do any of these issues potentially expose your family to the risk of being subjected to violence? Do these instances compromise your security or survival in the event of a catastrophe? So, don’t you think it’s just a bit naïve to believe that you’ll be fully permitted to go along your merry way and freely use your emergency preparedness supplies as you see fit?  I don’t think so. And yet so many I discuss preparedness with fail to recognize this important aspect of truly being prepared.

Let’s leave the motivation for food and supplies for a moment.  Being subjected by irrational people with a sense of entitlement to your wares is not the only reason why lawlessness may come into your life.  What about the paranoid, desperate individuals who are only capable of dealing with stress and chaos by taking virtue and life from others?  This isn’t just about whether or not you’d be willing to share your food and water with complete strangers. This is also about protecting the health and well-being of your loved ones in a time of chaos.

Please don’t be misguided into believing that the streets will be patrolled by the U.S. National Guard or your local law enforcement. The local law enforcement doesn’t show up in record time now, and not until the crime has already been committed.  Do you think you’d get any kind of a worthwhile response time when the streets are littered with all manner of huge debris?  In all likelihood, as we saw from Hurricane Katrina, the law enforcement personnel will either be taking care of their own families or they will be answering the call of their Commander in Chief to what he sees as a priority.  A rape here, a robbery there, and a shooting there are not going to mean much to a military leader when he’s dealing with other emergencies such chaos can unleash.  Yep. You’re on your own folks.  FEMA government officials have announced repeatedly that it could be days, if not weeks before they would be present in a disaster zone.

So, the next time you decide who you’re going to share your emergency supplies with, you may want to consider your friends Glock, Winchester, and Smith & Wesson as a part of those decisions, along with enough ammo and SKILL to properly defend.

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