How are my fellow Americans preparing for the upcoming apocalypse?
How are my fellow Americans preparing for the upcoming apocalypse?
I've got quite a lot of rice and beans saved up, and some canned goods and I'm a mechanic by trade, 2nd least likely to die in an Apocalypse scenario, 1st being Doctors, of course.
I'm rural and have running water just a short walk from the property if the well stops pumping and I've got an old revolver with a few rounds in case I feel like checking-out early.
You guys?
Not American but from EU, have a 3 day survival box with water and food.
There is a real chance Russia at some point attacks, I don't think they will drop a nuke any time. But they might try to sabotage the electricity network or financial system. So if a large (cyber) attack happens my family has enough for 3 days, a week if we have to.
I don't have much to add except this highly relevant post made by Dee Xtrovert in 2009 on MetaFilter about their experience in the siege of Sarajevo:
Well, unlike the majority of you (I assume), I actually lived several years in a period of savagery and killing, during which nothing - food, water, electricity, phone, clothing, sense of safety, school, the ability to go out in public, etc - was available, except during totally unpredictable, brief and sporadic occasions.
Of those who couldn't leave my city, Sarajevo:
Some people (very few) were prepared for what they thought would be the "long haul" - this tended to be a couple of months. These people were widely seen as lunatics and dangerously pessimistic ones at that.
Most people were not at all prepared. This included my family. Many of those - like my family - considered the idea of "preparation" to be an affront to the decency we felt most people possessed. Were we wrong? Well, I don't know. We suffered greatly; my parents were killed. But speaking only for myself, I never felt I cheapened my soul by betting on calamity. Today, that still feels like it's worth something.
But here's the main point: "Preparing" for the disaster really didn't do anyone much good. Those who "prepared" ate a little better for a while. They stayed warmer for a few extra days. They enjoyed the radio for a while longer (via batteries.) But in the end, they ended up hungry, cold and bored too, just like the rest of us. Guns and weapons helped no one directly and were even of little to no use in the defense of Sarajevo, since they were toys compared to the shells, bombs and high-powered armaments of the attacking forces. The worst parts of war were psychological - the fear, anxiety, boredom, loneliness, paranoia, bad dreams. Respite from those things came with sharing food with a neighbor, finding a piece of clothing that would fit someone you knew, commiserating with others in your position, figuring out how to make make-up from brick or french fries from wheat paste and spreading this newly-acquired war knowledge around the mahala.
We knew who had extra food and supplies. For the most part, they weren't attacked or hassled or bothered. Contrary to what these survivalists say, those in dire times generally hold on to their personal sense of pride even more than they do in normal times. I'd take a bite of a friend's salad without bothering to ask in normal times. I'd never have done that in wartime, no matter how hungry I was.
Within the domain of those trapped in the city, civility greatly increased.
You often hear how Holocaust survivors felt guilt at surviving. Well, during war, that was a feeling everyone was aware of - people started dying right away (my parents were killed near the start of the siege, for instance) - and there was a palpable enough common sense of karma to make everyone into good Samaritans. None of us understood why we survived while others didn't. I shared food when I had it, even though I often knew I wouldn't have a crumb the next day. Which was no big achievement, because nearly everyone did the same.
Those who'd prepared, well, the majority of them shared their food and whatever else they had as soon as someone else was clearly in need. I can't swear it, but I think they felt a little foolish to have been so self-obsessed, and giving away that stuff might have lessened that feeling. There were a few people who hoarded things until they ran out of stuff - eventually everybody ran out of anything worth hoarding - and they soon became wishful beggars like the rest of us. Again, I can't swear it, but I hear stories, and it seems that these people suffer from post-war trauma, guilt and nightmares more than the rest of us.
Those survivalists, I feel sorry for them. It's no way to live.
Added emphasis is mine. I've had this bookmarked for about a decade or more now.
In short, stop stocking up, start building community. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This right here. It is almost impossible for the average citizen to prepare in the sense of stocking up on supplies in a way that will last longer than a few weeks, months at best.
Without community… you are fucked. You may well be fucked even with community.
That was a good read, thank you. :)
This was an interesting read, thank you for sharing. I’m not sure that I find the advice completely applicable to the threats I perceive though. She is describing a situation of open warfare and siege. Our family has tried to prepare a bit for upcoming unrest but I don’t think we foresee it as open siege on a city. In the USA, military might is so advanced that I think any sort of siege/operation is likely to be catastrophic and quick.
The scenario I think is more likely is a more extreme version of the mass supply chain disruptions we experienced during Covid. Longer periods where multiple items just aren’t available. In such a situation it would be good to have extra rice and beans on hand to get you through gaps in availability. Also feel like I should mention that you can get a cheap bidet that you can install yourself from hardware stores for like $100 USD - in case toilet paper disappears again.
I think this is likely. An outside attack is possible but I reckon it's more likely to be slow burn shit which would mess up food supply. Rice, pasta, lentils, tinned/frozen veg and beans are your friend. A portable stove also wouldn't hurt incase electric is messed up
Hoarding and not sharing is the real shame in times of need.
There is nothing wrong in with being prepared for any contingency; especially when you feel you can see it coming. Even if the extra food, batteries, or water only lasts for a short time, that’s a short time you didn’t have to worry about those things. When you can extend someone else’s peace of mind, even just a bit, then all the more better.
It is a tragedy that it takes such travesty for people to be human with each other.
If Lemmy has a best of, this should be submitted. Or maybe we just need to create a new one called hardest life lesson.
https://lemmy.world/c/bestoflemmy
Worth paying to support MetaFilter too, we’re gonna need Web 1.0 like never before
That's an incredible post. Thank you for sharing it!
My wife and I decided that if it gets that bad..
We won't
I am screaming into a pillow at the image of Americans prepping for the apocalypse while doing zero things to avoid it.
Look, I've said this a bunch of times around here this week and it seems like I'm trolling, but I'm not. I've been spooked for years at finding out that my US friends were absolutely unwilling to engage in any political action but were also consistently sure that a violent revolution or uprising was both inevitable and imminent. The idea that this is a widespread societal thing and that not only has it not been altered by another wave of trumpism but has in fact been reinforced is absolutely wild.
I don't know who convinced Americans that they are simultaneously the sole main characters of life but also absolutely absent of any agency or responsibility over what happens, but holy crap, they did an amazing job.
I am screaming into a pillow at the image of Americans prepping for the apocalypse while doing zero things to avoid it.
amen
As an American, I'm glad others have noticed this, too. We could be building community and supporting one another, but it's not even on anyone's roadmap. Our hyper-individualistic society has turned into pure toxicity and inability to organize in any meaningful or helpful way. It's pretty maddening that I know a bunch of people that want to buy guns, but almost nobody that wants to start a community garden.
Also see my comment here for more context.
Yeah, I grew up in an area of survival agriculture, removed from actual famine by say twenty, thirty years, depending on how you count it ending. Living memory in any case. To this day people here will pester you to take food when they have a fruit tree yielding, or when they are picking potatoes. People get together to go pick grapes across all of their small properties and then roughly split the yield based on plot size, even if the yields were somewhat uneven. Friends would show up with fish when they went fishing and you'd do the same.
You want to prep for the apocalypse, start giving away food and insisting that neighbors come over to visit, then force feed them aggressively, even under protest. Then do that to such an extent it becomes deeply culturally ingrained.
Will you have a culture where your adult children can't bear to throw anything away and will perpetually eat leftovers but never stop overcooking? Yes, you will. But you will have learned to survive scarcity.
But in the meantime, holy shit, get out of the house and start protesting. Have you seen what your government is doing? At least have the decency to lose whatever conflict leads into the apocalyse instead of just sitting there complaining about it on social media.
That's the wild thing. My friend has space for a community garden, and I spent a couple months after the election trying to plan out one large enough for our queer family. But no one besides her wanted to put the work in. One of the younger people said they didn't think this presidency would be that bad. I'm in the middle of moving to a new city, but I've transitioned to having a wall of garden plants so I can share what little I can grow that way.
The denial is so strong among some people
Extremely well put. The individualism really is weird and terrible. The main character syndrome is part of what takes away the agency, I think... Like, we need to hear The Call To Adventure. We need The Plot to show up at our fucking house. We need to be The Person that Does The Thing in the Room Where It Happens. The Founding Father. It's all or nothing. Either the thing we personally do somehow fixes the country, or we don't do it at all.
Maybe we imagine that we can be the hero and shoot the bad guy and save the day. But we can't imagine, like, Fixing Things. Deciding what the future holds. What would that even look like? Boldly waving a parchment in the air? When would everybody cheer for me in particular?
No, it doesn't look like an individual. It looks like a crowd. It looks like people, outside, angry. I hope enough people see that in time.
Cheers to Good Trouble.
The Conservative Propaganda Machine.
Not preparing at all, just living my life like normal. When things get really bad here I'll sell my car and move to Europe with my girlfriend (I have dual citizenship and can sponsor her).
How many planes will fly to Europe when things get really bad, to bring home everybody with dual citizenship and their loved ones?
Probably a lot more than you'd think. Especially if you take indirect flights. Especially given the large borders, getting put won't be especially hard
Good question, but we pay close attention to the news and hopefully we'll get out before that's a problem. If we're unable to leave the country then I guess I'd contact the Swedish embassy to see if they can help.
I got out permanently. You should too if you have the chance. Other countries don’t wrench your guts every time you see the news.
All of you idiots who haven’t started their EU paperwork. Start it tomorrow, or don’t at all.
All of you idiots who haven’t started their EU paperwork
I don't think it's right to say that staying and fighting back is idiotic. Protecting what's yours is a core to American ideology
Most people can't afford to. Myself included.
Gonna lay down and die.
Brother I've been doing it for years. It takes forever.
living outside the country good buddy
That's not really an option for me. I have torn feelings with my family. My cousins are all my age and like brothers to me, but were taken in by the Trump bullshit like everyone else around me.
Die or lose my family and eventually die? I dunno, man. I might toss a quarter over it.
Hell, I disowned my dad for making a racist act, pretty much, pointing to a black child at a golf course and making subtle monkey actions. Later that day I said fuck it, came out to him as trans. The following weeks that he contacted my partner and I proved my decision to banish him was correct, and so I did. A zero tolerance policy for intolerant people is a must imo
Parents have no hold over you, not really. If they don't deserve your presence, don't allow it. I hope, however, that your cousins would accept your choice and stay in contact with you, because sibling love is so much more valuable.
Families shouldn't be torn over political garbage anyway, priorities are all out of wack
If they’re all still Trumpers you’ve already lost them, you just haven’t realized it yet.
sorry to hear that.
you certainly don't have to travel if you dont want to, I just like people being aware of the option, but I'm not following one thing:
How does disagreeing with and being alienated from your family make traveling less of an option for you?
I'm betting on Oregon not completely shitting the bed
9mm
Welder/machinist > mechanic
I shall remember your valiant efforts to survive the purge and curse your kind for losing every last 10mm socket.
I'm stockpiling 10mm sockets. I shall rule in the wastelands.
Crying?
I made several large purchases right after the election knowing that tariffs were on the way (new brakes for my car, new PC, new AC units for 2 rooms in the house). I stocked up on pandemic supplies (masks, toilet paper, cleaning products). I stocked up on bread and AP flour (I'm always baking something anyway, so this isn't anything out of the ordinary) and froze it. Stocked up on shelf-stable foods for me and my partner, and cat food/litter for our cats (many pet food items are imported to the US). We have a generator and water treatment kits that we can use with the running water on our property. I did all of this slowly, from November up until now. I am not one of those crazy selfish people that goes into COSTCO and buys the entire shelf of toilet paper for myself.
I've had a "go bag" for at least 10 years, so that's always been ready. My partner and I have written up several "what if" scenarios and how we would respond to them (flee the state, or flee the country, what are we bringing with us, etc). We both have current passports. I'm taking a firearms course next month so that I can legally own a gun.
Some people might think all of this is overkill or that we're being paranoid, but we really don't give a shit. If it comes down to it, we can literally walk away from this house or lock it down and defend it depending on the situation, and if that makes me sleep better at night, I don't care what anyone thinks.
Getting a second job... Gonna try to save up as much as I can for a while
I've achieved full nihilism. Nothing makes a man more capable of vicious self defense.
Edgy.
The o'l "can't threaten a man with nothing to lose" gambit.
apocalypse has happened before it's bound to happen again, no preparation will help
just ask any Native American
I'm just gonna kill myself
Yep, who wants to survive teotwawki
Trying to get my retirement money moved to foreign assets and currency. Ideally I want it to out of reach of the US government so that if I do somehow make it out of the other side alive I'll still have access to it. I believe the ideal way would be to create an offshore LLC and create a self directed IRA that I then move my retirement money to. I have no idea how tenable this is though.
Aren't IRAs a US tax account? Like the Canadian TFSA.
They are, but like I said it's possible to create a self directed one. Essentially I'm wanting to hedge my bets. On the small chance that things don't go to complete shit I would like what I do to be above board and legal under the (somewhat) sane(r) laws and regulations so I don't get nailed by the IRS. Doing what I mentioned would essentially put the money out of reach of the US government if they decided to start seizing assets or if I were arrested, but still legal if things don't go south.
It's not an insignificant amount of money, but it's also not enough to have a dedicated firm or person to manage all of this (if it were I'd probably be safe in this oligarchy hell scape).
Why would you wish to survive an apocalypse?
To rule as road King amongst my band of misfits.
See, this is the problem, no one wants to create a commune to fight the would be Road Kings
Prepping certainly is a fun and worthwhile exercise if you prep for things that will most likely happen. As someone who likes making lists and thinking through things this is a fun question.
For food I have a box in my pantry with canned beans, fruit, vegetables, salt, pepper, and rice. I also learned recently it’s best to keep a couple bags of cat food just in case!
Your point on water is good. I honestly don’t know what I would do since I rely on the city.
I also don’t know what I would do for my child’s milk but they could eat see same food as us.
My work in academia would be instantly worthless if the country fails. It is still worthwhile to me though. I’ve considered printing out my notes and papers. You have made me think I should do it this month.
Edit:
For more end of the country preparedness I do have tools to defend my family. I have our documents printed out and in a fireproof container. I also keep maps of the nearby states in my car.
for things that will most likely happen.
When I took the First-aid/CPR course, the red cross trainer spent like 30 minutes doing a list of what can realistically happen where we are. An interesting exercise.
Full blown apocalypse is unlikely, but doing stuff like checking the flood-risk map before renting/buying a home (Especially ground floor apartment and single-floor house) does wonder at not having to evacuate. Knowing the kind of dangerous factory/goods in your area also helps a lot planning for the right thing.
How was that course? That sounds great.
Those are all good tips. How do you figure out the dangerous stuff though?
I honestly don’t know what I would do since I rely on the city.
You need some bottles of water.
Something to consider: How do you cook your rice without electricity?
I just bought 20 pound bags of bread flour, sugar, and all purpose flour. Plus what I have in my chest freezers I’m good for a few months..
Not joking
Realizing that each human life encompasses a time-space span of generally double digit years and miles. Further that a good life is good but a good death is superior to a bad life. Death is inevitable but it is a choice to "experience" the apocalypse.
but a good death is superior to a bad life.
But that's apples and oranges. You could theoretically have both? The good death doesn't really offset the bad life? It's not as cool-sounding, but I think "a good death is superior to a bad death" and "a good life is superior to a bad life" are still pretty much true, if technically subjective.
life and death just is and it does not matter if death is good or bad given its nature. Lifes quality though is important and if it does not have enough of it then I will have none of it. Im old enough though that im not looking to survive a horrible decade of facism. Surviving auschwitz if your young enough to possibly enjoy some decades of decentness afterwards is one thing but if your old enough that after that experience you are left with nothing and have to try and "retire" and look after your increasingly failing health. Ill skip that.
The same way we prepared for Y2K!
Solar power with battery storage, hunting and fishing for meat, gardening for vegetables, rain barrels for water.