Mongoose@99

An interesting post, and one I mostly agree with. however…

“If civilization and order really break down, there will be hoards of people fleeing the cities and the powers that be will welcome it for it gets them out of their hair and does much of their work for them–all will be easier to tame later. The survivalists will find that their arms are quickly exhausted, their redoubts overrun and their carefully husbanded stores pillaged and plundered.”

There will indeed, in that situation, be hordes of people fleeing the cities. Many call them “the Golden Horde”. This is why I live well off any main arteries of travel, in an inconspicuous house near an inconspicuous town, whose denizens in such a case will strongly encourage any wanderers to move on. We tell nobody except trusted, dear friends and family (and damned few of them) of our preparations, all of which are well hidden from the view of visitors. I would not write about it here if I couldn’t use a pseudonym. I also keep caches separately hidden on the property just so at least SOME survives the type of plundering you speak of, should it happen.

Survivalist redoubts/compounds may well be overrun, as may our house. My goal is to keep myself and my family alive, perhaps to fight another day. I’ll leave the house in a trice if that’s what’s required. I won’t bother to install steel plates in the walls and so forth like some do, although one project for this winter is to strengthen the hinges on our outside doors, which makes good sense in any case.

Finally, my arms will probably never be completely exhausted. I plan never to get in a firefight that lasts more than a few shots. If it’s going to be more than that, I’ll take my family and run for it. I’m not in this to be Rambo. Only as a last option will I unload everything I’ve got, and in that situation I’ll assume my imminent death.