Anyone ever thought about a SHTF group?

[Leper]

What you are looking for is a MAG. mutual assistance group. You won't find one. Like what others have said, people change under stressful conditions. If you have a group of twenty best friends that you have known all your life, that you have seen at their best and worst, that you know their immediate family well, people that have done anythingand everything with you, maybe there are two in that group that would give you no trouble. Everyone else will create a hardship. Even though you think you know them, they may still be a completely different person behind closed doors. When the gloves come off, we are all still animals underneath the thin veneer of society.
It can be done, but you have to start now with one other person. You have to let them know the desired end result, and you have to do it slowly, doing hints and asking their opinion to even get a feel for how they think. If they ever say "I'll just come to your house" even joking, they are out. good luck

 

[Southpaw]

What you are looking for is a MAG. mutual assistance group. You won't find one. Like what others have said, people change under stressful conditions. If you have a group of twenty best friends that you have known all your life, that you have seen at their best and worst, that you know their immediate family well, people that have done anythingand everything with you, maybe there are two in that group that would give you no trouble. Everyone else will create a hardship. Even though you think you know them, they may still be a completely different person behind closed doors. When the gloves come off, we are all still animals underneath the thin veneer of society.
It can be done, but you have to start now with one other person. You have to let them know the desired end result, and you have to do it slowly, doing hints and asking their opinion to even get a feel for how they think. If they ever say "I'll just come to your house" even joking, they are out. good luck

Well said. +1

 

[bodhi]

+2

 

[TAVM]

Curious...of the people that say you can't trust/depend on your friends because they'll turn into raging animals...how many of you have been in a disaster situation and found it to be true?

 

[breakingcontact]

If I told you.. I would be breaking OPSEC

This. Plus I believe people are good and the gov will provide for our security.

 

[Younggun]

Curious...of the people that say you can't trust/depend on your friends because they'll turn into raging animals...how many of you have been in a disaster situation and found it to be true?

Nobody said "raging animals", not even implied that they would become violent. But that doesn't mean they won't be detrimental to a group.


Many people crack under stress, doesn't take a natural disaster to see that. People get frustrated when things get tough, they get hard to get along with, argumentative, and on some levels they may become combative.


Do you not believe this is true?

 

[TAVM]

I was exaggerating when I said raging animals obviously. ALL human beings get frustrated, agitated, and sometimes crack under stress, including each and every one of us and our families. That doesn't also take away from the fact that you'll have a higher probability of survival in numbers...not outlandish colony numbers, but a few people at the very least who can each contribute a little something to make the group stronger. No matter how carefully you "choose" your group, you'll never be devoid of such human emotion.

 

[bodhi]

TAVM, I think what most people here are really getting at is be careful who you let in.

For cases of human nature in SHTF situations, look at Katrina, Watts riots, LA riots, the ghettos of Nazi Germany, half of Africa, Syria, Bosnia in the 90s, etc.

 

[BigBoss0311]

Actually, I think raging animals is pretty accurate. people will do whatever it takes to survive and provide for their family. anything. this includes becoming an animal.

 

[breakingcontact]

Read first hand accounts of civilized countries where the economy or government has fallen. Add our non homogeneous population, a huge dependant class, huge class of drug addicts (illegal and legal including alcoholics) and its going to be real interesting.

 

[Younggun]

Actually, I think raging animals is pretty accurate. people will do whatever it takes to survive and provide for their family. anything. this includes becoming an animal.

Oh, I completely agree in that respect. If your children are starving and your neighbor has food but won't share, what lengths will you go to in order to keep your children alive?


If you have enough food for your family but none to spare and your neighbor is starving, will you give food and jeopardize the chance of your children's survival.

Even an otherwise good person may resort to terrible deeds.


Then there are those who don't care now. When things crumble they will kill, rape, and pillage with no remorse until they are killed.



But in the context of this discussion, I think we can assume we are talking about generally good people in a terrible situation. I don't think we are looking at raging animals a much as pain in the ass resource leeches who actions will endanger the moral and lives of others in the group.

 

[TAVM]

But in the context of this discussion, I think we can assume we are talking about generally good people in a terrible situation. I don't think we are looking at raging animals a much as pain in the ass resource leeches who actions will endanger the moral and lives of others in the group.

This I can agree with. I don't doubt the likelihood of myself or another member of my group having to do something they would normally not do in a more civilized time, but that's the true nature of survival.

 

[M. Sage]

Just a thought... before you add people to your group, go out into a somewhat stressful situation with them and see how well the dynamic holds.

I've got a close friend here, we were part of a hiking group that got lost and stuck on a mountain for a short time. We were out of water in a pretty arid place. The other three in the group freaked out and just about stopped functioning.

Him and me? We planned for the worst, which would have included leaving them to die if they didn't agree and come with us.

It's hard to find people who strike the right balance of team player and cold mofo. But they're out there, and IMO they're the ones to have on your side.

Going from that mini-SHTF, most people go all to shit when faced with imminent mortality. I really meant it when I said they ceased to function. There were camp chores that got done that night, and guess who did them?

People don't have to be leeches or less-than-good people to turn into a liability or even danger when a situation goes bad. Bad situations will turn good people bad fast. It's not even necessarily a matter of how tough someone is, it's about how well their mind can deal with radical changes and how they manage their fear. And mostly, it's about the ability to keep a positive attitude in the face of everything.

My money's on the competitive types who look at the world through the filter of win vs lose.