Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Handling Visitors When The Grid Goes Down

By George Thompson


Many Americans would identify themselves as survivalists, and there are numerous online communities where they share advice on the topic. It frightens us to imagine life without the comforts of electric lights and central air. People have capitalized on this and created an industry based on food stockpiles, survival gardening, and self defense when the grid goes down.

Most of the manifestations of this fear seem harmless enough, and no one ever suffered a terrible fate from growing their own food. Unfortunately, the notion of home defense has become an ugly aspect of the need for survival in a crisis. Few people have really thought out how they might handle a situation in this scenario, and instead they prattle on about shooting trespassers in defense of their home, their food, and their own family.

There are always people who panic in a crisis, and the collapse of basic infrastructure will result in some people acting in uncharacteristic ways. However, many people will be able to remain in their homes, and with proper preparation, they can maintain their basic survival. This does not mean that the panic will be so severe that the law of the jungle will prevail.

A survivalist knows that governments, law enforcement agencies, and militia are not necessarily going to be there to help them. However, this does not mean that every person, or group of people, who wander into their territory are there to harm them. Most people, given a choice, will help one-another in these situations, just as they did during the Great Depression and just after both great wars.

Anyone who plans to defend their territory with firearms will be held accountable for their actions in doing so. If one is firing upon a group of people before asking them to identify themselves and state their business is committing a crime. There is no reason to commit murder just because someone happens to be traveling through your neighborhood.

To deny food and shelter to a group of people simply because they are not family is cruel. It's important to remember that these periods of collapse are always temporary, and a family is not likely to starve to death because they helped a stranger in need. Most approaching strangers pose no threat, and should violence ensue, murder is still murder at the end of the day.

It would be foolish not to assume that a traveling group is totally unarmed. What could have become a helpful friend all too easily becomes a deadly foe once the shooting begins. Without cool heads prevailing, opportunity to help those in need can become an even worse tragedy, and nobody wins when bullets are wasted on defensive measures rather than hunting.

A wandering family or traveling band of individuals could become a valuable friend, and provide assistance in growing food, building structures, and maintaining equipment or machinery. Each of us has different talents and abilities, and these talents may help us redefine ourselves in a crisis. When groups comes together in a tradition of sharing and helping each other provide abundance, then a community is born.




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