Must have the Will to....

[BRONZE]

Everybody has the will to survive but you have to have the WIll to Prepare.

Store food, water, learn how to farm, First Aid and take a class.

Just don't buy a firearm but train with it.

Have the WILL to PREPARE.

[bsdmon]

aye i have a couple l1a1's and a couple ww2 bolt rifles i use regularly. just stocking up on ammo and some food supplies now. for now its only rice/beans and some mres but will be getting some cases of mountain house soon. im even trying to get my friends into building atleast one l1a1/fal and becoming proficient with it. it always helps when you dont have to arm them or train them when shtf.

[akfanatic]

Everybody has the will to survive but you have to have the WIll to Prepare.
Store food, water, learn how to farm, First Aid and take a class.
Just don't buy a firearm but train with it.
Have the WILL to PREPARE.

A BIG ++1.

Seek out other 'like minded' persons and work together.
My 'bug-out-buddy' (not in a gay way :eek: ) and I are both shooters and EMT-Ps.

The more you get into this you will find yourself judging people by their 'skill sets'.
People vs. sheeple :p .

[master blaster]

Everybody has the will to survive

Man, this is a great thread and I want to thank you for starting it but, I do not agree with your basic premise!

Allow me to begin with my bottom line up front (BLUF). The will to survive is developed! To develop that will requires an understanding of and acceptance that personal and family safety is an individual duty and responsibility. Once this is realized the individual must then commitment to a lifetime of education, training, preparation, and vigilance, which is necessary to avoid, prevent, counter, or stop any threat to that safety.

Now I digress.

I do agree however that all animals (the human animal as well) are born with basic survival instincts.

Herein is where I draw the distinction.

First of all this is a hugely complex issue and I do not mean to trivialize it here. But certain generalizations are required to keep this from becoming to lengthy.

I believe that modern man has become completely enamored with his intellect and ability to reason, to the extent that he is now almost incapable of instinctively recognizing that a situation may or is about to turn suddenly and tragically violent. In a word man has become complacent and this has (IMHO) led to the demise of mans understanding of and acceptance of his instinctive nature and thus his will to survive.

Firstly, by claiming that man is not an animal he ultimately desensitizes himself to the fact that he is in reality the most dangerous animal on the planet. With rare exceptions, man is the only animal who will routinely maim and kill for pleasure. It is because we refuse to accept this fact that people, known hereafter as sheeple are almost always caught off guard by the suddenness, randomness, and savagery of attacks perpetrated upon them by other men.

Evidence of this is found routinely in the aftermath of the mass shootings that have occurred over the last 25 to 30 years. Survivors almost always give the same sort of accounts.

For example; the victims were so surprised and stunned by what was happening that they were incapable of digesting it and thus failed to act. They sat is disbelief and took no action and died as a result.

I believe that these people had successfully buried their instinctive nature and had been fully convinced that;

1. Nothing like that would or could ever happen to them.
2. The police would always be there to prevent this sort of thing from happening them.
3. The thought that someone could resort to the level of unprovoked anger and violence required to commit such acts created a sensory overload and paralysis in the victims. They may have ultimately thought of responding but, then their acceptance of societies incessant mantra that man is not an animal and that civilized men do not resort to violence under any circumstances took hold and once more rendered them powerless to act appropriately. For these people the thought of resorting to violence as a response was so distasteful that they could never have brought themselves to respond in kind to the perpetrator. This is why laws of any kind that are created for or perverted to criminalize the actions taken to protect ones self and family are immoral and as such irrelevant.

Note, for the LEO’s among us, please don't take the following out of context.

4. These folks would not allow themselves to think for a second that the police are neither capable of nor required by charter to protect them as individuals.

Exceptions

Those of us who have been, or are currently involved in professions (fire, police, military, etc...) where death is routinely present, will know of what I am about to say.

Remember that feeling that you get when you cannot otherwise see, hear, or smell the threat, that there is something very wrong. You know " the electrically charged air that hangs thick and causes the hair to stand up on the back of your neck and arms, and feels like you could cut it with a knife. We don't know why, but we do know that something is going to happen that will make life very interesting and very quickly.

I believe we must first accept that instinct is a basic part of our own human nature, that it is a wonderful gift, and that we should never try to suppress it. It is then and only then that we begin to develop our will to survive.

[Jonas Parker]

Man, this is a great thread and I want to thank you for starting it but, I do not agree with your basic premise!

...I believe that these people had successfully buried their instinctive nature and had been fully convinced that... The police would always be there to prevent this sort of thing from happening them....

Exceptions:

Those of us who have been, or are currently involved in professions (fire, police, military, etc...) where death is routinely present, will know of what I am about to say.

Remember that feeling that you get when you cannot otherwise see, hear, or smell the threat, that there is something very wrong. You know " the electrically charged air that hangs thick and causes the hair to stand up on the back of your neck and arms, and feels like you could cut it with a knife. We don't know why, but we do know that something is going to happen that will make life very interesting and very quickly.

I believe we must first accept that instinct is a basic part of our own human nature, that it is a wonderful gift, and that we should never try to suppress it. It is then and only then that we begin to develop our will to survive.

That's why during hurricane Rita, 911 was nothing more than government-sponsored "dial-a-prayer" here. Great post, master blaster! Should be required reading for all!

[snolden]

nice forums! Train physically, quit smoking, moderate drinking. learn how to farm, fish, hunt, negotiate, build, repair, sew, etc.

Pick a new skill every month and learn the basics of it. Most of the above only take a couple hours to learn. Some take longer. Once you learn the basics you can figure out the rest if needed.

WALK every day in the area around your house. learn the lay of the land, shortcuts, high spots, water sources, etc.

Get off the computer and TV for at least 2 hours each day.

[witchdoctor]

Master Blaster, I agree 100%!!!! :cool:

I have come to accept that sheeple are stupid panic-ey creatures and will be caught off guard and expect someone else to save them. I have seen that all too well in the field. We have a saying "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine."

Our population has lost interest in developing their survival skills because we have develop a Welfare State over the past century. I see people that have "medical problems" on a shiftly basis; these people would have died at a young age a century ago cause no one would have bothered to take care of them. We as a society have given every little problem a "name" and everyone has a "disorder" so they all require special treatment and care. We do nothing but promote the continued existance of the non-productive members of society. In the post-civil unrest society these people will not survive, and will in fact leach off anyone they can!!! :eek:

I fully understand that in a SHTF situation I and my family will be left to fend for ourselves. I came to that conclusion a few years ago after 9/11 and realized, like so many other Americans, that our freedom and continued existance was in danger. I have found in myself the WILL to take charge of my life and I am determined that my survival will not be left in the hands of FEMA, DHS, or any other government agency. If they do in fact help me, then great my taxes have paid for something of benefit. I have been working on developing my skill set to make my more well rounded. I have been thinking of a post-economic collapse society and what will be needed. Obviously my medical training makes me desirable to keep around by the un-trained people.