# End of the World as we Know it



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I can hunt and dress my prey, I know how to preserve meat. I've seen leather being worked/tanned though I've never tried it myself. Like you, I can grow vegetables and some fruits (those that my climate permits anyway). I can recognize the local edible flora and those plants that are poisonous. I have decent enough first aid training that I can do stitches myself and set minor bone breaks.

Also, even though the closest lake is several miles away and I don't really like fish, I know how to catch, clean, and preserve them as well.

One thing that I think most folks don't ever really think about though...means of self defense. If civilization collapses, there will be a lot of folks running around looting and stealing and trying to take whatever they want. If you can't fight off the folks that come to steal your food, weapons, horses, etc, then you won't survive long no matter how well you can hunt or gather.


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

I love hearing how independent people operate, specially us horsey ones!

I have my horses for transportation. (Or food)
I can grow and preserve food. I also have plenty on hand.
I have medicine, trade goods, and other "supplies".
I can hunt, trap, snare, and fish with the best of them.
I have three dogs, 400 lbs combined, for security. And they know their job well...
I raise bees for their honey and its medicinal value.
I know first aid, splinting, etc...
I know the land, it's bounty, and how to utilize it.
I raise chickens for eggs and meat, and am getting my operation set up to be able to feed them sustainably.

I also live out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by like minded people. So come hell or high water (I live on a mountain lol) anyone with ill intentions would be hard pressed to make it this far...
And to top it off I can and will do anything necessary to protect my family.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

I can talk a man into doing all the things I would need to survive.:wink:


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## Red Gate Farm (Aug 28, 2011)

I figure it would take a couple of months for all the city folks to fight each other, then more months to walk all the way out to where I live and by then winter would have set in and they'd freeze cuz we all _know_ that city folks don't know how to deal with real cold. :lol:

To be serious though, yes there would be that new danger, of desperate people or just mean people trying to take what others have.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

You really would need to have the guts to kill another human being because once the supermarket shelves ran empty all social niceties would be gone, and some didn't have any to start with!!


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I think everyone had better head out to the back field to see what old horse powered equipment is knocking about - it would be needed for tillage, harvesting, haying, etc. Draft horses will be back in a big way.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Oh yeah!!! I didn't even think about that! I also know how to farm with horse drawn equipment and I know how to handle/train plow horses.


And I already own a broke team of drafties...so I'm one ahead of most folks LOL.


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## morganarab94 (May 16, 2013)

I know how to hunt and dress animals. 
I know how to farm
I know how to drive a horse and train one to pull (even though its been quite a while since I have done so)
I know which plants are edible around here
I live right beside a major river
I know how to cook over a woodstove
We own a woodstove in the house
I know human first aid for the most part(I did LPN classes)
I live in the middle of no where with few people around me, who mainly grew up this way anyway
I know natural remedies (essential oils and what they benefit)
I know how to sew,knit, and crochet
My neighbor has sheep that she uses the wool for spinning
We have beef cattle 
I know how to shoot a gun, and well :wink:


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

Guys don't forget about friends and family...
The more hands the better.
We used to laugh with friends about them buying motorcycles to be able to get here if crud hit the fan... They just bought a ninja.

We are farmers not "preppers", but If I didn't live this way I'd have to go get a real job... LOL!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tobysthebesthorseever (Apr 12, 2013)

Well now I feel kinda useless 

I can ride/train my horse for transportation.
My parents are nurses so they can take care of me
I can grow a garden
if I had to I could learn how to raise, kill, clean, and preserve meat.
And I currently want to learn how to shoot both bows and arrows and guns.
I can sew somewhat.

I would not be a terribly useful person if the world as we know it ends.  :lol: 
Now I have to go find someone to teach me all this other stuff...


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## Red Gate Farm (Aug 28, 2011)

Tobysthebesthorseever said:


> Well now I feel kinda useless
> 
> I can ride/train my horse for transportation.
> My parents are nurses so they can take care of me
> ...


You have one asset you didn't mention. You're a healthy female of breeding age :wink: That would be VERY important for the future of humanity. The other stuff, us older ladies would teach you.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Red Gate Farm said:


> You're a healthy female of breeding age :wink:.


 
That made me :rofl:.


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## Tobysthebesthorseever (Apr 12, 2013)

Red Gate Farm said:


> You have one asset you didn't mention. You're a healthy female of breeding age :wink: That would be VERY important for the future of humanity. The other stuff, us older ladies would teach you.


LOL that made me both blush and laugh!! True, true. I now feel slightly less useless:lol:

Oh! I thought of something else to add to my list. If someone messes with my horse and tries to steal him, i will open up a nice big can of whoop-butt and chuck it at them. I can defend myself pretty well i think.


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## Bagheera (Apr 23, 2013)

Let's see... I can ride and train horses. I also know how to shoot a rifle. Otherwise, I'm pretty much screwed. Lol


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

Ive got enough firepower, stored ammo and mad skills. can pretty much come take what I need from the hippy liberals in Williamsburg across the river.


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## Iseul (Mar 8, 2010)

Welp...Everyone around me would be screwed, lol.

I know how to ride and train..and shoot a bow. I'm sure I could manage a gun if needed, but I'm a good shot with a bow.(;

So, I'd be the madwoman charging into everyone's camps during the day to pillage, and by night I would be sneaking in to steal (I'm very quiet and can sneak well) such things that I needed.

And THEN, I would find an attractive farm man to bring along with me, for entertainment. c:

But yeah..I can do all the survival stuff aside from preserving a kill/catch. And ride/train. That's about all I have going for me, so I'd have to steal clothing and veggies/fruits.
I am the baddest in my town though, so I could probably end up making a little colony and provide safety in exchange for necessities. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Missy May (Feb 18, 2012)

I am a good shot. I don't hunt. 

I know where water is, and you have to ride or walk to get to it. I'd ride.

I am very familiar w the desert and how to survive in it, a place most people will not run to. 

Really, the largest threats to anyone that has a modicum of survival skills, in this hypothetical dooms day scenario, is other people and fear. So, for the fear I am sunk, I can't drink or take most kinds of medication.:lol: 

And, I have some stored "supplies" on my bum...so bring it on. :wink:

Seriously, I often would tell DD, "if this, then remember this" survival tips. I always thought she just pretended to listen and was actually internally rolling her eyes. But, after few recent events I found out she heard what I said after all! Someone actually took the time to come over and congratulated her on having the "sense" in one instance. People do "store" survival info, probably more than they know.


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## VickiRose (Jul 13, 2013)

I can shoot both gun and bow.
I can butcher meat
I can grow stuff
I have a temper and will kill anything or anyone trying to hurt me or mine :lol:
I can sew and knit
I can preserve some foods
Im a good cook
I have a farm 

If you want to read a good book with this scenario in it try "Dies the Fire" by S.M Stirling. Its one of my favourites


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## Clava (Nov 9, 2010)

I think the reality of such a place and how awful humans would treat each other is not a world I would want to live in until it had settled into some sort of medieval order...I would be killed by someone no doubt.

But on the purely skills side of things, 

I can sew, cook, light fires, grow things, ride, find clay and make pots and pottery and I have the tenacity to be very hard working. I also have understanding of building homes, creating flint ad stone walls using lime mortar, and thatching.


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## SouthernTrails (Dec 19, 2008)

.

While possibly 90% of Americas would be lost and have no hope of survival, it is amazing how just 100 years ago and the previous few thousand years before that people survived without electricity, cars, etc.

Today, so may people absolutely panic when their cell phone battery dies, they cannot even stand in line to order a burger without texting on their darn cell phones...arghhh, what the world has come to :lol::lol:

Technology controls everything, the more complex it becomes the easier it is to have it crash one day, people need to brush up on their hunting, growing food and survival skills... I am not one of those doomsday preppers, but I think everyone should brush up on the old fashioned skills of nature, at least grow a garden no matter how small, it is great for relaxation and the self achievement value if nothing else :wink:

.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

I have no doubt in my mind I could survive on my own. Dump me off in the wilderness with the stuff I own (tools, guns, camping gear, horses, etc.) I'll survive and quite honestly be happier than I am now. Where the doubt comes in is the roving bands of humans I would have to protect me and mine from. That I don't think I would be able to do without banding together with like minded people. It boils back down to the basics, might rules the land.


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## Missy May (Feb 18, 2012)

SouthernTrailsGA said:


> .
> 
> While possibly 90% of Americas would be lost and have no hope of survival, it is amazing how just 100 years ago and the previous few thousand years before that people survived without electricity, cars, etc.
> 
> ...


haha, "if their cell phone battery dies".

Well put.

I agree, there seems to be this very odd "disconnect" between people and the physical world, so as to speak. Not to long ago I was with a group of very bright young people (late teens, early twenties). I was very impressed by their intellect and in a lot of ways, by their maturity. But, their ability to apply what they knew to "survival" was next to non-existent. I thought, "think, for heaven's sake, you are not stupid!". It is as if the "world" to them _is_ the techno-structure. What happened?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Yep, there are too many in this world that just seem to cease functioning if the electricity goes out and they can't be on the computer or the tv or playing video games. And, as STGA mentioned, God forbid they lose their cell phone to a dead battery or it gets broken and doesn't work.


Sometimes I wonder how much of the population would commit suicide within the first week of not having all their little electronic addictions. My guess would be a fairly large amount.


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

Their parents/grandparents happened. Microwaves and McDonalds happened. 
Too many women working outside of the home happened. 

I get so frustrated that I'm having to teach myself many of these things. If it weren't for the love and knowledge of my grandparents, especially my Papa I would be clueless!

But because I've been his right hand man tracking and hunting, fishing, gardening, canoeing, beekeeping, etc I've been instilled with the love of nature and have a good dose of respect for it. I sure as heck wasn't sitting on the couch plugged in.

I wish everyone had a Papa like I do!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Most people would die because they no longer have an immunity to simple bacteria any more - we've become far too reliant on antibiotics at the first whiff of an infection so our systems never get a chance to build their own defence mechanisms


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## Missy May (Feb 18, 2012)

You are lucky fly, and your dad is lucky that you appreciate him!

That brings up an interesting point. It would stand to reason that people these days more or less have to be drawn to horses in order to "have to" interact with them. So, the interests of the horsey fraction of the population would naturally heavily lean toward the "outdoors". And, like you, more apt to respect the knowledge and wisdom of "learned" outdoor people. I have often witnessed people discount the "intellect" of farmers or ranchers. That always struck me as funny when the successful ones are generally quite well off. I mean, if "material gain" is a measure of intelligence....

I personally think some people's brains are wired for better situational awareness in one or the other environment..."city" or "out". My situational awareness is at its best in the "outdoors", it is entirely overshadowed in a city by the overwhelming desire to just get out. I imagine citified people's city oriented situational awareness wouldn't help them much in the "real" outdoors, either.


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

No you are right.
I married a citified person and the first time I grabbed a pear off my tree and ate it without washing it when we were dating I thought he'd have a heart attack! After 9 married years he can ride and hunt and do almost everything I can, but I married him because he wanted to learn .
It's a shame the men in his family taught him NOTHING in regards to the outdoors. They all grew up that way...

And you know I'm right there with you when comes to going to town!

Jaydee you are right about bacteria. How many of us grew up drinking out of streams and playing in puddles and lived to tell about it? 
When my kid was a baby if it rained we were out in it. Not just for fun but I say they need to be butt necked and dirty as sin to be healthy. Now people douse them with germ x and live in air filtered homes.... Where has that gotten us?

Our doctor INSISTED we put tubes in DD's ears and one doctor INSISTED that my kid had allergies because she wasn't vaccinated... You have to be KIDDING ME! I walked out on them and focused on diet and strength ing her immune system and sure as all get out she's the healthiest kid I know. Not even a sniffle any longer during the seasons.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

FlyGap said:


> Jaydee you are right about bacteria. How many of us grew up drinking out of streams and playing in puddles and lived to tell about it?


LOL, I couldn't agree more. Drinking out of the creek or the tank right beside your horse. Moving over the cow slobbers with your hand so you wouldn't have any stringies when you were drinking. Eating without washing your hands after a long day working outside, picking stuff up off the ground, dusting it off, and eating it, etc.

I grew up doing those things (and still do most of them). And, while I do still get sick occasionally, it's not nearly as bad as most the folks around me. I've not gotten antibiotics once in the last 15 years or so.

I used to get bronchitis every year without fail. I'd go to the doc and get antibiotics to get rid of it. Next year, I'd get it again. One year, I just decided that I wasn't going to go to the doc unless I was borderline death. It took a while, but I got over it and I've not had bronchitis since.


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## Missy May (Feb 18, 2012)

haha, germ X. I use it liberally when I go to town. People germs will kill you.  I bet most people on this forum have no aversion to horse or livestock germs. It (the right kind of exposure) keeps us all healthy!


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

I just quit going to town. Lol!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Haha, what a fun thread!!

I live in a state without any family. I have lots of friends, but I have no doubt in my mind that 98% of them would be utterly useless.
I can sew and start a fire, ride horses and do lots of those basic survival type things... Tie knots, what have you.

Honestly, the first thing I would do is purchase the nearest well conformation'd, not insane horse and high tail it to Texas to be with my familia xD


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## Fort fireman (Mar 5, 2011)

I can make fire. Multiple ways I.E. flint and steel, bow drill, and of course lighter and matches. By the way matches are the hardest for me.
Hunt with flintlock or centerfire rifle or shotgun or Bow and take care of the game when done. Honestly in a purely survival situation squirrel, turkey, rabbit type game will probably take over for bigger game like deer. Deer are time consuming to preserve and hard to move by yourself and like others said the two legged predators(humans) will be out.
With the hunting with guns, that is only as good as long as your ammo holds out. I haven't gotten into reloading so that would be my short coming. However I have alot of Black powder and Lead round balls for my flintlocks. I do 90% of my hunting with those anyway.
Gardening is a a possibility however going to the local farm supply for seeds will not be an option. So who knows how to collect seeds for next years garden? I will admit I am a tad lacking in my knowledge of wild edibles in NC. I know a few but the window for them is pretty short.
I know how to brain tan deer hides for leather if needed for clothing and I can sew well enough to make clothes. They won't be pretty but they will work. I can also make thread out of sinew. At least I've done it once.:shock:
Of course the horse stuff. I also have my EMT skills. I'm pretty good at trauma type stuff and can handle medical stuff to a point. It's hard to handle medical stuff if you don't have the meds for it though.
I'm not a prepper by any means but I do believe in being reasonably prepared for contingincies. Like losing power for a week or so and still being reasonably comfortable. I know if the grid went down for say a week bcause of an Ice storm or hurricane. My family would be warm in front of the fireplace and be able to eat.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

It all the technology came to an end, ie civilization as we know it ended, I don't think I'd want to be around. One would need to own a huge arsenal of ammunition to protect your food stocks. Not much gardening room in NY city so those who could would be heading to the countryside.


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## towboater (Aug 19, 2013)

I want to be around as long as possible. My large arsenal would be used for hunting and trading. And of course protecting my family. Potatos are easy to raise, and easy to store for next years planting. Tater soup again.. Yep again.


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

You had better hope there is a huge pandemic that kills a huge chuck of humanity if this happens. Otherwise there will be many more predators willing to kill and take what they want than there will be farmers to produce the food. There would be no way to plant, tend and harvest crops and stock with all of the marauders out there. There will be chaos, IMO. The lazy will be the worst of the predators.


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

Yeah, it's always the sweet little farmers that go first in the movies. Thank heavens I'm not sweet!
*cue dueling banjos*

I need a million or two for one of those cool bunkers!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

I can sew, can, grow a garden.

I have chickens (both egg and dual purpose breeds) as well as meat cows. I raise pigs occasionally as well as we have a couple goats. We are on well water, septic system and have plans to add a wood burning stove and solar panels. I also live far enough in the boonies, that unless gasoline is readily available, nobody is going to make it out here.


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

I feel the same way Delfina, meet my neighbors...



and our wildlife...


I know many would try, but if there ever _was_ a pandemic or collapse, and they did get through the small towns and militias (hillbilly ones to boot), they'd then have to crawl through 45 miles of the thickest, nastiest, poison ivy, snake riddled forest on earth. _I_ don't step foot out of my yard in the summer, it's a death trap.
Hopefully most would simply line up begging for rations. But if I were them I'd head out here myself if I needed to feed my family.
I've thought about leaving parcels of food next to a sign saying the next time they pass they won't be so lucky... also wanted to hang goat skulls around the perimeter of our property. :twisted:
DH wouldn't go for it. :evil:

We heat entirely with wood. It would stink having to do it by hand... Hydraulic log splitters and chain saws are one of our "luxuries". I'd miss those!


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

I love this thread! haha I've thought about this too off and on. 
Here's my list: 
-I have horses for transportation, farming, meat, breeding, etc. 
-I can make functional horse tack/harness from baling twine and use a fleece to dull it
-I can grow crops/livestock
-I can can and preserve things as well as make bread without a breadmaker
-I can move out to the middle of nowhere where there's no one in sight for miles on a family farm
-I can entertain myself with instruments, writing, and story telling
-I have dogs for protection and hunting/herding
-I have a HUGE paranoid streak and I do mean HUGE. I can't stand city living and constantly have to tell myself that no- my 80 year old neighbor who has cancer is NOT trying to kill me by dumping poison in my water line.... 
-I have a basic rudimentary first aid knowledge as well as herb knowledge
-I adapt quick
-I can fire a gun/have access to one, and can hunt if pressed
-I have no qualms about doing what it takes to survive and make the best out of my situation
-My grandparents on both sides survived tough times and taught us kids how to hoof it and do whatever it takes. Adapt quick or die was their motto. Heck, my grandmother who immigrated from Germany after WWII fed us cow tongue, brain and liver when we said we didn't want it she gave us a lecture about how she didn't want to eat it (and worse) either but she was starving to death and you use EVERY part of the animal, nothing goes wasted. 
-My great grandmother lived during the great depression and taught me how to make a mean moonshine  She also taught me just the other day how to watch out for your family because hers didn't and even though things worked out great in the end it was ten times harder to live. She also taught me how to be resourceful and quick thinking. 

That's my list! I love hearing others! haha


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## michaelvanessa (Apr 25, 2012)

*fendining for your self.*

well if the end of the world came i probley would survive.
i know about quite a lot of wild fruits i can grow vegstables.
i can cook well beleave this or not i also can stich as well and if i had to even kill for meat as well and also fish as well.
i also break horses in to and have harnesses so i could put the horses to work and make a safe place to live.
i can also if it came to it i could grasp shoeing horses quite quickley as i can russtle up any thing to get me out of trouble.
i can utaise any thing to produce electric via wind or solar if needed.
in social groops like this i think you have to adopt the starnce of the humble ant or the bee as to live and forage in a colective group and also defend against atack by raders.
i have many moor assets i could turn my hand to keep things going and neather shought of idears as i all ways am thinking on my feet in ways to better a situation.
in a situation like this united we stand togeather we fall.


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## michaelvanessa (Apr 25, 2012)

*the guy with the boose and the beard and the guns.*



FlyGap said:


> I feel the same way Delfina, meet my neighbors...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 i had to laugh about the old man siting there i thought of my self lol like that as i some times grow a beard.
but on a lighter note i have reard chickins i have had sheep as well.
i can make fire and build shelters to.
i would say this i would have to build something to keep raiders out like an old wooden falt in a good strteagic place from attack so you can have the upper hand on the invaders.
some one hit the nail on the head about the lazy ones as thoes people can be cunning but in the real sence i think thay would perish as thay have no sence of perpous in a survivle group.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Allison Finch said:


> You had better hope there is a huge pandemic that kills a huge chuck of humanity if this happens. Otherwise there will be many more predators willing to kill and take what they want than there will be farmers to produce the food. There would be no way to plant, tend and harvest crops and stock with all of the marauders out there. There will be chaos, IMO. The lazy will be the worst of the predators.


It's times like that where living way out in the boonies like I do would come in handy. Because we're almost 100 miles from anything that even remotely resembles a city, it would take a while for marauders to reach us...and by the time they did, the folks in my tiny little town would have already begun working together to store what we could and protect what we got. 90% of the folks that live here hunt and those who hunt normally have more than a dozen guns and enough ammo to use those guns for a year before they run low. Put all those folks together and my one little town could hold their own against an _army_ for a decent chunk of time.



Although, I'll be honest. In spite of what we see on the news every day, I try to think that people as a whole are generally good and most would be more willing to join a community and help than they would be to try to steal what others have. Sure, there would be a fair number of the latter, but I like to think that the former outnumber them by at least double. After the initial panic wore off, I think most people would be looking for a place to settle back down and build a new life rather than just pillage and rape for the rest of their lives.


And, hopefully there would be enough of the good folks that were armed to wipe out a good portion of the bad folks within a relatively short period of time. I know in the event that civilization ended, _I_ would be armed at all times and I would shoot first and ask questions later with any person acting shady.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Those are all rather romantic notions. The reality would be total chaos and with people going off half cocked in their attempts to survive. Imagine a huge city catching fire, the fumes and destruction to the countryside. Nope, don't want to be around and yet I likely live in one of the safest places in North America.


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## Red Gate Farm (Aug 28, 2011)

Saddlebag said:


> Those are all rather romantic notions. The reality would be total chaos and with people going off half cocked in their attempts to survive. Imagine a huge city catching fire, the fumes and destruction to the countryside. Nope, don't want to be around and yet I likely live in one of the safest places in North America.


Yes, but this thread is also "if" this happened.

I'm learning a lot about what people here know and can do! I love the fact so many contributed to the thread and it's made me reassess my home and what I have.

I think people would instinctively band together. Yes, there would be chaos but it would settle down. Humans have survived a lot worse than simply losing the technology we now have :wink:

Someone did mention medical skills. I'm not sure how long I would be able to survive without my diabetic medication (I'm type 2). Or would better living, more activity and more natural eating counteract that for awhile? Hmmm, something to think about.

Looking forward to reading more!


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

Actually there would be huge pandemics if anything happened.

I have enough antibiotics and first aid on hand to last for years, for several people...
In our global society a virus or major bacterial infection is actually the greatest threat. I'm isolated enough to _consider_ myself safe. 

If any major EMP situation arises there would be no water, or safe water for that matter. I'm pretty immune to most things after years of drinking out of ponds and creeks. I also have the knowledge and means to sterilize it, and my own safe source. I wonder how many people, by today's standards, would fare?
I also think drinking water would be contaminated pretty quickly when sewage seeps into the safe sources without the electricity to "purify" it? Not long for sure.

That would severely hinder any large groups of mass populations from migrating.


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## tlkng1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Let's see...afraid I would be in the uh oh line. I can cook over an open fire, can grow veggies/herbs etc. Have knowledge of security and safety issues with basic first aid knowledge. I can hand sew, knit, crochet and quilt well enough to help in that line but that is about the extent.

As for medical issues..someone mentioned diabetes? there are natural herbs/plants that have the same type of effect..maybe not as quick or as accurate as our manmade versions but they are definitely out there. Would just need someone experienced in identifying the plants and being able to use them properly...as a tea, chewed leaves, etc. Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) for example came originally from willow tress...willow bark specifically. Some natural horse supplements that are herbal NSAIDS have ground willowbark as an ingredient.


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