Community as preperations?

[TomW]

I believe that we will all be looking after number 1 too. I certainly will. Simple heirarchy of loyalty for me: Family, friends, god, queen, country. I'll do what's right for me and mine first. Then ill do everything I can to help my friends. God covers everybidy else under charity and is also where ill restart my morality, as in I would steal to feed my family and friends but not to give away as charity. Queen then country aren't relevant at thus point, unless it was civil war

Ultimately what I'm saying is that I would be part of any community that was in my interests but would leave in a heartbeat if my family would be better off. I think most would be the same.

I think that trying to be a good member of your community now is an excellent prep. Simple things like supporting local events can do so much. Get to know as many people as possible if only at the most basic level. You don't need to try and convert them all to prepping just be a neighbour. If you can get as far as being a friend they might drop someone else before dropping you

[dibley]

I would like to pick up on the idea of a ready made community within the community.
Our Church community swung into action during the last local emergency providing a shelter and meals through a 36 hour period for around 80. It proved to me two things, the first that there is an existing network of community organisers in different church's who are experienced and can work together and second people when a high stress situation happens look for strong leadership to put something in place and frighteningly people will do what is asked of them.

I think there is a possibility in a breakdown of society to use this preparation of contacts to bring a rough order for our small town. We are in a rural location, If in any way it it could be pulled off, It would mean manpower and skills to provide some existence and mutual protection from the refugees who will flee north.

I think there will be a me first attitude from some and several loners who will hide but when crunch time comes if there is a ready made structure then enough extra could be part of it to make a difference and a survivable community. I think my only caveat is food for if we run out of local resources then it will fall apart in a heart beat. but thats why preparation now and understanding what is available around is important.

[bulldogeagle]

good post Dibley, problem is if the food supplies are not getting through then your (and others) food stocks are getting passed out to people who havent prepped, those stocks will not last long and then what happens? everyone (including you) is then starving.

[skippy]

Our Church community swung into action during the last local emergency providing a shelter and meals through a 36 hour period for around 80.

A great effort within a small community to care for 80 refugees! (correctly pointed out to be evacuees.. my bad )

I think there is a possibility in a breakdown of society to use this preparation of contacts to bring a rough order for our small town. We are in a rural location, If in any way it it could be pulled off, It would mean manpower and skills to provide some existence and mutual protection from the refugees who will flee north. .

Admirable but will you turn away these further refugees ... where is your christian charity?

I think there will be a me first attitude from some and several loners who will hide but when crunch time comes if there is a ready made structure then enough extra could be part of it to make a difference and a survivable community. I think my only caveat is food for if we run out of local resources then it will fall apart in a heart beat. .

Just to put that into perspective, say you will need to provide for a minimum of 10 days for just those 80 people, (you turned everyone else away) then you need 2400 meals thats 2,000,000 calories and also 1600 ltrs of water just for drinking (not factoring in Hygine and cooking which is another 6800 ltrs of water).
Without government aid being supplied, those numbers make it clear that it would be likely to be unsustainable even for a few days.
If you are relying on community to get you through a crisis and societial breakdown then it needs to be a well prepared community such as the LDS.
So we come back to the individual, the loner, the "me first".
To be frank it seems like you are classing preppers as loners with a me first attitude. Im not sure if that is correct from what you have written, but in any case, if they do not share out what they have prepared then I would say that it does not make them bad people. They have determined that they are not dependant on an organisation or the government to hand them the resourses they need to survive ... in short they are not becoming refugees.

Please dont take this post as a dig at you or your community which did a fantastic job in a short crisis situation. However in the medium to longer term, as you call it "possibility in a breakdown of society" survival and charity is a whole different animal.

Skippy

[the-gnole]

A great effort within a small community to care for 80 refugees!

But they weren't "Refugees" they were evacuee's, big difference!

In a post fall situation never, ever, become a refugee.

However you are "unlikely" to become a refugee in the UK during "Normal" times, much more likely to become an Evacuee, where you will be returning to your own area fairly soon or dealt with by your insurance provider.

After all, we are only giving ourselves a bit of insurance against something happening, and like most insurances we might make little claims against it as we go through our lives, and never make a "Total lose" claim, but it feels good to have it just in case.

[skippy]

But they weren't "Refugees" they were evacuee's, big difference!.

Good point well made !

However the logistics still stand in the face of Dibleys example in a post "breakdown of society" senario.

[the-gnole]

The stats are horrendous when you look at them, best turn them all away at the start otherwise they will strip you of any reserves in hours.

I looked at the figures for my family once, and it was going to be difficult to store in our little place.

[bulldogeagle]

But they weren't "Refugees" they were evacuee's, big difference!.

if you read Dibley's post in full, there is a reference to "refugee's heading north"!

[the-gnole]

But they weren't "Refugees" they were evacuee's, big difference!.

if you read Dibley's post in full, there is a reference to "refugee's heading north"!

But if you read Skippys' post underneath it states

Our Church community swung into action during the last local emergency providing a shelter and meals through a 36 hour period for around 80.

A great effort within a small community to care for 80 refugees!

Which is the part I was responding too, rather than Dibleys original post.

Also who in their right mind would head North, the clever ones would head South

[bulldogeagle]

Also who in their right mind would head North, the clever ones would head South

as long as they dont head south-west i dont care where they go!