ITEOTWAWKI and SHTF discussion...

[Greg-Dawg]

OK, a lot of us rationalize that we want to pick up weapons or increase our armory because of "preparation". Let's get some thoughts here.

So are we really waiting for the BIG one?

Especially here in CA...we don't have hurricane season in Palos Verde...nor a volcano erupting in Compton...nor KKK rednecks protesting every other Sabbath in Eagle Rock...nor any recent Rodney King trials in South Los Angeles...nor militant Muslim insurgents in Daly City...etc. The list goes on. Don't get me started on the toxic waste truck that tipped over the 110 fwy infecting drivers to start eating human brains...ZOMBIES!!!

So what huge event are we really preparing for?

Will it take 30+ years for the apocalypse for us to blow off the dust of our 870s, AR15s, AKs, Saigas, Ruger 10/22s, 1911A1 and Glocks?

ITEOTWAWKI = It's The End Of The World As We Know It (great song by REM by the way.)

[jammer2k]

When I lived in the Bay Area it was an earthquake casuing enough destruction that the refineries would go boom or something similar that there would be mass exodus and panic.

Now that I live in Sacramento that is still a valid problem but now I also have flooding issues.

So it may not be the end of the world, but it may be bad enough it feels like it.

[nic]

Definitely a major earthquake. I need to stock up on some emergency supplies (MREs and other non-perishable foods, and more water, and probably a portable water filter).

[ojisan]

Yup..the 7.5+ quake that will destroy the freeways and stop food and water supplies to millions is the biggest threat. A couple weeks without food and water will drive the sheeple and bangers into action. (PS: Sylmar quake of '71the 210 freeway overpasses in that area all collapsed...blocking all vehicle access for days...helicopters were used to bring in drinking water and food. I was there).
Dirty or biological bomb in Long Beach port...millions flee to the suburbs.
Armed separatist movement by the Armenians to claim Glendale as their own country (joking!).
Ignoring the threat of Zombies is foolish...why do we all own at least one "zombie gun" if there is no threat? : ))

[sorensen440]

I think the biggest threat aside from the evil Canadian Empire is a major earthquake
Imagine Katrina on a larger scale with zero warning to get out

[Heavy_Grinder]

Earthquake and flood.

I live right near the L.A. River flood control. And since living in Long Beach, only once in my lifetime, the LBFD blocked all incoming and outgoing traffic on the overpass over the flood control (Willow), because of rising water level.

It would take a major downpour of biblical proportions for a major flood to occur though in my area, but a flood nonetheless still lingers in the back of my mind.

[DIG]

I never really intended on preparing for the "big one" or an ITEOTWAWKI situation. However, knowing that I can adequately defend myself and my family brings me peace of mind ...or for the zombie-freaks out there ...piece of mind..err.. brains..

.

[Toolbox X]

I prepare for the unknown.

[BigBamBoo]

...............

[Greg-Dawg]

All I know is that if it does happen, I'll be calling all my Calguns bros.

Found this interesting article: Ready for Disaster? 'Preparedness Movement' Members Say They Are

Ready for Disaster? 'Preparedness Movement' Members Say They Are
'Survival Is Like the Garden of Eden,' Says Survivalist Teacher
By NEAL KARLINSKY and ALYSSA LITOFF
SEWARD, Alaska, Aug. 12, 2008

RSS Let's face it: The news these days can be a little depressing.

People who learn to live off the land. People can't drive because gas is too expensive, the price of food is skyrocketing, families are losing their homes, the stock market is tanking and the Arctic ice caps might be melting, plunging the planet into serious trouble.

A lot of people take in all this news, shrug it off and just push on with life.

But not everyone.

At the Tom Brown Tracking, Nature and Wilderness Survival School in Waretown, N.J., they're preparing for the worst. The school attracts people from every corner of the nation who want to learn how to build a fire, make stone tools and absorb an American Indian lifestyle and philosophy.

Brown said the word "survivalist" conjures "images of a bunker stocked with food and ammunition, or a soldier, or some dirtbag suffering on a glacier."

But he says that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Survival is like the garden of Eden. It's like going home," he said.

People have been preparing for the end of the world since the beginning of time.

The first big survivalist movement of recent time came during the Cold War and the looming threat of nuclear holocaust.

More recently there was the near disaster that was called "Y2K." That's when many thought society would come to a screeching halt because of a computer malfunction tied to New Year's Day in the year 2000.

"People were coming in here, they were panic stricken. ... What if the computer shuts down, what if NYC doesn't get running water. The water system, God forbid, could shut off," Brown sad.

Brown says people today see a new threat on the horizon.

"There is an overall apprehension that I feel," he said. "A fear that I can see it and feel it in people. I can feel it in the streets when I have to go out and get something from a store. And I watch people very carefully and there is a rhythm and a cadence that is developing that I noticed back as we approached Y2K and it's happening again. But, as I say, this one isn't going away fast."

It's the reason people come to his school: to learn how to survive if the government isn't there for them -- if things get really, really bad.

Dennis Souza of Seward, Alaska, for one, isn't optimistic about the future.

A Plan of Action
"I think we're just gonna run out of oil or it's gonna be so high priced that we're gonna have to change our lifestyle," Souza said.

Dennis Souza, who refers to himself as a member of the 'preparedness movement' has a stockpile of food that will sustain both himself and his wife for several months during an emergency.
(ABC )Years ago he was preparing for nuclear war -- it didn't happen. He was ready for Y2K as well, but the lights stayed on.

This time, Souza and others like him think the problem is oil.

He says society is in for a big change.

"I just think that everybody should have a plan of action, have emergency kits," Souza said. "I've got relatives that live down South that haven't got a clue. They would just sit out on the curb and wait for somebody to come out and rescue them. It ain't gonna happen. [Hurricane] Katrina proved that."

Souza is ready -- ready to hunt for wild game, fish in a nearby river or grow food in a greenhouse. And if all that fails, he's ready to use his basement as a grocery store.

"This is our basic pantry we keep here. I figure I have about, oh, at least eight months' worth of food if we don't supplement it by hunting or fishing," he said.

"I probably got another 100 pounds of dried pinto beans. And I'm a pretty good bean cook," he said.

If things get really bad, he'll dig into his supply of sealed nitro-packed food that's meant to last for decades. Even with all of this food, he'd prefer to have another six months' worth of supplies.

"That would make me sleep better," he said.

Prepared or Pessimistic?
Souza doesn't call himself a "survivalist" but rather a member of the "preparedness movement." He was one of the few people who agreed to speak on camera. He said others, including his stepson, are worried they'll become targets for people in need after some future calamity.

Back at Tom Brown's East Coast survival school, the students include a retired banker.

"I am aware that things could get out of hand," Larry Scharff said. "And I do believe these classes would assist me in being prepared."

Brown isn't sure oil is the problem. He's worried about global warming, among other issues.

But the point, he says, is the same.

"You have to look at the earth as an island -- kind of like Easter Island where they ran out of wood and literally died. That is going to happen here if we're not careful."

[vandal]

1) Earthquake

2) Terrorist attack, chem/bio/radiological. I don't see San Fran as a likely target given the politics but maybe Silicon Valley.

3) Flu pandemic

[Gator Monroe]

I prepare for the unknown.

This is indicative of a need for a Defeating FLIR /INFRARED cameras thread revival (Because the people using them to hunt you might not be the Usuial Leo's or Military)

[1911su16b870]

This is indicative of a need for a Defeating FLIR /INFRARED cameras thread revival (Because the people using them to hunt you might not be the Usuial Leo's or Military)

ANTI-FLR FAIL!

[Ironchef]

Hayward Fault.
/debate

This is what a 6.9 will do to the bay area as far as shaking when the north and south hayward segments erupt.. The color changes signficantly darker for a 7.9..which is more than possible on this fault...and imagine it shaking for a good 45 seconds. Imagine the liquefaction zones in SOMA and in the Fremont/Milpitas area as your houses slip into the soil! Muahahahaaa! No guns will save you from that!


Here's what the 1906 quake did..which could also repeat:


Actually, to answer another question the OP brings up... We all have various forms of insurance..auto, home, rental, life, etc...firearms = personal safety insurance. Just like we pick the various aspects of insurance, amounts of coverage, beneficiaries, etc...so too can we pick barell lengths, gas systems, weapon accessories, cartridge types and amounts, IWB or OWB holsters, etc.

[ojisan]

Is that Gator in the photo?