The default answer is "Stay".
Backpack Fever, a classic.
I had the opportunity to talk with a local firefighter who had been trained in toxic chemical spills. Ordinarily, one would think of intense, localized risks as a reason to flee. And yet he said that 90% of the time the department will advise "Dump the power breakers and seek highest floor in your dwelling and shelter-in-place".
He said that wind directions change. Traffic creates risks for drivers and people tasked with directing traffic. Tires can get wetted with chemical and it can aerosol some distance from the spill.
Why would you volunteer to become a refugee? Refugees are destitute. In your home:
- You have a durable shelter and usually have heat or shade
- You usually have services/utilities
- You have an address that 9-1-1 can respond to
- You have neighbors who know you
- You have a stable address where friends and family can deliver aid
- You have membership in a community
- You have the means to entertain yourself
- Likely, you have at least a week's worth of food
- Your water heater probably has at least 40 gallons of potable water and the toilet tanks another seven
- You might have a home business or a garden or livestock
Yes, there are times to leave. Hurricane storm surges, wild-fires, genocide, hyper inflation are all good reasons to hit the road. But most of the time the advantages of being able to stay in your house outweigh the disadvantages.
The answers are "It depends".
ReplyDeleteThis has been tossed around the prepper community ad nauseum for more than the 30 years that I have been a prepper.
Like wearing a motorcycle helmet, tell me the circumstances and I will tell you whether it is a good idea or not.
Mostly, "Stay" is a good idea. Usually.
But having the ability to bail-out in a hurry can save your life. Having that backpack ready to go as a "Bail-Out Bag" is a good idea. It makes you less-of-a-refugee if you have some food, a means of purifying water, shelter and a change of clothes..
There is always a 'decision tree'. The question is, have you 'thought' through those options?
ReplyDeleteThe example of the train derailment in Potter fills would provide the counterexample. That would be instructive to your readers.
ReplyDeleteI said Potterville!
ReplyDeletePlan A stay home. Always have a realistic Plan B and maybe a Plan C.
ReplyDeleteIn general, never be a refugee. You're an unwelcome person looking for human kindness and generosity to survive a bad situation.
My plan B is shared by many of my trusted friends as they also have the same plan B. We pre-positioned supplies in each other's homes, so we'd be welcomed visitors there.
I've a "Storage Shed" both here and at a friend that is well insulated, windows and in general easy to make a sturdy shelter if needed.
Trusted friends and trusted family along with a strong faith in God is better than "money in the Bank" and even gold in hand.
Hyperinflation as a reason to leave? I don't understand that one.
ReplyDeleteLooters, wildfire, toxic chemical spill, hurricane, earthquake... Sure. Bug out.
Bread costing $100 a loaf? I'll grow corn in my garden.
Precursor to collapse of civil order in many places
DeleteIndeed. Hungry people are desperate people who will se "shopping" at your house as a viable option. That being said, unless you have substantial stores somewhere else, bugging out would leave you with very little of anything. In that case the only answer for those "shoppers" would be to give them a case of... lead poisoning...
DeleteJoe remembers the Arab Spring when the cost of bread jumped.
ReplyDeletePeople need to remember that hungry people are DANGEROUS.
If the deep state decides to cripple the EBT card system to harm Trump and MAGA the Gimme Dats AND a LOT of working Poor normal folks are going to get HUNGRY.
I suggest you don't look very well fed that that time.
The answer is still Stay unless you're in a place you should have left long ago.
DeleteAny place that would be a problem during EBT riots is almost certainly a place with "ordinary" problems other times.
Jonathan
Jonathan, I WORK part time at the Food Bank.
DeleteI know even in my quiet little town that there are PLENTY of ordinary working poor struggling NOW with EBT and Food Banks to keep the kids fed.
Good People will do whatever they can to feed their kids.
When "Daddy I'm HUNGRY" is the song of the land even a sweet grandma will kill to feed her grandkids.
Not all EBT folks are Gimme Dats in Blue Cities.
put whatever emotional spin you want.... survival of you and whomever you choose to be 'yours' will determine the action you take when we all are in the arena of chaos
ReplyDelete