Often there is talk about ‘when to leave’ if the SHTF. Frankly, no one in the world but you can make that judgment call based upon your particular set of circumstances and the situation at hand. My only hard and fast rule about ‘when to leave’ or get out of dodge is this: If it is life threatening…or highly likely to be so, it is time to get out or leave.
With that said, often times it won’t be that obvious and it then becomes a matter of how much control and power you have within the given situation/circumstances or are likely to have that motives (or not) you to stay or go…misreading the situation due to fear and doubt about trusting your own heart and gut instinct can and will have consequences.
Fear and doubt are going to be the two major factors that determine most peoples actions if and when it hits the fan.
Some will become paralyzed, deer in the headlights, in complete denial and act as if everything is just fine. Selco, who survived the Bosnian War of the mid 90’s speaks about this and the results. Guess who died first?
Others will fall into the learned helplessness position…I can’t do anything about it so why even try? Keep your head down, don’t talk about it and it won’t happen/I won’t have to take action. The fear and doubt here results from not having the confidence within themselves to do for themselves or having the fear of making a mistake and getting wacked for it. Often you see this behavior within people who have been prisoners of war or abuse victims. The doubting of themselves and their ability to trust themselves and instincts (not irrational fear based ones) and others for that matter, leads then into apathy. They KNOW what they need to do, but can’t. Skinner proved it with his dog experiments. Everytime the dogs tried to eat they’d get shocked to the point that they would cower if they even saw a bowl that looked like food and wouldn’t go anywhere near it and starved to death. This is a simplistic view of learned helplessness but a lot of people, when faced with something resembling change/SHTF will go with it. Guess who dies next?
Then we have an interesting type of learned helplessness that I see ALL OVER this country…I can’t, so you will/have to. For decades we have had ‘wars’…wars on poverty, wars on drugs, campaigns against this, that or the other…drinking and driving, teen pregnancy. Its called dependency upon the system or some ‘authority’ for some form of survival assistance. In this case you will find people, who like junkies, will just sit and wait for some higher power (ie someone else) to come and save them just like they always have. And if you really think about it, people who stay at jobs they hate and are completely unhappy have this learned helplessness/dependency mindset, because they believe that, this is just what life is about.
Guess which ones go next or turn to addictive behaviors, violence or some other form of ‘getting what they deserve’? so much for the learned helplessness at this point…either they go down or they fight ‘for their right’.
Those that choose to ‘fight for their rights’ become very dangerous and controlling. They swing the opposite way in dramatic change/SHTF situation. They will not CARE. For once the drug has been taken away they seek it out like a junkie who has run out of money. On the otherhand, the person who stays stuck in a job they hate, a life they hate will find ways of coping that will keep him/her anesthetized or will just check out literally or figuratively.
Now we can step it up to something a bit better…those who see what is going on, takes some action, but then gets frozen (see the above three) and can’t go any further. Here again we have fear/doubt, power/control playing within the person. There is less fear/trust issues but enough that they will do just enough to fool themselves into believing that they have done all they can do to help themselves (or others). These people in my opinion are the sheeple, done all I can, what more do you want, you take care of the rest…Next on the food chain, they fall into a false sense of security because they have ‘done their best’ but still stick their head in the sand. When it hits, they struggle and try, but ultimately roll over to despair and learned helplessness.
Next up, we go to those who are able to see past fear and doubt that is ego based. They know what may happen and take steps to prepare to take care of themselves and theirs but its not fear based…its merely a risk assessment and then taking the next steps. They act not out of fear but out of confidence that they do have control (somewhat) over the ‘ending’ or their lives. This can play out several ways in the real world, but you can recognize right now these sorts of people…they are first responders, preppers, those who say, okay, yep, it can happen, I know it can and might/will….and they think it out in a positive way (if they go negative they fall into the above category). They might be scared, might work from fear initially but they see the risks and take positive action to get ready. They do NOT hide from change, rather they see it may happen and then change behaviors to make a more favorable outcome. These types of people might stay ‘just in case’ but they sense when’s its time to go/leave BEFORE panic hits.
They survive and learn to adapt. The mind set is ‘okay, what do I have to do?’…it’s the first stage of total personal responsibility.
They tend to live with a steep learning curve.
Next, we have those who fit into society but see beyond the myth…they are not radical nor paranoid, they just see through the illusions. They know and understand where events are leading and prepare accordingly. They tend to be preppers, survivors. They are almost inherently those who instinctively know what to do or not to do. Many are first responders or sheep dogs. But they also know their limits and family is first. They stock pile just in case. Even if just a bit. They WILL leave before things get bad because they see the writing on the wall before hand because they have no fear or doubt about what they feel or think. They will survive. They will find others to trust and work with. THEY THRIVE.
Lastly, and this has to be addressed, we look at two types of no matter what survivors. The paranoid type who has gunned up, fooded up, hunkered down, and sees everything and everyone as a threat. That’s great. But that is FEAR in over drive. Isolation takes over as a manifestation of fear and honestly, they are just as bad as the helpless/dependent but have staying power and WILL come into conflict with others because they doubt and fear others.
I don’t know, this is just how I see things as someone schooled as counselor, criminology major and having worked as a domestic violence counselor.
But here is the bottom line…fear and doubt will control you. When this happens, you don’t know what will happen. Being prepared, even if a bit will give you a sense of control and put aside some fear.
So where do you fall at this time? You have the power of choice in this matter. When do you are making personal decisions you gotta first understand where you are coming from.
survivingshtfmom 
Non-Participation And Decentralization As Primers For Revolution
I thought you would find this interesting:
Non-Participation And Decentralization As Primers For Revolution – http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/uIEuXB9O3BI/non-participation-and-decentralization-as-primers-for-revolution_02122014
Shared from Survival Feeds, an Android app.
Understand that I do not advocate nor wish to engage in armed revolution, however, I do realize that at some potential point in the future that it may come to my doorstep…Molon Lobe…But I will not bow down and participate in what I believe is a dehumanizing, deindividualizing, debasing life.
Our country was born from free thinkers, of free thinkers, doers, innovators, independent men and women who had the great wisdom to foresee the future and came up with the Declaration of Independence, The US Consitution and The Bill of Rights in an attempt to PREVENT exactly what is happening NOW.
I am NOT a violent person, nor an ‘extremist’…I am simply a mother who wishes to live freely and for that I will fight by removing myself from the system as much as possible, joining with others who believe the same, and teach my children the same beliefs and skills that they will need to continue to live freely. And if the day comes, I will stand by my beliefs and do whatever it takes to ensure that the FREEDOMS granted to us as free men and women continue.
God Bless
Taken directly from Shtfplan.com
When writing investigative examinations on the corrupt state of American government and American economy, invariably one is met with the same set of ever cycling broken-record questions and assertions. One of the primary responses I have received and I’m sure most Liberty Movement analysts have received is this:
“Okay, now we know what the problem is, but when are YOU going to tell US what the solution is…?”
The question seems “reasonable”, but in reality, everything that is weak minded in our culture today is summed up in its content.
First, the question insinuates that there is no utility in exploring the nature of a crisis without “fixing” the situation right then and there. Often, the most complex problems of our world require years if not decades of thought and action, trial and error, before a single working solution is generated. When the problem involves a criminal government run by corporatist oligarchs bent on total globalization and centralized control of finance, society, and law, you have to expect that there will be some difficulties in finding a remedy. You will never defeat your enemy without knowing your enemy, and our particular fight requires endless analysis.
Second, I wish I could convey the palm-to-forehead agony I feel every time I hear someone begging for myself, or anyone for that matter, to overnight mail them a solution on a silver platter wrapped in perfect little pink bow. Why is it that so many Americans today refuse to offer THEIR OWN solutions to the problems they perceive in the world? Is it laziness, or stupidity, or both? They are so busy waiting for a “white knight” to come and save them they have forgotten to learn how to save themselves. Don’t sit idle expecting analysts to make your life better. Become industrious. Take initiative. Think of something we haven’t thought of yet. Stop being followers and start becoming leaders within your own communities.
Third, the worst of all dilemmas when dealing with the above question is that most of the time, it is being asked by people who already have a preconceived answer they want to hear. Many in our movement today want a silver bullet solution. They want magic and fairy dust. They want to end tyranny with a snap of their fingers, the press of the button, within the span of a day, or perhaps a week. They don’t want to have to work beyond their normal capacity, they don’t want to struggle, they don’t want to sacrifice, and they certainly don’t want to risk their property, livelihood, or life.
They want a civil rights style MLK/Ghandi march on Washington D.C., which has already been done over and over again leading to nothing but ever more corruption (you don’t ask tyrants to police themselves, nor do you ask for their permission to change government). They want an armed march on Washington D.C. (perhaps the most tactically moronic strategy ever to be suggested year after year), leading to nothing more than a bloodbath which would only make the Liberty Movement appear weak, or insane, all in a failed attempt to unseat a bunch of politicians who are merely puppets and middle men for the financial elites. They want Generals grandstanding as purveyors of constitutionalism to initiate a military coup to remove the “evil Muslim” from his seat of power (is Obama a Muslim, or an atheist Communist? These methodologies tend to negate each other…), while the truth is, Obama is nothing more that a minor obstacle compared to the greater evil of central banking and internationalism, and a Neo-Con Republican (or provocateur General) could easily continue Obama’s work without missing a beat.
And, most of all, they want something flashy, something new, something technological and glorious to solve all their woes. How many times have you heard the claim, for instance, that digital currencies like Bitcoin would “bring down” the central banks and turn the globalist empire to dust at our feet? Yet, Bitcoin’s very existence relies on the web, a government dominated networking system which they can remove from our hands any time they wish.
These are not solutions, they are distractions, or worse, con-games. They are designed to fool you into thinking that you can lounge behind your computer, or walk blindly down the street with a sign or a gun, and the nation will attain renaissance without a tear or a drop of blood shed. They are pleasant lies that many people want to have whispered to them.
I have no interest in making people feel comfortable, or safe, or at ease in the nature of the task before us. I’m only interested in the truth, and the truth is, REAL solutions have already been offered to the Liberty Movement. For years we’ve been talking about them, implementing them, and attempting to convince others to implement them. These solutions are not easy. They are not pleasant or quick. They will require much sacrifice, and unimaginable suffering. There is no way around these tasks if we are to succeed and dismantle centralized totalitarianism in our lifetimes…
Non-Participation
This is a simple concept that for some reason tends to confound people. If you march to the steps of the White House motivated by a desire to educate others on the hidden dangers of our political situation, then this is all well and good. But, if you march to the steps of the White House with the expectation that this gesture will somehow impress or frighten the military industrial complex into forsaking its criminal ways and step down from power, then you have fallen into a delusional paradigm.
If you are using a government controlled communications medium like the internet to educate others while the system still exists, then this is practical. But, if you really believe that you are going to exploit that same network as an offensive tool to destroy Big Brother, you are living in techno-geek dreamland.
And, if you still think that the diseased political arena has any merit whatsoever and that the system can be inoculated from the within, or that you can rewrite the rules on a whim (constitutional convention) and have those rules followed, at this point I don’t hold much hope for you.
Now, I want you to imagine, just for a moment, that the government does not exist. The internet does not exist. Corporate banking chains and department stores and grocery outlets do not exist. State law enforcement organizations do not exist. State run schools do not exist. How would you go about living day to day without the bureaucracy, the welfare, the infrastructure, the safety nets? This is how ALL Liberty Movement activists are going to have to start thinking if they want to change anything.
The Non-Participation Principle is best summarized like this:
When facing a corrupt system, provide for yourself and your community those necessities that the system cannot or will not. Become independent from establishment-controlled paradigms. If you and your community do this, the system will have one of two choices:
1) Admit that you do not need them anymore and fade into the fog of history, OR…
2) Reveal its tyrannical nature in full and attempt to force you back into dependence.
In either case, you win. You have taken proactive measures to remove yourself as a cog in the machine. The machine can then of course try to demonize you, or attack you, but ultimately, they will attack from a place of social and moral weakness, and you will defend from a position of logistical and moral strength.
Stop waiting for the system to change, or collapse. Change the way YOU live and survive. Build your own localized systems and walk away.
Decentralization
Learn a vital trade skill, grow your own food, purchase resource rich raw land, learn self defense methods beyond what law enforcement personnel are trained in (which is not too difficult), take EMT training courses so that you can provide general and emergency medical care for your family, get your children out of the state run common core indoctrination centers and homeschool them, build neighborhood watch groups, emergency response groups, barter markets and alternative economies.
Decentralization is about dissolving our unbalanced relationship with the state and taking away their power to dictate how we live. If a core necessity is centralized in the hands of a select few, then we start producing it ourselves and remove that option from their deck of cards. You cannot fight a corrupt system if you are dependent on a corrupt system.
The very essence of globalism is centralized oversight of every aspect of our lives. When we allow ourselves to feed from the government or corporate trough because it’s “easier”, we are essentially volunteering to be herded like animals. It is within the power of every single individual, no matter their age or financial circumstances, to find creative ways in becoming more independent. It is up to you. There are no excuses.
Revolution
We should have no illusions that the criminal elements of our government will simply shrug their shoulders and give up. When we decentralize, we show the world how irrelevant they are. Tyrants must remain relevant to the masses, otherwise, they have no means to dominate except pure force. When that force is eventually applied, the ONLY logical response is revolution. Decentralization is not a means to “avoid” such revolution, it is only a means to strengthen our position in preparation for revolution.
There is no ideal revolutionary model because the unique nature of one’s epoch determines the nature of one’s rebellion. However, I can say that any revolution that does not focus on the foundational culprits behind the offending tyranny is doomed to failure. When I see the overt obsession with Barack Obama as some kind of linchpin in the development of socialism in America, I have to remind people that Obama has merely stood on the legislative efforts of George W. Bush, and so many other globalist presidents before him, in order to bring the U.S. to the current point of catastrophe. And who made these men, these so-called “leaders”? Who financed their campaigns? Who taught them the internationalist methodologies they now implement? Who really controls money, and thus economy, and thus politics in this country?
Revolution must be directed at the oligarchs, not just their mascots, and if anyone asks you to rally around a revolution that does not name central banking and international banking entities and the men who run them as direct culprits, they are probably controlled opposition. We don’t need a French or Bolshevik Revolution to replace old puppets with new puppets, we need to go to the very heart of the cancer that has stricken our nation and remove it. If this means we have to physically fight back, then so be it, but we must be smart in how we fight.
In the end, the average citizen is his own defender, his own governor, his own industrialist, his own “king maker”. He may consciously realize this, or he may be oblivious. All of the solutions, all of the tools, are right there, in his hands, waiting to be used. The saddest truth of all is that the only thing holding him back from legitimate freedom is his own fear. Only when we stop avoiding the pain required to procure independence, will we finally have it.
You can contact Brandon Smith at: brandon@alt-market.com
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