What I think about how SHTF will be

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I have a question. Would you please take a moment to explain your own prediction of how SHTF will occur in USA? How do you think it will be different than in your own country? How do you predict it will start, and how will it spread? Finally what is your prediction of how will SHTF end? Of course it is only your personal prediction but I highly value your words. If you would respond to this question I would be most grateful. Thank you.

It is hard to give any prediction for anything, but my opinion, and i say again it is only my opinion. It is gonna be very bad. Worst. Why? Several reasons, and to say at beggining most important reason is not about it is USA, most important reason is because it is highly industialized and modern society.

And great majority of people is forget, or even never heard about lot of things, like how to grow food, or how to be without eletricity, internet,clean water. How to fight for that almost every day.
How to wash their clothes, with hands, how to roast coffe beans on fire, how to transfer big tree into the small firewood. How many households in modern society have wood stoves in their houses, apartments?

There s gonna be lot of desperate people.There is gonna be a lot of angry people.

It is not about USA, it is actually how modern society is, funny but for poorly organized countries it is gonna be like “oh my God, not again” but for modern societies it is gonna be like “oh my God it is the end of everything”. Big difference.

Now please do not understand me wrong, at the end all comes to the single man,and groups of people,how good they organized. Societies will fail. Prepared man can survive lot of things.
Everything comes to the end, i am beliveing that we are not first here, and not gonna be last on this place, important thing is what kind of people we gonna be?

We as humans have become arrogant and forgot where we come from.

This content was originally published here.

February 29, 2020/0 Comments/by Shannon

Sleep Deprivation and SHTF

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Image from Häggström, Mikael (2014). “Medical gallery of Mikael Häggström 2014”. WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.008. ISSN 2002-4436. Public Domain.

It is one of those things that lot of people do not see, that when SHTF they will have big problems with and due to sleep deprivation.

Reasons are many, maybe it is going to be too dangerous so you’ll be forced to stay awake for prolonged time, or simply your sleep cycle will be messed up because you’ll be depressed when SHTF, or you will not have enough time for quality sleep…

It is important to understand what you can expect when sleep deprivation gets you…

Your Performance

I use to call that feeling –„being in a bubble“.

It is like being on drugs that makes you feel like you do not care about things around you.

For example you find yourself in situation when you do not care are you going to be shot, you clearly see that you have high chances to be shot from sniper on very dangerous intersection, you see that odds are high for that, but you taking that small chance (of not being shot) and go over that intersection, partly because you do not care and partly because you are feeling invincible.

You are in the „bubble“, in a strange state of feelings and processing information around you and that „bubble“ came, largely, from sleep deprivation.

Your perception of danger situation gets twisted in weird ways, and you react different, sometimes you want to be hero without reasons, or sometimes you become coward – again without reason.

Let’s at least say it moves you out of your „normal“.

Once, I was hiding for 3 days in ruined house with my friend, while unit of soldiers were out on the street.

Maybe 50 people with one tank, they were drinking and occasionally entering houses around our house to check for stuff, their tank was broken, something with engine and they kept the engine roaring almost all the time, fixing something with fuel or oil.

We did not sleep for those 3 days, we were ready to jump in a split second if they entered our house. On the third day my friend announced to me that he is writing poem about this situation, and I myself was very close to going out to the guys and tell them that I do not believe in war or something like that, in the belief they’d respond with ‘Okay, well then go from here(!?!)’.

Luckily that day they moved away after they fixed the engine.

Weird Things

It is subjective, but based on my personal experience you can expect after 3-4 days of no sleeping during SHTF to see things that are not there, or on the other hand not to see things that there. (Toby comment: Be aware this can happen MUCH sooner in some people, even in less than 24hrs depending on the stressors around, age of the individual and overall fatigue level, among other influences)

This fact was reason for many deaths, and also it was reason for many scary legends in that time.

Personally I saw couple of times people that are not falling down after clearly being shot several times, dead people walking, strange lights, sounds, or simply let’s say ‘ghosts’.

I learned over the time to notice and observe things like that, but not to react, otherwise I would probably have gone crazy.

When you hear baby crying 10 meters from you in abandoned and ruined house in the middle of night and you follow the sound and go there, and there is nothing there, but now same sound coming from other room that can give you some weird feelings in your guts.

You observe, but not react-otherwise you go crazy.

Fear and lack of sleep will play with your mind.

What Can You Do?

Just like with lot of other things connected with SHTF very often you can not do s..t with sleep deprivation because it simply will be there, but there are things that you can consider because they help:

-Stay Healthy

Sleep deprivation when SHTF is always accompanied with other things, so it is good to at least take away that other things. If you are having diarrhea, or you are malnourished, or simply you are out of shape AND you are in the middle of sleep deprivation that makes things a lot worse.

If you are in good shape and having lack of sleep, it is something that you can work with, you can survive.

– Do Not Be Alone

It is good old SHTF advice- do not be alone. Being with someone means that you can have support, someone who can recheck your decisions (or vice versa), someone who can take lead when you are „down“ or simply someone who can be awake while you are taking short sleep.

–Be Careful With Stimulants (drugs, alcohol. etc…)

It is maybe not „politically correct“ to say, but again based on personal experience drugs and alcohol are helping in sleep deprivation BUT only in short terms, on longer terms actually they will f..k you up even more, so be VERY careful with that, nothing can beat a short normal nap.

– Have Short Naps!

I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times I had a full night sleep during my SHTF period. But I did have short naps. 20-30 minutes. And they help.

Even in the middle of shelling or fight, somewhere hidden (more or less) I would put sunglasses on and cotton in ears and had short nap. It was very „shallow“ sleep.

At night sunglasses can minimize the effects of flashes around you, and cotton can take away a bit of detonations sound. (yes, good thing to store today is „eye covers” for sleeping and ear plugs)

Sleep Deprivation and You

I have to point out that my SHTF experience was bit „drastic“, so you may not be found in middle of shelling, but still I can assure you that you will have problems with sleep deprivation when SHTF because of the amount of new situations that SHTF brings, so be prepared for that.

This content was originally published here.

February 29, 2020/0 Comments/by Shannon

After Area Studies: The Next Steps in SHTF Intelligence – Forward Observer

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For the past few weeks, I’ve made Area Studies the primary focus of the blog and social media presence. If you want to get started in local intelligence for disasters and emergencies, the Area Study is your starting point.

For those new to SHTF Intelligence, here’s a progression of intelligence products, skills, and tasks you should be doing.

1. The Area Study – This intelligence product is the foundation of local intelligence efforts. It’s here, most importantly, where we learn 1) the significance of “Intelligence Value” and 2) the importance of identifying your intelligence gaps.

“Intelligence Value” is what what we assign to information that’s relevant to our mission. The more critical a piece of information is, the higher its intelligence value.

For instance, if your mission is pulling your neighbors out of flood waters, then knowing who needs to be helped and where they live becomes mission-critical information. During this mission, identifying these neighbors becomes one of your top priorities. Other information of intelligence value could include: future flood stages, anticipated depth of area flooding, debris in the area that could pose a hazard, other areas that could be affected by flood waters, how long the flooding will last, and the list goes on.

If flooding is a risk, then you’re going to want to put local flood zone maps in your Area Study.

An “intelligence gap” is literally a gap in our knowledge. These gaps are things we need to know but don’t. Identifying your intelligence gaps is a critical step because it’s here where we identify what we need to collect. All intelligence gathering is directed through these intelligence gaps in the form of Collection Requirements. Once we have our Collection Requirements, then we can focus on collecting.

Through our Area Study, we want to identify threats, assets, fault lines, and vulnerabilities, among other things. Intelligence reduces uncertainty about the future. If I don’t understand my Operating Environment, then I won’t understand my assets and liabilities. I can’t plan for preparedness and security if I don’t understand who and what will affect my community’s security.

If you want to get started on an Area Study, the best and easiest way is to take my Area Intelligence Course.

2. Build Local Networks – While doing your Area Study, with a particular focus on the Human Terrain, you’re going to want to start building your local intelligence network.

In our Area Study, we should be identifying our neighbors and other important or valuable people in the area. If you don’t know your neighbors, go meet them. I recently moved to a new area and started taking walks when my neighbors are getting home from work. It gives me an opportunity to introduce myself and start learning more about them. I’m building rapport with them and looking for signs of like-mindedness. (I started a Neighborhood Watch in my previous neighborhood, which allowed me to go door to door and get contact information to begin this process. I highly recommend doing that. Joining a website like NextDoor will also give you opportunities to meet and communicate with your neighbors.)

In my Area Study, I need to separate these people into three categories: A) develop, B) inform and influence, and C) monitor.

A. I need to develop like-minded people. At a minimum, that means building a relationship with them. The end goal is to develop these neighbors into valuable and cooperative members of a neighborhood watch and/or preparedness group. If you can build enough trust and rapport, invite them to the gun range or other training with you. Get them “bought in” to developing tactical, medical, communications, intelligence, and/or other skills, especially if they share the same concerns about the future.

B. I need to inform and influence my neighbors who are indifferent towards preparedness. People are busy and get distracted. Between work schedules, their kids’ football practice and karate, Netflix, news propaganda, and other things, it’s easy to completely ignore the country’s fault lines. Many times, these people would be very concerned if they knew about the risks and dangers. It’s our job to inform them and then influence them towards preparedness. (My parents are a great example. I’ll relay to them information that concerns me and they can’t believe FoxNews isn’t talking about it. Over the years, I’ve worked on informing and influencing them towards preparedness. Last time I visited, my dad had a closet stacked floor to ceiling with food and water. It’s a start.) Share information in NextDoor, invite these people over for dinner, get your kids on the same soccer team; whatever you have to do to gain access and start building trust and rapport with these people, do it. Once you can prove that a) you’re not a weirdo and b) that you’re an intelligent and competent human being, then you can being sharing information to inform and influence. (Ask for their opinion on these things. See where they sit. Confirm their suspicions, encourage their own self-study of these threats, and, most importantly, don’t become “that guy.”)

C. I want to monitor neighbors who are sketchy, involved in criminality, or could otherwise oppose or disrupt our efforts for community security, especially during a disaster or emergency. (I’m not saying to peer out your window or to conduct surveillance. Just keep an eye out.) Familiarity is a double-edged sword. Yes, it’s always good to get to know your neighbors, but it’s not always good for them to get to know you. Identify these people. If you have to, run background checks. See if these people are “familiar faces” to local law enforcement. Ask your like-minded neighbors what they know about these people. Determine the threat level of the people in this category, add that information to your Area Study, and make considerations when planning for disasters and emergencies.

What we ultimately want to do is move people up the chain: turn B’s into A’s, and develop A’s into security partners.

Once we’ve done our Area Study and identified our collection requirements, we can start relying on our A’s and security partners to, wittingly or unwittingly, provide us with information of intelligence value.

C. Get Your ACE in Gear – The Analysis & Control Element (ACE) is our local intelligence cell. It’s the control room of our intelligence efforts. We’ve demonstrated the value of running of an ACE numerous times, including Operation Urban Charger (2015) when we battletracked the Ferguson riot.

During a disaster or emergency, we’ll need to produce real-time intelligence. If you expect to make decisions, you must be well-informed. You only bridge that gap through an intelligence effort.

This is why I, as much as possible, steer preppers away from accumulating more stuff and towards developing a local intelligence network and building an ACE.

When this disaster or emergency strikes — be it a hurricane, flood, wildfire, EMP/CME, grid down, protracted conflict, whatever it may be — I want to have my preparedness group form an ACE to direct collection, monitor the security situation, and produce real-time intelligence. (Read my Ultimate ACE Startup Guide here.)

In the ACE, we need a central repository for information and group members who know what to do with it. This means that I have to train up my preparedness group in intelligence skills. Much of intelligence collection is intuitive — you have questions, you need answers, and you go find that information somewhere with the skills and resources you have.

What requires some education and training is running an entire network and getting your information turned into actionable or predictive intelligence. Improving your intelligence gathering skills means more efficient collection of a greater intelligence value. Improving the way you analyze information means more accurate and timely intelligence. That results in improving your security, surviving, and/or winning a conflict. This is why I teach intelligence collection and analysis for a living.

You can find my training schedule here.

If you’re the “intel guy” for your preparedness group, recruit a reliable partner and share the load. It’s a lot more work than it seems. Collection and analysis are a group process, anyway.

If you don’t have an “intel guy” in your group, then you need to find one. Start reading a ton of free information on this Forward Observer Dispatch blog, or sign up for the Area Intelligence Course (online) or a Tactical Intelligence Course (classroom) for accelerated learning.

I hope this helps give you an idea of where we’re going. It all begins with your Area Study, so start there.

Always Out Front,

Samuel Culper is a former Intelligence NCO and contractor. Iraq(x1)/Afghanistan(x2). He now studies intelligence and warfare.

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This content was originally published here.

February 27, 2020/0 Comments/by Shannon

Always bring a bug-out bag, but learn how to survive without one when SHTF – NaturalNews.com

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(Natural News)
Bug-out bags (BOB) are a ubiquitous part of survival preps. But that doesn’t mean you can be complacent if you have a BOB.

After all, when SHTF and you lose your gear, your wits and survival skills are going to be the ones that will help you survive, not your tools. (h/t to ModernSurvivalOnline.com)

Why do you need a BOB?

A well-prepared BOB has almost everything you need to survive, with some exceptions. You need to choose each item carefully because you can’t carry a bag that’s too heavy, especially if you’re in a hurry to reach your bug-out location.

Once your BOB is packed, you must hone your skills to ensure that you can deal with whatever happens when disaster strikes.

Now comes the hard, but not impossible, part: learning how to survive if you suddenly lose your meticulously-chosen gear.

Dealing with a lost BOB

Since your BOB has what you need to survive for at least 72 hours after SHTF, it can be scary to think about what you’re going to do if you lose your gear.

Keep in mind that relying too much on gear or equipment will only hinder your progress as you prep.

It doesn’t matter how or why you lose your BOB. The important thing is ensuring that you can rely on your wits and skills to survive even with just a pocketknife in your hand.

Start by honing your first tool: your brain. While things are quiet, practice and prepare for a scenario that you might have to face without a BOB.

Focus on a well-rounded plan and don’t get stuck on hiding a second BOB or supplies. Try “zero extra gear” solutions: Improvisation, foraging/scavenging (or sourcing) and primitive skills. (Related: 5 Skills you just can’t live without when you bug out.)

It’s normal to feel scared when you lose your gear after SHTF, but you must have a plan and learn new skills so you can stay alive, such as:

Knowing these essential survival skills will help set your mind at ease even if you’re only left with what you have in your pockets.

Improvise or learn how to go without

When SHTF, you can improvise with scavenged materials from the wild or an urban setting:

Learn how to solve common problems by coming up with creative uses for items that you can salvage after SHTF.

Prep first-line gear

Those in the military always carry first-line gear, which are items that you wear into “lines” based on their importance and position on your equipment.

For example, first-line gear covers the bare minimum you need to keep on your person at all times, such as in your belt and pockets. In military parlance, your second-line gear includes the main harness or vest and all equipment plus weapons and ammo, while your third-line gear is heavier sustainment gear, with other equipment carried in the pack.

Prep an everyday carry kit (EDC) with a sturdy, high-quality pocket knife and a firearm, along with a tiny compass and a length of versatile duct tape. Keep these items in a sturdy metal tin along with items for a basic survival kit with:

Setting up caches

A cache can help address the loss of your BOB and other supplies. Hide your cache in a secret location known only to you. Prep a simple stash of gear in a sturdy, waterproof container.

When prepping your cache, include the same items in your BOB, with extra food supplies so you have provisions if you need to travel far to reach the cache. Regularly check your cache and rotate perishable items in your BOB.

It pays to cover all your bases with a BOB. Just don’t be too dependent on your tools and hone your survival skills before SHTF.

Sources include:

This content was originally published here.

February 26, 2020/0 Comments/by Shannon

Are you and your family capable of surviving if SHTF?

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I would really appreciate if y’all would read this post and then respond to it below. Please give me your thoughts and feelings in what I’ve written. How many of you are truly ready? How many of you have a safe place to go? How many of you can truly be self reliant and supportive? I’d love to know where you stand!!

Did you know that only 2% of the world population is engaged in agriculture or commercial fishing? Just 2% are feeding the other 98% of the world!

Are you like minded that we need to be as self reliant and as well prepaired as possible? Do you feel there are uncertain times ahead? Are you ready for civil unrest, world economic collapse, power grid failure. terrorist attacks or any type of disaster?

For the first time in history there are more people living in the inner city than in rural areas. Do you think most people these days know how to truly survive on their own by way of growing, preserving and canning their own food? What about your water supply? How safe is it and how reliant is it if the power goes down?

Grocery stores carry three days supply of food. What happens when deliveries stop or you have no money?
People will resort to looting. They will go after the stores, restaurants and food supply warehouses and distribution centers. What happens when those are quickly emptied? There will be bands formed to come after what you have. They will venture further into the farmland. They will be well armed and organized.

Do you know these to be real and true?

Do you think that you’ll survive in the city neighborhoods or populated areas? Those areas will be the most dangerous and most unlikely to survive.

Do you have the will and desire to get ready but no place to go that is safe, secure, well stocked with supplies and livestock? Do you know how to grow and preserve your meats, fruits and vegetables the old fashioned way without power?

No deep freezers, refrigeration and running water to even flush a toilet much less for drinking and cooking. No lights, no heat or a/c. No protection from the police as they will be extremely overwhelmed and a target.

Women and young children will be the most vulnerable as they will be the greatest targets.

Sound scary? It should as we as a country and world are trying to straddle a very thin tight rope thread of society. We as a whole are so reliant on others, corporations and the government to take care of us. We as a whole have lost the ability to take care of ourselves.

What happens when SHTF? Will you be ready? Have you formed a network of other

like minded people who can actually band together on a piece of well stocked property? Are you ready to hunker down for weeks or months at a time without leaving the safety of your property? Experts say that the time is coming very soon and you will need a minimum of four months of supply in hand that range from food, water, toiletries, fuel for lighting and so much more.

If you believe this is true and would like to join other like minded people, please reply to this post.

As in any situation….. timing is everything! Do not wait until it’s too late. That’s like trying to put your seat belt on before an impact. It just doesn’t work!

Be safe, T.T.

WHAT TO READ NEXT:

20 LOST RECIPES FROM THE PIONEERS: WHAT THEY COOKED ON THEIR JOURNEY WESTWARD

POTTED MEAT: A LOST SKILL OF LONG TERM MEAT STORAGE
BACK TO BASICS: HOW TO MAKE AND PRESERVE LARD
THE BEST WAY TO STOCKPILE VEGETABLES OFF-GRID
OLD FASHIONED PRESERVING-GRANDPA’S RECIPE FOR CURED SMOKED HAM

Survival Books

THE LOST BOOK OF REMEDIES-All Medicinal Plants and Lost Cures of North America
THE LOST WAYS-Learn the long forgotten secrets that helped our forefathers survive famines,wars,economic crisis and anything else life threw at them
EASY CELLAR-AMERICA’S NATURAL NUCLEAR BUNKERS: FIND THE CLOSEST ONE TO YOUR HOME
THE LOST WAYS 2-This lost super-food will bulletproof you against any food shortage or famine
BLACKOUT USA-EMP survival and preparedness guide
DIY HOME ENERGY-Follow the step-by-step guide from A to Z and you will have a working system to reduce your electricity bills and save energy
MY SURVIVAL FARM-This hidden survival garden will keep you well fed when SHTF

The post Are you and your family capable of surviving if SHTF? appeared first on Bio Prepper.

This content was originally published here.

February 25, 2020/0 Comments/by Shannon

First Aid 101: How to treat animal bites post-SHTF – NaturalNews.com

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(Natural News)
Animal bites and scratches happen all the time – a dog you thought was friendly might try to bite your hand or a cat that thinks you came too close might take a swipe at you. Whenever these incidents happen, the most common thing people do would be to seek immediate medical care. However, after SHTF, professional natural health practitioners will be in short supply. This means that you need to know how to treat bites and scratches yourself if you want your survival experience to be less stressful. Here’s what to do in the face of violent animal encounters. (h/t to PrepSchoolDaily.Blogspot.com)

Dog bites

According to the Center for Disease Control, around 4.7 million dog bites occur each year in the United States alone. This means one out of every 69 people gets bitten by a dog each year. Statistically, a dog bite is the most likely violent animal encounter you may experience.

The best thing you can do for a dog bite is to make sure it doesn’t get infected. If you or someone in your survivor’s group knows first aid, make sure to clean that wound and sew it up if needed. Once that’s done, you need to take prophylactic measures to make sure you aren’t infected. Consider consuming a regimen of natural antibiotics like garlic, ginger and honey. Consider also making a poultice to apply to the wounded area.

Cat bites and scratches

A cat is more likely to scratch rather than bite you. However, if the scratch cuts deep enough, it has to be treated like a bite. Around 15 percent of animal bites are caused by cats and most are on the hands. The best way to prevent this is to avoid petting cats until you’re absolutely certain that you have gained their trust.

If you or someone in your group does happen to get bitten, the kind of care you need to administer will be similar: controlling the bleeding and sewing up any open wounds will be a priority. Once the bleeding is controlled, you need to make sure the wound is cleaned up. Use soap and some warm water, pat it dry and then cover the area with some dry bandages. A natural antibiotic ointment can also be used once the wound has been cleaned to make sure it doesn’t get infected.

Other animal encounters

While other violent animal encounters will be unlikely, they may still happen. A rat or some other small animal may try and make a run for your food and attack you in the process. Any other animal bite, scratch or similar violent animal encounter will follow the same principles listed above. You need to control the bleeding, sew it up if necessary and then clean the wound. Make sure to irrigate the underlying tissues to make sure it’s fully cleaned out. If a tooth fragment has been left behind, that needs to be extracted immediately to lower your risk of complications developing. (Related: Survival first aid: How to treat spider bites.)

If the bite results in a laceration, or when the skin gets torn resulting in a deep cut, it needs to be closed. If the bite results in a puncture or if the animal bite was on the hands, it needs to be cleaned but not closed until after five days to make sure nothing inside the wound results in an infection. Bites to the neck and face may be closed immediately.

In general, the best thing you can do to avoid violent animal encounters is to avoid getting too close to animals, especially if they’re wary of other human beings, even domesticated animals such as dogs and cats should be treated with some slight suspicion. Gain their trust first, such as by giving them some of your leftovers, before you even consider petting them.

This content was originally published here.

February 20, 2020/0 Comments/by Shannon

Bitcoin and Doomsday Preppers — Would Crypto Have Any Survival Value If SHTF?

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By Graham Smith

As so-called “doomsday prepping” grows in popularity thanks to news of coronavirus lockdown in Chinese cities, red flag gun laws and rampant Fed stimulus in the U.S., preparedness enthusiasts are asking about the viability of bitcoin in a SHTF situation. From cautious, light investor, to vehement denigrator of the “NSA-created surveillance money,” there is no shortage of opinion. Still, as there are various possible scenarios, a one-size-fits-all proclamation doesn’t seem to work. Turns out, when it comes to money, what has survival value is ultimately a community affair.

Prepping: A Sensible Practice in the Current Climate

Preppers often get a bad rap in pop culture, laughed off as tinfoil hat-wearing, conspiracy theory-addicted alarmists. But to anyone who is paying attention to world events or has read a history book, there’s nothing ridiculous about being prepared for a worst case scenario when it comes to disaster and the collapse or throttling of vital societal infrastructure.

Recent videos surfacing from China appear to show police forcibly quarantining people who may or may not have the coronavirus. Venezuela’s Maduro is forcing residents of the country to transact with his petro shitcoin while people across the nation struggle just to eat. The U.S. Federal reserve continues to devalue the dollar while innocent people are extorted, jailed, and even killed for trying to preserve a little of their financial autonomy.

Should the state’s continued defecation-disguised-as-order finally and decidedly come into contact with the blades of reality, running to the hills or splintering off into micro communities could become a very real necessity for some.

Preparedness advocates have traditionally diversified into gold and precious metals, in case of hyperinflation or obsolescence of fiat currencies, but with the advent of bitcoin in 2009, the conversation began to evolve. Some preppers began to think bitcoin might also be a useful tool in the kit belt. Still, what good is an internet money without the internet, and isn’t the whole thing a creation of the U.S. government, anyway? It turns out there are multiple ways bitcoin could be leveraged, and these questions — as well as skeptical rebuttals — deserve careful examination.

Internet Money Without Internet

The first and most obvious reaction to suggestions of bitcoin as apocalypse survival money is the question of the internet and electricity. If bitcoin requires it, and doomsday destroys it or otherwise makes it unfeasible, it stands to ask how the hell bitcoin can be of any use to anyone in such a scenario.

“Hey guy who is prepping for when there is no electricity, phone or Internet service, you should like this thing that only works if there is electricity and internet!”

https://t.co/zcaLaWJqVd

— Ⓥin Ⓐrmani (@vinarmani) February 8, 2020

This is a valid and obvious point. No electricity means no bitcoin transactions and no mining. Although people have gotten creative and sent transactions which initially do not require internet, cellular data, or electricity other than batteries, ultimately the system depends on a power source and network connectivity to function long term. So when it comes to the complete lights out scenario collapsitarians are envisioning, crypto would indeed seem to be a largely useless appendage.

Many preppers maintain this is why gold is superior to bitcoin, pointing to situations like the one depicted in the video below, where a woman in China is said to be trading gold for rice with her upstairs neighbor in a locked-down apartment complex.

Hanging gold out of apartment windowing asking to trade for rice
Pandemic2020#Coronavirus #China #Wuhan #FreeChina#XiJinping Murderer#CrimesAgainstHumanity #Genocide#Pandemic#BioWeapon #BiologicalWarfare #Quarantine#MartialLaw#MilitaryTribunals#DeepState https://t.co/5Btrqs2XtW

— Chris Lajambe (@CLajambe) February 12, 2020

In situations where some network connectivity and power remain, however, the story might be different. Bitcoin is already touted as a means by which to avoid government devaluation of currencies and destruction of economies. Even in spotty circumstances the digital asset could at least theoretically survive, and retain this capacity to an extent, depending on the local community.

Mesh Networks and Localized Survival of Bitcoin

In a situation where an ISP fails, or some disaster cuts connection to the services most rely on to transmit bitcoin and crypto transactions, there are yet alternatives. Things like mesh networking and even amateur radio equipment can help bitcoin to remain viable in localized areas of infrastructure outage or collapse. Companies like Gotenna, for example, have developed technology which allows for portable antennas to push bitcoin transactions to nearby nodes even in the absence of cellular or internet service. Once the tx hits an internet-connected node on the mesh network, the transaction can be recorded.

Bitcoin and Doomsday Preppers — Would Crypto Have Any Survival Value If SHTF?

In the case of political and economic meltdown, local fiat money may become better suited for toilet paper or kindling, while trade in bitcoin — presumably still valued and used by the outside world — could go on.

As engineer for Gotenna Richard Myers wrote in May last year:

Fortunately, alternatives to centralized ISP networks are starting to appear. Local mesh radio networks, satellites, and long-range radio have all been proposed as ways to enable decentralized peer-to-peer communication—both for Bitcoin transactions and for resilient communication generally.

At the end of the day, if a sociopath politician or act of god destroys, devalues, cripples or otherwise collapses infrastructure, networks with enough redundancy could enable bitcoin and trade in crypto to live on while plans for the next course of action are made. Still, even for things as conceptually straightforward as radio, a total martial law dystopia would make crypto’s survival doubtful, but at that point, humanity would have to preserve another currency, arguably much more precious: life itself.

Complete Blackout

To the credit of the skeptics, should the situation arrive when all the forced medical treatments, red flag gun laws, and rage and anger over the immoral drug war and endless military conflict finally boil over, bitcoin might be the last thing on people’s minds. When in the dark of your mountain bunker, trying to feed your family and keep them warm, checking Coinmarketcap probably won’t be a temptation.

However, before such a complete dystopia shows up, crypto is one way to peacefully fight for another storyline. One where free trade and economic sovereignty hold more and more sway as the capabilities of bitcoin are leveraged by people who are — contrary to the played-out statist propaganda — generally good and peace-seeking, and just want to be left alone to live their lives and pursue happiness to the fullest. Further, the sound economic model of bitcoin presents a means by which to preserve and leverage value better than fiat models and government systems allow, enabling one to better prepare for unexpected disasters right now.

As for the NSA creation theory, that is ultimately anyone’s guess. Regardless, by all rational estimations the tech works. And even if it were all some grand trick defying imagination, the outcome would still be much the same as the situation at present, anyway: man vs surveillance state.

As Long as There Is Society, Sound Money Will Have Value

Sound money has always had immense value in any society compared to lesser alternatives, and always makes a comeback, in the end. Even the cowry shells of the past, much better than other mediums of exchange at the time, stood to lose value to holders in episodes of prolonged disaster or tyrannic cruelty — simply due to the fact that mere survival can become the primary concern. When society is shattered, so is the very basis for any monetary system in the first place.

Gold similarly does little good if no one’s around to trade rice or other necessities for it. Bitcoin being subject to these same realities doesn’t mean it should be discounted as a useful tool for survivalists — just that it should be viewed soberly. As long as there is society, sound models of money will be in demand, and until you’re holed up in a cave all alone, miles from anyone on the blackened husk of an exploded world, bitcoin seems to be a valid consideration, even for those “nutty” preppers.

What are your thoughts on bitcoin and doomsday prepping? Is it useful to have some in the case of societal collapse? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Article source: Bitcoin.com

Graham Smith is an American expat living in Japan, and the founder of Voluntary Japan—an initiative dedicated to spreading the philosophies of unschooling, individual self-ownership, and economic freedom in the land of the rising sun.

Op-ed disclaimer: This is an Op-ed article. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the Op-ed article. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the content. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any information in this Op-ed article.

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