Selco - SHTF Myths

[rah45]

I thought you guys might find his thoughts interesting. Link is here.

Few years ago I read about idea that some guy wrote on some survival forum that using a skateboard for as transportation device to move in urban enviroment when SHTF is a good idea.

Other guys commented (mostly) positive on that idea. Fact that the guy who wrote that never actually experienced urban SHTF is important here, neither he or guys who appreciated the idea.

So after reading that thread, and after reading positive comments on idea you could easily conclude that riding the skate trough the city when SHTF is absolutely cool idea.

You gonna form your opinion based on some guys idea, and other guys positive comments. Everyone agrees and their reasoning makes sense too. So now this idea can spread.

And of course people gonna figure out when SHTF that riding a skateboard trough the city make sense just like screaming ?I am idiot, please shoot me?. Maybe later you gonna use it as a fuel for fire, or setup for some primitive cart, so I agree, having a skateboard is better than not having anything.

Using a skateboard in dangerous urban environment where you should move slowly and careful? Good idea too because it speeds up natural selection.

Examples are numerous, and while some of them are just funny, other are more serious, and can kill you in a post collapse world.

Very often you find discussions about battle, combat and similar on blogs and forums and after reading most of that you may come up with a lot of decisions, and because most of the discussions about combat are nonsense you will make some wrong decisions probably.

While driving skateboard when SHTF sounds stupid, you will probably see that it is wrong idea very soon, but remember that when it comes to battle wrong decisions today will probably kill you when SHTF.

Nobody gonna forgive you your wrong decisions when SHTF. Your wrong decision is another guys lucky day.

[sledge]

Absolutely, right on the money.  This is exactly why I've said many times to take what makes sense to you, and what you think will work for you.  Honestly, there is a lot of well intentioned bullshit out there. 

[Well-Prepared Witch]

I think the biggest mistake that a lot of people make when talking about "what will work" when SHTF is assuming there's only one way to do things.  Yeah, there are useful skills, but what's more useful in an urban environment, scavenging or canning?  What's more useful in a rural area, animal husbandry or booby traps?  WRT the skateboard, yeah it can be useful if you're a teenager who boards more than he walks and can hustle on one of those things, but if you're an older person who can trip on a perfectly flat surface (not that I've done that ) and who'd benefit more from stealth than speed it may not be at all useful.

[Currahee]

I generally start ignoring any SHTF advice that starts off with "this is the way it's gonna be."  Nobody has any insights that you don't- anyone that thinks they have things figured out is an idiot that doesn't understand all the potential variables.

All you can do is load up on basics, concentrate on your health, skills and networking.

I spend years thinking, no point in starting a garden etc because when it comes time to eat out of the garden I'll have to be ought of here.  Now what do I do, I garden and put even more food away, and I develope my gardening skills- because things might happen much more slowly, hell things are happening allready, and we think about WHEN the shit hits the fan.

[APX808]

because things might happen much more slowly, hell things are happening allready, and we think about WHEN the shit hits the fan.

That's fucking right.
In my experience here in Argentina, both for '89 and '01 you are fucked slowly, so you really don't notice it, everyday is some little thing more you have to deal with, and then one day it just crashes around you, kind of what is said about cooking the frog slowly.

Anyway, even as economy crashes and hyperinflation exists, life continues pretty much as usual.

[JohnyMac]

APX,
my wife read me several articles from the WSJ (Wall Street Journal) last week reporting that President Fernandez of Argentina was trying to crack down on the media. Any truth to this? Is the economy starting to go south?

[APX808]

I didn't hear anything new about the president creating new laws for the media, the gov is having a big fight with an Argentinian newspaper since a few years, the gov likes to blame all the problems of the country to that newspaper, they are a multimedia company, they own TV channels, radios etc.

Anyway, I doubt the newspaper is responsible of inflation, crime or energetic crisis.

Argentina is again on the verge of defaulting, and we are having a terrible energetic crisis due to lack of investment for years, just check the deal they made with Chevron:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/business/energy-environment/argentinas-oil-ambitions-create-unlikely-alliance-with-chevron.html

Argentine oil officials said that the Chevron-YPF deal will shield the American company from financial loss connected to a change in the political winds. After the company invests $1.2 billion, 18 months later it can withdraw from operations without penalty and continue to receive net profits of 50 percent of the production from the initial wells in perpetuity.

The president at the moment is disconnected from the media because she had surgery because of an hemorrhage inside the skull, so the vice president supposedly is on charge. The vice president is so involved in corruption charges that not even the rest of the gov officials want to be seen with him.

Next weekend there are elections for senators here, after the elections everyone thinks the gov will apply economic measures to try to fix the economy that is absolutely fucked up.

Obviously, this will end bad for the people, as usual in Argentina, we are FUBAR.

[JohnyMac]

Interesting.

Thanks for the info and update.