Yet Another Question. This Is About Morale By The Way

Hello again, I have just browsed through the site and read a lot of stuff. My question though is about morale.
You see A lot of the people here say they will be in massive groups if something ever happens, but what I am wondering is what about morale? I mean you can be stocked to the teeth with guns and food and all that, but what about keeping the people you know and your self for that matter happy?

I mean, people get bored and upset really fast and nobody likes that. People should get like something to entertain themselves with, like board games contests and so on if anything is ever going to happen.

 

What do you guys think?

 

Yeah, you make a good point Keith, but I mean like, what if you are from the city and you don't have like a base of operations yet, then you will need something to do, But you make a really good point. Thanks for replying you guys!

 

Human psych is complex and very, very wide in the realm of "normal" -- let's make up a word, "normal-ish". One human has numerous states of consciousness. Example: John Smith is one person when he is watching TV with a beer in his hand, another when he has just witnessed a car hit a kid running across a street, and yet another on his wedding day. Everyone knows that war experiences can bring out the best and the worst in humans.

During WWII in continental Europe (I can't remember the country), the majority of the staff of a psychiatric hospital abandoned the place and most of the patients stayed / had no where to go. The patients decompensated, right? Wrong. The overwhelming majority went about taking care of themselves, some even performing the duties of the staff (who had gotten out of this war zone). And we are talking about patients some of whom were suffering from tertiary psychoses, even catatonia. Go figure!

I bet most guys are like me. Little stuff frustrates you horribly, you then get angry, and might even start throwing things. However something catastrophic rolls into your world and poof! you go into "deal with it" mode / survival mode -- you simply begin doing the things that need to be done. Some would call this a form of psychological shock. This could also be perceived as high morale. Whatever label, it's good for the self and it's good for the group -- especially when everybody gets busy establishing a perimeter and gathers their means of survival.

One can imagine ways of instilling the above -- ex. boot camp in the military. Me, I think this has been instilled in early youth and also comes from inside people -- an evolutionary survival mechanism in the DNA ... or absent. If absent, uh-oh, that's bad, way bad.

People in panic mode and people in anti-unity / aggression mode, must be dealt with and quickly so. That is another topic and a dark topic, indeed. We can't save everyone can we!

 

Yep nailed it there!

 

indeed!

 

Busy we will be for sure, however diversions are essential.
Card games, chess, checkers, monopoly, etc. will be good things to have on hand.
So will non survival foods.
A chocolate bar will raise the spirits.
Survival isn't just about sustaining the body.
The mind and spirit are just as essential.
If children are in your plans then board games and treats are necessary.
Opinions on that? Rebuttal?
"If the body is healthy the mind should be. If the mind is healthy the body should be."
I don't recall who said that but I'm vain enough to claim credit.

http://www.chopra.com/articles/7-tips-for-mind-body-balance#sm.00001497c3ltwef2jwcd11bmhvjnb

Don't know who Chopra is?
Too bad; you should.
Google it.
I'm a Chopra fan and have some of his books.
I'm also a fan of Dr. Jung.
"The mind is a terrible thing and must be stamped out in our lifetime."
Huh?
That ain't right is it?
"ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING."

 

NO! We can't save everyone and I'm not gonna even try.
I come first.

Selfish? Not really.
Without me, my family, loved ones, perhaps close friends NEED ME!
They need me as prepared as I can be because they are not.
Here is a tough situation I face and it's darned hard.
My fiance is legally blind. She can't cook, clean, etc, because she can't see.
So why am I with her? Well love, had a bit to do with it. A BIT!
She's also a 30 year nutrition expert and has excelled in spite of her disability.
Lazy she ain't, smart she is.
Her daughter is paranoid schizophrenic.
Does her daughter have a place in my survival plans?
NO! Not only NO but #ELL no!
Without the daughters meds she is......................ah,..............she is.................NUTS!
A liability. She can contribute NOTHING.
Think I'm hard?
I am.
I would not trust the dingy daughter even around a firearm, or sharp knife, not that she
could use a firearm but even a blind hog can find an acorn.
Off her meds she could be dangerous. Likely would be and IS a liability.
I care for the poor child, she's 42 and really, really, fubar in the head.
Sadly.................or luckily, she's also stupid. Boarder line retarded. And she's not my child.
(thank you God)
I'm NOT prepping to care for those who can't contribute in some way, even a little.
Hard times require a hard attitude.

 

I was at conference about medical stuff, how to prep., blah blah blah. OK we're observing a situation where a nerve agent / sarin / organophosphate attack on civilians has occurred. Almost all medical crews failed, even physicians (maybe the physicians were the worst).

One participant hits the ground begins to convulse, staff keep on helping, then another hits the ground begins to convulse, others keep on helping. Fail!!!

Medics / 68 Wiskeys pass. Well, what did they do that was so effective?!

They got out. They ran.

How can you ever help anyone else if you are dead?!

(The area & the victims were too "hot"; the contamination was so great that the area and the victims couldn't be cleaned properly = nothing could be done. Atropine atropine atropine was now a bad joke. It was over. Those in very effective haz-mat suits might just get away far enough and be hosed-down sufficiently to possibly survive.)

 

So you have a mother and batshit crazy step-daughter. well have you considered how to handle the mother if you have just got rid of the daughter??
In most probability you will need to treat both as one! Suffer the daughter to keep the mother or off-load both!
How much nutrition expertise do you really need? Doughter might come good if all survive the withdrawls once off meds, might take many months!
But it is your problem not mine.

BUT consider the future only, not a sentimental past ! Regardless of how good someone WAS it is how good they can still be that counts!

 

What if they are killed because you were taking care of yourself? how would that sit!
Males are expendable! they always have been and in most probability always will be!
Not saying give your life away but you are expendable!

 

That comment ^^^ wasn't anything close to a survivalist attitude.
I am NOT expendable!
Without me my blood family members and loved ones have zero chance in a real shtf situation.
I'm 70 and have a 17 year old son, live with my 44 year old son, have loved ones to consider.
Without me and my skills and equipment they are at risk.
My attitude isn't selfish but loving.
I need stay alive for them.
People with survival knowledge , skills , and supplies are very important with great value.

 

Consider something.
We preppers are more likely to survive a shtf situation.
It's more likely than not we won't be surrounded by fellow preppers with knowledge and skills
needed to promote survival.
Alone we aren't worth much.
We need help survivors and teach them survival skills.

" Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime."

Just sayin'.

 

I'm 70 and have a 17 year old son, live with my 44 year old son, have loved ones to consider.
Without me and my skills and equipment they are at risk.

Are not 44years enough to teach what you know?
Are you taking your equipment with you when you go?

And why do old folks always need to brag/mention there advanced years??

So who is more expendable ? you or your sons?

 

Old folks?
Old folks?
If you see an "old folk" then knock him down.
Rude and insulting that "old folks" crack was.
Old might be my grandmother who died a week shy of 100 and didn't see a doctor 'till she was
in her late 80's.
None of my family and loved ones are expendable.
That too was uncalled for.
You aren't expendable.
No one is.
ALL my earthly goods go to my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, including
my investments.

As far as the 44 year old is concerned he just recently came to live with me.
We were separated by over 600 miles distance.
Divorce will sometimes do that.
His mother wasn't much of one and she, the poor soul, dropped dead a year ago.
My 17 year old lives but a few miles away so we naturally grew close.
His mother was a lousy wife but a fine mother.
I can't and won't complain.
Sadly the fine 17 year old is quite ill and I worry about him a great deal.

 

Moral is everything when all else is turning to crap.
Faith: A belief in something that cannot be proven nor disproved.
Faith is essential to surviving all manner of calamities.

Read stories of Jews in Nazi death camps.

 

"Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance."
Food for thought?

 

Rude and insulting that "old folks" crack was.

Please explain why? Did I lie? Did I swear? Old folks are old folks simple as that or are the sensitive type? if you are then I apolagise!

 

Teach them.
Humans are social animals.
Without people there is no society.
I don't want to be a hermit forever.

 

You are on the cusp of being "old folk" yourself.
Me sensitive? Bawwwwwwwwwwww-hawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
Hardly.
I've been beaten, shot at, stabbed at, 13 major injuries, including my back broken 4 times.
I've held people while they died, pulled burned kids out of cars and houses, plugged wounds with my fingers, .........................
O.K. I have deep feelings but the internet is only electrons on a screen.
Anyone taking electrons on a screen seriously is in desperate need of psychotherapy.

Posters on the internet don't even use real names, are faceless.
In the bible, in Hesichia 4: 21, it suggests, "don't take yourself too seriously".

Now back to surviving a shtf..............................................

 

I'm sorry life has hurt you so badly.
"full recluse"???? then why post on the internet?
I fear you attitude betrays your fears.
Enough of that crap. See a shrink if you need too.
Now about surviving a shtf.
I came here to learn, not engage in pshychobabble.
Find someone else to be argumentative with.
Thank you very much.

 

Are firearms hard to purchase and keep in the U.K.???

Archery gear?

Black powder arms?

Hunting knives and such?

Here is a bit of what I dug up on the net:

You cannot own fully automatic firearms, semi-automatic firearms of calibre greater than .22, or handguns. But this still leaves a significant amount of legal weapons. It's actually fairly easy to get a shotgun licence, because you don't have to provide a reason to own one, rather the assumption is that you can unless the police have good reason to prevent it. A firearms licence for a rifle, however, is harder to get because you have to have a good reason to have one. Self or home defence does not count as a good reason.

Here in the U.S. gun regulations are getting tougher and tougher.

Here liberal politics drives restrictive gun laws.

Is it true even knives are regulated in the U.K.???

I had an e-friend in S. Africa where gun laws are quite strict.
He shot only black powder and was limited to a small amount of powder at a time
and had to account for every ounce.
ALL firearms including air guns were regulated and a license needed and neighbors
interviewed by police, asked if they objected to you owning a firearm.
If ONE objected you didn't get the firearm.

We in the Colonies have a much higher crime rate than in the U.K.
The U.S. has a lot more people however and a greater diversity.

But then we are a nation that fought for freedom from British rule.

"The sun never sets on the British Empire" is no longer true.

My father was in the U.K. for several months before D-day.

He recalled a British saying. " Yanks are over paid, over sexed and over here! "

Fact is you Brits and we Yanks are cousins.
Like it or not.

Being as I'm a 'war baby' I grew up with stories of WWII.
Churchill was and remains a hero I admire.
Winny had gonads for sure.
He was what the U.K. needed when the U.K. needed a hero the most.

What does all the drivel have to do with survival?

Everything if one thinks about it.
The world survived an insane despot (Hitler and the gang) by coming together
for a common cause and putting differences in the back row.
So it is with we preppers surviving.
Put our petty differences aside and come together
for a common goal.

 

The Gun laws are bad over there but not as bad as the used to be. I have some family members living there, and they all have guns.