# The Long Kiss Goodnight



## Green Lilly (Nov 8, 2018)

Good morning all. Hope this post finds everyone well and in good health.

Honestly I am not even sure what I am asking or if I am asking anything at all. When I started into prepping it was because I thought something catastrophic could happen. All the sexy prepper topics like nuclear war, EMP, an _actual_ pandemic etc is what initially grabbed my thought process and got me prepping. I think it was after Katrina and watching the aftermath and abysmal response that gave me the realization that help really wouldn't be coming in a larger event.

Over the last few years my thought process began shifting on what SHTF really means to me or how it could actually occur. Instead of a one off major event crashing everything around us (and I know those could still happen) I am now thinking that we are already in a SHTF event but it is materializing so slowly that many do not recognize it for what it is. Is that too pessimistic? 

I am just watching what is happening daily here at home and thinking it is here but it is going to be a slow burn. How does one prepare for that? Instead of an immediate plunge into post apocalyptic society where there is no law and order and everyone has to fend for themselves, prepared or not, are we seeing the slow downfall of our Country? What does that mean? What should we expect? Something similar to what recently happened in Venezuela? Are we looking at a Baltic split and resulting wars? Something where the world is still going on around us but we are in chaos here at home? Have we gone too far at this point to walk this back and preserve our Country?

Strange as it sounds, there seems to be a bit of freedom if we are in a SHTF situation where everyone is in the same boat. Obviously preppers would be in a much better overall situation then most of the population. In a slow burn scenario where the Country just fails little by little, rights are slowly stripped away, the economy slowly crumbles beneath our feet, it seems that prepping for that would be more difficult. 

I guess what I am really asking is, are any of you thinking this way? If you are, are there things you are doing differently to prepare for such an eventuality?


----------



## Tanya49! (Jun 20, 2020)

I’m sure most on here are of similar thinking. There will always be things that will pop up that haven’t been planned for. You need food , shelter ,water and safety.Plan for scenarios but be flexible and have a plan b.
Know what’s going on around you but don’t just focus on stuff you have no control over. What happens will happen. My opinion.


----------



## Megamom134 (Jan 30, 2021)

I guess what I am really asking is, are any of you thinking this way? If you are, are there things you are doing differently to prepare for such an eventuality?

I agree, I have been watching the change in the way people are thinking. The move to kill Americanism and patriotism. The acceptance of socialism being good. This has been going on for decades and it is hard to fight against what the new generation is being taught in school and our government's attempt to label all of us proud of our country as terrorist or fringe groups. I know the price for everything is going to go up and up and up and I am already seeing things you used to be able to get hard to get. I started prepping late because in my family people just don't live long, but here I am outliving my mom and grandparents by 10 years and I feel good enough I might be around another 10 or 20 years. I have zero intention of starving if there is any way I can prevent it. I used to try and wake people up, now I am just keeping a low profile and getting prepared. They say the great, not really great, reset will be here in 9 years if they get their way. I am preparing for that and hoping it doesn't happen in my lifetime but it will in my grandchildren's lifetime and I feel so sorry for them.


----------



## Michael_Js (Dec 4, 2013)

I can't control the world...I can't control anything outside of myself (and not even that sometime!  )...So, as my wife keeps saying, make yourself happy, do good where you can, and be grateful everyday.

We do the best we can with our garden, our chickens, storing food to have enough (without hording or wasting), keeping gasoline, diesel, oil, water, a few solar panels, firewood...We have been working on our financial future as well as retiring is somewhere in sight - about 6 years. 

As Amerika crumbles beneath our feet, and socialism turns into communism, I pray that we can be set as best we can. They will raise taxes, take away freedoms, take away stuff, and continue to loot & plunder We the People (mostly turned into sheep), however, our prayer is to survive and thrive - at least in our own corner of the world...well, that is, until we can't because they have made it so difficult, that we either starve to death, or go into a camp to die...

Either way, we'll die knowing that we did our best and pray that the next reincarnation is into a better world, preferably somewhere else...Humans are destroying The Earth...and communism is making it's people slowly die (when not killing them all quickly)...

Peace out...
Michael J.


----------



## Black 5 (Apr 6, 2020)

You can think in the manner of " how will the crap going on effect me personally?"

That stocked food supply will come in real handy if the breadwinner is suddenly on unemployment or disabled.

Money usually spent on groceries can be diverted other places temporarily by using available stores. (One of my main backup plans.)
Plan for probabilities, then possibilities. You can't be prepared for everything at any given time. But how you allocate what you have is important.
We are prone to power outages and boil orders. 
We have lots of alternate light sources and wood heat, and we can most of our food so there is very little in the freezer to risk losing.

Boil orders rarely last over 24 hours, so ee have bottled water first, then we have the spring and filters rated to remove viruses.
After that, the manual well.


Plan for probabilities, then possibilities.
Allocate your resources to maximum potential based on probabilities.
Depend on yourself first.

And remember you can't control what "they" do, but you can frustrate them by not suffering and becoming dependent.


----------



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

With food prices rising, gas prices up 50% in 50 days, taxes going up, the race to the hard ending has picked up speed.
We grow some of our food and keep chickens - have for over 25 years now.
But starting last spring with covid pandemic beginning and the election really nasty, the wife quietly began increasing the non perishable food stocks from what had been a one year supply to three years.
Not just canned and dry goods, but things to actually make food such as flour, sugar, salt, dry milk, yeast, etc.
I fully believe the Democrats plan is to crash the economy in order to get as many people depending on the government as possible.
We will hole up on our little farm out past the end of the blacktop and we will not comply.
And the only people welcome are our small family.


----------



## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

It's being downplayed but our food resources are dwindling. Slowly but surely. Harsh weather events in 2019 and 2020 destroyed crops then farms being shut down and processing plants being shut down. For a while even cans for soda and food were hard to come by because of the scamdemic.


----------



## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

Chin owns 1 of every 5 pigs raised in the U.S.


----------



## NMPRN (Dec 25, 2020)

I have no doubt that we're well into the SHTF we've all been prepping for. A nation that has turned from God should expect nothing less than what we're getting. It's just a matter of time before we reach the tipping point and all hell breaks loose. 

Without God, this nation has lost it's ability to recover from minor upsets (the fancy term is "divergent phlgoid"). 70 years ago, with God as our guide, we recovered from the greatest war the world has ever known and landed a man on the moon. In 2020, without God, a cop kills a drugged up felon and idiots destroy two Billion dollars worth of innocent people's stuff and push the country to the brink of civil war.

Even if they wanted to, the left can't turn away from their insanity without admitting they're wrong. ...and that ain't never gonna happen. The question is: How much left wing insanity will the right wing put up with before we reach the tipping point?


----------



## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

NMPRN said:


> The question is: How much left wing insanity will the right wing put up with before we reach the tipping point?



At 66 years old....paying much closer attention than the average American does to all that has gone on and continues to go on....
Unfortunately, I think the answer is....we will continue putting up with it.


----------



## NMPRN (Dec 25, 2020)

Robie said:


> Unfortunately, I think the answer is....we will continue putting up with it.


Everyone has their limit. Your typical level headed silent majority guy has a family, a job and a good sized gun safe, he HAS to have a long fuse. A 24 year old antifa punk living in his mom's basement armed with a Mattel light saber and a My Little Pony backpack full of spray paint cans can fly off the handle anytime the MSM tells him to.

There is a limit and joe and the hoe are pushing good, law abiding people towards it everyday. If there's any lack of motivation on the part of the silent majority it's because we shot our wad on Janurary 6th like a zit faced little kid on a drunk cheerleader on prom night and came off looking like a very idiots we oppose.


----------



## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

On another political forum I frequent, it is often said....all these immigrants coming here for a better life should stay in their own countries and make it better....vote, fight for what's right, etc, etc, etc....

Seems it's easier said than done.


----------



## NMPRN (Dec 25, 2020)

Completely different situations:

Those "immigrants" don't give a rats ass about fixing their own little countries, they just want a free ride to the promised land.

Our whole lives are invested in building, maintaining and protecting the greatest country the world has ever known. And we've got nowhere to go if this country fails.


----------



## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

NMPRN said:


> Completely different situations:


Venezuela comes to mind.


----------



## NMPRN (Dec 25, 2020)

Another completely different situation:

Venezuela's decent into socialist madness was financial more than philosophical. Venezuela was the richest (and one of the most corrupt) democracies in latin America until the Venezuelans themselves (almost unanimously) fought for socialism thinking they'd get a piece of Venezuela's oil wealth. Their socialist utopia didn't pan out (imagine that) and things only got worse. Now they fighting to get rid of it.

The United States' decent into socialist madness is more philosophical than financial. Our rich, white liberal socialist idiots think an all powerful, benevolent government will lead us into a social utopia where nobody is allowed to think any differently than they do. 

And to the original point...
Most Americans won't allow an "all powerful" government, we know there's no such thing as a benevolent government and we're getting pretty fed up with crazy people telling us we have to think like they do. 

At some point something will happen that will cause a few people to -righteously- fight back (by 'righteous' I mean NOT the half cocked, idiots that screwed us on January 6th.) IMHO That's when the snowball will start rolling.


----------



## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

NMPRN said:


> Venezuela's decent into socialist madness was financial more than philosophical. Venezuela was the richest (and one of the most corrupt) democracies in latin America until the Venezuelans themselves (almost unanimously) fought for socialism thinking they'd get a piece of Venezuela's oil wealth


Or did they? Oh I'm sure at least some did but did the majority? Now that is questionable due to the revalation from Sydney Powell and others. It would appear that Chavez did the same thing that happened here.

_"It's not the people who vote that count, it's the people who count the votes." Joseph Stalin_


----------



## ItsJustMe (Dec 12, 2020)

I think the last real election in 2016 scared the other side tremendously. They saw the possibility of the reversal of decades of their slowly taking over, as Marx said would be the only way to achieve a socialist society, which he believed was the only way to communism. I do not think the majority of Americans will take to street fighting, as in a violent revolution. They may have that in the cities, as we are seeing now in Portland. But they will be screaming for protection before we get to a real revolution. We may have elections; they still do in Russia and they recently voted Putin in for life. The rush we are seeing to change laws to fit the socialist movement is exactly that -- a rush to get us there within the next two years. I believe the One Thing they will have very real problems with is 2A. That may be their downfall. When the socialists, who live in their McMansions and see their 401K's topping a million, see their income going down to pay for all of this (much higher taxes, it's already starting, with a proposed 44% income tax on withdrawals from retirement plans), things may change back in the freedom direction. I live with that hope.

Meanwhile, how does one prepare for this? As someone has already stated -- water, food, shelter, protection. And I am painting myself as gray as possible until my hand is forced. I do believe the OP is right, that this has been a slow burn. I think, however, that fuel has been poured onto the coals and things will heat up more quickly in the next few years. I will continue adding to my stores. My biggest fear is they will tax me out of my home. Plan B then.

Edited to add: If the US economy really hits bottom, like Venezuela, it will affect the entire world. China will lose their biggest customer. Already, I have read, they are having shortages of supplies to manufacture the stuff We The People are buying. They have purchased so much US debt that if we can't pay them back, it will hurt their economy, too. The billions/trillions ? we give other nations will stop. Everybody in the world will suffer. I take a bit of solace in that.


----------



## NMPRN (Dec 25, 2020)

The Revolutionary War started over a fairly minor *incident. But the incident was the last straw for a group of folks that were fed up with how things were going. IMHO we're getting to the same point today.

*state and federal law makers need to read the history of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. History doesn't bode well for governments that try to sieze American guns.


----------



## Piratesailor (Nov 9, 2012)

unless there is a trigger event, large or small and no one now knows how it would happen, the slide will be slow and painful and not off a cliff. Yes, Venezuela comes to mind.


----------



## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

NMPRN said:


> The Revolutionary War started over a fairly minor *incident. But the incident was the last straw for a group of folks that were fed up with how things were going. IMHO we're getting to the same point today.
> 
> *state and federal law makers need to read the history of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. History doesn't bode well for governments that try to sieze American guns.



I'm not at all insinuating you are guilty of this...but probably a good 95% of the American public are unaware of just how long it took for the populace to even get on board, let alone participate in our Revolution.
It didn't happen overnight, which is what is mostly portrayed.

IMO, both in the Revolution and the Civil War, many got involved after seeing or suffering from the violence going on. A neighbor's farm being burned to the ground (or like) was the catalyst that made them take up arms....and "Independence" was not given much thought.


----------



## Piratesailor (Nov 9, 2012)

And to go with that slow demise... this is a good article that will highlight the process as it relates to a elections and a one party system.

The Sovereign Crime of Industrial Scale Vote Fraud


----------



## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Piratesailor said:


> And to go with that slow demise... this is a good article that will highlight the process as it relates to a elections and a one party system.
> 
> The Sovereign Crime of Industrial Scale Vote Fraud


Exactly what I've been thinking. This time the fraud was in the open, in your face. Those who believe we will win back seats in the next election are delusional. They have openly admitted what the did in the Time article. If anyone thinks this was the first and last time, they must have their heads stuck in a dark place.


----------



## MisterMills357 (Apr 15, 2015)

I reviewed this thread all of the way through, and it reveals the high intellect of the opponents of the Left.
Th Left are packs and hordes of virtual idiots, and that does not make for an army of good fighters.

And they are not united, they are packs and crowds of disparate groups, with no cohesion. It only looks like there is unity. Their ideation of cohesion, is only a mental disorder if you ask me.

Right now, my thinking is, they won’t be that hard to beat, if the shooting starts, and that is a recent change in me. Their fierceness is about to be met, by gunfire; by people who are no longer intimidated by them. By people desperate to save their homes and loved ones, from ravening wolves.

I think that any civil war in America will go down like the Mahdi did, at Omdurman. He was united, in about the same way that Antifa is, in that, they had a common hatred. But they weren’t smart, they charged Gatling Guns and field artillery and British infantry. They were wiped out within 15 minutes.

Note: See, I told you there was high intellect on our side. Leave it to me to know about Omdurman.
For more on that see The River War, by Winston S. Churchill

The Mahdi and what he is considered to be in Islam::: Brittanica Encyclopedia mahdi | Definition, Islam, & Eschatology


----------



## Black 5 (Apr 6, 2020)

Yeah, I know it's simplistic. But it goes along with Mr Mills. I think the rough and tough antifa types will fill their drawers and run home once they meet real resistance in a no holds barred grudge match.
Now, I'm also sure there are some who will have the experience to not only stand to, but also rally the weaker ones around them. But they will not be in the majority.
Not that I'm advocating anything, just speculation based on past observation.


----------



## MisterMills357 (Apr 15, 2015)

Black 5 said:


> View attachment 112827
> 
> 
> Yeah, I know it's simplistic. But it goes along with Mr Mills. I think the rough and tough antifa types will fill their drawers and run home once they meet real resistance in a no holds barred grudge match.
> ...


Simplistic? Take your gun and point it at mirror, just like you were going to shoot your image. That is a scary sight, and disturbing, and if that is not enough to stop them, then shoot them. You are worth something, and I am worth something, and everyone on this forum is worth something.

I didn’t start this havoc, and I want to be able to sit in my comfy chair and rest when I am tired. I can’t do that if a pack of ravening wolves show up and torch the place. It’s all pretty complex when you consider things.
Husbands have wives and kids, and the families are worth keeping alive. Usurpers however are not.


----------



## RedSky (Sep 5, 2021)

Green Lilly said:


> Good morning all. Hope this post finds everyone well and in good health.
> 
> Honestly I am not even sure what I am asking or if I am asking anything at all. When I started into prepping it was because I thought something catastrophic could happen. All the sexy prepper topics like nuclear war, EMP, an _actual_ pandemic etc is what initially grabbed my thought process and got me prepping. I think it was after Katrina and watching the aftermath and abysmal response that gave me the realization that help really wouldn't be coming in a larger event.
> 
> ...


It is a slow burn, or a "crumble" as I'm calling it. It always is, really. Rome didn't fall, it crumbled. It failed when the people lost their will to fight to maintain their civilization. The sack of Rome was just the end.. and not even the end, as the Eastern Roman Empire continued for centuries more. As much as we talk about preparing for survival in an acute and releatively short-term event (even a year or several years), I think we should consider long term preservation of our skills and knowledge and beliefs. Think decades --> transgenerationally.


----------



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

*Think decades --> transgenerationally*.

I agree, in fact, when you reach your 70s you are, in fact, taking knowledge of the decades. Personally, I find this a very sad situation as time and beliefs whittle down loved ones.

For example, while I am not a regular viewer of M.A.S.H., I did catch an episode where Col. Potter gets a package from his attorney signifying that he is the last living member of his buddies from World War One. This is a very strange situation for people to handle. One, they have outlived the average age of their circle of friends. Two, there is no one to celebrate the victory and take solace in the isolation while they ruminate in a cold, empty room.

In the early 1970s I rode with the CC Riders of Madison, Wisconsin. There were about 60 of these boys, and that group came and went over time. When our good friend "Tiny" died and the oldsters came to view the funeral, I found that there were *just four of us* who were his remaining friends.

As for your insight into "crumbling," I admit to "been there, done that." The tragedy of that account is that you become very lonely and saddened.


----------

