You forgot guns lazs. Now if you can weave guns and seatbelts into an earthquake thread I'll be impressed.
I'll take a shot at that
A common theme of firearm ownership day dreaming is the "Stuff Hits the Fan" scenario. Kind of a, "What would you do if Red Dawn were real?" Typical scenarios include:
UN Black Helicopters
Zombies
Alien Invasions
Massive political/civil unrest
Massive natural disaster or disease
Discussions include survival options and tools, including guns, and can be found at sites ranging from the most mild mannered "Elmer Fudd” hangouts to hard core survivalist bunkers. Mostly just some good fun mental masturbation.
Now, a more plausible SHTF scenario is a bit less extreme. Take a significant economic collapse where most people try to go about business as relatively usual (at least those still with jobs) while having to face crime levels broadly comparable to those typically enjoyed now only in the worst neighborhoods. Maybe not as frequent or concentrated a risk (in Most areas), but a readily greater chance of encountering violent criminality in almost any area at any time. Here's a good link to this scenario in action today (likley mostly factual) based on the Argentinean collapse:
PART III: GUNS, AMMO AND OTHER GEAR
After TSHTF in 2001, only the most narrow minded, brain washed, butterfly IQ level idiots believed that the police would protect them from the crime wave that followed the collapse of our economy. A lot of people that could have been considered antigun before, ran to the gun shops, seeking advice on how to defend themselves and their families. They would buy a 38 revolver, a box of ammo, and leave it in the closet, probably believing that it would magically protect them from intruders.
Oh, maybe you don’t think that firearms are really necessary or your beliefs do not allow you to buy a tool designed to kill people. So you probably ask yourself, is a gun really necessary when TSHTF? Will it truly make a difference? Having gone through a shtf scenario myself, total economical collapse in the year 2001, and still dealing with the consequences, 5 years later, I feel I can answer that question. YES, you need a gun, pepper spray, a machete, a battle axe, club with a rusty nail sticking out of it, or whatever weapon you can get hold of.
A LOT has been written on survival weapons. Everyone that is into armed survival has his or her own idea of the ideal gun battery. Some more oriented to a hunting point of view, others only as self defense means and others consider a little of both, and look for general purpose weapons. Talking about guns, there is one special subject I want to rectify, and it’s the point on what’s the primary weapon for the survivalist, specially an urban survivalist that has to function in a society, yes, even after the SHTF. The primary defensive weapon for the survivalist is his HANDGUN. It’s the weapon that stays with him when he is doing his business around town of working on the field. The survivalist IS NOT a soldier, even though you are a soldier or you once were the meanest mother on the battle filed, your home town is not a battlefield and it wont be, even if the SHTF. A LOT of water has to go under the bridge until the situation gets to a point where you can calmly walk down the street with a rifle on your shoulder. People, if you are interested in real world SHTF situation and you want to prepare for the real deal, then understand that this isn’t black or white. You wake up one day and listen on the radio that the economy collapsed and that the stock market closed indefinitely. What do you do? You still have to go to the office/work/whatever .Kiss the wife good bye and walk to the office with your AR across your back, or across your chest, Israeli style, and ready to shoot? You won’t get far. Someone will shoot you or throw you in jail, or in a mental institution.
What I’m trying to explain, is that it’s ok to prepare for China invading you country, Germans and UN or Martians. That is the extreme, less likely worst case scenario.
There is an infinity spectrum of gray between the black and white. White being your average normal day and black being total TEOTWAWKI, lizard men invading the planet.
Rifles do have a place in the survivalist’s arsenal, and a very important one. But you have to understand that 90% of the time, the handgun will be the weapon you have available when you need one. You can’t compare to a trooper in Iraq that has his weapon with him at all times. I ask you how many soldiers do you know that keep wearing cammo and totting their M4s around town when they return home?
http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=044387;p=1However, at the end of the day the extreme scenarios cannot be dismissed. We do not live in a Star Trek Next Generation universe. The United Federation of Planets is not around to make it all right and Jordi will not be able to reprogram the antimatter core to bring peace and harmony to a disaster in 60 minutes or less. The “Big One” Earthquake scenario (well beyond a Northridge) is highly plausible and could create the disruption and infrastructure damage of a dozen New Orleans with much greater loss of life and injury.
So, what happens next? Once the looting cleans off the shelves of the stores and warehouses in the first 48 hours you have many 10s of millions of people wondering where their next bite of food is going to come from. And it won’t be coming in any quantity from the Govt. any time soon given basic logistic realities. The same goes for water, medical supplies, power… virtually every major human need. Those that can escape will. Those that cannot escape will be on their own.
So, imagine a much broader and more severe combination of New Orleans and the LA etc. riots in every major impacted population center. Further imagine the “Houston” effect where those that can escape the epicenters of destruction will be roaming the more intact areas similarly looking for food, water and shelter -- including hardened criminals and gang bangers, etc. Imagine this lasting for months.
LA and various communities in the region are home to some of the most vicious gangs around -- howdy neighbor! Similarly imagine that the morality neutral to subtle but functional sociopaths of all races and classes will now be making some very selfish decisions for personal and family survival – your life is worth that generator to me and my family.
In this scenario California’s extreme reliance on big government and continual oppression of firearm ownership will come home to roost. As Lord of the Flies becomes the operating norm the strong will take what they want or need, and the weak (or simply weaker) will give it up and hopefully be allowed to live in return. Bad news for women certainly. One imagines especially that the surviving Hollywood crowd that was not able to expediently escape to greener pastures will find out just how special they are should they run into the wrong mob.
Charon
