[evilspock]

I am looking around the web and am finding nothing for the organization of like minded people within a certain geographic location. This site is a great resource but it does not lend itself to any type of local organization.

I know there is power in numbers and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I have some food stuffs, water, weapons and ammo etc. I am an amateur radio operator so I can offer that as well as the labor of my family. But alone I feel we are toast against bands of roving bad guys. (The article from the guy in Argentina was very insightful.)

Do you think it would be a good idea for the moderators to create sub forms related to different locations which people could use a platform for creating what I'm calling Local Citizens Emergency Preparedness Groups? What I envision is the collaboration of people within the same town / neighborhood that each have a unique skill / talent / resource who can team up in small groups for SHTF.

Anyone have any ideas? Pros / Cons?

TIA

 

[evilspock]

Nothing?

Do you guys really think you will make it all alone against roving gangs etc? Maybe I am missing something here, please fill me in. I am getting worried over here.

TIA

 

[mgd_only]

though i would like more people to join my group i have to spend alot of time with them to even consider them to be added to the group security reasons and all. and you might be able to team up with people in your area easier if you filled in the location roughly of where you are in the location box of your control panel. then there are groups. by hitting the group button at the top of the page there are many groups of peeps with dif intrests there on for primitive living and one for iowa and another for texas. also you could make a shout out thread something titled : who heres from iowa or a meet and greet thread like :BBQ meet and greet for iowa and surrounding areas

hope that helps

 

[Brimasmom]

Sorry, Evilspock. Most people are a little leery about disclosing that they are even survivalists/preppers. Some of us Y2K'ers got a real spanking for admitting to friends/family/acquaintances that we were prepping. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't care to sit through a repeat of that lesson.

I did, however, have an opportunity to meet up with board members from the New England area, but I had to work that day and I missed out. If any of them decide to meet up again, I would be glad to join in. Maybe that would work for you in your geographical area?

 

[anne36]

I was thinking the same thing today looking at my local Fema group and couldnt get much info.

There was some info on emergency shelters and such, but then it rerouted back to the red cross as the answer to that problem, and was very general in its information.

 

[test]

Brimasmom: I agree 100%. As a Y2K prepper it came back to bite me on the butt.
We have a few friends that know we are stocked up, when I try to convince them to get their own house in order they just say we'll come to your house. WRONG.....
We have an older couple who's idea of having a pantry is 2 lbs. of minute rice and 2 boxes of breakfast cereal.
They live in a all electric house and no back-up what so ever. Excuse me she does have a few scented candles.
Sorry but I dont have a sign saying " Emergency Shelter". on my dirve- way.

 

[MrEarp]

While I'm new around here.. I think having a sub forum with states could be useful. Were here because well we have some of the same thoughts right? So.. Pretty much its a good place to find like minded people.

While I'm not going to just instantly invite you to my house. I would probably go to dinner or coffee with you and sit and chat. I won't judge you. As I think were probably all in pretty close to the same boat.

So +1 in my book.

 

[Brimasmom]

While I'm new around here.. I think having a sub forum with states could be useful. Were here because well we have some of the same thoughts right? So.. Pretty much its a good place to find like minded people. So +1 in my book.

We already have something like that, and here's a link:

http://www.survivalistboards.com/group.php?do=grouplist&order=asc&sort=name

Hope this helps!

 

[dayliterun]

It might be easier to find people nearby if everyone would at least put a general location out there for folks to see. I have met 3 and spoke to 2 more that either live in my county, close by or the tri-county area. Just my $.02. YMMV

 

[KaBar67]

The groups already exist. You volunteer fire, police auxiliary, PTA, town board, church, CERT, Red Cross, HAM Groups etc. will be running things. Each will be able to rally hundres or thousands when needed.

 

[HammerHand]

I am looking around the web and am finding nothing for the organization of like minded people within a certain geographic location. This site is a great resource but it does not lend itself to any type of local organization.

Local organizations cost money, and where is that money coming from? I can't think of many people who would spend their money on making sure their community was safe, over making sure they, and their family, were safe.

If you get funding from any level of government, that'd make you a government agency, wouldn't it? And there's already FEMA - Federal Emergency Mismanagement Agency - down there in the US, isn't there?

I know there is power in numbers and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Some of the parts are useless... Just like the human body has an appendix, which serves no useful purpose, humanity as a whole has parts of it that serve no useful purpose. I'm not going to let them ride my coat tails.

As others have said - I'm not too open with people about how I feel when it comes to survival.

"Envy like fire always makes for the highest points." - Titus Livius

And for some strange reason, I feel the need to quote Biggie Smalls, aka Notorius B.I.G. :

"Rule nombre uno: never let no one know
How much, dough you hold, cause you know
The cheddar breed jealousy specially
If that man f*****d up, get your @ss stuck up."

The more people know I am prepared, the more likely it is that there will be people who envy my preparedness. The more people who envy my preparedness, the more likely it is that there will be people who act on that envy.

Remove the threat by twofold action - don't tell anybody what you've got, and convince people around you to prepare for themselves.

PS - while all you Y2K'ers were waiting for the lights to go out with your preps handy, I was at the Pontiac Silverdome, at a Metallica/Kid Rock/Ted Nugent/Sevendust concert, with all of Detroit between me and my own country!

 

[rolbsned65]

You can try Jim Eawles site "survivalblog.com". He has a spot where people can post their gtoups and request new members etc.

 

[Wulf23]

What about these groups?

http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/

 

[Kuting]

I think communities are an awesome idea, but there are many many more drawbacks than benefits.

#1. "I'll come to your house" types - People who acknowledge that we're right, but would rather spend their time and money on 72" plasma TV's to play their video games on.

#2. Gun/food only storage idiots - Some people will stash nothing but guns and ammo. "Dude, I'll just go out to Wal-Mart and take what I want." On the flip side, you've got the folks who see no need for self defense but they're loading up on food for everyone else to come and take.

#3. Ruby Ridge/Waco/Jonestown - 1 guy/gal with some wacky ideas can screw everyone.

#4. The "Mooch" - There's one in every group. It's inevitable. "Hey man, if you take my shift in the garden today I'll get ya back." They're in your kitchen, you can't get rid of them...

#5. OPSEC - So we've got a community, we're all set for the long term, but Jim and Sarah have invited their whole extended families to c'mon over when it all goes down...

 

[bclark]

The groups already exist. You volunteer fire, police auxiliary, PTA, town board, church, CERT, Red Cross, HAM Groups etc. will be running things. Each will be able to rally hundres or thousands when needed.

Day makes a good point – one that is very applicable to anyone living “in the country” – surburbia not so much.

I think being involved in the community long before things fall apart more is very important. I do not think this means a family has to disclose that they are preppers but I think one should be willing to help out the community.

This is not altruistic BS either. The fact is your preps will carry you through a lot but not everything. Things will break, stuff will happen.

Part of my strategy going forward is to stock up some of the items I believe might help those around me help themselves (i.e. extra non Hybrid seeds), The idea of stocking barter items for the grey market requires the notion that some of your neighbors survive to trade with you.

Participating in the volunteer fire department – or at least supporting their BBQ’s, being involved in your church and knowing your neighbors just seems commonsensical.

 

[Le Zouave]

In a national emergency, FEMA can confiscate food and other supplies like radio equipment, guns, etc (thanks to a series of executive orders signed by Slick Willy), so I would discourage anyone from joining any type of citizens emergency preparedness groups. If you have surplus, hide it, and as far as anyone knows, you ain't got it.

Edit: Although I think guns were originally on the list, a bill passed after Katrina did make it illegal for the government to confiscate firearms in an emergency, so strike that off the list.

 

[bowman]

Groups before the SHTF are a threat, not a resource. You are at the mercy of the stupidest and most untrustworthy members of the group.

Is there a membership list? Someone will put the list up on their refrigerator for everyone to see. Its a shopping list for theives.

Is there a meeting? Somebody will tell everything that happened while sitting at the barbershop, the PTA, or whatever.

Is someone a thief? They should join the group where everyone talks about how to defend their homes and about the stuff they buy.

People in a group like that are fairweather friends. After the SHTF, you don't know where the loyalties of 35-40 different people will lie. One person could rat you all out to the feds/FEMA or to roving gangs. Or want to wipe out all the competition themselves. Or have more friends and family show up than they can handle and need to lay their hands on a lot more supplies and shelter fast.

 

[crisisweasel]

I was going to say, and I think I am fairly moderate in my suspicion of the government, but as much as I liked some of the things on the CERT website, a few things kind of rubbed me the wrong way:

From the CERT FAQs (that's, interestingly, a .gov website):

"To become a CERT member, you will have to take the CERT training from a sponsoring agency like an emergency management agency, fire department or police department in the area where you live or work."

I am 100% about being trained by experts. I am not 100% about having to take that training from the government.

"CERT requires a partnership between community members and local government, emergency management and response agencies."

Nice to have such a partnership, but *requires*? I wouldn't want to be part of anything that wasn't autonomous. I have no interest in being leashed.

Like the idea of CERT but as with the Civil Air Patrol, not altogether nuts about its relationship with government. I am not going to help local cops go around confiscating weapons, for example.

I don't necessarily object to people joining CERT, as we do live, for now, in a reasonably sane society. It's good to have people out there to lend a hand, but it's not for me.

 

[resolver]

And for some strange reason, I feel the need to quote Biggie Smalls, aka Notorius B.I.G. :

"Rule nombre uno: never let no one know
How much, dough you hold, cause you know
The cheddar breed jealousy specially
If that man f*****d up, get your @ss stuck up."

The more people know I am prepared, the more likely it is that there will be people who envy my preparedness. The more people who envy my preparedness, the more likely it is that there will be people who act on that envy.

Remove the threat by twofold action - don't tell anybody what you've got, and convince people around you to prepare for themselves.

^^^ Agreed. Do not show your hand.

Groups before the SHTF are a threat, not a resource. You are at the mercy of the stupidest and most untrustworthy members of the group.

Is there a membership list? Someone will put the list up on their refrigerator for everyone to see. Its a shopping list for theives.

Is there a meeting? Somebody will tell everything that happened while sitting at the barbershop, the PTA, or whatever.

Is someone a thief? They should join the group where everyone talks about how to defend their homes and about the stuff they buy.

People in a group like that are fairweather friends. After the SHTF, you don't know where the loyalties of 35-40 different people will lie. One person could rat you all out to the feds/FEMA or to roving gangs. Or want to wipe out all the competition themselves. Or have more friends and family show up than they can handle and need to lay their hands on a lot more supplies and shelter fast.

This is exactly right also. We are taught to be "nice" to others, but the reality is when SHTF that "niceness" and the artificiality that may have brought it about in these same 35-40 different people will be gone gone gone.

 

[survivalmama26]

What I have done is make good friends with my neighbors who have skills. I know the two former military guys and the former police officer and his wife. I talk gardening with two wives of neighbors and know we could do some kick ass community gardening if need be. I have two friends nearby who live outside of local covenants who have space and either already have or could work with me to raise chicken for eggs/protein. I have been steadily upgrading my own homesteading skills and getting my kids involved in that and in learning to defend themselves with guns/bows. I also have three households on our street that I think will be clear threats to a potential community survival plan. Teen sons out of control already, foreigners who keep to themselves/don't have good language skills(English), pissant lawyer type who ****s himself if someone has a workman who walks across his lawn or needs to shut his cable off for a couple hours and threatens to sue...

I keep my prepping between my mother and my immediate household and a few friends I have encouraged to prep. Some are some aren't, but all are clear that my rice and beans will be feeding my kids, not theirs. I won't have a BOL in a remote area. Its not going to happen, so I am doing the best I can in a suburb. I am fortunate that my little neighborhood is situated such that only folks who live here come here and its not high class enough to draw attention from panicked sheeple.

I do have one friend with some remote property whom I have jokingly said I would share my bean/rice with if she lets us camp on her property if we need a BOL. I have an actual conversation with her about it soon.