abby « Robin Writes

My husband asked me yesterday what I thought would happen, vis a vis SHTF, regarding the upcoming election. Well, that’s a loaded question . . .

Some of you will likely be offended by what I have to say, some won’t, but I’m not directing this personally to anyone. Not even really going to discuss the candidates. So, read on:

If Trump is elected, I suspect things will be quite dicey during the time between the election and inauguration—remember, that’s nearly three months. And as president, Trump can still only do so much, as a lot depends on Congress and to which side the aisle is tilted.

I think that we’ll see more protests and more violence.

Now, if you’re not in an area where these things tend to increase, i.e., urban, you might think you’ll be just dandy. However, while physically safe, you can be hurt in other ways.

If protests block supply lines, such as trains and highways, groceries and other items may be hard to come by . . . if folks walk out on their jobs, any kind of industry, there may be a shortage of goods to transport.

If you are in an urban area, and can’t leave, keep your head down. Try to be unobtrusive as you go about your business. Avoid crowds. Check exits wherever you go. Keep up on the news. Be aware.

If Clinton is elected, the exact same things could happen for different reasons.

Reconstruction after the Civil War comes to mind. Some not-so-nice characters flocked to the South and began telling folks all manner of things: not only that they were as good as the “rich white people,” which they were, but that they could do anything they wanted, take whatever they wanted.

And lest you think I’m talking about only the former slaves, there were also many other poor, non-slave-owing people who’d felt slighted and snubbed all their lives.

Crime was rampant. The Klan was formed.

Just like “most” Muslims are peaceful, “most” Christians are not fanatics, “most” gun owners are not crazy, and the list can continue ad finitum, “most” protestors are indeed peaceful.

But some are not. And whenever you have a large crowd gathered, there are often enough nutjobs present to really start some fireworks. Mob mentality.

And that’s not just protestors. Think about, throughout history, how assassinations occurred, or how hangings in the old West were viewed as family entertainment. Too many examples to list.

I’m afraid some of these characters are going to start thinking that everything is now going to be just rosy, how they can have and do anything they want.

What I’m trying to say is that the difference in the election outcome is that these things may not end upon inauguration. With Obama in the White House for the last eight years, and civilly, things going downhill faster each year in respect to the overall vibe in our country, a Clinton administration could quite easily continue this. I don’t see, and of course this is all conjecture, any of that changing with a new president of the same party.

Maybe not even with a president of a different party.

Yes, I’m a conservative; no, I’m not voting for Clinton. Other than that, I can’t say—not that I won’t, I can’t, not yet.

As for protestors, since this may come up, and has, actually, I don’t have a problem with peaceful protests, but I do have a problem when they are so large that, proportionally speaking, there are more nutjobs present with a violent agenda.

That said, I think protests accomplish very little.

Change is necessary, yes, but change doesn’t happen because a large number of people march around or have a sit-in; change doesn’t happen immediately because you demand it, or even because it’s right. Change takes time, and is often more effective if implemented from the inside.

In other words, work hard, take care of your family, make sacrifices of your time and money, become educated—formally or otherwise, be open to discussion, and work over time to effect the change you want.

You know, that whole “catch more flies with honey than vinegar” thing.

As always, whenever there is a new media circus around a shooting event, many preppers begin the call of doom. What was that movie? DOOM ON YOU! DOOM ON YOU!

I don’t do that, particularly for a single news story, but when they seem to come in waves with a definitive “us versus them” addition, things seem a lot scarier.

Now, we’re in a good location and we’re pretty much ready for anything, but we still have been stepping up our game this past weekend:

The new security system is operational.

Supplies are inventoried and increased.

We have plenty of practice ammo and more, if there are intruders.

That does NOT mean we’re looking for trouble or starting any. It simply means we’re ready and now we’re going about our business.

Long ago, I read a book with a saying that has always stuck with me: “Prepare for the worst, then forget about it.”

When I’ve had biopsies, when my husband had cancer and heart issues, when one of my kids was doing something stupid, all these times I’ve prepared myself, mentally and otherwise, for the “worst” and then I’ve been able to “forget” about it.

Of course you can’t actually forget—no one can, and no one should. Not about those things, not about things happening in the world today. Sure, there are times that I tell myself “enough,” and stop reading the same old shit on a different website. Anything new, yes, I’ll keep informed. I particularly find it hard to read the human interest stories—not because I don’t care, but because I need to keep my sanity.

So I know what’s happening, I keep abreast of the news and events, but I don’t have to WORRY about my family or myself.

I know some of you do. I am sorry for that.

Some preppers, vocal ones, well-known ones, like to make predictions about when or if SHTF. I listen to/read their remarks and draw my own conclusions.

Some theories are pretty far-fetched. Some have their adherents. Some are downright wrong and/or silly.

For a long time, I watched the market, checking trends twice a day. I still do that, but I no longer think that economic collapse is the most likely SHTF scenario. Not that it won’t happen, but it will be a result of other things besides the performance of foreign markets.

The election is coming up. It’s a farce. Not just this one, but many or most or all of them. I’ve thought this for a long time, decades even. And it doesn’t matter who wins. Things are going to change, but maybe not in the way you’d imagine.

I expect more riots, more unrest; I expect more “them vs us,” regardless of who the players are each time. I expect supply lines to be erratic, and by this I mean your local grocery store may not have enough food for all the shoppers. I expect gasoline to be in short supply, as well as all the products that make modern life so convenient and easy.

And it may even be worse than all that.

I’m not worried. I’m fine. But I am concerned that all of you may not be so fine. SHTF is not necessarily a doomsday scenario with burnt-out buildings and buzzards circling and dirty survivors running around shooting each other.

It’s people living without power and no way to get to work if they still have jobs, or finding blocked roads when they venture out to find food or other goods—and not finding anything at all. Or having a job but no way to cash that paycheck, if they get one, or being intimidated by neighbors or strangers into giving up what they do have . . .