survive « Robin Writes

I’d planned a series this week on the trouble in Ferguson, and I got it about halfway written when I hit a wall. I decided to sleep on it, and post early this morning.

Well, today it occurred to me that it was all crap. Why?

Because I was trying to be reasonable. Because I was trying to find solutions. Because I was trying to understand.

And you know what? I’m tired of all that. You can’t be reasonable with those who are unreasonable; you can’t talk about solutions when they’re so simplistic that they’re staring everyone in the face; and I’m tired of trying to understand.

I’ve heard horrible things from both sides of this issue—threats, name-calling, bullying, and more. Both sides. Sickening.

For three months, the area has been held hostage by this crap. Yes, I said crap.

A young man was shot and killed by a cop. It happens. But dammit, “justice” does NOT MEAN that the officer was wrong just because he was white. Michael wasn’t wrong because he was black. There’s a lot more to it and only Michael and Officer Wilson know the whole story.

My point is that you should all stop screaming for justice—justice will be, first, the decision of the grand jury to indict or not; justice will be, second, a trial if that’s what’s called for; and justice will be, third, a conviction or an acquittal.

DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? The protestors are not calling for justice, they’re calling for a lynch mob. RIGHT NOW.

Good grief, that is NOT how it works. It takes time—think of the families of victims who must wait decades for a death sentence to be carried out. And you want the officer arrested immediately and tried and convicted and hanged RIGHT NOW.

Get.a.grip.

Let’s look at one of the main complaints: Michael’s body lying in the street for hours. Do you know why that happened? It was NOT because of skin color or neighborhood. First, there’s an investigation. Hello, you want justice? But mainly it’s because the coroner couldn’t get close enough, safely, to pick up the body, because YOU ALL WERE BLOCKING the street and chanting.

The protestors say there needs to be change. They could be right. I’m not discounting the feeling of powerlessness, or the anger, but there are ways and then there are ways.

Get educated. Save your money. Vote. Heck, run for office in your city. But you have to do it in a civilized manner, you have to work for it, you have to TRY. You have to want it. There are no shortcuts.

Teach your kids to want it, to work for it. Don’t keep them out late at night so they can’t focus in school the next day; don’t terrorize the neighborhood so your children become afraid. Tell them about it the next day, TEACH them about their history and the things you think are worth fighting for.

Oh, say the protestors, we just want justice, we want change. You know what? You’re not doing much for your cause when you block highways and lie down in the streets. That’s just dumb. Is that what leaders do? Leaders lead by example, by rhetoric, by speaking well, by being charismatic, by being willing to do whatever they ask of their followers—and that last is important.

Leaders don’t lead from jail, even if it’s a symbolic “I’m willing to be arrested for my beliefs.” Bullshit. Be willing to stand up for those beliefs, don’t be willing to look like an idiot by offering yourself as a sacrifice. A record is nothing to be proud of, period.

That education? You can learn all about public office and who does what and how government works—teach yourself how to do things, don’t just march around being angry. Actually DO something constructive. Get off your ass. Yes, I said that. Stop whining about the past and talking like a big man—BE one.

Think. Just think.

Yes, I’m angry. Stupidity always makes me angry. Being held hostage while waiting for a grand jury decision and listening to all the chest-thumping is a damn near intolerable situation. Three months. What exactly have you accomplished?

Nothing.

Last week, I talked about what you should look for in the context of bugging out; where and how and why. If you’ve done your homework, and scouted out locations and routes, you can be fairly confident that where you end up will actually be the right place.

If, however, you’re searching for a spot now for a future, unknown eventuality, what do you need to look for?

You need to decide, early on in the process, what use you’re going to make of the land you eventually purchase. For instance, we want a lot of trees that will protect us from the weather, from prying eyes and possibly intrusion (physical and auditory), with some open areas for gardening and pasture. We’ll grow most of what we need and hunt and trade for other things.

For power, we’ll go on-grid if that’s possible, off-grid if it’s not; we want live water, and we’ll drill a well and add septic. So far, so good. And of course, we also need to be able to get to it, and maybe quickly.

Yesterday, I talked to someone who had been worried about providing everything for her family. They raise chickens and her husband hunts; they have a small garden, but not big enough to grow everything they’ll need.

And then a light came on.

She was at a church function one day; the congregation includes several farmers who had brought produce to share. They were able to trade meat for vegetables!

So, you see, you don’t have to do it all—focus on your strengths and find a good community or prep group, or local sources, for the things you can’t produce yourself.

For me, I don’t really like game, and I’m not entire sure I could eat something that I kill. I have no problem eating something that SOMEONE ELSE kills . . . And I don’t do chickens. Ick. Nasty things. So we’ll trade for eggs too. My husband is on his own if he wants fried chicken!

But I can grow things, and cook and bake. Of course, many things, everyday items and those you make, can be traded too and can also provide a little income, most likely before SHTF.

Again, the better prepared you are, the better off you’ll be, whether it’s SHTF or a natural disaster or even just a tough winter or slow growing season. There are all kinds of possibilities, but you have to know your strengths and your weaknesses and be willing, sometimes, to compromise.