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By Bradley J. Steiner, American Combato
If we are correct then the term for those who are rather constantly concerned about the prospect of society’s collapse, and of subsequent urban chaos, is “preppers.” Obviously, we believe in being prepared, and so we respect those who occupy themselves with activities that are intended to see to their and to their loved ones’ survival and protection.
And while we tend not to feel that everything may be unravelling shortly, and anarchy will be the way of things throughout America, we definitely understand that from time to time neighborhoods and even entire cities can be caught in the throes of rioting and insane violence and looting.
We do not believe that people are overreacting when they acknowledge this, and when as a result they proceed to make preparations for it… just in case.
Here are some tips in no particular order that you might find valuable to help you and yours if, God forbid, some real urban lunacy hits your area. These hardly offer any kind of “complete plan”, but we think that they could provide some good tactical readiness.
Students of our System will recognize that these tactical skills derive from the core instruction that all of our students are given over time; instruction that enable them to not merely defend themselves in typical “self-defense situations”, but that enable them to deal with and have a better-than-excellent fighting chance of surviving whatever may come.
Firearms
An absolute necessity when you are planning for serious disasters of a violent kind, where looters, rioters, and invaders plague a neighborhood or an entire city. Depriving private citizens of their right to keep and bear arms (a right which used to be protected by our Nation’s Constitution, via its second amendment) amounts to nothing less than a tyrannical abuse of power, and a clear violation of the individual’s right to life. (Having the “right to life”, but being deprived of the right to possess and to employ the tools, equipment, weapons, facilities, means, or skills that enable the individual to protect his life, makes a cruel farce of the very concept of “justice”.)
There was a case reported in the news years ago of a gang of martial arts students, led by their rogue “teacher”, who executed a home invasion in almost military style. While one group of bastards knocked on the door and gained forcible entry thereby when the resident opened the door, a second group of rodents burst through the home’s rear door, executing a two-pronged attack on the terrified residents.
Lesson 1: Do not open your door to anyone without identifying who it is and feeling completely safe that you know them and are in no danger from them. We say never open a door to a stranger.
Lesson 2: If or when your area is under threat of people-turned-animals, with rioting and home invasions, etc. taking place, then go to your door and check who is there with a loaded gun in your hand; perhaps a jacket or a magazine tossed over it to conceal its presence.
AND ALWAYS UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS HAVE ANOTHER PERSON GO TO YOUR HOME’S BACK DOOR—GUN IN HAND—IN CASE THE FRONT DOOR APPROACH IS A DISTRACTION, AND/OR IN CASE THIS IS AN ALL-OUT INVASION ON BOTH FRONTS.
Forcible, violent entry of your home by invaders must be met by opening fire and shooting them. This is no time to play cop and attempt an arrest, or to hope that they will abandon their plans if you tell them to do so in an assertive voice!
Lesson 3: In such a dire situation of literal societal breakdown you will need to have one family member remain awake, and armed, while the other family members sleep. And they must sleep with loaded weapons within reach. And a reminder… do not fire “warning” shots. Ever.
Your Vehicles: It is wisest if they are not parked outside, but instead are parked inside your garage. It is not a bad idea to park them inside the garage by backing them in, so that you can readily depart the garage and be on your way (to a safe area, a medical facility, etc.) if necessary.
Beware Terrorist-Type Traps
If while driving you approach what appears to be an accident victim lying in the road, proceed beyond that point, do not stop. Call for emergency police or ambulance assistance, but during times of chaos never place yourself or loved ones in potentially deadly threat situations by being a “good samaritan” and stopping to help.
If someone comes to your door, baby in hand, crying and asking for help because there has been an accident, do not open the door (you may live just long enough to regret doing so, if a gang of crazies burst in and wipe out your family). Go to your phone and call for assistance, and tell them through the door that you are summoning an ambulance and the police. And for heaven’s sake never stop for hitch-hikers!
If You Must Go Outside
If you are forced to remain in a location where social chaos is rampant then try to remain in your home as much as possible. (Sadly, right now, people living in certain neighborhoods in certain of America’s major cities already have become acclimated to staying inside unless they must go somewhere. Disgraceful, but true.)
A couple of helpful rules: If you go outside you must then carry a loaded gun. Do not go out alone if at all possible, but go with at least one other person, and that person—or those people—should also be armed. When you go outside look unassuming and shabby (without actually appearing to be a bum). Wear no jewelry and do not make eye contact with anyone. Be supremely alert and give no one the chance to put a hand on you without decking him.
Have Supplies On Hand
Survival foods are a good investment. Having the ability to feed yourself and your family for three to six months without having to go to the store can be a blessing if the you-know-what hits the fan in your city. Storing water can be a problem, but it’s not a bad idea to have three or four days supply of drinking water on hand. We’d recommend having water purification tablets so that you will be able to drink the tap water even if its safety becomes questionable.
Depending upon where you live you might want to have a good supply of extra blankets for the winter months, as well as thermal underwear and other warm, protective clothing so that no matter how severe the winter weather gets, you and yours can keep warm if there is no heat.
Fantastic lanterns that provide thousands of hours of light, and that run on batteries can now be purchased from a number of sources. These are more desirable than any candle light or fuel-operated lanterns, because they are far safer. Keep lots of batteries on hand, and have a couple of high quality flashlights in your home, too.
Bugging Out
This option could prove to be more hazardous than remaining ensconced in your home. If you have a safe place to go (and we mean really safe; not some easily overrun cabin a few miles out of the city), and if that place has adequate supplies and living accommodations, and if that place is safe, and if you and your loved ones can escape to it safely and in time, well… then bugging out might make sense.
But don’t let the romantic image of “roughing it” and living off the land make a fool out of you. What might be a lot of fun for a weekend when times are normal, can be a terrifying way to commit suicide in times of chaos, when you literally have to live off the land and hope that a roving band of armed crazies do not discover your little hideout! Just some input if there is any “preppy” in you.
Two final cautions:
- Do not be the kind of pollyannaish horse’s ass who snickers at the idea of horrific events transpiring because you personally live peacefully and sanely, and
- Do not be the kind of fool who believes “it can’t happen here” (wherever “here” happens to be).
History has confirmed that it can happen anywhere. Yes, some of those who live in dread of an apocalypse taking modern civilization back to the stone age sometime this year are nutjobs. But no one who wishes to be realistically prepared for the kind of man-made horrors that the brainless of our species bring about from time to time in history is a “crackpot”.
Far from it.
In fact, aside from those scummy nutjobs who cause and who participate in the fomenting of violence, disaster, destruction, and chaos, the only nutjobs are those who think that it can’t and certainly won’t ever happen!