Why Most Doomsday Preppers Will Die - An Opinion Deserving Consideration.

[OldVet]

Don't forget about hygiene! Dental care is another big issue in a SHTF scenario as well.
You get a tooth ache and you are out of luck!

That's what barbers are for! And as for all the "How to..." books, better get them now while books are still printed. How are you going to download one on your Kindle when all the internet goes down?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[oakchas]

I Suggest these two titles... free online... and you can print the PDFs
Where There is No Doctor
Where There is no Dentist

[mprp]

Skills.....? Who here can make ice without electricty? Make fishing nets or actually run a trot-line? Canning of food/vegetables? Most of us here are competant with our firearms, but what else.........?

Well said. We can all shoot, (I assume) but what for? I would imagine that it would be to defend what we grow, raise, fish for or other necessities that we stockpile. Got to have a way to obtain these things or there will most likely be nothing to defend because that's what people will come for when you're viewed as well off.

I may live in California but I'm from the north part where food doesn't have to try and grow through concrete and there's a lot of lakes, rivers and wild land. I have basic outdoor skills and equipment that should get us by but I must say that my family could use some more preparing and stocking up.

And I get what you're saying about certain people and their comfort zone. For some reason it has to be 86F in the house during the winter and 65F in the summer. Isn't 72F comfortable no matter what time of year it is?

[pgrass101]

The biggest threat in a TEOTWAWKI situation is diesase. No clean water, improperly cooked, stored and preserved food, no antibiotics. A simple infection could kill you.

Diarrhea is the leading casue of infant mortality in the developing world, and it cause more deaths during the civil war than bullets or cannons did. You need a good water filter, and the knowledge to make one. A solar still will give you good clean water whenever the sun shines and it is easy to build.

You need to develop skills now....If you are on the Titanic which would be better, to have a book on building small boats and no woodworking skills, or to be a carpenter without a book on boat building?

[Blindeye]

An obvious point, but one we haven't made much about: Bad Guy's are bad guy's for a reason. They lack discipline. They lack intelligence (the majority of the time). They lack the ability to delay graftification.
They lack the ability to endure suffering. And, most are cowards.
All these things prevent them from working effectively as a team.
BG's in a group could easily swarm an objective. Once a number of them start dropping from shots being fired (or better yet screaming from gunshot wounds) it would be every man for himself.

In an armegeddon type situation the hardened criminal types will be pretty thinned out by disciplined bands of survivors.

For good or ill, in our recent past (think back 100 years), the menfolk of a community would join together and literally burn out the living quarters of whoever was perceived to be the enemy, with very little mercy even for women and children.
I'm not praising that, but I'm pointing out that determined and disciplined fighting men (non-military) would take the offensive to preserve the community in the face of aggression.

The most dangerous scenario to me would be orphaned kids who sought refuge with the group of good folks, only to open the gates to invaders while everyone slept.
Deception is where criminals excel. They are pretty crappy at everything else.

[oakchas]

An obvious point, but one we haven't made much about: Bad Guy's are bad guy's for a reason. They lack discipline. They lack intelligence (the majority of the time). They lack the ability to delay graftification.
They lack the ability to endure suffering. And, most are cowards.
All these things prevent them from working effectively as a team.
BG's in a group could easily swarm an objective. Once a number of them start dropping from shots being fired (or better yet screaming from gunshot wounds) it would be every man for himself.

In an armegeddon type situation the hardened criminal types will be pretty thinned out by disciplined bands of survivors.

For good or ill, in our recent past (think back 100 years), the menfolk of a community would join together and literally burn out the living quarters of whoever was perceived to be the enemy, with very little mercy even for women and children.
I'm not praising that, but I'm pointing out that determined and disciplined fighting men (non-military) would take the offensive to preserve the community in the face of aggression.

The most dangerous scenario to me would be orphaned kids who sought refuge with the group of good folks, only to open the gates to invaders while everyone slept.
Deception is where criminals excel. They are pretty crappy at everything else.

NEVER, EVER Underestimate... There will be disciplined, experienced, criminal types... They will have good leaders... They will be a force to be reckoned with...

If it seems like I'm reversing position here... I'm not... We see "Stankmouth." We don't see the ones we will be worrying about.... Stankmouth and his posse will be eaten early in the game.

[IAm_Not_Lost]

An obvious point, but one we haven't made much about: Bad Guy's are bad guy's for a reason. They lack discipline. They lack intelligence (the majority of the time).

I wouldn't hold that to hard fact. It would not surprise me if felons had average to above average intelligence BEFORE entering the prison system. Felons leaving the prison system are shown to have slightly below level intelligence, but no one can account for what mental affect years and years in prison has on your mind. We are only talking about criminals that have been caught here mind you, we can assume those who manage to elude police have a higher intelligence.

[CPanther95]

Don't forget the intelligent non-felons who are only non-felons because the threat of incarceration has held them at bay. Even the personality trait that makes some people want to be elected mayor could turn ugly once they have no limit to the power they could try to obtain.

I think the best bet is to just find an island for my family and a couple dozen supermodels. They're more than capable of doing minor chores or watching the perimeter, and they don't eat much. I just need to add hair product to my stockpile list.

[BigStick]

One thought that I haven't seen mentioned yet about defending against the large groups and numbers that the guy in the video was talking about. A few people have talked about how killing a few or several or even many of an attacking group would sicken or scare the rest to the point they would run away. Or even if you dwindle the numbers enough, it would be impracticle for them to continue an assault.

That might work against a gang, or a random group of survivors who joint together. But think a little more about what this guy was saying. Yeah, he would welcome outsiders to increase his numbers and therefore strength, but he is talking about a group of 50+ family members. So while shooting a stranger might scare off the rest of a group, what about a cousin, or a grandparent, or a brother, or a child? You may scare the group away, or stop an immediate attack, but it may end up driving them past reason into revenge. And no amount of ammo, or even numbers on your side will protect you from a molitof coctail or forrest fire set and directed your way out of revenge for killing family. You may inadvertantly shift their goal from getting your stuff, to killing you at the cost of not getting your stuff.

Not that there is anything you can do about this, just something else to think about. You may survive an encounter, but be extra wary and vigilant against retribution afterwards.

On another note, this guy is right about strength in numbers, but I don't think he fully grasps the logistics involved with supporting a group of 100 people. That is a lot of food, water, shelter and bathroom issues. There will be people who are good at leading people, but if they are not good at logistics, their group will not last. More people means more strength, but it also means more supplies and space needed, more chance of diseas, and more liabilities.

[smolck]

Another reason I need to get an AR and stock up on ammo.......

When I think of mobs and such, I think of this scene from Wyatt Earp, starting around 1:35

[oneshot]

MY alarm clock has more intelligence than this buffoon.
WTH's with the safety glasses?

[BigStick]

MY alarm clock has more intelligence than this buffoon.
WTH's with the safety glasses?

That may or may not be true. I would venture to agree with an earlier poster that he is much more intelligent than the character he puts on for the videos, but he still brings up valid points of discussion and concerns to be aware of and plan for. I believe that has been pointed out multiple times already and was the goal of the OP to discuss.

He may just be talking in response to watching the show Doomsday Preppers on TV, but he does seem to be aware of some basic group phsychology and is at least looking at the future and evaluating potential courses of action. His "plans" are definitly something the rest of us should be prepared for.

[Eagleks]

I think ...... they will kill each other ... over the first loaf of bread found. The "numbers" game doesn't cut it for several reasons.
1) they don't know who the preppers are and who has or hasn't stocked up
2) they will hit stores first, and beat each other to death for the few morsels they can get there. So, they will decrease the numbers thru self-destruction.
3) those remaining, won't have any stores to hit , nor know where to go ...... so they will ramsack people's houses.... and in that process will fight over the few morsels they find in them.... and again ... self-destruct.
4) those houses they try to raid who "fire upon them" , will be avoided like the plague, none of them are going to want to die so someone else can get food.
5) few people will see "organized" groups as an advantage to their survival, and won't submit to the "groups" demands to subordinate themselves to the group. The followers, will turn on their fellow group members in a heart beat.

[mlr1m]

I think ...... they will kill each other ... over the first loaf of bread found. The "numbers" game doesn't cut it for several reasons.
1) they don't know who the preppers are and who has or hasn't stocked up
2) they will hit stores first, and beat each other to death for the few morsels they can get there. So, they will decrease the numbers thru self-destruction.
3) those remaining, won't have any stores to hit , nor know where to go ...... so they will ramsack people's houses.... and in that process will fight over the few morsels they find in them.... and again ... self-destruct.
4) those houses they try to raid who "fire upon them" , will be avoided like the plague, none of them are going to want to die so someone else can get food.
5) few people will see "organized" groups as an advantage to their survival, and won't submit to the "groups" demands to subordinate themselves to the group. The followers, will turn on their fellow group members in a heart beat.

I agree with everything right up until number five. Banding together is the way our species got to the top of the food chain. The fact that even supposedly free people group together and agree to willingly give up some of their freedoms to the group also shows #5 to be incorrect.

Michael

[wingryder]

+1. I think most people will quickly realize that they need cooperation of others for their own survival. We are a social animal and it will be very difficult to survive outside of organized groups. People need good leadership, very few of us are natural born leaders. The groups with sound leadership and good cooperation will be the most successful groups. JMO.