Selco Begovic interviewed by Daisy Luther
Author of The Dark Secrets of SHTF Survival and the online course SHTF Survival Boot Camp
I was recently emailing back and forth with Selco and we were discussing the situation in the US right now, with the political polarization, the rage, and the general cognitive dissonance. I asked him if he saw any similarities between our situation and the one in Bosnia when the SHTF there during the war. When he replied I knew I had to share this information with you.
While we might like to think it could never happen here, the current events here are eerily similar to what happened there in the 1990s.
When you read this. think about recent events. The deep rage about the last presidential election and the upcoming one. The scorn, derision, and actual hatred for neighbors who think differently. The way the media fans the flames of dissent between our fellow Americans. The anger about immigration. The destruction of Civil War monuments. The unease between the races.
You’ll realize that it definitely CAN happen to us…and there’s not one darn thing we can do except to be prepared.
What parallels do you see with events in the US and Bosnia before the SHTF?
US and Yugoslavia (in 1990) on first look do not have anything in common because people are going to say, “The USA cannot have anything similar to any socialistic system.”
This is true but only on first look.
Yugoslavia had somewhere around 20-22 million citizens, six republics (similar to states in the US), 3-4 main religions, and many national groups (ethnicity).
The official state policy was to build Yugoslavian “nationality” (from the end of WW1) and through different ways that effort was successful until the 90s.
We were “something big, united through differences with a strong connection to make something big.”
And then those differences were used to make chaos.
In the late 80s and beginning of the 90s (when democracy came) the problems started and ended up in series of wars and cases of complete collapse.
Things that I experienced in my case prior to SHTF, and things that you might recognize:
- Things that make differences between people are more and more problematic (race, religion, political opinion).
- Polarization is getting obviously stronger.
- People want to come to your country, but they do not want to “assimilate” or contribute to the greater good. They want to preserve their way of life which is often absolutely contradictory to the way that your country (society) works.
- The political way of solving those problems often fails, because, in essence, those problems are hard to solve in a democratic way (in the spirit of democracy).
- Your freedoms are “shrinking” as a result of that.
- Calls for “radical solutions“ for the problems are stronger and stronger.
- The media is absolutely working a dirty job, and it is hard to find out what is the truth anymore.
- Suddenly people and events from history are “brought back” so people can judge and argue about it, to write history again, to build myths sometimes.
Can you explain how the current political polarization could make matters worse when the SHTF?
Strong polarization eventually brings fear and hate towards “others”, and once you get into that state of hate and fear it is very easy to be manipulated, even though prior or later, it looks weird and funny how easily you were brought into that state.
I remember the exact moment roughly 25 years ago when I was brought in discussion and actually rioting over the statue of a general from WW2 which was about to be destroyed because for some people he was a war criminal and for others he was a hero and important political figure.
It was a big event, and people were brought into that event in big numbers, arguing and fist fighting and rioting…
At the same time, the wheels of big events were actually already starting to move, and if I were smart I would have left the country or bought a weapon instead fighting over a historical figure.
Does this sound familiar?
It was only one event that was used in order to polarize people more. “Us” and “Them”.
It is so easy to manipulate people when you throw hate and fear in the game.
Polarization makes things worse when SHTF because it is easier to “dehumanize” others that are different than you. Through the fear and hate, groups are pushed to do whatever the people in power want them to do, even if that means horrible crimes. Remember, once some group of people (religion, political, regional, race…) is dehumanized (for example through smart media work) the rules are changing and everything is possible.
For example, with careful media work even today (in time of the internet, social networks, and independent information) it is possible to make the prepper movement look like a terroristic and anarchistic movement and then it’s open season on preppers.
Did political disagreements go away when it hit the fan or did they intensify?
In essence yes, they went away because it all went to how much food, ammo, or whatever resource you had. You realized that big opinions simply do not matter, especially once when you realize that all was somehow planned, and especially once when you realize how foolish you were because you trusted some things.
But of course rage was fed with again fear and hate for ”others”.
It is like that story about how they tried to explain to a conscript [someone who was drafted into the military] what is war all about: higher causes and honor and everything else, and he simply could not get it. Then later in the middle of a fight he suddenly understands everything and yells: “Oh I understand now – THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL ME.”
When you strip everything down to the bare facts, he was right.
How does it move from political arguments to one day, it has all hit the fan and everything has changed? Is there something predictable we could look for?
Again it is about dehumanizing, no matter who or what group. It is about adopting opinions like “they are so different that they do not deserve…( to live here, to have rights…)
Once that happens a whole new set of rules jumps in and those rules mean that lot of your liberties and rights gonna be taken too, and that is the problem actually.
When that happens, you will understand that it is not really important who is who. The only thing important is that somehow you do not have your rights anymore (for example the right to carry a firearm) and then you are in s..t.
You can be so mesmerized with “important political events” or something else that you might even not notice that you are suddenly not allowed to grow your own food or have a solar panel on the roof, or carry a pistol.
You might say now “it is impossible in the US” but I think in this moment it is bigger news than if some reality show star had “spicy” video than to understand how food delivery in your city works and how much food is in one average store if everything stops moving.
Yes, it is possible.
Which events in the US have you seen that made you immediately flashback to your situation?
I do not follow politics too deeply even in my country, not to mention politics in the US, but what I do follow is people’s reaction to political events. By that, you can sense where the majority of people’s opinions go and what you can expect from that.
Maybe a year ago I did comment (through an article) on some events in the US and I got an excellent comment from one of my readers who said “My nation, America, is being abruptly dragged out of a deep and prolonged state of subconscious anxiety and depression. It is being assaulted with hope and this is beginning to produce a state of relief which will be managed into uncritical nationalism if at all possible. This euphoric state of national mind is the perfect cover from which to ambush a nation. The pressing for a one world government did not die under Trump, it simply got a new face. The danger to America and to the other nations of the world is more real now than ever. Extreme sobriety is warranted at this time. Most people I have spoken with cannot see this…”
Hope in something new and something better was exactly what I was experiencing just prior SHTF, new leaders, new democracy, freedom…
It clouded my perception, I trusted too much.
What suggestions, if any, do you have to help us be better prepared for political upheaval?
As always, operate in “small circles” (your family, prepper group, network of friends). Learn useful skills, meet good and interesting people (in prepper terms).
That small circle is what it is all about and what is important when SHTF. Sorry, but your political opinion and worries about state policies are worthless, and can not change anything big- it is the big circle, and it is important only in terms of looking and recognizing signs of future events, so you may recognize the correct moment for bugging out for example.
Do not be pulled into general fear and hate because it clouds your judgment and it simply wastes your time.
Do not be pulled into it.
Do people start to realize that their opinion means nothing in politics or do they still hang on to their illusions even after it all goes sideways?
Illusions were the first victims when SHTF. Here are a few of many:
- “There are police, this cannot happen. There is law, this is against the law.“ Actually, the police are police when the system works. When it does not work, the police are just a bunch of trained people with weapons, and it is completely up to them what they are going to do.
- “I have rights.” Yes, when there is a system and law to protect those rights. If you want to have rights when SHTF you have to be ready to protect them.
- “I have gun and lot of ammo. I will firmly stand my ground.” Good luck with that. There is a huge number of people already organized in violent groups, ready and skilled in violence, who wait for the system to collapse to jump in. People with more guns, more ammo, more skills than you, and less morals and ethics. You need to lower your expectations.
- “This kind of chaos can not happen here (in the US). We have the best political system in the world.” This is my favorite actually because in my case the S. did hit the fan. For some period of time I was repeating this to myself, and even more, something like “This can happen only in some country in Africa, not here. Somebody going to stop this.” It can happen, and actually, it would be very bad because fall is going to be bigger. It is going to hurt much more, and people are going to be shocked much more.
Anything else to add?
I have seen many people killed, a lot of women and children too, civilians. A huge number of people suffered, were hungry and cold and were terrified through that period.
But I can count on one hand the dead or hungry politicians in that time.
Things were good for them through that period. Some of them ended up even richer. A lot of them are still powerful in the same or different parties, and are still talking about “their people” or “ causes” or “fear from others”.
It is the way it works.
About Selco:
Selco survived the Balkan war of the 90s in a city under siege, without electricity, running water, or food distribution. He is currently accepting students for his next physical course here.
In his online works, he gives an inside view of the reality of survival under the harshest conditions. He reviews what works and what doesn’t, tells you the hard lessons he learned, and shares how he prepares today.
He never stopped learning about survival and preparedness since the war. Regardless of what happens, chances are you will never experience extreme situations as Selco did. But you have the chance to learn from him and how he faced death for months.
- Read more of Selco’s articles here.
- Buy his PDF books here.
- Buy his #1 New Release paperback, The Dark Secrets of Survival here.
- Take advantage of a deep and profound insight into his knowledge by signing up for his online course SHTF Survival Boot Camp.
- Learn the inside story of what it was really like when the SHTF with his online course One Year in Hell.
Real survival is not romantic or idealistic. It is brutal, hard and unfair. Let Selco take you into that world.
If another civil war starts, you will not know who is on your side or THEIR side. You will not be able to rrust anyone, you will be on your own.
If you get to know your neighbors, know their thoughts, their ideologies, what football team they root for now, you will know who is on your side and who is not.
Establish yourself in your community, network, be a known quantity. Make others see you as an asset and not a liability.
Those who take up the lone wolf, bunker bunny mentality, with no network or community will likely be the first ones to go.
Or, we will find them 2 or 3 years from the end of the war, talking to a volleyball.
“Likely”?
You sound like one of those Democrats up on The Hill telling us all about what they don’t know.
The funny thing about lone wolves is they just KEEP showing up all throughout history. I find that interesting since the prevailing “wisdom” is that it isn’t a viable lifestyle. Where do these lone wolves come from? Where do they go? One thing we can all agree on is that it’s rarely a good thing when they decide to make an appearance.
You always fear what you don’t understand…and you have no idea what it takes to be a lone wolf. As Sun Tzu would point out, you will lose half your battles because you don’t know yourself. Or maybe you do and that’s just envy I’m seeing. I “get” that most people NEED other people and I pity that weakness. I pity the mental weakness that is so easily shaped by group think and the the lack of decisiveness that always results from it. I don’t need a committee to dictate my rules of engagement for me.
“Unit cohesion” is an over-rated MYTH. An exception rather that the rule. This is the REASON snipers are so effective. Lone wolves ARE lone wolves precisely because it enables their survival, contrary to what you constantly say about them. The very FACT that they exist is self evident proof that they can, and DO, survive.
That having been said, if someone doesn’t have what it takes for that lifestyle…then your advice is sound and practical. It should, however, come with a warning about the betrayal by “friends”…another undeniable fact of life that, like lone wolves, really is “a thing”.
Snipers are not “lone wolves.”
They are part of a team, or 2-man unit at the smallest level requiring a level of cohesion to be effective.
But they are a part of a much larger unit.
Whatever “envy” you think you see, is nothing but in your own little mind.
Keep tellin’ yourself that…bra. And best of luck with that group think. See you on the other side…unless you get stabbed in the back by one of your football fanatic friends first. Great metric for judging a person’s character, by the way! You should have been a clinical psychologist.
Ironically, I do not have any football fanatic friends.
Then why bring it up? C’mon! Be proud and stand by your words.
I do.
I can settle this right now. I ain’t perfect and neither are you. No one is. And no one gets off this rock alive.
“I release you from your service. Go now and die in whatever manner seems fit to you” – Denethor, son of Excellion, Steward of Gondor
Why bring it up, the fact I do not have any football fanatic friends?
BECAUSE IT WAS IRONIC!
And while no one is perfect, based of of personal experience, reading Selco’s various writings, to survive a SHTF situation, you need a small, close circle of friends and trusted family members.
One does not necessarily preclude the other…a fact you conveniently overlook, Mr. Irony.
But the larger point you continually dismiss due to your PERFECT judgment of character is that betrayal always comes from the place you least expect it. NO ONE holds out under torture. Period. And that is only the extreme example.
What’s much more likely is that one of your “friends” in your little Socialist clatch will come to resent the distribution of available resources and hang you out to dry at the opportune moment.
The point is…YOU DON”T KNOW CRAP beyond what goes on between your own ears. You just think you do because you haven’t, and/or THEY haven’t been in the real $h!t…yet.
Selco will be the first one to tell you the same thing.
You’re just going to have to learn it the hard way. No one ever accused jarheads of being smart. Now I see why.
Oh, and have fun, surviving, by yourself, talking to a vollyball.
After a year or two, I have no doubt in my mind you will be having entire conversations with said vollyball.
The only chink in your armor that I can see is that as a lone wolf, there is no one to keep a lookout while you sleep. This doesn’t mean that you can’t find a place or time to safely sleep, but it will almost have to be far away from where you trap, gather, grow or cook your food, because that will leave a footprint that can lead right to you. If you’re planning to hunt rather than trap your meat–and I think trapping will be more efficient–you’ll have to limit yourself to using some sort of bow, as gunshots can be heard for miles. FYI, did you see the story about Chilean protesters using laser pointers to ground LEO drones? Check it out: https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/11/how-chilean-protesters-took-down-drone-standard-laser-pointers/161288/
Everyone has a weak spot…including your strongest enemy. It has often been said that “two people can keep a secret…as long as one of them is dead”. It’s a truism of life. What does that tell you about the trustworthiness of your fellow man?
Me? I stay in my wheelhouse and do what I do best. To each, their own. I’m just not overly fond of know nothings crapping all over my way of life like it was free. You didn’t do that and I appreciate the restraint.
Also, thanks for the link. Always good to learn a new tactic. But the best tactic is staying off the radar. Shoot and scoot…but only shoot if it’s necessary to meet an objective.
Like the Bad. Co. song says, “Evil wind, pass me by. Troubled waters, pay me no mind!”
Yugoslavia was held together by the Iron Fist of Tito and his security apparatus. Once he was gone, the system collapsed. There was no Grand Conspiracy in this, just the fact that Tito as Dictator held the country together with his will. Once Tito died, the leadership of Yugoslavia was a rotating Presidency, which led to anarchy. This, coupled with a failing economy, separatism between the different Ethnic and Territory areas of Yugoslavia, and the end of the Cold War made Yugoslavia a failed state and led to it’s destruction in a civil war.
The US has none of these characteristics and there is no valid comparison between Yugoslavia and the US.
Partly right. The dissolution process you are describing was accelerated by Western Powers who did not like Yugoslavia’s historical non-aligned status and also wanted to undermine any country in Europe that had ties to Russia.
The Germans helped funnel money to separatist groups, probably not understanding the hell they had unleashed. It is clear to anyone who studies the war that all sides were equally “racist” (in the sense that any evidence for assigning that label belongs to all sides) and all sides committed atrocities. But only one side was covered in the media, which obviously shows collusion in order to create a narrative that justified intervention.
It depends on what you mean by “Grand Conspiracy” but someone clearly conspired to create a narrative to justify occupation of the region. The interventionist cheerleaders used faked photos of people locked in concentration camps and were caught red handed doing so. That fits the exact definition of conspiracy.
As a veteran who was awarded a medal for my support of “Operation Allied Force”, this is what made me leave the military. It is established fact that civilian infrastructure was targeted in order to coerce the Serbs with violence to rise up against their government. That is the textbook definition of terrorism.
I was there when targeting decisions where being relayed. The generals thought that if we bombed all of the Serbian military targets, the Serbs would give in and sign the peace agreement. When the Serbs held out, the West could not lose face and give up, but moved on to directly pummeling civilian infrastructure.
And all it took to bury the terrorist carnage of innocent civilians was the slur that only the Serbs were “racist”….that is the serious lesson to take away. The left will ignore the murder of innocent women and children as long as they are told its “racists” being killed.
Our own U.S. rotating presidency is nearly an identical situation. 8 years of Democrats, 8 years of Republicans. Just like clockwork. And you see how the fabric of society is being torn apart before your very eyes. Why deny the obvious truth right in your face?
I smell normalcy bias!
I live in a State that went from Deep Red, to purple, to Dark Blue in the space of a decade. It’s a little harder to deny when it’s on your own doorstep!
Can’t disagree, Charles. I thought it was particularly interesting that Selco was reminiscing about attending a rally for a statue of a long-dead war hero at which people were violent in their position as to fate of the statue. Where have we seen that recently? You might recall a woman who wanted civil war statues torn down was deliberately run down and killed by a guy who wanted the statues to remain.The so-called Founding Fathers of our country are now discounted as “dead white guys” who owned slaves. Every time I see a news story about someone receiving a savage beating for wearing a MAGA hat I think we are very close to a civil war–the govt won’t have to collapse–police forces will be so overwhelmed they might as well not even show up. Govt apparatchiks will simply hide in their heavily protected offices and enclaves, and let the taxpayers slaughter one another…
As King Solomon wrote, “There is no new thing under the sun.”
Everything we’re going to go through has already been lived through countless times in the past.
We are fortunate to be born into the generation that WILL see something new…although for the non-Christian it will not be pleasant at all.
On a separate note, those elites you think are going to escape? They will be hunted down. Their refuge will become their tombs. You really think those construction workers are going to keep those bolt holes they built for the rich a secret? What would be their motivation for that?
No, when the slaughter comes, it will be an equal opportunity affair. Those will be the days when the word “humanity” ceases to have meaning.
IN GOD I TRUST. All others are suspect.
Two words for you: Oil sands. America will not collapse so long as it is the world’s foremost supplier of oil. Additional support comes from the fact that all oil must be bought with federal reserve notes.
We’re not headed for collapse and civil war, folks. We’re headed for a high tech dsytopia, a slave state.
Now if a big war breaks out in the Mideast or Korea, the timeline changes.
1.) America is NOT the “world’s” foremost supplier of oil”
2.) The BRICS are already DUMPING the U.S. petro-dollar for GOLD backed instruments. How long do you think our world reserve currency status is going to last once THAT starts picking up steam?
Your observation about high tech isn’t far from the mark, but it certainly doesn’t rule out either economic collapse OR civil war.
You need to wrap your mind around this one thought…
Wars are NOT the cause of world events. They are a SYMPTOM of world events…the causes of which are usually painstakingly hidden from public view until it is far too late to cure them.
Um you have not been paying attention so here’s update usd is losing reserve status and is being replaced in many large trades including oil so all the 60 percent of worthless fiat will be comming home to roost with hyperinflation.
As for oil your shale gas which is bulk of it can’t be processed without heavy crude from tar sands in Alberta and that can’t be shipped without additive from Saudi so you have exactly zero exports without help.
Don’t worry no one will be worried about fuel when the world wide crop failurethis year hits in 2020. Wait till you see people fight over food and water…. look at black Friday and think if they do that over useless shit what happens when last box of cereal?
Best takeaway from this excellent article:
“I do not follow politics too deeply even in my country, not to mention politics in the US, but what I do follow is people’s reaction to political events. By that, you can sense where the majority of people’s opinions go and what you can expect from that.”
We know the media and the organized Left (aka “the world system”) are orchestrating the dehumanization of Christians and Conservatives in the run-up to genocide. But the Bible warned us of this ahead of time. There is no fear in Jesus. The Lord will come for His church and God will prevail. Pity the lost and pray for them, while you take steps to survive and share the Gospel with as many as possible.
Indeed. Earth may only be a temporary home for us, but as Selco points out, paying attention to who’s wandering around your neighborhood and what mood/ mental state they appear to be in is always the best barometer of what’s coming. That’s a truth that applies at any scale…micro or macro.
This is a really terrific post. I always appreciate Selco’s insight and stories, but I feel like this one is particularly poignant. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve read all the Selco posts and find them very interesting, including this one. Thank you very much for the unique perspective. I have a question that I haven’t seen answered. I’m not well educated about the wider situation- just before the siege ended and things started coming in, had the city reached a kind of holding pattern, or were things continuing to deteriorate or accelerating? I’m wondering if it’s possible to say how things might have continued, if they hadn’t begun to improve when they did, and I’m wondering how that improvement progressed. Before things started improving, were some problems solved in a satisfactory way for the indefinite future, and if so which ones? Were some basic issues only just appearing at that one year mark? Were some temporary solutions beginning to break down (it sounds like the accessible wood was pretty much gone)? My goal in life both broadly and day to day is to plan so as to avoid a situation where every single thing is a problem all at once.
We do not have the same power vacuum that Yugoslavia had when communism fell and left y’all to decide and try and work your own issues out. There are a lot of similarities though to what happened when I was there and you lived through this Selco.
It’s unfortunate but it looks like we might have to take this ride. The other difference is there won’t be a stabilizing force come in. The enemies will show up and clean up what’s left after we are done destroying ourselves though.
Matt, your last sentence says it all.
It’s an open question in my mind if they will be able to contain their greed long enough for us to destroy ourselves. I can feel their hot breath on the back of my neck right now. And my bet is that every one of those SOB’s will be wearing blue helmets regardless of country of origin. Their goals are the same…pick the carcass of our Republic clean to the bone. Let them kill each other over the scraps once we’re gone. Nothing says we have to make it easy for them though!
I hear those blue helmets make excellent targets…
They won’t be wearing blue helmets. I pulled a tour with that joke of a bunch.
You will be seeing shock troops and commandoes and you better have your A game on. Get outta the conspiracy stuff and look at whats real. The only thing keeping them at bay is the lack of logistics to move in on us. That is changing rapidly.
That’s precisely what the sniper profession is designed to disrupt. Logistics and supply goes straight to hell when those guys who think they’re safely behind the front line start seeing their buddies heads explode 3 seconds before they hear the shot fired.
In the war that’s coming there isn’t going to be a “front line” OR a “safe zone”. If they want to play, they are going to ante up. Checking isn’t going to be an option.
I’m all in.
This article is blunt and right on the money.
Very perceptive and what I would expect. Politicians are rubbish (I would NEVER shake hands with one), the people always suffer and usually it’s the weakest, and you’ll be a target.
There were two Tito’s, Josef Broz and his replacement, mostly likely by the Russians around 1937 just in time for WWII. The original Tito has some of his fingers missing, was of a different height and spoke with a Croatian accent. The latter Tito had all his fingers and was not recognized by the village he was born in. And so forth and so on.
In other words, we all have been had.
Get used to it. We’re not as bright as we think we are and easily led.
… and, (my perception) heed Selco’s take on politics in general, mind your own business at hand and avoid getting involved just like shying away from a riot.
Latter “Tito” asking a doctor looking at his hand, “Will I be able to play the piano?”.
Doc: “Sure.”
“Tito”: “Funny, I couldn’t before.”
Ez joke
I have LOVED this site since I first stumbled across it a few years back. What I don’t like is the word “prepper”; it makes it sound like we should be getting ready for something that could or probably will happen, sometime in the future. Bollocks! I am an AMERICAN and I’m not “getting prepared” so much as I am already “living the life”. No need to wait for the crazy to start; it’s already here. Here’s some of what I mean by that:
A) I never have bumper stickers on my cars. EVER. No matter what you put, someone will find some way to be outraged. I love sci fi, and I am super proud of my boys academic achievements, but the only folks who know are the ones who actually know us.
B) I’m not on social media. Not even under an alias. No one cares about the concert I went to, how I voted, what I think about this that or the other issue, what kind of shoes I’m wearing or the veal parmigiana I made last Friday, EXCEPT for the flaming cauldrons of piss who want to pick a fight over it.
And oh yeah, Zuckerberg and company are narcissistic asshats who wanna put their huge corporate thumb on the scale of everything I do. So, no thanks! Not spilling my life’s story to the likes of them.
C) I have boys and dogs and guns and I’m an avid backyard farmer. Everyone knows about the first two, as my sons were born on the island where The Wild Things Are, and greyhounds are pretty hard to hide. NOBODY knows about the second two, except for friends and family, and even most of them have no inkling of the full extent of it. Part of the reason we chose the house we own is because the whole backyard is fenced and there’s nothing but woods for a half mile back. I like people a lot, and I will talk your damned ear off, but I still like my privacy
D) I also don’t wear or own anything to do with “the Punisher”, I don’t put out signs saying “Tresspassers will be shot” and I will NEVER etch some stupid shit like “One Shot One Kill” on any firearm I own. I have dogs, but they’re NOT mean, tough, rip your throat out dogs. Unless you actually own a junkyard, having a junkyard dog draws way too much unwanted attention, right up there with dressing all in black or having a face full of tattoos.
E) I don’t wear flashy clothes, I don’t drive fancy cars and the sum total of my jewelry is my wedding band and a silver and turquoise ring I inherited from my father in law. We don’t live in an upscale neighborhood either: all of that stuff invites envy, and unwanted attention. There’s already masked goon squads roaming city streets babbling disconnected communist bullshit and beating people with crowbars. Do I worry about defending myself from them? Not really: if push comes to shove, Halloween masks and hockey pads aren’t bullet proof. Will I avoid a conflict with these self righteous docuhe nozzles if at all possible? Absolutely!
OK, so I’m hoping you get the idea. The point I’m trying to make is, I’m not preparing for SHTF; I’ve adopted a lifestyle RIGHT NOW that — hopefully — will make it easier for me and mine to survive whatever insanity the world might fling at us
Thank you for your comment and I’m really glad you like the website. 🙂 I think your lifestyle choices are excellent and will serve you very well!
You got it, Sammy! That’s just how I roll. It’s a way of life, not a fad. We live this way because we were taught the way.
Proverbs 22:
6: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Blessed be the Word of The Lord!
Thanks for the insights.
…(when democracy came)”…
Was this NATO/Clinton delivering that special “humanitarian democracy”?
Yo Jarhead,you sound like the type of guy I would choose to be with if/when shtf. If ever you come by Arizona,look me up
@Sylvia,
Thank you very much, I truly appreciate you comment and take that as a great compliment.
If I ever travel out your way again, I will have to look you up!
-JH
I’ve read all of Selco’s aarticles here, but I have to say that this was likely the best and most informative. I think reading the perspectives of Selco, Jose, and now the ‘new’ guy from Greece, gives us all greater insight. There are many things at play that are out of our control, no doubt. How we choose to act and react can be greatly informed by the experiences of those who have ‘been there done that’. My biggest takeaway from this post is how ppl tend to ignore the ‘signs’ that things are trending down the ‘slippery slope’ because of ‘normalcy bias’ and how things start slowly then escalate.
“The media is absolutely working a dirty job, and it is hard to find out what is the truth anymore.”
This is just like the build up to the first American civil war: Lincoln found that he couldn’t say a word without it being twisted in newspapers in ways that he never meant. Without Congressional action, and possibly a Constitutional amendment, there was no way that Lincoln could legally end slavery, and he knew it. But the Southern newspapers portrayed him as the devil incarnate, ready to send troops into the South to free all the slaves. That so whipped up emotions in the South that they were willing to start a war (armed insurrection, treason) that they couldn’t win.
Fortunately for Lincoln, that journalistic malfeasance was mostly just in the South. Today it’s the MSM over the whole country. Just like the Southern newspapers 160 years ago, they are fanning hate through their lies and half-truths (half-truths are worse that baldfaced lies).
To give a little illustration: I have a friend who visited China. His hosts were stunned when they learned that he didn’t even own a TV.
– “Don’t you watch NBA, sports?”
– “No, I’m not interested in sports.”
– “What about news?”
– “I found that I can’t trust TV news.”
– “(Chuckle, chuckle) We can’t either.”
Something is missing.
The psychology behind the
Mentality of being on one side .
The long terms results on the psychological environment during and after the civil war.