Prepetorial #11: Desperation Preparation


By John Galt

December 26, 2007

Ann and John had taken the trip from Nicholasville to Lancaster on US 27 south through Kentucky dozens, perhaps hundreds of times in their lives. And this trip to visit Ann’s Mom did not seem any different to them as they pulled out of town observing the changing colors of the leaves and the usual squatters just south of town in the tent city they had set up in a field. The recession was bad, but fortunately their faith in the government had kept them on an even keel as they felt the plans in place would turn things around. About three miles south of Marksbury John got a little uncomfortable but kept on driving. He noticed groups of people with signs from the cities they had left moving South. Some were from Louisville, others Lexington and many from Cincinnati or Dayton. Just as he went round the curve, something shattered his windshield causing him to lose control and scream “hold on” to his wife and children. As the car slid to a halt just off the road, John took one deep breath when suddenly he noticed the doors flung open and Ann was snatched from the car and he was dragged out of the vehicle……

Mike had been reporting to his job at the water company like a good soldier every day for years and was approaching his twentieth anniversary. The economic situation made him thankful he had this job as he felt safe and secure with a decent, not great pension waiting on him and the security of the taxpayers covering his paycheck. Then the page rang out with a list of names to report to the break room, finish with “Mike Watson” and so off he went. The system was capable of running un-monitored for up to twenty minutes and Mike figured this was just another one of those famous pep talks from the county folks. When he sat down in the chair, he noticed his supervisor and the shift supervisor were sitting with the men, so this was not the usual Monday speech. Three men in suits and two armed guards walked in at the doors. The guards were not unusual as the attempted terrorist attacks on some water stations in Pennsylvania had increased security, so everyone just dismissed their presence. Then the tall guy in the cheap suit began to speak. “As you know, this county has been teetering on bankruptcy. The state has mandated all water systems be consolidated so to raise cash, we have sold all utilities in our county to Chiang-Li International Water, a Hong Kong based corporation which will maintain all water systems in the state of Florida. Each of you will receive four weeks severance effective today and can re-apply using the application in your separation packet.”

Karen always counted on being one of the lucky ones in life. Her husband had a six figure job working for a major brokerage and the shopping was so easy in their part of town. There was never a shortage nor any worries and this recession thingy only impacted the poor people, so she never lost sleep on it, but did worry about the strike on Broadway and it’s impact on her tickets for next month’s show. As she hopped into her Lexus SUV and headed to the market, she noticed that one of her neighbors who’s husband also worked at a rival bank was moving out. “Ah well”, Karen thought, “she was a wicked piece of work anyways.” The news was too depressing and she never understood why her husband always watched it now. As she pulled into the Kroger’s just outside of her subdivision near The Colony just North of Dallas, the rains began again. “Ugh, I just wish these people would get a valet” Karen sighed. As she entered the store, and got her list out, she noticed huge lines but dismissed them all. She first wandered around the produce area and most of the shelves were barren and the stock boys could barely keep up. Then into the dairy section just to get milk and sour cream, yet both areas were gone, wiped out, nothing left on the shelves. “This better not be this way in the meat department” she thought to herself. Yet in the meat department it looked like a full blown riot was under way. At that point she was getting angry and upset and grabbed what looked like a butcher yelling “You! Yes, You! Just what is going on here, why don’t you people have anything on the shelves?” The butcher, who was actually just an assistant screamed back “What bleeping planet are you from lady? Didn’t you hear the news? Food ration coupons will be issued tomorrow!” Karen looked stunned. “Food ration coupons? What are those?” she thought to herself. She yelled back at him “I thought only the poor got rations!” to which the butcher flipped her off and ducked into the back.

Bill had seen so much in his twenty years on the police force. But to be forced to evict this family from their own front yard just shattered his heart. Here it was, November in Elk Grove Village, and with a harsh Illinois winter approaching, he was forcing them to leave the property once and for all. The children crying, the wife wailing and the husband looking totally destroyed had taken his toll on his nerves that day. Then the order came down to be prepared to sweep the “tent city” in full riot gear in the morning and that all leaves were canceled. “My God, what has happened to us?” Bill wondered. With that, the officer finished the bottle of bourbon, took all of the bills and collection warnings, and placed them in a nice neat stack. Then he finished putting his dress blues on, sat the table, drew his revolver and blew his brains out on all the bills…….

Are you prepared to turn a seventy-five year old grandmother away from your door begging for food?

Are you prepared to stop giving money to charity because inflation leaves you little to survive?

Are you prepared to see starvation in your neighborhood or community?

Are you ready to cope with the government becoming more oppressive and society as a whole forgetting the rules of a polite, modern civilization?

These little stories are not common in the lexicon today of the modern news media nor will they be for at least a year plus to come. The bread and circus show of the elections will keep much of the dire situations of Middle America off of the front page. Yet few understand just how bad, how desperate things can and will get. You see the stories now of the family having a hard time with absurd medical bills, the mortgage fraud cases where people lose their homes because they do not read the contracts or the elderly losing everything because they can not pay their property taxes. Those stories, I’m sorry to say, are the tame ones. And what will we see in the years to come? Let me put it to you this way:

You had best get prepared for desperation.

Why do I call this desperation preparation? It covers not just the physical threats, such as muggings, burglary, or assault as most of my readers do prepare accordingly. There is a psychological aspect few of us are ready to deal with, the author included. I’m used to seeing abject poverty in third world nations. I’m used to seeing assaults and muggings in bad parts of town or these third world nations. I’m not used to seeing formerly middle class Americans engaging in these acts. I’m not used to seeing mobs of families marching on state capitals demanding food and water. Nor should you be. I was praying hard that we would not go into the abyss, but every indication, every historical bone in my body indicates that the times ahead are going to be far worse than the 1931-1939 time period and far more difficult for the people to adjust to. I fear that the shift in our economic and political fortunes will be so sudden, a “nexus” into a new dimension of suffering that we as a society shall not adapt nor comprehend the steps necessary to cope.

At this time, you have to prepare. No longer can you just break out the standard “prepper’s guides” or handbooks and play it by the book. It is time to think outside of the box. To become one hundred percent aware of the people who live near you and the surroundings of your environs. If you talk about your prepping stash with the sheeple or general public (DGI’s) then stop. It’s time to start preserving and conserving. If you plan a trip to a foreign land or just across the country, do you have a secure place to lock your supplies up? Do you have a person you can trust with your firearms and supplies? This is not a good time to leave homes uncovered or unsecured and to get into the practice of what is coming will insure that when, not if, the troubles begin you have good sound habits which will protect your family.

Re-read the scenarios. You will eventually “know of” or “hear of” something like one of these in the next ten years or more than likely, five. The people who are wealthiest and not preparing will have the hardest time adjusting. They will demand that those they hear about who are stocked up be arrested first and their supplies distributed into the community. There will be government backed religious leaders who will do the same in the middle class sections of town and the anti-hoarding ordinances will start flying as soon as the local governments feel the strain.

Know who your friends are. Have sufficient supplies. Develop an inner circle of trusted, like-minded cohorts. And get your mind right now, as waiting until you see your wife dragged out of your car at an intersection in town or a deserted country road will be too late. Situational awareness is the practice you and I need to engage in daily to get ready for this future. Psychological adaptability is the practice we need to start embracing, immediately.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861