Hey there everyone,

I've been putting together my very first survival kit, with necessary items to take care of myself and (I'm trying) for my college friends in case we're together in a survival situation (as would be most likely). The thing is, whenever people see my survival items (the FAK, the knives, the water purification tablets, etc.), they look at me funny and ask why I would need such things. When I tell them it is all for "possible survival situations" they act like I'm crazy. I try explaining preparedness to them but it makes things worse, like they think I'm being paranoid. While I don't mind the responsibility of putting together a kit that could help us out in a bad time, they do make me feel a little self-conscious. Is there any better way of handling this?

Thanks - I know you guys would understand me.

Peer disapproval of emergency gear is a real, if odd fact of the effort. People want to believe our society will take care of them in any natural or human catastrophy. Remember that Cassandra was gifted with seeing the future and cursed by nobody believing her. You are saying "We may have to care for ourselves" and people do not like that. Many of us become silent survivalists, preparing for that unkown clamity when we emerge from the mist like a ancient hero to save the day. This is a big part of the Militia mindset; hide and cache the #10 lima beans while boasting online about the gun collection <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> The other option is to slowly explain your motivation while giving an equally healthy dose of everyday life interests. Hopefully something simple like a power failure will win them over. Years ago I was in a archaeological survey in the Northwest. I carried an elegant Mauser rifle with no rational need. The bears left me alone and I returned the complement. Bigfoot was nowhere to be seen and it was to powerfull for tree squirrels. I was ostracized by the entire team. Suddenly we blundered onto a marijuana crop complete with boobytraps and a gun toting grower. We made a rapid egress as he came roaring down in a Jeep. One shot flattened his tire. Our indian monitor grabbed the rifle and reloaded. I didn't have time to explain the double set triggers as his shot went high and into the gas line <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> I was a VERY popular person to walk with the rest of the season. <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Cristina,

I am surrounded by people who thought I was crazy but have asked me for things so many times that they no longer make comments.

How about these...

"I don't like to feel helpless when I see someone who needs help."

"I used to carry an AK-47 in the trunk of my car but I've gotten slack in my level of preparedness. Now I'm only able to handle those things which come up on a DAILY basis."

"I carry all this stuff because you have no foresight of your own."

Back in PA I have a carry permit. I get lots of abuse about it from certain people. The best come-back I ever heard was this.

"Miss, have YOU ever been bound hand and foot, beaten uncounscious and left to die in a ditch?"

"No."

"Well, I haven't either but I'd imagine it would suck."

Be creative,

Mac

IMHO just don't expose your survival items and keep a low profile about it. Show them only when there is a need. Everybody will think they are invaluable then.

Being prepared is rational but not many of the people around.

Burak

print this or something similar from here and hand it out to anyone who asks then point them them to this site for further detailed conversation. You may have some converts but atleast you will be able to show that Big Brother wants us to take care of ourselves since He can't do it for us. Sometimes when you are dealing with people who think "that can't / won't happen / happen to me" the most scary thing you can tell them is that the government doesn't think that they can prevent it from happening and publishes information for them to take care of themselves.

one thing i learned at is school: don't tell them !
been there, done that, seen it....
after awile i just kept a low profile and folks begin to forget about mine stuff... but some folks still knows it and still makes fun out of it <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> also the fact that they sometimes say "we who to follow if something happends" doesnt really sounds good to me...

Keep your preparations to yourself, whether we're we're talking your PSK/FAK or the backup generator behind the garage. Peer pressure is a funny thing, it might even tempt you to leave your equipment behind to avoid ridicule or questions. The only time anyone else needs to be aware of your readiness is when there is an actual need for your readiness. Until then discretion should be the watchword. At least that's what experience has taught me and it's the rule that I now live by.

Ed

Wow, special thanks to everyone who replied! That was a real morale booster for me.

I will take to heart all of the valuable advice given here, and remember what my Pops (ex-military who knows, understands, and supports what I'm doing) has said as well about keeping a low-profile. I'm doing what I can considering the close-quarters lifestyle of college dormatories.

Thanks again!

I don't know what you're doing, but I generally side with the folks who just say not to talk about it.

I get into awkward situations when someone comes by and says "do you have a knife?", or "is there a pair of pliers around?".

This seems ridiculous (and I've mentioned it here before), but I find people react noticably better when I refer to it as an "emergency kit" rather than a "survival kit". Silly, and just semantics, but survivalism has been demonized to the extent that people react that way. In explaining an "emergency" kit I can just mention that I've gone through long power outages, or been stranded with a broken-down vehicle, both true.

Hi Christina,

Sometimes it is as easy as using the right words. The word "Survival" has gotten a bad rap and to some has connotations of fatigue wearing survivalists held up in the woods, armed to the teeth in defense of their stash of beans & rice.

Try "Emergency Kit". That will sound much more “normal” to many people and also may get you thinking about items useful for the kind of emergencies you are likely to encounter. After all, how may of us often get stranded on a desert island? But earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, floods, power outages, and Backstreet Boys concerts happen with frightening frequency. How well are you prepared for these survival … whoops, I mean, these emergency situation?

Now if you will excuse me, my beans & rice are getting cold.

Dave

Christina,

Words can be evocative. Perhaps using words like "emergency preparedness" instead of "...survival..." would tone things down in your aquaintance's minds. There are many good reasons to be a "Boy Scout" and "Be Prepared". In fact, there is a BSA merit badge pamphlet titled "Emergency Preparedness" available for about $3.00 that would be light reading and give you some "safe and sane" answers to the "Why?" questions. Be sure you get the latest version; it was recently revised.

There are the Red Cross and FEMA websites as well, which may give you some additional "cover".

Tom

Is it just me, or is the echo in here getting really bad???

<img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Christina, bear in mind that preparedness is not about carrying a kit, it´s a life style. That kit is a usefull accessory. I´d also recommend the low profile approach. When you just carry your equippment the "why" takes care of itsself. Most people invite enough mishaps to let you show that you´re not crazy.
As an artist you´re expected to be creative. So there´s no need to be embarrassed when you have your own style instead of merely following a fashion.

BTW:
I do carry one of my kits whenever I leave flat. In my office people stopped making stupid jokes about my equipment after a very short time. My Gerber Multiplier even earned me an invitation to have some delicious canned meat when our secretary forgot to bring her can opener <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

Tell them you build your house out of bricks(like me) and they out of straw.

They will learn over time trust me.The soft sell is what is best,the more you try to "push" your views the harder they'll push back.Plant a few seeds sooner or later some will grow.

"why do you carry a flashlight,s.a.k ,first aid kit etc"?"the same reason you carry a spare tire in your trunk","I got room for it and someday i may need it."Something along that line.

I carry mine in a camelbak trailblazer. I just refer to it as my "purse" and I always seem to have some needed sundry. A chick can carry a purse, better size for things that might actually be useful. So far though the camelbak has been perfect. I have the tactical looking stuff kinda deep so the prybar and such doesnt' jump out. I also have headlamp, compass, goggles, various hardware items, various medical items, ect.
Some friends of mine was watching tremors the series while I was at work and was laughing saying burt reminded them of me. I don't know weather that's good or bad but I say and hear the same things. <img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Chris, you simply must compose a journal or some publication to document adventures such as these. You could even call it "Stranger on a Horse." <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I ran into that problem myself. I have learned to say I'm putting together my own first aid or medical kit. If someone says why don't you buy one, I say it's more fun to build my own. No one expresses curiosity beyond that point.

Where did you get it (camelbak trailblazer)? Do you have a URL?

Once people find out I carry blades, I will get asked for knife. "Got a knife I can borrow?"

That can backfire if you pull out a survival knife more suitable for the woods than for the office. It could easily get you fired for promoting an "unsafe work environment."

I now carry two types of folders. One meant for the PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. and one for me. The PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. never see the folder I use. I always first pull out the PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER.-friendly knife. Something small and almost toylike. Either my small Swiss Army Executive or Cadet, or my Kershaw Silver Spur (the same size as a Swiss Army Classic but with a locking blade).

I once pulled out my Spyderco Cricket to help my 94 year old grandma open a box. This was in a convalescent home. She loudly proclaimed, "You could kill someone with this!" Yikes. Fortunately we were alone in the room. Next time I'll pull out my smaller knife.

Burt Gummer is my hero. He takes preparedness to a whole new level <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I love that show but I have a feeling it's not going to stay on the air long. I have bad taste (or so they say <img src="images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> )

I got mine from REI, it's an outdoor store. www.rei.com I think is the address. I really like the model I got. There were some other cool packs on sale but the color was so buttugly I couldn't go there. I think it makes the perfect survival pack because it's not big and saggy. I can put quite a bit of stuff in there and it has compression straps. The workmanship is great!
If you get a camelbak don't leave water in the bladder for an extended period. I did that with my mule and flaky stuff formed inside the bag. It was like it delaminated or something. I've never had that problem with platypuss bags but they don't have the hose. I include on in my camelbak partially filled with water. If I go condition red I will fill the camelbak. The omega bags are a great improvement over the others. I got the black trailblazer which is really grey and black. I noticed one ironic thing, the waist strap for my mule (a much smaller pack) was a big one inch mama jama but had thin shoulder straps. The waist band on the trailblazer is small but the shoulder straps large and comfortable. Go to the camelbak site and peruse their models.

Sounds like the sheep needed their sheepdog. It would be nice if the sheep grew fangs, so to speak.

I don't know what you're carrying, but I'd bet alot of it is dual use. Why even call it a "kit". You have a bag, in that bag you have a FAK because sometimes you bump your head and sometimes you get a blister. In that bag you also carry a small flashlight because you need to find your car keys when they fall in the bottom of your bag or because when you walk home from that night class it makes you feel secure. It's only a "kit" when you call it that. Most people probably carry a few of the items you're carrying anyway. You just have more stuff.
-Biscuits

I've been carrying my own version of a PSK since a teenager. I thought I invented it back then until I found others. Why have all those pockets in your pants if you don't use them? Can't tell you how many times friends came to me knowing I'd have something to bail them out of a jam, either on me or in my kit in my vehicle. My daughter has that reputation at her college now. Try being astonished that other people don't have a FAK and make them feel silly instead. Regards, Keys

You could always get a concealed handgun permit. No one will even ask you about the PSK anymore! <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I often get the situation when someone says, " does anyone have a ........" half joking because they're sure no-one will, and I say yes, they're suprised

HI CHRISTINA,
I WOULD KEEP YOUR PREPERATIONS QUIET. DON'T TELL TOO MANY PEOPLE ABOUT YOUR SURVIVAL KIT. TOO MANY EOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY THINK THAT THE GOVERNMENT, RED CROSS OR SOMEONE WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF THEM IF SOMETHING SHOULD HAPPEN. I LIKE THE QUOTE ATTRIBUTED TO THE LATE SCIENCE FICTION AUTHOR ROBERT HEINLEIN, "NEWS JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN TO OTHER PEOPLE." KEEP TRAINING, KEEP PREPARING. TAKE CARE.