Been digging and reading some excellent old posts on reacting to crisis situations which brought up a question/issue I have with my family.

To summize, I live about 30 minutes from my parents, who are in their 80's. My brother, who thank God is also a survivalist, lives about 20 minutes from the folks.

My brother and his wife seem to be on the same page with the survivl mindset but to be honest I feel my sister in law will cut and run to be with her parents/family who live close by. They are disturbingly close knit.

I live with my 18 y/old step daughter and my wife. My wife shows interest in prepping but I think its just to be kind to my obsession. My step daughter looked at me like I had 2 heads when I prepped/gave her her BOB.

To further complicate keeping the family intact, my son lives 20 min away with his fiance and 3 kids and has NOTHING prepped nor any funds to save. My oldest son has an arsanalt of assault rifles etc and lives alone 3 towns over.

So I got family scattered within a 50 mile radius and only a small percentile take survival serious. I'd appreciate any help in handling a crisis situation and family instruction. Do I take care of my family/household and provide info and instructions to the others that know little or what?

That's my plan. None of my family members have any interest, not even for conversation. My girlfriend did when we were first going out. Now that our lives are intertwined, she's not faking her interest anymore. It's not going to change. Oh well, what can you do? It's family.

I reckon, I feel the same way as ireckon (sorry, I couldn't resist! LOL!). I'll give any info I can, but they're adults and have to make choices on their own as to what's best for THEM.

Just my 2 centavos...

-Jason

I figure that if disaster befalls my in-laws they'll be lucky to be able to show up at my house bedraggled and without much of anything to contribute. Then they will loudly and repeatedly comment on how "lucky" it is that I have food, water, and so on for them as well as for those that live here.

I would only talk about the survival stuff only if it is a natural part of your conversation. They will resist "proselytizing" if you go out of your way to talk about it. Things like, the new generator (good for hurricanes and ice storms), the extra food (good for hurricanes and ice storms), flashlights ( good for hurricanes and ice storms), and first aid supply upgrades (good for hurricanes and ice storms). But, if they love college basketball, football, or whatever and blab about it, that leaves the door open to your interests. Just make sure you have a natural, everyday, matter-of-fact tone about it.

Have fun!

Oh, and wear the helmet and flak jacket.

My $.02

I don't consider myself a "survivalist".
A "prepper" is better word to describe my attitude and startegy.
Anyway, don't worry. You are not alone.

Not only my family is non-preppers, NONE of the people I know , family, work, anywhere, are preppers. This is why I jumped half a planet over and landed in ETS for info and advice.

My DW used to ridicule or criticize me whenever I bought a few cans or bottles of grocery items ( long lasting stuff like honey or peanut butter). I din't force the preparedness because I knew the natural reaction will be negative. So, be patient and utilize opportunities as they present themselves. My opportunity came when food prices started climbing. Only then she saw it as "smart" to buy more foodstuff every time and be ahead of the game. Now , we mostly buy canned food by the case, not individually.

Like wise, she went to a marriage one time, and there was a power failure. She accepted afterwards to take a small flashlight in her purse.

So, take it easy , and go the "baby steps" way.

My first marriage encountered a power failure as well. Oh! Wait! You mean.......

you can only help people that want to be helped.

Hey, its family. For birthdays buy them water storage. For Christmas make sure they all have NOAA weather radios. Same with LED flashlights, and maybe COSTCO eneloops and chargers to sustain them. Folks don't all understand "survivalist". More folks understand "preparedness" - for storms, fires, earthquakes etc. Everyone is "prepared" in those contexts, on a relative basis - maybe not as prepared as you, but almost everyone can lay claim to some level of being prepared. Your somewhat dull and unimaginative Christmas gift of 5 gallon water storage for all won't make sense until the next water interruption, when they may have that "Aha" moment about your bent for preparedness. Whether the storage is empty and sitting in the garage or full and sitting in the pantry is up to them; for family though, I would make sure that their 5 gallon storage is topped off the next time I am over visiting.

When #1 daughter finally moved into her own apartment my first gift after checking her smoke detector and sprinklers was a BOB containing first aid, a crow bar, water and other necessities. I said baby, I love you and if we have an earthquake and I can't get to you right away I want you to have this stuff in case you can use it - and please walk the 30 blocks to grandma's house, where there are more people and resources - and less risk - than sitting here in your apartment. That I think she could understand.

My girlfriend and I just got back from Jamaica. When we went out on the town at night, she was content to have me carry her ID, cash, and anything else she needed. In a foreign country, she literally had nothing on her except her clothing. I realized at that point that I had to be prepared for both of us. You would think she would understand by now why I at least carry a flashlight because she got caught in the Jamaican darkness a few times. Nope, it didn't matter. She proudly carries no gear and still makes fun of me if I try to discuss. I've learned to put some things on ignore. That's life.