Paramedicpete:

My concern is NOT that all people should think like me, and I love the remark attributed to General Patton. As I stated in the first example, I would help the unprepared or uninitiated.

My concern is that people who ridicule good prevention ideas that might help them and others tend to influence fence sitters on the subject that will be swayed to their way of thinking. These same people usually figure someone will always be there if they get into trouble.

One of our threads was that "ONE IN FOUR UNPREPARED", or something to that effect. The consensus on that thread seemed to be that one in four was overly optimistic. If one person has enough rations for 3 days, and they have to share them with three more people, in simple math that comes out to about to 18 hours of rations for the four or them. If one of those people had ridiculed the idea of preparedness and had not changed the mind of only one fence sitter you might have had two people of that four prepared and assuming a 3 day ration supply each, you would have 6 days of rations for four people which in simple math would be 36 hours of rations for four people or twice the amount. If you then further eliminate the nay sayer, you have 6 days of rations for three people, or 48 hours of rations. Under those circumstances, I have no sorrow for the person who condemned being prepared.

Like I said from the very first post, my feelings about most of the people here are that you are more kind hearted than I in such a circumstance. But one reality we all have to face, is that you cannot save the world alone and you sometimes have to choose who or what is more important at that point in time.

For those of you that wonder, I love kids, do not kick dogs, and love holding warm loving women.

Bountyhunter

i totally agree with, and share your philosophy there bountyhunter.

sorry if my last post seemed to misinterpret what your quote meant there, i thought i was making the same point as you but possibly not as well.

I would never let my ego stop me from helping someone and possibly even be responsible for their death, no matter how much fun they have made of me or of what I do!

Why? Because when it comes right down to it, we have the choice either to be prepared or become a victim of our own ignorance. In an emergency, ignorance can be deadly.

Hello. I'm Sarah. I've been "into survival" since I was a little girl growing up mostly alone in rural southern California. Always a tomboy, my idea of a great adventure was getting into my brother's scouting gear, filling a backpack with snacks and water then taking off into the hills with the dog to hike around and see what there was to see.

From these humble beginnings came a love of archery and edged weapons, and a healthy respect for both the beauty and destructive forces of nature; wildfires, landslides and of course, earthquakes.

I was six miles from the epicenter of the '94 quake. Of all the people I knew, I was the only one having a good time. Why? Because I was prepared!

Others (including my now EX-husband) used to make fun of my hoarding; water, non-perishable food, candles, matches, "holders for dead batteries" and medical supplies. They would laugh at my "bug-out bag" and joke that I was going to raise my son as "John Connor Jr." because of my interest in preparedness.

Yet those were the same people that came to me later and said "I wish I had listened to you before."

Yep. I'll bet you do.

Unless they're 'in the mindset' of preparedness, people have a VERY limited memory for disasters... Heads in the sand. Crisis forgotten.

Not me.

Now that I'm in Florida, I have a whole new set of disasters to prepare for: tropical storms and hurricanes. Yet even here where they happen every single year predictably, people still aren't prepared. Well, more are here than there ever were in the People's Republik of Kaliforniastan. But I still see a lot of last-minute water-gathering and battery-buying.

If anyone knows the old story, they'll appreciate the reference. "I can sleep through a storm."

Let the PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. bleat and throw themselves against the fences of their ignorance. I can sleep at night.

I'm prepared.

~Sarah

03lab:

It is not about ego on my part, it is more about tough love!

If you read all the posts, one of them deals with people who take issue with preparedness in general, not me in particular.

The people to whom I say this to their faces now, while no emergency exists stand a better chance of preparing for their own safety than the people who espose everlasting desire to help fools in an emergency. Fools are those who have the mental, physical, and financial ability to prepare, but do not do so.

There are many people the world over (far fewer in the United States.), where day to day existance does not allow them the luxury of extra supplies for some errant emergency. If something serious happens in the place I am (We just recently had an earthquake whose epicenter was in Illinois shake me in my recliner. It was kind of strange having my world rocked and there was no loving woman with me.), Wisconsin being a very nice stable area, and I end up with some Valley Girl or pompous CEO, or an average person with more boats or cars than they need asking for help, any of them that derided preparedness would be refused help by me. Those who were just too busy trying to get by in life and didn't have the time, intelligence, or money to be prepared would be helped by me as much as I could.

I admit this now and openly to all. Those who laugh at ALL of us for our mindset have a chance by knowing my type exist. Those of you that wait and end up experiencing cries for help from so many that you cannot help at all are more likely to harm the masses because you are making them complacent with the idea that you will always help.

If you cannot swim, and you jump in to save a drowning person and you both drown, your conscience may be clear, but you still did not help. Force as many people as you can to learn to swim by telling them that you CAN NOT or WILL NOT save them, and you will live, and they will live, and together you can help more people. This example applies to preparedness because if you are in an emegency with 3 days supplies and you see two hundred people coming to you with no supplies, you cannot help, and you will end up giving them very short term hope and probably hurt yourself because your conscience makes you try instead of accepting the futility of it all, turning away and saving yourself for 3 days.

Peace!

Bountyhunter

Where were you back when I was single???

I kind of took it that you originally meant "the gene pool needs more chlorine", and I couldn't agree more! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Troy

welcome to the boards sarah, thanks for posting.

how about some info on your bug out bag and kits?
a few members usually post theirs, sometimes it inspires others to reevaluate their kits for the better.


doing my part to help motivate others especially my family who arent prepare minded, ive been constructing a b.o.b and a 72 hour kit for my siblings and showing them whats what.

hopefully it will spark them to do more in that regard.

Bountyhunter, I do understand where you are comming from, I was just trying to post my opinion and didn't mean to attack you directly. Your post just got me to posting in the first place, because my approach is different from yours. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Obviously none of us can feed 200 people, but even if I couldn't swim I could still help the person drowning. Try to get a rope or some sort of a float, if none of that is around just call EMS or whoever has the means to help (if they arrive too late, you still tried!). There is no reason for not taking reasonable action and besides, not helping would even get me into jail in this country. A person in danger will most likely think about prepardness and survival differently afterwards and I think everyone deserves that second chance.

I think the Boy Scout processs, even if you know how to swim, is reach, throw, row, go.
Applies to much more than just a drowning person.
FWIW.