Hello all, I came across this short article in Grit.com and thought you might find it worth your time.

"Reasonable Preparedness, Real Resiliency"
https://www.grit.com/blogs/reasonable-preparedness-real-resiliency

Quote:
"During 33 years of working in disaster situations and conflict zones, and after hundreds of interviews with war and disaster survivors, I have never heard a single soul say; “I wished I’d had a gun, that would have made everything better.” What they said was, “I wish I’d have had my friends and family.” The other most heard desire was, “I wish we had a safe place to go.”"

Excellent articles. my experience squares with their findings completely.

A little forethought goes a long ways...

While I agree that cooperation is needed in disaster situations, his "Lone Wolf" analogy is lame.

Wolves often strike out for themselves for years at a time. It is part of their cycle of movement and survival for their species.
Example
https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Gray-Wolf/OR7-Story

Hanging his hat on a falsehood leaves me mistrusting any other stuff he claims.

While there are examples of "lone wolf" humans getting along OK for a bit (the real life model-for Robinson Crusoe comes to mind) most of the time we thrive better in some sort of social group. It is always nice to have someone watching your back.

Consider solo mountaineering vs climbing with a well working group. I have done both and, in general, climbing with compatible companions is far preferable and safer.

What did General Honore say in New Orleans?

That's a bit cryptic. Is this a Jeopardy answer? I'm not quite sure what the clue was, Mr. Trebek. Can you give me a hint?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russel_L._Honor%C3%A9

You'll find a couple of different quotations from him in this article.

Don’t get stuck on stupid.
Also a favorite comment of a friend of mine guns and parachutes , nothing else works when you need one. YMMV

My apologies, everyone: I should not have posted this. I forgot that any mention of "gun" is toxic and political to many of you.

We live in different worlds: on my side of the medicine line, and particularly in the country, a gun is pretty much a tool like a chainsaw, axe, jack, socket set, winch, or whatever. It has no mystical properties, only practical applications.

I am a gun owner, and have been for many years, many of which have been spent outdoors, in various environments. I have come to realize that toting a firearm, in the vast majority of situations, is simply not worth the effort. Things like a full canteen, a decent climbing rope,or a warm sleeping bag are going to be more useful.

There are occasions where I was thankful I was armed, but those were rare, indeed. There were also times when i was glad i had a chainsaw. A gun is just a fairly specialized tool.