I really don't consider myself a "prepper", per se, but I do consider myself more prepared for emergency situations than most. I have been involved in many things that have provided me with survival knowledge and skills that likely outpaces the "normal" individual (backpacker, medic, carpenter, butcher, stiller, candle maker, hunter, fisher, gardener, food preserver, wilderness survival trained, ropes specialist (repelling and climbing), Boy Scout leader, and the list likely goes on.....
Given the above skills/education and the tools that go with them, I may not be an expert but feel fairly comfortable that I have the supplies to survive short term (a few months) with minimal difficulties and the knowledge, during that time, to develop longer term sustainable solutions.
I've read back through the posts in this thread and it appears there are primarily two schools of thought:
- The every man for himself and screw the rest mentality.
- The let's all work together and sing Kumbaya mentality.
I personally believe there is not a single answer and that we will likely see both in a true global or regional SHTF situation. I think the recent pandemic is a perfect example of this. Look at what happened in March/April when the hording of supplies began (toilet paper
, sanitizer, canned food, cleaning supplies, water, ammo, etc...). There were people who were left "empty handed" for some of these supplies and others who had their pantry full and refused to share.
At the same time, I saw some communities come together to support each other, to help ensure the elderly and incapacitated had what they needed, and they worked together to try and make the most of a rough situation.
All this being said, if we see a true SHTF situation then I would expect to see more of the "every man for himself" coming from urban areas and more of the "let's work together" coming from the rural areas. This comment isn't a knock on one area or the other, it's just the simple fact that rural populations are typically more skilled in making do without some of the luxuries seen in larger urban areas. The rural people are more likely, in normal times, to plant gardens, hunt, fish, chop wood, dig wells, etc... than those people in urban settings where those skills are just not always possible to hone. I think this fact will likely make the urban population come to a stark reality very quickly that they are completely dependent on their necessities to live being supplied by someone else than by providing those necessities for themselves.
My thoughts are not "all or nothing" as I'm sure there are urban individuals with survival skills and there are rural individuals without. I'm just saying, at a high level, this is what I would anticipate.
edit: "yes" for the reasons outlined above.