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19 Comments

  1. The Dick Proenneke experience is a very good example of success. However, lets not kid ourselves on the ‘ do-able factor. To be sure he had some advantages that none of us will enjoy if true survival is needed. His skills were no doubt learned as he went along, but
    There were factors that made him successful in his life that can’t be copied, such as the fact that he had ZERO competition, for food, shelter and safety from the masses, not to mention, we have no idea of his failures, and make no mistake, Dick probably had more than his share of near catastrophic disasters that only dumb luck pulled him out of., he just didnt put them on film. We as viewers/ readers only got to see the polished version of his life. We didnt see how many times he had to start over to get the door latch right or the cabin logs to fit because of some unforeseen flaw or knot in the wood, or whatever. We didnt see him learn, and he learned without the pressures of the competition for resources that we all will no doubt have. Everything he did, he could do on his time taking as much time as he needed. We also didnt see him sick, injured or hungry, or chewed up by the massive insect hatches that Alaska is famous for. We didnt see him deal with winter boredom, depression, fear, anxiety, hunger or loneliness. He developed mad skills, and Id be lying if I said I wouldn’t want to live that life, But I am under no illusions that he had much more going for him, in his favor that made what he did possible, than any of us will, making him a sort of Swiss family Robinson we want to have, versus the tree fort we will all end up with. if at all.

    1. Dick only lived there for one or two full years. After that he returned every year for a shorter period of time. It costs money to buy supplies every year.

    1. @Alan, Great point! So, you mean similar to all the food we stock pile? Now, did Dick eat those rations up first, and then he lived off the land, or did he use those rations when living off the land was not as productive?

      @LO, do you have competition now, or have you ever when you went for a job interview? Because, that job allows you to obtain resources in the normal system, and I am sure there is some sort of competition for that job. So, how is a survival situation different? I am not sure that it is once we start to think about it….

  3. Shopping Malls last century were designed to create anxiety by making the exits difficult to find. Like riding on Interstate 495 around Washington D.C., one would walk in circles looking for an exit until to relieve your anxiety you brought something. The same marketing principle applies to television, some survival sites and more. But if the content gets too strong it has the reverse effect. Remember President Bush coming on television after 9/11 and saying people should go out and buy. ?

    Anxiety sells.

    My favorite line from the Dick Proenneke documentary “Alone In The Wilderness”, “It’s a toasty forty degrees” in the cabin.

    1. @John, awesome reply! Your comment is just right. Now, this also does not mean there are not real concerns in the world. But, you are clearly thinking. That is awesome.

      1. Right, there are very real concerns in the world which is why I don’t go out much … just kidding.

        Look forward to reading your viewpoints in the next article, thanks for the previous ones.

        1. Ps.

          I wanted to add “Anxiety as Selling” is only the surface, it probably goes deeper.

          But if television/schools/MSM are not showing real concerns other than to sell, how will people react if and when the veneer of civilization wears off or they become useless buyers? Is it as the actor Jack Nicholson said “‘X” can’t handle the truth”? What will happen to people mentally unprepared if and when SHTF falls, i.e. “SHTF Shock”?

          Regarding one concern, “The Human Predator”, the website https://vexmansthoughts.wordpress.com/ once had a series of articles he researched on historical massacres which I can’t find now. I read one and didn’t go back. Same with the book “The Rape of Nanking”, I read the first two chapters and put the book down. It was how much I could stomach reading at a time. Whether these would be considered short-term ‘frenzy’ pay-back killings or long-term situations, there are documented others that went on for longer periods of time throughout recent history. The Rhode Island Industry slave trade for example. With the Internet the info is available to anyone. I remember when Vietnam was heated a lot of eighteen to twenty-year old kids who were not prepared came back ‘disorientated’. The same for personnel with PTSD.

          https://shtfschool.com/blog/ by Selco is worth visiting.

  4. A lot of good comments about our society and what we have come to in regards as a people that can or cannot survive, regardless of what may happen.
    To add to some of what you had mentioned, there is also the issue with GMO crops and most will not produce seeds any more, so farmers or just people that like to grow a certain amount of their own food cannot get seed to grow next years crops without buying more seed. Yes, there are still some crops available that have not been GMO’d but it is not always easy to find.
    Some of those GMO crops also have created an even bigger problem in regards to being insect and/or weed resistant, the insects and weeds have adapted to these GMO crops and are now even worse then they were previously. Not good for anyone.
    On the (Un)Reality shows, most of them are scripted so there is no reality to it. The people are not necessarily actors/actresses, it is just that everything is scripted that takes place including who wins.
    Even worse have been some of the prepper reality shows that are really bad, especially in regard to the “judges” who seem to be arm-chair preppers that do not know anything at all. The best these shows have done is to show you what not to do, rather than what to do.
    Overall, I think you provided so good food for thought!

  5. The Holy Bible tells us that we live in a “fallen world” and tells us exactly why it is fallen! Accept the gift of Grace and Salvation thru Jesus and YOU WILL BE SAVED!

  6. Those that have survived in Syria(non combatants) have held on to the foundations family and their belief in God. These are the ultimate deciding factors for their scenario. Ours will be the same because those are the only things the digital masters can’t rob us of.

  7. “high fructose corn syrup contributes to diabetes”

    A clear case of HFCS derangement syndrome. Understandable all the talking heads of “health foods” have been claiming HFCS is some kind of poison. In fact it is merely sugar that thing which your body runs on. If you do not have sugar (glucose) in your blood you will go into a coma and die in minutes.

    But does it cause diabetes. Another myth. Diabetes is genetic, you get it from your parents not your sugar bowl. It is an easy mistake to make. After all you treat diabetes by adjusting your diet and limiting sugars and carbs that are easily converted to sugar. So it isn’t too big a leap to think that sugar must be the cause. It isn’t. But to further muddy the waters most people who are diabetic do not show symptoms until they are past their teens even into their early 30’s. Why? Mostly because they are young and show less symptoms and partly because they are active and without intent are in a exercise/diet mode that tends to disguise diabetes symptoms. So when they suddenly “get” diabetes typically after getting married and eating regularly and not running around and of course for women having a child and gaining weight it is not illogical to “guess” that you suddenly got diabetes because you gained weight and you gained weight because you eat poorly, right! Seems to make sense.

    But, no! You had diabetes when you were born. Perhaps you had some endocratic function when you were young and it just kept getting worse until finally it was obvious to you. And now you find yourself dieting, limiting sugar, perhaps taking medications and at considerable risk for other life threatening illnesses as well. So it makes sense to warn others about the devil “sugar”. And worse, because some author said so, about the devil “fructose”. And since HFCS is, well “high fructose” it must be the very worst. But it isn’t! The term “high fructose” was a marketing term thought up back when “fructose” was considered good, after all it is in most fruits and we all know a apple a day keeps the doctor away. But HFCS is simply sugar, like your table sugar, half fructose and half sucrose. But it has a huge advantage for food producers in that it is available in liquid form and cheaper than sugar from beets and cane. Therefore it is used in almost everything. Which really creeps out the paranoid food nuts. But again, it is just sugar and without sugar you will die.

    In a final irony, when it comes to survival, sugar is king. Cheap, lasts forever, high in energy, compact, stores well. As an ex-marathon runner who would eat huge amounts of carbs before a run, I can tell you that when it comes to energy, sugar is king.

      1. In fact the diabetes rate hasn’t increased at all. There are two factors that you need to know:
        1; about half of the diabetics in the U.S. are undiagnosed. This isn’t good because early treatment can save lives and a lot of other complications. So a few years back the medical community decided to actively seek out the undiagnosed diabetics by early testing. Great idea. They identified about a million more diabetics each year than they were before this outreach effort. Same number of people were/are diabetic but they were finding more of them who were unknown previously.

        2; Some races/ethnic groups have higher rates of diabetes than others. The U.S. is acquiring more of these ethnic groups (Mexicans, South Americans, Africans, etc.) So while each of these different groups rate of diabetes did not change the increase in ethnic groups with much higher rates of diabetes than Americans of European descent effectively increased the average rate of diabetes in the U.S.

        Now possibly for good reasons in a well intended effort the medical community has used these stats to scare us all into getting tested. Their hope is to identify diabetes before there are obvious symptoms and thus save lives and the many other complications related to diabetes. I am saddened that they allowed themselves to use statistical malpractice even if well intended. But I cannot control their agenda only they can.

  8. Muddykid, you title your last section today “The Human Predator”. I then looked back at your words on oil, corn, and food from 1500 miles. The people who sell us high-fructose corn syrup, oil in its many forms, and junk food are human predators. In the name of convenience, people shop Amazon. In the name of thrift, shop Wal-Mart. In the name of comfort, buy oil in its many forms. Perhaps those who unquestioningly patronize companies owned by billionaires instead of shopping with people locally are members of the category “sheeple”. If the shoe fits…

    Carry on.

    1. There is type I and type II. It is common to call type II adult onset diabetes. As I described most people realize they have diabetes somewhere between 18 and 35 or so. And of course some discover it much younger and some much older. But you are either born with a genetic predisposition for diabetes or you are not. When it shows up depends on many factors. But the more important point is if you do not have diabetes (either diagnosed or un-diagnosed) you can consume all the sugar and carbs you want and it won’t give you diabetes.

      1. OneGuy
        My doctor told me pretty much exactly what you have said. She said that I would get diabetes because both of my parents and all of each of their siblings have diabetes. I love sugar, and I’m a bit over weight. But she said that not eating sugar wouldn’t keep me from getting diabetes, nor would eating sugar make me have it any sooner. So I’ll enjoy it while I can, and when I can’t I’ll enjoy it in more moderation (she said as she eats a bowl of home made ice cream). My mother is one of 8 children and almost all are/were over weight, but the smallest of the 8, who has never weighed over 90 pounds except when she was expecting, also has diabetes. In my dad’s family, he is one of 5 and his oldest brother, who is in the best shape of all, has the worst medical problems, including diabetes and skin cancer (even tho he only wears long sleeves and long pants and wide brimmed hats any time he is in the sun).

        I think many of our ailments are hereditary. Maybe we should look not at someone’s outer appearance or their disposition when we are dating, but at their family medical history, and see what we could be handing down to our kids, before we marry. Of course if they are pleasing to the eye, and have a great personality, all the better. Just kidding, of course. 😉

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