Mr. Rawles:
Regarding the recently-posted article on EMP, while some of what Tom S. says is true, some of it is just plain silly. The results of a nation-wide EMP pulse would be catastrophic to be sure. Banking, communications, even food supply
would in fact be disrupted. But to suggest that well organized gangs with armored vehicles would be systematically destroying farm homes and lake cabins is simply preposterous. Please consider:
1. If fuel production is halted, no one is going to get further than one tank of gas outside the city limits.
2. If fuel is still being produced then law enforcement will operate and food production will not be halted and the point is moot.
3. There is a reason the US Army moves its [tracked] vehicles by rail. They can’t drive more than a few miles without the things breaking down.
4. Existing gangs are mostly composed of ignorant teenagers who, while fiercely loyal and ruthlessly violent, do not possess the foresight or the organizational capability to run a sustained campaign based on
foraging. While the older, more structural gangs (such as the Hell’s Angels) might be able to pull it off, once the gas runs out they, like the inner-city Crips and Bloods, will be on foot.
5. In the event of a power outage, jail cells will be locked shut, not open.
6. In order to run a successful raid on even an isolated farm house takes meticulous planning, thorough preparation, lots of supplies, and the ability to perform small unit infantry tactics. If you’ve ever done it, you know that even in the best of circumstances, it is extraordinarily difficult, because it is physically demanding and takes real discipline.
7. The idea that the neighborhood gang is suddenly going to turn into a disciplined force, operating with military precision out to get Tom S. is simply delusional
paranoia.
A fundamental tenet of preparedness is cool headed planning. We can not afford wide-eyed optimistic sentimentalism. However we do not need wild-eyed hysteria, either.
Respectfully, – Andrew B.