Timeframe - TSHTF
Scenario - Either on your travels or from your base, you come unexpectedly across another prepper.
You do not know the other person or the fact that they are a prepper.
Without any visual description or or any other info as it is not necessary for this hypothetical query:-
On a scale of 1 to 10, how dangerous do you rate this encounter to your personal safety due to the fact unknown to you in the scenario, that they are in fact a prepper??
1 is good
10 is v.bad.
:-)
Thankyou, TL.
OK, so I cocked up the poll. It's the first one I done.. Should be options from 1 to 10, not just 1 & 10. I wish there was an edit function on this forum!!!! Nevermind. Just post your result in a reply. Thankyou, TL.
Being a woman and maybe on my own I would class a man as 10 and a woman at about 5.
the fact i dont know they are a prepper, i've got to go on first impressions, male or female makes no difference, i would say a 7 or an 8!!
I rely on instinct TBH, I've met hundreds of survivalists and preppers over the years, both here and in the UK /EIRE and the US, Most I found to be very inteligent and trustworthy and initial contact was pleasant, A few and only a few I would not trust as far as I could throw them even now, So after TSHTF I would not be very well disposed towards them. But as I said the vast majority of preppers I have met have similar values and principles as I do. Some folks as soon as you meet them you just know you are meeting a kindred spirit, others as soon as you meet them make you feel threatened and insecure, but I dont think i've met any that offered a clear and present danger at first meeting. So overall 2 would be my rating for serious preppers 5 for those hobby preppers.
yeah far enough NR, but i think the thread started by saying ...you meet this person, you dont know them or know they are a prepper, this brings me back to the old adage: if you dont know them, havent worked with them, then DONT trust them, anybody i dont know i treat with caution, that would go doubly after TSHTF.
I've fixed the poll. Although I feel 10 is a bit too many.
I've picked 5. Basically, the poll is you are meeting someone and thus I'm not sure until I evaluate them. If I knew they were a prepper it wouldn't be different. I'd make it a 5 then as well.
I would see anyone as both a potential threat and a potential aid. But I would think most likely neither. So I would go with a 50% chance of friendly but useless, 15% of being dangerous, and 35% chance of it being a beneficial encounter.
I went with 4, as I would approach, and be friendly, but I would very much be on my guard. It would have been 3 as I'm a fairly hard target, but I upped it to four as they may have firearms. I can't kung-fu a bullet.
And as Skean said, it would be the same if I knew they were a prepper or not as far as risk goes. But the chances of them being useful would rocket.
Hello everyone & thankyou for the replies. It is difficult to get the jist of the original question across and I see I did not quite manage it clearly. What I am asking - is, Looking at the situation hypothetically with your knowledge as it is now about preppers and their ideology - how dangerous do you think the fact that they are a prepper at that initial encounter - makes them? Not that they are an unknown quantity at the time in the scenario (which they would be - granted) but with your perception NOW of how dangerous to your survival in the hypothetical scenario it would be! Would them being a prepper make them likely to be any more or less dangerous to you - in your opinion now?
I hope this is clearer. This is an interesting question & should make people ponder it. Thankyou, TL.
I've gone for a 9 for 2 reasons.
1. Because meeting anyone should be a very cautious situation. If you don't know that person's situation, then be prepared for anything. Also, there could be others around, so upon meeting anyone, I'll be acting with extreme prejudice to start with!!!
2. Even though I don't know they're a prepper, if they are then it means they could be a HUGE threat!!! Imagine walking down the road and meeting BP. If they're more interested in security that BP, it'll be shoot first ask questions later.
DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!!