Why Survival?

[sc1]

What started your interest in survival?

For me, I have always had a vague interest in it that stems from my childhood. I was always fascinated by SAS books and was a scout. I loved building shelters and gathering supplies. I remember when I was about 7 or 8 going on holiday in the car with my parents. I came out of my room with a duffel bag full of things like spare food, drinks, pen and paper, a jumper and so on. Even then I liked to be prepared.

Roll on nearly 30 years and the pressures of life and growing up led me to forget about all this, until last winter. A cold snap locally led to burst water mains and the water supply going off over a large part of the city I live in. I was completely unprepared. The shops were cleared out of everything drinkable in hours, bottled water, lemonade, coke, milk, everything. It took the local authorities two days to respond and get stand pipes up and running and I had to queue for water with everyone else. I was so angry at myself for not being prepared and I swore it would never happen again in any way, shape or form. If I need it, I want to have it in bucketfuls. It's sensible, rational and logical.

Now I look at people that only have what they need for a few days and I feel sorry for them. It's only a matter of time...

[Skean Dhude]

When I was a teenager I was interested in living rough. Eating out and fending for myself. As I grew up I wanted to get away from it all reduce the weight of the governments heavy hand on me. I was more worried about natural events and accidents and have always had a few months supply of food and water. Only recently have I believed that there will be an event and when I started looking into it I found that imo most people had no idea what the real impact would be. They see it as six months looking after themselves then back to civilisation. I don't see it being like that unless we prepare and start rebuilding quickly. Hence this site.

[JD1]

I have been interested in outdoor survival since I was a kid but as I grew up I became increasingly fed up with every part of my life being decided for me my big buisiness and governments. I wanted to prove to myself that as far as is possible I didn't have to rely on anyone else to be able to survive and have to live my life being dictated to. That led me to survival and prepping sites and from there it just grew.

Someones signature on a forum summed it up for me, it read something along the lines of " Of all the animals on the planet, the only one's that can't fend for themselves in the wild are humans". That isn't the case everywhere, and even here hasn't been the case for long, but it is certainly the case for the vast majority of people.

[grumpy old man]

when i was a child i saw the world at war at school and i started from there.
when i grew up i learned as much as i could about survival anywhere, what i need and how to use it.
i have thought about many things that has happened or could happen and preped for that.
1 though that some times troubled me is what happenes if we don't like the world we are left with.
to survive you need an end from the harshness and a future with some joy in.

[sc1]

(8 October 2011, 21:06)grumpy old man Wrote: to survive you need an end from the harshness and a future with some joy in.

But what's the alternative to survival? I'd rather survive in a bleak situation that die in a happy one.

[Skean Dhude]

SC1,

That bleak situation would become the norm and you would be happy in it. We would adapt.

[sc1]

That's pretty much what I was getting at. Personally, if something big went down I'd be happy to survive that and I'd make the most out of what was left.

[Skean Dhude]

As will we all. That is the whole purpose of what we are doing. To survive and move on.

I'd also like us to consider rebuilding society. Learning from the past but history shows we are not quick learners and are easily lead by those with a glib tongue and low intellect or morals.

[grumpy old man]

to give in means you quit, i don't quit and my kids have learnt the same but have you ever wondered if you really don't like the world we may be left to live in with all that modern techno gone people keeping safe and people doing the jobs we hate or can't do

[sc1]

It would suck for sure. No mod cons, no luxuries, no safety or security, having to watch your back 24/7. Although at least we wouldn't be slaves to the rat race, working to pay the ever increasing cost of living, increasing taxes and watching the rich grow richer and poor grow poorer.

A new society with a new social structure would probably go down the pan just as swiftly. It's human nature.