10,000BC - Do you still want to be part of a group??

[Devonian]

OK, so as the title says, has the TV programme changed/reinforced/made you think differently about 'Groups' after any serious event.

Now I am not thinking about your immediate small family group, more about how you (or your family group) will interact with others/groups that will undoubtedly be living all around you.......

It is almost certain that communities will develop, and it could be that if you are bugging in, that other houses/families around you end up forcing/coercing you to become part of a larger group and you may realistically have little choice about this.

So how do you feel about the fact you may little option other than to work with those around you......

[PrepperJohn]

I don't really think we would have a choice. You can't do everything yourself so ultimately forming communities will happen

pj

[Devonian]

(11 February 2015, 14:43)PrepperJohn Wrote: You can't do everything yourself

But that is my point....

- there are those that can......
- those that can't........
- and those that won't!

[PrepperJohn]

Well some very tough choices would have to be made. Those that wont would have to be asked to leave unless they are willing to contribute in some way. Those who can't would have to be assessed to see if they would be entitled to food water and protection to the cost of the rest of the group.

A book that really brought all this kind of stuff home to me and made me rethink everything was One Second After

I think you can find it for free online and there is a full length reading of it on youtube if you haven't read it

pj

[Midnitemo]

the 10'000 bc crew have to many shirkers....even the most innept can do the labouring to free up the people with other skills....water is a constant/firewood collection and processing is a constant/housekeeping/security....fire minding etc these are things people with no specific skills can concentrate on to free up the others to do there particular skills...cross training can take place after they have got into a routine and established themselves as self sufficient

[Devonian]

(11 February 2015, 16:24)PrepperJohn Wrote: A book that really brought all this kind of stuff home to me and made me rethink everything was One Second After

I think you can find it for free online and there is a full length reading of it on youtube if you haven't read it

I shall have a look for that one, thanks.

(11 February 2015, 16:41)Midnitemo Wrote: the 10'000 bc crew have to many shirkers....

But..... in my experience, the cast (sorry the participants ) are probably fairly representative of general society in todays times, which is my worry, the chances are that most people on this forum will in fact be surrounded by these types of shirkers even if they are not part of your immediate group.

(11 February 2015, 16:41)Midnitemo Wrote: even the most innept can do the labouring to free up the people with other skills....water is a constant/firewood collection and processing is a constant/housekeeping/security....fire minding etc these are things people with no specific skills can concentrate on to free up the others to do there particular skills...cross training can take place after they have got into a routine and established themselves as self sufficient

In a 'serious' event, I don't think there will be time for people to learn or cross train, because as we've seen on 10,000BC, a week or 2 in and the unprepared will be at their wits end and during those early days/weeks you really do not want those sorts of people acting as a drain on your resources.....

In time, the survivors will learn to cope and develop new skills for sure, but the early days of desperation will be interesting.....

[MaryN]

No, Dev, I don't feel any differently - I still think community is the way to go, although you might have to be pretty choosy about who you let in to play in your yard. Those useless lumps who don't care to muck in would soon be dumped.

[Devonian]

(11 February 2015, 20:21)MaryN Wrote: No, Dev, I don't feel any differently - I still think community is the way to go, although you might have to be pretty choosy about who you let in to play in your yard. Those useless lumps who don't care to muck in would soon be dumped.

But the problem is those "useless lumps" will most likely be their with their family, and whilst there are those who would be ready to kick out the no hopers, their family would obviously not be so keen, and then other families may start to think, well if we go with this, how long to they kick out a couple of our members, and then the divisions start.....

So regardless of whether you keep everyone on board, or kick out those who do not pull their weight, someone will be peeved and friction/disputes/power struggles will follow......

[Mortblanc]

These shows thrive on conflict and have no audience draw without it.

In the year 1607 a cross section group of Englishmen much like you are viewing landed on the shores of North America and had the exact same problem.

Fortunately their military leader, a mercenary named Captain John Smith, took the leadership role, backed up by his shaphance musket, and declared that anyone who did not work would not eat. He also instituted health and sanitation rules, which had been lax until that moment, causing much illness.

That solved the problem for a while, until Smith had to leave. Then chaos, confusion and eventually cannibalism broke out among the ranks and half of them ate the other half before supply ships arrived a year latter.

The American frontiersmen quickly found that moving groups of people into new frontier country required some prior planning. Far from the concept of lone wolf settlers living in isolated cabins, most frontier settlements were groups of people moving into new areas and establishing new governments or living under contracts that spelled out expected behavior and mutual support.

The Mayflower compact, the Watauga compact and the Cumberland Compact are a few examples. You can google them and see some of the hardships involved.

The Cumberland Compact is the example I am most familiar with. It specified the law and government of the original settlers of Nashville, Tennessee. 250 men signed the contract. Within one year half of them were dead, but the compact worked even through the most harsh times because it established leadership and standards of behavior.

From those examples has come the American tendency to elect leaders and prescribe rules in advance. It is often said that if three Americans were to crash an airplane into the ocean near a deserted island they would have a president, vice president and treasurer elected before they could swim ashore.

Leadership is a MUST !! That leadership can rise from within, be elected, appointed or enforced, but it is necessary among any group of people.

Leadership does not have to batter all in the immediate area, and it should not, but some one absolutely has to have the authority to demand that necessary functions take place, assign that responsibility and enforce the agreed upon rules.

I have not heard anyone suggest that "members" of a group should agree on and sign a contract before being allowed sanctuary.

The greatest fear among preppers is their knowledge that they are not leaders, will not be identified as leaders by anyone around them, and will not be respected in that role if they attempt to seize it. Therefore they insist on going it alone as the only sensible course of action due to the stupid people around them.

[Tartar Horde]

There won't be many people around after a serious event that propels us back to living without technology, because most of them will be dead. I for one will not carry anyone, if you don't help you don't eat.