TS has already HTF...what if we get similar again?

[Scythe13]

This is a follow on from the Bugging Out in a storm scenario thread.

Continuing from what MB said, we have been in a vicious situation recently. It was not an EOTWAWKI type situation. But there was definitely poop hitting the fan and it made things difficult for many people.

During this period my (now ex) wife realised I was not crazy and she looked at me like I was some kind of hero. Everyone around was panicking. She was super calm thanks to prepping. However, should we go through a situation like that again, where we are all locked down and there are police roadblocks and the alike, it makes for a very difficult situation if your plan is to bug out. The pandemic was a situation where many were able to get through and contrary to popular belief, the government managed to organise...something resembling a plan (let's not dwell on how well it was handled. The point is more that the government was under a kind of martial law). However it does lead to the thought of, if things were like that again, but worse, would we be looking at a slow decline as opposed to the more short term madness depicted by so many books, films, podcasts, etc.

Should we be facing another government managed slow decline, what would you do, what tips would you provide and how do you feel it would play out?

[MaryN]

Aren't the words "government managed slow decline" an oxymoron?

[Scythe13]

Totally agree Mary. The point was more that if the government repeated what they did, but things didn't start to improve, e.g. food stocks started running out, government based house-to-house inspections, confiscations or even evictions (like in China...they evicted a load of people so that they could set up an isolation zone) and things kept declining...what would you do, what tips would you give and what are your views on the difficulties of this kind of scenario?

[MaryN]

To be honest, Scythe, I don't think this Government is competent enough to enforce such actions, and I'm not sure that an already-ticked off public would put up with it. Personally, I don't "do" authority (ask my OH!) and I could get very, very stroppy! However, to give your scenario the attention it deserves, I am not sure I would be taken by surprise again. Lessons learned and all that. I also live in a nicely rural area and the locals have their own ways of dealing with authority!

[Scythe13]

One of the main things we did was to offer out when shopping to see if any of our neighbours wanted us to pick anything up for them. Same with the older members of the area. This gave the image that we were in the same situation as everyone else. We would be a bit cheeky and if the shops were out of toilet paper and the alike, we would give people a roll of our stuff and say there was only 1 pack left which we've shared out with everyone else. The way people responded to this was dramatic. Granted I now live in an even more rural area (was on the outskirts of a village...now in the middle of nowhere).

Although people are angry at the gov and the lockdown situation, compliance was massive! A few places said "Screw the gov" but the vast majority did as they were told. If things came round again...I think it'd be a very similar situation. The part I am not sure of is whether people would stay as compliant if things started deteriorating further.

In fairness, many people in our area found lockdown as a right old jolly. Very little hardship by those we knew. However, most people round where we were are rural jobs and deemed as being essential workers.

[Straight Shooter]

I really do not believe the majority of people would fall for it again , given the parties and none compliance shown by all political parties and many in the media flouting the rules ......there is no chance of compliance at straight shooters household ...that dawg will not fight anymore ! Enough with the bullshit and lies ! .

[bigpaul]

Personally the lock downs werent a problem for us where we are, and isolation for me isnt a problem either, I said for many years before the pandemic was thought of that personal isolation was my plan if ever a major disease arose.

[Ajax]

(2 May 2022, 19:09)Scythe13 Wrote: This is a follow on from the Bugging Out in a storm scenario thread.

Continuing from what MB said, we have been in a vicious situation recently. It was not an EOTWAWKI type situation. But there was definitely poop hitting the fan and it made things difficult for many people.

During this period my (now ex) wife realised I was not crazy and she looked at me like I was some kind of hero. Everyone around was panicking. She was super calm thanks to prepping. However, should we go through a situation like that again, where we are all locked down and there are police roadblocks and the alike, it makes for a very difficult situation if your plan is to bug out. The pandemic was a situation where many were able to get through and contrary to popular belief, the government managed to organise...something resembling a plan (let's not dwell on how well it was handled. The point is more that the government was under a kind of martial law). However it does lead to the thought of, if things were like that again, but worse, would we be looking at a slow decline as opposed to the more short term madness depicted by so many books, films, podcasts, etc.

Should we be facing another government managed slow decline, what would you do, what tips would you provide and how do you feel it would play out?

I'll take a run at this, if I may.
1, Police road blocks. A lot of police have been demoralised with single crew policy and some have found greater resolve. I wonder if this would eventually come down to numbers? A lot of police officers have left because of stress and this was happening before 2020.
Is it possible that during any kind of situation where a city had to be locked down and blockades put in place that the police would have their hands full trying to keep people in? Possibly, but does it not depend on what the situation is and why exactly they need to be locked down in the first place? Is it possible that people have had enough? Would they fight back? Could they breakthrough?
I don't know. Some people will comply if they are frightened enough, while others might carry on regardless.
2, BO is difficult if there are road blocks in place. Wouldn't that depend on your plan? If you need a vehicle and there are roadblocks, then absolutely it would be a problem. Not only could you get snarled up in stationary traffic but you might get turned round and sent home again, possibly.
If you plan to go by bike (I saw an earlier post about bikes) or horses (again I saw previous replies to a post) or on foot, then perhaps such road blocks could be circumvented by going off road.
I don't know. It would depend on the situation that caused a BO, the amount of people available to maintain a blockade and the local topography.
3, Martial law and anything approaching martial law. I have heard but cannot confirm that some of our troop are 'on exercises' abroad. Does it even matter? How many people live here now? How many are our standing troops? If the citizenry goes hungry (for example) would there be enough persons of office to quell any problematic behaviour which might arise? If so, for how long can they hold things down? Where does their ammo come from? Who have we sanctioned recently? How are our imports looking?
4, Long-term vs short-term. That depends on what goes down first, does it not?
All electronic systems have frailties. Many countries have identified weaknesses but not used them yet. They are waiting for a zero day type event. There are plenty of areas that could be easily compromised.

Have you kept an eye on food manufacturing and processing globally since 2020? Or unexpected, severe weather? Or animal 'flu' globally? Have you kept tabs on animal euthanasia recently? Banks can limit daily withdrawal from your account. Banks can refuse to let you access your account under certain circumstances. Do you know what 'force majeure' is? How many people live near you? How many of them are ready for another lockdown? How many are ready should there be no resupply at your nearest supermarket or shop? How many of them learned a dang thing on the last lockdown?

What to do? That depends on what happens. What breaks first? Shelter in place is better in most or many circumstances. Some may have an 'I'm alright, jack' sense because they live in a more remote area. If the towns and cities go bananas, then perhaps kiss bye-bye to 'local' policing? If the cities cannot be contained, then hungry people are going to look for food. I doubt they are going to care if it is 'yours' because you grew it. This is why isolationism rarely works - there will always be more of 'them' than there are of 'us' - putting it bluntly.
Perhaps you should do as much as you can at home. Grow and maybe put a few bags or tins aside. Get prepared to defend it but only if the numbers are on your side. Are you ready to die because of a tin of spam?

Bugging out? In your own area ... how many neighbours (in your best guess) have proper survival equipment? How many have food procurement needs met? How many could 100% hit a cow's ar$e with a banjo when it really counts? How many have a big, old a$s coming out the front of their shirt and how many are you really afraid of, if it had to go hand to hand? How many can tell the difference between wild carrots and a certain other prolific plant, for example. How many near you know how water works safely?
Perhaps just be ready to outlast all the others? You're here, aren't you? You probably already are ready - it never feels enough though, does it mate? Location is zero guarantee of safety. Why limit your own options when today the supply chain is still sort of working: clothing and outdoor gear is still available, army excess stores are still running for bits and bobs, online can still get delivery on some things ... anyone who does not have 'food procurement' tippy-top may have sh1t the bed, mind. I ordered one thing from Europe in Nov - I may get it next week with luck. My life does not depend upon it and so I have zero concern.

Never underestimate an opponent. There is strength in numbers and that does cut both ways. Knowledge, information, situational awareness, and the ability to adapt to anything will give you a slightly better chance than the average phone-bie couch spud.

Good luck, pal.

[bigpaul]

there was a plan by central govt under Maggie Thatcher in a national emergency to shut down all major roads, thats Motorways and all A roads and ban all civilian traffic, there would be road blocks, these plans are still active even now, I saw a report saying as much during the pandemic.
bugging out? most people run their cars on empty, only filling up when the warning light goes on, we have all seen queues at filling stations recently, once the power goes off there is no resupply, petrol or fuel.
America has a history of evacuating, we do not, even in the last war and thats over 75 years ago now-different generation-its was only the kids and some mothers and they didnt stay away long, a couple of months in most cases.
any body who tries bugging out from a city wont get far, they will be walking and probably will be unfit and maybe obese, anyone trying to get out of the big cities , London, Birmingham, Manchester probably wont make it even if there arent roadblocks.
and again its the old question, where are they going? travelling without a plan, just aimlessly wandering about just hoping to find food, water, shelter is a mugs game and is only delaying the inevitable, and not by much.

[Mortblanc]

Have you folks not been watching the ongoing world around you? GB is just a small part of the world not the center of it.

A couple of thousand miles from you there are 5.5 million people that have evacuated the Ukraine in a short 2 month time frame.

8 million more are displaced internally, fleeing the cities for the countryside, or have evacuated on their own to neighboring countries.

That means that 30% of the Ukraine population, mostly women and children, is not living in the home they occupied two months ago.

It is the largest emergency displacement since WW2, and it is happening now.

They decided it needed to be done and they did it.

You probably don't notice it due to your government dragging their feet on accepting its share of the displaced population. That has been pointed out by the world media already. The rest of Europe is absorbing them into institutions and private homes as fast as they can be processed. GB is requiring normal application for visas, and the resulting wait for approval, as if these people were on holiday.

Evacuation is difficult only when the government makes it difficult, or when the population is made up of blockheads that will not follow instructions. It does not take months of planning, it only requires that TPTB say "get out now!" and turn all the lanes on the motorway into outflowing traffic and all mass transit into outgoing rather than incoming carriers.

Panic, confusion and clogging is due to the before mentioned blockheads.

But as has been mentioned, GB is so small, and so heavily populated, that a transfer of 30% of your population internally would simply move the concentrated population from one target area to another.

Lord help you if you had to flee to another country!