Dealing with the threat of the non-preppers

As Preppers we prep for natural disasters.  We prep for economic disasters. We also prep for what we see our so called federal government doing.  As Preppers we build our stockpile of food, water, fuel, firearms and ammo.  We make sure we have all of those things we need to survive for a certain period of time.

We have our bug out bags and our get home bags.  Our cars are stocked with items for any emergency we think we might meet.  The Prepper with children makes sure they have the items needed for them based on their age.  As Preppers, if we have elderly parents, we make sure we have the items needed for them.

The problem is, and you know I am right here.  Your home is most likely the only house on your entire block which is truly prepared for what is coming.

If everyone would just prepare for 72 hours for what they need to survive what is coming.  Better yet, if everyone would prepare for 30 days. In most cases, once you are out 30 days, things normally get back to normal.  At least as normal as normal can get.  And I know what you are thinking.

What if we have a major SHTF situation where things will not get back to normal in that magic 30 days?  Well, that is for another series of posts to discuss.  And if the crap really does hit the fan, those of us prepping are ready.  Even ready to defend what is ours.  And if we are lucky, we have that bug out location already and have it stocked for long term survival.

But, I digress…

Dealing with the non-prepper

Since the odds are high your home is going to be the only fully prepared household on the block, these non-preppers are going to be a danger to you and your household once they reach the desperate stage.  What can you do to deal with non-preppers?

One approach might be to head off as much of this before anything even hits the fan.  As a prepper, should you be discussing things with your immediate neighbors?  Do you talk to them about prepping and suggest to them if they are not, to start prepping for what is coming?  I for one believe this is something you should be very cautious about doing until you know where your neighbors are coming from.  For me OPSEC is something I take very serious.  If we discuss things with our immediate neighbors, how much should we disclose?  This is something you have to decide after vetting your neighbor as to their feelings on being prepared.

Should we share as much knowledge as possible with them? Do we disclose to our immediate neighbors just what levels of prepping we do?  Or do we only give them just enough information to peek their interest and maybe cause them to open their eyes to what is coming?

Instead of any of that.  Do we as a prepper keep OPSEC at the top of our priorities so no one has any idea what we are doing?  I for one do not believe there is one right answer to any of this.  Before you can make any decision, you have to vet them to get an idea of their own feelings and ideals.  Look at their political views.  Easily ascertained from bumper stickers on their cars.  Do they garden?  Do they hunt?  If they don’t hunt, are they still gun owners.  The longer you have lived in the neighborhood and the longer your neighbors have been there, the easier it will be to get an idea where they are coming from.

What have I discussed with our neighbors?  

I know they hunt.  I know they own guns.  I also know they garden and can.  Their political views match mine.  They butcher their own meat and they have a place in the country.  While they may not be prepping to the level I am, they are preppers in their own right.  This is good, but only one of my neighbors.

My family and I live in a fairly stable, middle class neighborhood in a rural Kansas community.  I say fairly stable due to the fact we have now some elements in our nice older neighborhood that do concern me.  At one end of our alley, we have some rentals where the residences move in and out way too often.  Two doors down is a house where the traffic in and out of the house at all hours of the night does concern me. Those houses which are on my four corners are stable and longterm.  Needless to say, my fellow prepping neighbor and I keep a very close eye on what is going on in our neighborhood.  And we have discussed even backing each other up if something should happen too.

It is these “unstable” elements of our neighborhood which worry me the most as far as close by risks and possible dangers. We all know, if they hang around during and after a major SHTF situation, they are going to get desperate.  A couple of them have even presented themselves as being trouble makers too.  These are the types of neighbors we may have to deal with swiftly and decisively with. After all, I will stop at nothing to protect my family.

Do we offer them assistance or turn them away?

I struggle with this one a lot.

If we offer them assistance, we have to make sure we have prepared for such an event in assisting our un-prepared neighbors. This means we will need to stock up on extras.  And our budgets may not allow for this. In addition, if we offer assistance, we are opening ourselves up to the un-prepared coming back time and time again for help.  Since they are not prepared, they will have at the most 3 days worth of food and other supplies in their home. Once we help, they will be just like the welfare free-loaders and keep showing up with their hands open for our supplies.  In other words, help them once and they will keep coming back until we run out or they bring the hoards with them and overrun us.

This is why I struggle so much with this one.

Turning them away might be easy at first.  We may be able to accomplish this with a simple, “I don’t have anything.”  However, pretty soon, they are going to realize you are doing OK considering. Your generator will attract them.  Your outdoor cooking will attract them.  They will wonder why you hang around your home and are not out wondering the community looking for food and other items.  These non-preppers may come to realize you have “everything.”

Then what do you do?

Are you prepared to use force to protect what you have and your family?  I have ammo and firearms.  I have a privacy fence and other security measures in place.  But, and you need to ask yourself this question too, will I have the ability to use whatever force might be required to fend off the hoards? This is where you need to also decide do I tough it out at my main bug in location. Or do I really need to find a way to have a bug out location?  I plan to discuss bug out locations in more detail very soon.

So many questions and not enough answers

There are so many questions you have to ask yourself when it comes to dealing with the non-prepper.  And only you can truly answer those questions and only you have the situation you live in.  Weigh your options.  Look at your overall security you have at your bug in location and your bug out location.  You need to decide if you can truly fend off the looming hoards or not.  Only you know deep down the answers to all of the questions we have asked in this post and the questions you have in your own mind.

Final Thoughts

This is not the last we will discuss this either.  Of all of the dangers we face with what is coming, I truly believe this may be one of the hardest for us to look at and consider what and how we will react.

Leave your comments and lets keep the conversation going.  More on this to come too.