Editor’s Note: This article has been generously contributed by Glen Tate of 299Days.com. Glen is the author of the 10-part series 299 Days, which is inspired by his own life and personal journey. It begins with 299 Days: The Preparation and introduces us to a husband who awakens to the fragility of modern society and embarks on a personal journey that introduces him to a world of self-reliance and liberation.
In the following article Glen covers an issue that is very dear to most preppers – what to do when neighbors, friends and family come knocking. With limited resources available we’re all going to have to make tough decisions. Like many of us, Glen plans on helping those truly in need. But what about those who refused to see the warning signs and stuck their head in the sand, perhaps even lambasted you for your extreme ideas and theories? Instead of being frugal and preparing, they focused their efforts on entertainment and good times.
But when the good times end, they will come to you for help. What will you do when they show up at your front door?
“I’ll Come To Your Place When SHTF” – No You Won’t
By Glen Tate | 299 Days
(This post is something you can send to your friends or print out and hand to them when SHTF.)
Dear Friend:
I love my friends, but I will shoot you if I have to. I’m serious. Here’s why.
I tried to persuade you to prepare for what’s coming and, in the process, revealed that to you that I’m preparing. You realized that I have food, guns, etc., and ended up saying, half kidding but half serious, “I’ll come to your place when SHTF.”
No you won’t. I will shoot you. If you threaten me and my family, I will use force to defend against any threat. And showing up at my place hungry and unprepared is a threat to me. You will eat my food and use up my medical supplies, generator, firewood, etc. That’s less of these life-saving things for me and my family. That’s a threat.
Is this greed on my part? No. I will take care of the truly needy – those who cannot take care of themselves. But you are different. Very different. You had plenty of chances to prepare for yourself.
But what did you do? You spent the weekends watching football, went on expensive vacations, and never made your spouse mad at you with your “crazy” ideas that something bad was happening. You didn’t do shit because… you would just come to my place. Problem solved, right? You didn’t need to spend time, money, and create domestic strife because I did that all for you.
Not. Why should I spend my time, money, and stress just so you can waltz into my place and live happily ever after? I’m a nice guy, but – really? – I’m going to spend my (very limited) free time, disposable income, and domestic tranquility just so you can have a leisurely life and more material comforts pre-Collapse while I don’t?
Why do you think I will sacrifice enormous amounts of my time and money so you can enjoy yourself while I’m slaving away? Would you assume you could come over and leave your broken car at my house? That I would just spend thousands of dollars on parts and several weekends fixing it and then hand it over to you with a smile – just because I’m a “good guy”? Would anyone expect that?
You do, apparently. You actually expect to waltz over to my cabin and receive – with a smile – thousands of dollars of food and other supplies that took me all my weekends to acquire and store.
So, my grasshopper friend (as in the story of the grasshopper and the ant), here is your official warning: if your “plan” for your and your family’s safety is to come to my place, you’re wrong. When you show up, I’ll ask you to leave. When you don’t, I’ll point a gun in your face. If you refuse to leave, I will shoot you. You are a threat to me.
You had years of time and very clear warnings to get ready. But you didn’t. Hey, I love football but haven’t been able to watch a game in a few years; I’ve been fixing up the cabin, buying supplies, and training with the Team. I spent a lot of money doing all these things so I haven’t gone on a long vacation in… forever. I have had several difficult times with my wife because of all the prepping I’m doing; I could have easily done what you did, which is just say “Yes, dear” and not prepare because she didn’t want you to.
I hope this message jolted you. There’s still some time. Go prep. Please understand that your plan cannot be “I’ll come to your place.” I don’t want to shoot you.
Glen Tate (not his real name) is a lawyer and political person in Olympia, the state capitol of Washington State. He was a secret prepper, hiding his activities from his wife – and he wrote the ten-book 299 Days series
Glen has led an amazing life – and one that took a surprising turn. He grew up poor in the rural logging town of Forks, Washington. He worked hard to become a successful professional with a job in the political arena. Thinking he’d finally made it and everything was great, he was stunned to see how corrupt government is. From his observations at his job, he realized that America is collapsing and bad things are coming. Very soon. He began to prepare for him and his family to make it through the civil unrest of the coming collapse. That meant he had to return to his rural roots – quite a shock to his family and friends. Even more amazing was that he wrote down what he foresees happening during the collapse and it became a ten-book novel series published by Prepper Press.
The 299 Days series is available in Audio Book Format, as well as print and Kindle
You can visit Glen’s web site at 299days.com
- See more at: http://www.thedailysheeple.com/ill-come-to-your-place-when-shtf-no-you-wont_102014#sthash.kisvBgJ4.dpuf
Want to see the future, past or the unknown? Learn to be psychic. Ask me how!
A good time to invest in spf3000 if you live on the NK penninsula.
Oh November 17, how I fear thee...
Lots of good things to think about.
We always consider that family will have some preps and we may have to prep extra for them.
For friends I always make sure to add that I only have enough for my family when discussing prepping
but yeah its a hard topic to discuss
I have tried to educate people over the years with very little success. So when the time comes NO!!!! I won't have extras for anyone but family and colleagues that have helped to prep. It's not easy to prep and as far as I am concerned is a necessity. I always use the analogy "if it's very cloudy out, wouldn't it be prudent to take an umbrella? Just in case"
Old prepper with new ideas. Livin the dream. Live, Love, Laugh.
Thank God for everything.
well said
and here I thought I was a bad person for thinking ... no way are you coming over - I have given up so much for years while "you" have your vacations, fancy dinners, expensive clothes, expensive cars
You got it!!
Old prepper with new ideas. Livin the dream. Live, Love, Laugh.
Thank God for everything.
I thought the same at first about what I'd do when folks knock on my door for a handout....easy to say NO but likely harder to do when that time comes... I doubt that many have tried the software programs that I wrote, but I wrote them because many assume their food stores will last them this long and really don't have a clue as to specifics because there are just too many factors to consider. How do you compensate that you will likely burn far more calories in bad times and so too will everybody else. Then you find you never included your son's girlfriend or the new baby, etc. Things change overnight. Food supplies get lost or contaminated..there are too many variables and folks need to know they have all avenues covered before a crisis and means to reevaluate quickly during said crisis.
Many proclaim they have stored and squirreled away vast food stores for a coming event. I doubt that most have a good idea as to how far these supplies could really last as this requires some heavy thinking to formulate a proper answer. I concluded that this aspect required calorie counting as one measure and the measure of nutritional value as a 2nd measure to really do this job properly. Easy to say, hard to do...
I wrote the food supply program with this any many other aspects included. It can determine your water supplies and how long it will last if you use sanitation vs just drinking it. Also how long and how much your water filters will serve you too. I even considered the long term aspects and nutritional needs in a balanced diet and how your food stores can be measure for this. I included all this as I didn't see any other program remotely capable of doing this job properly.
There is a whole section pertaining to gardening and harvesting. I researched and then formulated to show you how big ya garden you'd require and how this option could extend your food supplies indefinitely if you did so. You could determine the crops that would grow in your region and even when to plant so maybe you could squeeze in 2 harvests a year on some items.
There is another section that allowed for hunting both large and small game to further supplement your food stores and yet another for foraging items that grow wild. It seems most just downloaded and stored the program without any further thought as there was no input from others to show if they might find this software useful.
I wrote this because I felt it needed doing. I'd hoped others would test it and show me any flaws before a crisis occurred. I know most can't afford to have 5 years worth of food stores and most wouldn't have the room to put it in if they could afford it. My concept is that you'd need enough to get you to that 1st harvest. You need a way to measure what you can and cannot afford to do.
Screw the idea that all technology will be lost...do you want to live in a world that far recessed or are you going to try to maintain some of the technologies that might make it all worth it? Are you going to regress to the point that it is every man for himself and forget things that make us human? Rational thought is your best plan in any situation and all you need to do is arm yourself with the knowledge to deal with that which may come along. If something unforeseen should present itself, then adjust accordingly, but don't throw away compassion at the onset as it is an essential quality we all need to remain fully human!
You know I can say I would be a hard ass but when the time does come I would probably try to help. I've got a big heart. But the one thing I am saying is that people think they know the future. And when something happens they are unprepared and then it's too late. Even with all my preparations, there could always be more. Prepping is the first thing on my mind 24 hours a day. Everything else comes second. Hopefully, and with God's help I can survive with my son and be able to help as many people as I can. If we start the new world with an act of cruelty then what kind of world would it be?
Old prepper with new ideas. Livin the dream. Live, Love, Laugh.
Thank God for everything.
And I figured you weren't that cold in reality either as most of us aren't. When a crisis does occur, we won't know what we'll do until that time comes. To close doors that don't need closing is unrealistic. In fact events could easily wash away all your preps and the shoe would now be on the other foot. To have knowledge that is useful to others is a sure way to earn your keep in a crunch. To bring calm to those in a time of storm is another attribute many will rally behind. The lone wolf aspect is just....lonely!
There are some people that I have told to their faces that if the SHTF that they would not be welcome.
edit- I realized that I sounded like an a$$. I guess friend would be too strong a word for these people but I do spent time talking to them or going out with them. For example: one person dropped $600.00 on slot machines then expected me to pay her mortgage. So for her it was a SHTF moment and I said no.
There are some people that I have told to their faces that if the SHTF that they would not be welcome.
edit- I realized that I sounded like an a$$. I guess friend would be too strong a word for these people but I do spent time talking to them or going out with them. For example: one person dropped $600.00 on slot machines then expected me to pay her mortgage. So for her it was a SHTF moment and I said no.
Hey I got friends like that too....wait, i don't call them friends!!
I definitely know what you mean Old School. And I too won't be spending much time helping those that have continually brought misery to others within their grasp and expect the handout. But again, life always throws you a wild card and you eventually have to play it! I no longer say never as that's just when it shows I have to eat the words.
Our ancestors had to make harsh judgements in their time and we might have to do the same someday. I will reserve the right to share or withhold my compassion as I see fit. I hope that God understands my choices as I expect to be asking Him before I commit to such things first anyways. I know there are those who don't deserve another chance as they used all of them up already.
The advantage I have living in a small community as I do is I already know alot about most who live here as they too know me. Thus I know who requires med's to stay functional and which are takers by nature and which are givers. This will likely make selection far easier than if a stranger were knocking as doubt would not hide their track record here!
But by far the most dangerous creature we could face in the midst of a crisis is having to face........................................the smooth talker!
I really also get annoyed at people that say .. they will come to my place..
if they have wasted their time and money with repeated new cars, expensive trips , wasting alot of money
and time, and are lazy all weekend. I simply don't have enough for them, because I am single so really prepping
for myself and my dogs. These people will also waste your supplies quickly and complain and be lazy if you let them in.
I think the answer to them is : ..
it depends what you have to offer or bring with you as to whether you get let in , which is a 2 way street,
as if I wanted in with someone else, I would think it would depend on what I have to offer in skills / knowledge , and or supplies.
I might get turned down when they pick someone else that has better skills, knowledge, supplies, if they only
have room for a few select people.
Also you might add that you might only be able to barter with them when SHTF
Hopefully telling them that now, might get them thinking that they better have more than a can of tuna.
Well we can hope it will.
-
You know Goldie I think it would be harder than we think to deny people. But to have good honest God fearing people around you will give you a better chance at survival even if they don't have much supplies to offer. Rather than a lazy two faced thief. One thief could ruin you where a half dozen good people may be able to work together and survive. It's so hard to say what I would do. But I do know that I would have to harden up a bit. I'm too Damn open.
Old prepper with new ideas. Livin the dream. Live, Love, Laugh.
Thank God for everything.
And that gets back to the point you'll just have to wait and see! You can fret about that which you can change but to dwell upon that which you have no control over is just being hard on yourself. Do your best and hope that is enough. I know myself well enough that I figure I'll give in most often and trust God will take note. I can't explain how one's instincts truly work but they rarely fail me, so I'm trusting they will kick in at such times to allow me proper judgement. But I'd rather let in a sheep that I could teach to act and think like a wolf than to let in a wolf that can act like their just sheep! In other words, I'll be helping those that need it instead of trying to fill my ranks with a bunch of harda$$es who only know how to take!
This is the dumbest and most ill conceived thing I ever heard of...
Where do I begin... Why is it these "vigilant nuclear family" orientated people think the less people you depend on and the more isolated you are the better off you will be? What exactly in history displays this to be true? Do they read history? Do they study sociology? Are they even aware in the human condition? Read what I'm about to say very carefully.
WE DID NOT GET TO WHERE WE ARE WITHOUT EACH OTHER. WE DID NOT SURVIVE WITHOUT EACH OTHER. WE COULD NOT. WE NEVER WILL.
I don't know what kind of situation you plan on getting yourselves in but this is ridiculous. If you want to be a "free man on the land" go build your own power plant. Build your own sewer system. Learn how to be a doctor. Manufacture your own stuff. Do it. Go master every trade. I'm sure you'll be great at everything there is in society. You're a one man society and infrastructure building powerhouse, as well as a father, I'm sure.
Socially irresponsible people are probably the reason S WILL HTF. They think they're special. That they're different, or even "better" then everyone else. This person is a closet case. Essentially he's a sociopath. And a complete and total !@#$%& uneducated moron.
You should study the history of money. Without bartering of goods and services and trade, organization, loyalty and the promise of a word kept, everyone is dead.
That comment is sorta funny a considering that it comes from someone named SingleCell, 😆 but I agree wholeheartedly with the deduction. But I doubt they meant that they would refuse commerce and trade. But folks here are asking why after they did all the work and did without, why others should benefit by enjoying themselves and having done nothing. Hard not to see that logic too....
But to lose compassion for your fellow man likely takes us down a path to finalizing that only the strong should survive and the weak perish... when shall we just start tossing our sick and old off a cliff.... now or later?
Back to that wait and see it seems!