Sunday, March 14, 2010

Becoming A Texan Prepper - Part One - Mindset and Threat Analysis

The first thing you are going to need, as a Texan Prepper, is the right mindset, and you probably already have it. Think about it. Do you walk down unlit alleyways? How about letting your little child ride without a car seat? Leave your home unlocked? Leave a burning candle, unattended? Hopefully, the answers to all of those questions are NO.

Mindset

No, to walking in alleyways because you know danger can lurk in dimly lit alleys. No, to letting your small children ride without car seats because you know, in a crash, small kids get thrown around a car wearing regular seatbelts. No, to leaving your home unlocked because you know most criminals go for easy pickings.

And that’s the thing about mindset; you don’t put yourself and your family in danger because prepping is about avoiding disaster.

Now, most people follow this, but being a Texan Prepper requires a slightly different mindset. The first difference is a healthy dose of paranoia.

A healthy dose of paranoia means that you understand that folks (that includes neighbors) may steal your preps before, during, and after a disaster.

Think about it.

If you get really prepared, you will have thousands of dollars invested in food, equipment, and other stuff that your family will need during a disaster. This is stuff that criminals look to steal, everyday. So, be cautious about what you say or tell your neighbors your preps.

Now, if you start thinking that these United States’ federal government agencies are flying black helicopters over your house spying on you because of your legal preps, you have a problem. So get some help, before you give Texas Preppers a bad rap.

The second difference that you’re going to need to know is your limitations. Yes, just like Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) said in Magnum Force “A man's got to know his limitations.” This includes you too womenfolk.

As much as you would like, you don’t have unlimited time, money, and other resources to get prepared. This includes famous Texans like Michael Dell, Alice Walton, T. Pickens, and Gerald Ford. Just like you, they have to prioritize what they are going to accomplish.

The last thing about mindset you’re going to need, as a Texan Prepper, is to understand that most disasters have common solutions.

During a hurricane, you’re going to need shelter, water, food, personal protection, and medical attention. Lost in the woods, you’re going to need shelter, water, and maybe medical attention. Same with sectarian violence and many other disasters, the list is the same just the priorities are different.

Threat Analysis

The first thing you need to do as a Texas Preppers is to make a list of all of the bad stuff that could happen to you and your family. One-way to do this is to take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle of the paper long-ways. On the left hand side of the line, you list all of the bad things that could happen to you and your family. Things such as drought, laid-off, fire, divorce, car accident, drowning, hurricane, chemical spill... keep listing. When you run out of disasters, ask your partner to help.

Remember, this list is in no particular order. Just keep listing.

Once, you’re finished; add the disasters you think you and your family need to prepare for. These are the disasters that might wake you in the middle of the night like a zombie’s apocalypse, nuclear war, or losing all of your money in a stock market collapse.

Once you have listed all of the disasters that could happen to you and your family on the right hand side of the paper, prioritize the disasters from most likely to happen to least likely to happen. Once you have your threat analysis done, you’re ready to start getting prepared.

Someone You Know

(http://www.gsiep.blogspot.com)

Note from RW: Post was edited for clarity.

8 comments:

Tom said...

Excellent post! I think that should hold true for all preppers. I'll link to this on APN

riverwalker said...

To: North Idaho Patriot

Thanks. Someone You Know did another excellent job of putting this information together.

BTW, There are additional parts that are forthcoming!

Mayberry said...

"Now, if you start thinking that these United States’ federal government agencies are flying black helicopters over your house spying on you because of your legal preps, you have a problem. So get some help, before you give Texas Preppers a bad rap"

I take issue with that statement. While I don't expect "black helicopters", history shows us that the government won't hesitate to confiscate "hoarded" food, confiscate weapons, pry into our private affairs without cause, and otherwise place all sorts of limitations on our God given Liberty...

I don't need "help" for recognizing those facts. And if that gives me, or anyone else a "bad rap", well that ain't my problem. In fact, I consider that possibility a symptom of the illness that has infected this country. Ignore these facts at your own peril. Like you said yourself we need a "healthy dose of paranoia". Well my "paranoia" is directed at the biggest threat to my survival there is: the U.S. government.

Tom said...

Excellent Point Mayberry. But I think his point was to prioritize. There are a lot more things that the fedgovs are actually doing to us rather than flying black helicopters over our homes. They don't have enough of them in their inventory to spy on everyone who owns a gun and stores food. I'm more concerned about the actual laws that are being passed, indoctrination of children in school, piling on more debt, over-taxation and unconstitutional raids that happen than about a whirlybird over my head, and I live a mile from Ruby Ridge. That's not to say that if I did see one flying over my house daily, you're damn straight I'm going to be a bit concerned.

shanlee said...

One of the biggest things that stop me from truly being prepared is the fear that all of the hard work will just get stolen anyway. If not from my neighbors then from the people who are supposed to protect me. LOL
Does the what if game ever stop your planning? How do you overcome the fear and plan for the worst?

Shannon

upinak said...

Good post. Albeit some didn't take your little "black helicopters" sentence with a grain of salt, I giggled at it.

But the post was a good start. Keep it up!

Someone You Know said...

North Idaho Patriot and Others,

Thanks for the compliments and the comments, everyone.

Riverwalker, thanks for the edit, too.

riverwalker said...

To: Someone You Know

You're welcome!

BTW, just fixed a couple of misspelled words and a few typos.

RW