30 second interview - why should we let you in?

[Groovy Mike]

If you had a group, would you let you in?

IMHO, trust absolutely no one who comes looking to get in. If you want or need a skill set, evaluate the individual from a distance then if they meet your need, approach them. I think this holds true now and is doubly applicable post SHTF.

[Rich]

If this is post SHTF then groups will need people. However many people your group has won't be enough. You'll need watchstanders, medics, farmers, workers, etc. 10 people won't fend off 2 attackers and you better believe the decadent will be forming groups. I'd be surprised not to see 100's of mutant zombie bikers. How many will it take to fend off that many? Hundreds...

I can talk lingo with anyone I meet: military, professional, farmer, blue-collar. If I can bugout according to plan I will be bringing food, guns, and ammo and I have the skills necessary for my family to survive. My question for them will be by what morals are they operating by? The Bible? Ten Commandments? Constitution? or do they have some fancy dictatorship or mob-rule? Any group that turns away my God-fearing family will likely be a group that I'm not particularly interested in anyway. Absent God's merciful hand of protection none of us will last long anyway. I'll not be looking to freeload off of anyone. Things that would immediately drive me elsewhere would be drugs, pornography, and alcohol.

I have skills better and worse than others on this board but no group with half a brain is gonna decide on you based on whether you can repair a lamp or not. They are gonna make decisions based on whether you can earn your keep and carry a rifle and most importantly, whether you are honorable or not. The dishonorable members of our society will be the downfall of many groups. They will steal, murder, fight, argue, complain, whine, avoid work, ect and that will destroy the communionship necessary to survive. The groups that do prosper will look for others, particularly others that bring with them their own food, guns, and supplies and a mindset of community. Show me a group that has enough food and wants no other help and I'll show you a group that will soon become a target of many. Word travels fast and envy will be ever-present in that situation. Yes, I have children but just how do all these groups plan on planting and harvesting food? You need bodies and bodies that will work. I continually instill in my children the need to work hard because we don't know where our next meal will come from. I try to teach them to pray and trust God and to work hard when given the chance.


On the flip-side, if I were the group and someone approached me I would want to know if they had the potential to add or subtract from my group? Are they bringing their own supplies? Do they look fat and slovenly? Are the children griping and complaining? Do the men look like thugs? What kind of jobs did they hold before? (lawyers and politicians are grounds for automatic dismissal) Do they hold to the same moral standards that I hold dear? Most of us who have held supervisory positions in the past have a pretty strong gut feel about a person’s character. Rarely have I been wrong before and never grossly wrong.


Skills my family continues to work on: gardening, getting in better physical shape, scouting-type skills (ability to follow orders and carry out tasks)

[Ziptie]

I think that any smart "compound" type community would only recruit or accept new people into what they might think is the only 'village' but what would only be a satellite arrangement for the purposes of evaluation. They shouldn't have any knowledge or suspicion that they are in anything but the main congregation, and during that period of observation by persons unknown, will prove themselves friend or foe. I think that an analogy would be a circle within a circle and so on, with each ring having limited exposure and access to the next layer in. trust is going to be a commodity, and people whose word wasn't worth spit in the world they think they had by the balls are going to find out really quickly that community isn't based on oneupmanship and back biting. There will be a chain of accountability- I hesitate to use the term chain of command, because it will take all hands, chiefs and indians alike to carry the load.

just my first thoughts.

Ziptie

[Sur-Sol]

You have been displaced during a time of national emergency.
You are a refugee.
"You got nothing."


You get 30 seconds to list your skill sets/attributes/reasons why they should let you into their little slice of heaven.
You get 30 seconds to ask and have answered any questions you may have.

Well?

I think so far, this is a very interesting thread. It's amazing how differently people think about possible scenarios in which they could feasibly find themselves......especially when not in harm's way. As a vet told me once; "People are funny. You never really know what you're going to do until you're in it." All the paranoia, analysis and self importance goes right out the window when you're cold, starving and fearful. That's a pretty dark place to be. In honesty, I think this scenario shines a good spotlight on just how realistic we really are. If I never remember another piece of survival advice, I'll always remember that I can't eat pride.

[Rich]

I missed the...

You are a refugee.
"You got nothing."

How can a person with a family (particularly like mine with very young children) have a chance in that situation? Sure, I have skills and experiences but my family will consume more in that situation than they will contribute. And if I have nothing, how can I ensure my family's safety in a group that I don't know? My wife and I have always been very careful about who we allowed to have contact with our children.

[jaeger]

My name is Jaeger, and I can help with medical needs, security, hunting, gathering, labor, and i'm resourceful. I work hard and don't need direct supervision. Tell me where you need me and i'll get to work.

[Joe]

I started posting another reply using Rich's last post as a launch pad.
I was not responding directly to you, Rich - just taking some stuff from your post to discuss broader issues.
Anyway, it got long so I put in on the blog instead.

http://vikingpreparedness.blogspot.com/ ... t-you.html

[Rev Clonn]

I am an ordained minister, with training in teaching preaching and counseling,
I am trained as a EMT, medical asst, radiology tech, and remote area medical provider, with
experience in rural desert work after a major earthquake.
I grew up on a small hobby farm with a huge garden, and livestock, I know how and when to plant and how and when to butcher
that stock. I also have a lifetime of treating those animals when they become ill.
I have a masters degree in religion with minor studies in history and counseling. I have a strong interest in primitive and pre industrial life
based on the Anabaptist and menonite ancestors I have studied.
I am well versed in teaching as I have home schooled my kids for 6 years covering all grades from the beginning to high school graduation,
I planned all my classes and provided all the teaching, without outside planning.
I am currently a handy man for homes and business, doing plumbing, electrical, carpentry, walls, painting, a/c and heating,
along with preventative maintenance and special projects like a medical classroom for nurses.
As projects for the schooling of my children we have made yogurt, gunpowder, wine, sour-kraut, rocket launchers, bread
( grew the wheat, ground it, made sourdough starter, baked the bread) and made rifles from 80% receivers.
I am a certified protection officer with more than 12 years of experience in security and safety including VIP, body-guarding,
housing, casino and hospitality, shopping malls, amusement parks, armored cars and cash handling, supervision and management,
bike and vehicle patrol, armed and unarmed, conventions, surveillance with and without cameras, and fugitive recovery,
report writing, court testimony, and planning, teaching and setting up safety/security programs from scratch.
I have trained and qualified with pistols, revolvers, sub guns, shotguns, evil black rifles, and long rifles.
I have 4+years of military leadership training, with experience in giving and following orders.

( I tried it took 40 seconds to say that)
Now that I have shown my value, what does your group have to offer that I cannot find at the next village?

[pondputz]

I too could go on with quite a list of skills, But, I would like to know if your group believes in PC, and worship the government,

If so, no thanks, I will take my chances on my own.

Putz

[BEAR!]

I wouldn't want to belong to any group that would have someone like me as a member.

Groucho