Comments on: Unlocking the Safety

By: jhereg

jhereg — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 12:52:44 +0000

[quote]I’m just trying to make sure your personal decision doesn’t scare someone else off from trying.
[/quote]

Ah, no, that really wasn’t my intent. I’ll readily admit that I’m in a less that ideal situation for many reasons. Having kids right now, does make it harder, tho’ obviously not impossible. I live in an area that the collapse hasn’t really touched much yet and that’s certainly part of my decision.

ChandraShakti, what part of the country are you in? I’m in Ohio myself, anywhere nearby?

By: ChandraShakti

ChandraShakti — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 03:18:07 +0000

The homeschooling idea is a good one. I am making progress toward acquiring a fair bit of land with a (barely) up-to-code house on it. But the social thing is also an issue. I have not been as successful as Jason at gathering a tribe. I have been working at it and talking with potential members. But without being able to offer them more than hope for some vague future at this point, none of them are biting yet. I do have a plan to escape that also allows me to continue surviving if civilization somehow manages to continue. The main missing element is… community. Which is believe was the main thrust of this article. *sigh* perhaps once I have the place I can get the people to join me too.

By: Jason Godesky

Jason Godesky — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 16:04:47 +0000

Yeah, it’s hard now, but even now, there’s cracks showing. Those cracks are just going to get wider, and the whole thing’s going to get easier. We all need to figure out for ourselves how long to hang on before we bail. I’m just trying to make sure your personal decision doesn’t scare someone else off from trying.

By: jhereg

jhereg — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 16:00:35 +0000

Well, I guess that’s where the line gets blurry. There’s a whole grey-scale continuum here stretching waaaaay back, and, yes, there are more opportunities opening now, and they’ll continue to do so, but, *right* *now*, I think that even though it *is* theorhetically possible to swing it, practical reasons are still going to push the difficulty level up too far.

We actually *did* homeschool for a year, but the social aspect just didn’t pan out as well as we ( and by “we” I mean my daughter:) ) liked, despite the effort we put into it.

By: Jason Godesky

Jason Godesky — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 14:21:01 +0000

Sure, but you’d be amazed what homeschooling and just having a structure on some land up to code could do for getting all those nasty feds to suddenly not give a damn what you do.

By: jhereg

jhereg — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 13:56:19 +0000

Well, I agree in theory, but I’m not yet convinced that the collapse is sufficiently advanced that I can successfully finagle a way to get my 6-year-old out of school and into a primitive situation. Granted, I’m not ready to do that yet anyway. We’ve got an escape plan as well, and there’s a few more milestones to meet first.

By: Jason Godesky

Jason Godesky — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 13:36:07 +0000

Co-existing with a hostile civilization is the hardest part, but it’s not impossible. They just might take away your child if you don’t observe their zoning laws and whatnot. Here’s our own escape plan, and how we plan to navigate those obstacles.

It’s not impossible. Civilization isn’t going to “come after you.” Mostly, it doesn’t care. It might crush you in its oblivious apathy towards you, as with Brent Ladd’s account with CYS, but it’s not open hostility. That means it’s simply an obstacle to be accounted for, not necessarily a show-stopper.

By: jhereg

jhereg — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 12:49:28 +0000

I’m right there with you ChandraShakti. I’m not afraid of the wilderness either (especially not forests, I’ll actually gravitate *toward* forests, *because* I feel safer there). It’s because civilization won’t let you live outside of itself. You might be able to swing it for yourself, but once a child is involved, your days of primitive living are numbered….

By: ChandraShakti

ChandraShakti — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 03:41:33 +0000

I’m not scared of the wilderness. I’m scared of what civilization will do to me if I try to walk away now. Specifically, take away my child. “To protect her” from my uncivilized ways. Just like our government did to the Native tribes of this land a generation and three ago. That is the hold Leviathan has over me. Not my safety, but my right to raise my progeny. So, until collapse or her reaching the age of majority I stay in order to be with her.

By: brix

brix — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 17:45:28 +0000

A lot of work in environmental psychology (specifically prospect-refuge theory) suggests that forests don’t feel safe because . . . they aren’t. At least as far as our senses are concerned. Savannahs (not coincidentally, where we evolved) offer both excellent prospect (ability to see what’s going on “out there”) and refuge (ability to not be seen by others/predators).

So lets head for the plains…