Hey there Neighbor. I need you to set up an overwatch in the third story of this red building.
The creator of the blog "Bugged Out Blog" was so kind as to send me a link to his blog.
In it, I was taken by this article as it goes to the crux of why we study civil defense and prepping:
Normalcy Bias & Distractions, General Rambling
I do not know why this happens, but it does. Perhaps it is something primal in our nature that directs us to certain individuals; a vibe, or an aura, if you will. We are drawn to each other for different reasons. Usually it is a common interest or belief, but sometimes it is for complimentary skills. Humans are social animals and we want to share our time on this earth with the kind of people that share our lifestyle.
This is the same process that has been repeated large and small through the course of human history. Families become tribes, tribes become clans, clans become states, so forth and so on until they become empires. In-between the familial cracks are the spaces we will with friends and acquaintances. This is your tribe.
Good Neighbors
"One thing that was very surprising was that several of my neighbors have come to me asking for gun advice. I've done some repairs on their guns in the past, and have helped them with decisions on new purchases.?
Like it or not, however big or small, your tribe looks to you for direction and mentorship. We all possess certain desirable skills that people are drawn to and will want you to share what you know or have.
This gentleman was able to find a niche, albeit a bit reluctantly, as not only a leader, but a leader with a skill who could also train others in that skill. In so doing, the tribe is enriched. That is an incredibly powerful thing.
Bad Neighbors
"We've had a recent dirtbag influx when a couple of the elderly people in my neighborhood passed away and the family took over the property. 4am fireworks, trash blowing around, their guests tossing food wrappers and drinks out of their cars, code violations, poor lawncare, etc. Nothing serious, yet, but still annoying. The new occupants have been hauled off to jail a couple times for minor court violations, but not for felonies. I've contacted my people on the local PD to have them investigate them, but I haven't taken a stand, yet."
We all know these guys too. They are the reason you do what you do. There are obvious bad neighbors that lack certain social graces, but there are also the panoply of life's weirdo's that may not be so obvious.
The only way to break through the veil and get to the truth is to get acquainted. Trust your gut. If you have a bad track record, then trust your SO's gut.
OPSEC
"I've evidently been very remiss in my dealings with neighbors. I've allowed them a glimpse into my security abilities, and I've trained a few of them through the security consulting company I work for part time. I'm now seen as a leader (target) for armed incursions should there be any in a WROL situation; This was not my intention."
He is not unduly aware of the precariousness of his situation. As the Old Man was fond of saying, "it is not paranoia if they are really following you". That little blued haired widow at the end of the block knows more about your families comings and goings than you do. I guarantee it. However with a little ingenuity, you can camouflage just about anything.
Prior planning preventing poor performance
You prep for yourself and your tribe. Even if it means cutting in your neighbors as much as you can sanely and safely allow. You also prep for, as Beck would put it, the "shit-kickin', speed-takin', Truck-drivin' neighbors downstairs". Knowing whom is whom in the cocktail of strangers that make up every neighborhood before people are hungry is the key element.
Summer is here. If you do not know your neighbors, I would put that in the "to do" category. Block parties and cook outs are an excellent way to show goodwill and sniff out potential allies or points of contention. Not that you should show the fellas your armory. But for the price of a few pounds of burger meat you can see people in their element. It is amazingly how quickly a few cold ones brings out the braggadocio and political opinions. Always take note. They are doing the same thing.
8 comments:
"We've had a recent dirtbag influx when a couple of the elderly people in my neighborhood passed away and the family took over the property. 4am fireworks, trash blowing around, their guests tossing food wrappers and drinks out of their cars, code violations, poor lawncare, etc. Nothing serious, yet, but still annoying. The new occupants have been hauled off to jail a couple times for minor court violations, but not for felonies. I've contacted my people on the local PD to have them investigate them, but I haven't taken a stand, yet."
The problem with this is there are no boundries. Most of what you listed is why I left the suburbs. Not because I was doing any thing wrong, but because people were causing me trouble for the most minor of violations such as my grass being 3.1 inches tall instead of the required 3" and a brown spot in my lawn from the neighbors dog pissing on it. The list is really endless. I even got wrote up and fined once because my paint didnt match anymore on one side of my house due to fading from the sun... They came by and held up a paint sample to it....
I really dont know what to do about the inconsiderate people of the world such as your neighbors but Im not giving up my freedom so I can assure a piece of their garbage dosent blow across my lawn. I just pick it up.
I recently met a neighbor (lives 1/2 mile away in the same development) recently out walking my dog. I was wearing a camo and cover at the time. I nodded and said hello as I was passing and he walked over and introduced himself as Tom and asked if I hunt. He said he sees me in camo all the time and thought I might hunt. So I said yeah, I hunt a little with some friends in upstate PA. A couple more interactions and it turns out he hunts, fishes, loads his own ammo, owns multiple guns etc etc. Just. Like. ME. I will most definitely nurture this new neighborly relationship.
I had a neighbor who was a real piece of work. His oldest 2 kids were selling drugs and all around bums. Took a 2-Liter bottle with the top cut off and loaded it full of dry redi-mix concrete. Unscrewed his sewer clean-out plug and dumped the dry concrete down the hole. He provided the water when he flushed the toilet and all I could say is that "Constipation" works every time it has been tried.
In vino, veritas.
Never fully trust someone until you've had a drink or two to find out what they are really like.
To Anonymous poster at 2:14 that was directing his comment at the concrete comment,
Clean up the language and I will have no problem posting your comment.
We do not attack each other, we argue points. I direct you to the following post for any questions as to what is acceptable to post:
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2016/04/rules-for-comments.html
- Matthew
Mike, I have nothing but respect for you and all that you have done. However, I was writing on the fly and dont really remember all that was I wrote. I write like I speak, a bulldozer that has never been greased.
You may edit as you wish, or delete if you desire. You will always be cool in my book!
I deleted the comment, so I could not give you the entire text. In a nutshell, you had taken the poster to task for vandalism and offered an alternative.
Seriously though, thank you for reaching back with a clarification. Even if I had the ability to edit a commenters post, which I don't due to how the blogger.com comment system works. But if I could, I would still find that ethically and morally reprehensible. We all deserve to be heard. Just have to keep it civil.
Please feel free to post your response at your leisure.
I guess the point here is that we are fast moving into a situation where if you are not sufficiently politically connected to make the legislation in your own favor you're just going to have to 'take the law into your own hands'.
That's an uncomfortable notion, to be sure. A lot of the appeal of government is distributing and diluting the responsibility for what must be done if we are to defend ourselves...things that are often quite a bit more serious than plugging a sewer pipe.
But life isn't supposed to be comfortable. Life is pain, to have no discomforts or tension, no striving to reach what is not easily accomplished, is to be as dead.
To live greatly is to strive greatly, and always for even greater things.
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