# Not right, but maybe you should...



## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

...think about two things, 1.) take what is offered and 2.) realize you're on your own.

Offered for discussion:

1.) As many of us develop stockpiles and stores and we can sustain ourselves for a bit longer than most, there's another side to it. If you don't que up when the FEMA truck pulls up and starts handing out MRE's and water, people might notice. We may assume incorrectly that once FEMA responds it's heading toward recovery, but what if that's a flash in the pan as they reprioritize and effort is shifted for either pragmatic or politically correct reasons. The problem might be a long way from being over but if you're not lining up to get water and MRE's, some will notice. If the trucks stop coming, the other people might visit you because they know or think you have enough that you weren't in need before.

2.) I guess I'm culturally white, but most wouldn't identify me that way if you saw me, so this is perhaps a fair perspective: There's a dark reality. Some believe that economically depressed minority areas are priorities, not white suburbanites and rural residents. The belief behind this is, many white are better at prepping and they do less media complaining than other groups due to societal expectations and it makes for better press photos when relief is given to minorities. This came up during Katrina where entire white neighborhoods were bypassed. For many here, your area is not a priority. It's better to believe that and therefore, be better prepared. In areas with less diversity, this isn't an issue.

During a disaster response type briefing at a local city a long time ago, I remember the instructor, who spoke surprisingly frankly saying "If there's a nursing home, problems on Hilltop (a minority area), and a middle class white suburban neighborhood all in trouble following a distaster, where do you think they're going to send the assets? Where do you think the news crews are going to be? You're on your own."


----------



## PS360 (Sep 10, 2010)

I think it’s very unlikely you would be missed unless one of the guys handing out food knows you.

Or if there’s someone just standing there for hours watching the lines with a checklist of everyone they know by sight, and ticking off names until they have a remaining sub-list of people who didn’t show up.


----------



## mmszbi (Nov 14, 2009)

I don't have a problem with standing in line should it come around, heck, our tax dollars paid for all that they are giving out, just seems would finally get some payback. In a round-a-bout way, stretching your budget. Why not. Also would allow you to assess possible adversaries and to judge the condition of surroundings and neighbors. INTEL!


----------



## thunderdan19 (Oct 12, 2010)

I say take whatever the guvment is handing out to supplement what you got, but don't risk everything you have by putting yourself out there if raiders are hitting up FEMA handouts (assuming law and order are things of the past).

After TSHTF, any food or water is good food or water, because you never know when relief sources will run out. Save your own stock until you absoolutely need it, so long as the food lines are safe.

And, as mentioned above, the lines might be sources of news and intel about what's going on in your area, good or bad. But, I'd definitely show up armed (discreetly, of course).


----------



## PS360 (Sep 10, 2010)

I naturally dislike crowds, but I do like free stuff. 
It would just depend on how long the line was whether it was worth my time or not.

Most likely it would be so long I wouldn’t bother. (like waiting 1-3 hours to get some MREs and water)
isn't worth it


----------



## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

SurviveNthrive said:


> ...think about two things, 1.) take what is offered and 2.) realize you're on your own.
> 
> Offered for discussion:
> 
> ...


 Another great reason to keep a low profile, i've lived here for more yrs than i care to admit but people don't notice me missing because they don't see me very often in the local stores or coffee houses, gas stations.
I don't think we'll have to worry about FEMA trucks being around handing out anything in a national disastor or a national SHTF situation, maybe in a city like NO they could handle it for a while, but it almost looks like the next disastor may be a complete financial collaspe all over America if not the whole world, Everyone will be looking out for number one, I don't think FEMA has the trucks or the manpower to distribute food to 300,000,000 people even if they had the food..


----------



## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

just because they don't see you does NOT mean they don't know you're there...

sometimes the best place to hide something is in plain sight

and of course any proposed course of action, either way, will have exceptions/contingencies to it as well


----------



## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

I'm in a pretty rural area with unfriendly walking terrain (big hills). If they set up hand-out stations, I'm doubting they'll get much of a turnout (including myself). Now, if they drove down the back roads and met people at the end of their driveways or every 1/2 mile, then I'd partake. At that close of range, neighbors will notice if you're not in line.


----------



## SnakeDoc (Nov 10, 2009)

Don't worry they'll be going door to door for your guns first, so they'll know who lives where.


----------



## Clarice (Aug 19, 2010)

I agree, they will know where you are. I will take the handouts, I can use them to barter with, eat myself or possibly in a threatening situation buy my way out by letting the bad guys think this is all I have, gov't. handouts. None of us really know what we would do until a certain situation confronts us.


----------



## SnakeDoc (Nov 10, 2009)

I live in a tiny, rural town. It is a community of at least 65% LDS. Most of the aid will probably be run through the setup that the town already has. If it gets heavy handed, I would assume that it might not go well for the door kickers.


----------



## SnakeDoc (Nov 10, 2009)

The upside is the lines might be a covert way to communicate/spread info under the keepers noses.


----------



## kyfarmer (Feb 22, 2009)

They already know where you are at. Why do ya think those a-holes GPS,ed everyone's door during the nation wide head count. :gaah: I think this was bull crap, but if you were counted you are in the same location, they have ya. Why would those scumballs need a fix on ya door, that is scary suck for sure. Don't start trouble during marshal law or, a drone will plant one through ya front door. :scratch


----------



## mickbear (Apr 9, 2009)

SurviveNthrive said:


> ... Where do you think the news crews are going to be? You're on your own."


Sooo true so true


----------



## Lonewufcry (Jul 26, 2010)

I have to agree. If it came down to it take what you can get but remember to always watch your six. everyone here has made a good point but what SnT said makes sense.


----------



## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

My city is already 65% minorities who have nothing but section 8 housing and food stamps. Most of them did such a good job raising their kids that they are raising their grand kids. They show up for all the freebies and many don't have much gratitude when things run out, but it is only fair to say there are a few who appreciate what they are given. Personally I would stay away from people like this in a long line for FEMA handouts. I would rely more on fishing and foraging in my own town and surrounding countryside.

There are still rural areas around me where you can build without a permit, and I am looking for one of these for my BOL.I think if I stay off the grid and never use a cell phone there the gubbermint would not know that it exhists, and that my address is my intown one.


----------



## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

speaking of cell phones... get the OLDEST one you can stand to use, no sim cards, no GPS, no internet connectivity, MAYBE a camera... sure they can track you by tower but that is imprecise & only when you are 'on'

I personally have eliminated my wireless footprint, I don't even use cordless phones at home... there is NO rf emanating from my house (my computer is homemade & 12' underground, there are no laptops) so the FCC can go pound salt


----------



## OntarioMan (Oct 23, 2010)

> If you don't que up when the FEMA truck pulls up and starts handing out MRE's and water, people might notice.


It will sound cynical, but by the time the government trucks do show up, the situation will have resolved itself. I'm much more worried about people's perception of my preps between the time disaster hits, and the time that the first aid truck comes. You make a good point about keeping a low profile while the trucks are showing up, in case they do stop and you've already bragged about your stash.


----------



## BuggingIn (May 31, 2010)

I'd go stand in line if I knew about it, but if the power is out, internet down, etc, I probably would never hear there was a FEMA handout going on. Too far out in the boonies, so only if they actually went door to door would I know. Don't know if my neighbors would miss me standing in line or now. I know the closest ones, but not the ones down the other side roads.


----------



## horseman09 (Mar 2, 2010)

In a real SHTF situation, I don't think I'd wanna stand in a FEMA line and leave my family and home unprotected. 

As I recall from reports from Katrina, aid workers would only give supplies to the number of people in line. In other words, if you have a family of four, you only get supplies for four if they are also in the line.


----------



## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

If SHTF in a small area the "resque rangers" might show up but if it is continent wide supplies and fuel will run short really quick especially in the event of an EMP ,manmade or otherwise. But as mentioned earlier the bordom of lineups loostens tongues


----------



## idahofreedom (Nov 3, 2008)

PS360 said:


> I think it's very unlikely you would be missed unless one of the guys handing out food knows you.
> 
> Or if there's someone just standing there for hours watching the lines with a checklist of everyone they know by sight, and ticking off names until they have a remaining sub-list of people who didn't show up.


That may be true in bigger communities, but where I live, a person would be missed. I can hardly go to a store without seeing someone I know. Blending in is a good idea.


----------



## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

You have people in normal times who obsess, making sure that no one gets more than their 'fair share', during a crisis, those people would be in overdrive and they certainly would want to know why others weren't drawing their rations.


----------



## greaseman (Jun 13, 2009)

I prefer the mushroom tactic. Be as unnoticable, out of sight, out of mind as I can be. If trouble starts, the last place I want to be is in a line some where. if they come door to door, I'll take what they're giving out. otherwise, I'm staying put.


----------



## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

JMO...bad to be a mushroom...people keeping you in the dark, because others operated in the dark and in the light.

I'm a bit cut throat and there will be people who are also prepped and brilliant enough to point fingers, plant seeds and otherwise redirect.

It's also bad to operate on the level of thinking that something is merely within the parameters you set...some day the system might collapse. What might be merely a local or regional problem might merely precede the Fall. Preparedness doesn't end when a disaster hits, even then, opportunities to secure more resources matter, in fact, it's even more important once a problem has occurred. Just because FEMA shows up doesn't mean they won't reestablish or shift priorities, or that they'll be able to handle it. If we collapse as a society, in the initial stages, the response will most likely be in the normal manner. (For those of us who like the movie visuals, this is where you'd see abandoned barracades and FEMA and national guard vehicles, collection centers that were evactuated or lost.)

There will be people worse than me and I'm a bit harsh...There we are, perhaps the situation is fragile. FEMA might be faltering but right now there's food and water being brought in. That's the time for someone cagey to point out to others: "Hey, you ever notice the Johnson's never need water and food. Makes you wonder what they're sitting on." The seed is planted. If things get worse, most won't think of the person who said that, they all focus on the Johnsons and what they might have.

Finger pointing is one of the best rediction techniques. The food and water distribution centers can be like the water source in a small village in the past, being in tune, keeping in touch matters. What is merely gossip in other times can cause people to get killed in other situations. I mentioned in another post the possibility of a self appointed, self important group suddenly showing up at your door step, _suggesting_ that you share what you have.

This isn't about being fair, it's about survival. It happens in many street situations right now among those who are more vicious, cunning and willling to do what it takes than most of us are right now. People didn't survive the death camps, the killing fields, the gulags and many other situations by being nice. For those who say "If it's like that then it's not worth living." I'm not going to say 'grow up' because I don't want to increase the competition among survivors willing to do what it takes and like those who survived the concentration camps and gulags, those flexible and vicious enough to survive are the ones who define history, because they survived.

I would be keeping track of everyone because everyone is a potential competitor, and many are potential threats.


----------



## greaseman (Jun 13, 2009)

I would try to win an oscar for the best portrayal of a poor, have nothing, just like everybody else sheeple. The first sign of real trouble, I'll bury what I have, and play dumb, and figure out my next move,. Nothing is written in stone, and I believe a daily appraisal of the situation will have to be made. it's easy to armchair quarterback what you might do, but in the real world, you never know.
I will work with my neighbors, who I have known for 35 years. My newer neighbor is also a prepper. His wife turned him onto the prep scene some time ago. She's a banker. What does she know that i don't know??
I have a feeling that we'll have to use every tool at our disposal to make the best way we can. Things will be changing constantly, and will require pro active thinking. Whatever we're going to do, we better do it quick, cause trouble is coming soon. I know we've been saying that for a long time, but things are starting to line up for sure now. good luck


----------



## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

greaseman said:


> I would try to win an oscar for the best portrayal of a poor, have nothing, just like everybody else sheeple. The first sign of real trouble, I'll bury what I have, and play dumb, and figure out my next move,. Nothing is written in stone, and I believe a daily appraisal of the situation will have to be made. it's easy to armchair quarterback what you might do, but in the real world, you never know.
> I will work with my neighbors, who I have known for 35 years. My newer neighbor is also a prepper. His wife turned him onto the prep scene some time ago. She's a banker. What does she know that i don't know??
> I have a feeling that we'll have to use every tool at our disposal to make the best way we can. Things will be changing constantly, and will require pro active thinking. Whatever we're going to do, we better do it quick, cause trouble is coming soon. I know we've been saying that for a long time, but things are starting to line up for sure now. good luck


Well, said...a bit of acting won't hurt and no one needs to know everything or even anything when it's our own personal business.


----------

