For a minute there I thought I had to get off my couch, when all the while the fact is we don't have to do anything much but keep things afloat for just a few decades more! In fact, we'd best shut up about PO, because if our offspring finds out we knew about it all along, they'll turn and wring our necks come 2036!
Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 3:43 am Post subject: Re: UK: Would you steal food from allotments etc?
SoothSayer wrote:
Serious question for city/town dwellers:
If things got bad would YOU roam the countryside looking for food?
I'd wait until you had havested it, then turn up with a lorry and heavily armed. I'd then use your crops to obtain further supplies. In essense I'd harvest the credulous fool crop.
SoothSayer wrote:
Would you steal it from allotments, gardens & fields?
While there was anything left (about 2 weeks max from food becoming scarce).
SoothSayer wrote:
Would you expect to be dealt with VERY harshly if caught?
I'd expect to have to ensure police/army were working for me, or not a problem any more. Given their limited numbers I'd suggest they would be less of a worry than other competition.
SoothSayer wrote:
Just wondering ... I need to make defense plans
Get an island, at least 50miles away from land. And a gunboat. _________________ Arcane Domain
Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 3:58 am Post subject: Re: UK: Would you steal food from allotments etc?
SoothSayer wrote:
If things got bad would YOU roam the countryside looking for food?
Nope. Before things got that bad I'd have given half my seeds to trusted friends and used the other half to grow myself some tasty things, like cherry tomatoes and strawberries.
The underlying logic is the following: I'm a poor gardener. Therefore, my friends will be probably better than me at getting things growing. And they will be grateful. Grateful friends are the source of all good things, including any nice food they get hold of.
The reason to grow little luxuries as opposed to potatoes is that I can't believe staples will be scarce. It's always the luxuries that get scarce. And if staples get scarce, we're all screwed anyway.
SoothSayer wrote:
Would you steal it from allotments, gardens & fields?
No. I'm pretty certain the owners of the land would be very pissed off, and ugly consequences would follow.
SoothSayer wrote:
Would you expect to be dealt with VERY harshly if caught?
Yes, unless it was an emergency situation. People are willing to help on emergencies.
Joined: May 24, 2004 Posts: 3428 Location: California, USA
Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 7:02 am Post subject: Re: UK: Would you steal food from allotments etc?
I'll throw in my two-pence worth here...
It's in everyone's interest to maintain the lawful order, if for no other reason, for the sake of division of labor and trade, which are two of the core forms of cooperation upon which humans depend for survival (another, obviously, is organized defense).
Stealing during an emergency is not just a matter of theft, it's a breach of the fabric of trust under conditions where trust is most important. As such it is justifyably dealt with harshly. In the US, under those conditions, it is considered acceptable to defend oneself against looters by any necessary means including the use of deadly force.
Anyone who sets themselves up deliberately to engage in organized theft as a means of subsistence, is basically a pirate, i.e. a terrorist without ideology, and can/should be dealt with accordingly.
In any case, the effort needed to "work" as an outlaw, is usually equivalent to or greater than the effort needed to work legally for one's own subsistence. Thus as a practical matter it makes more sense to find ways to become a positive contributor to the local web of trade relations.
If you can't grow food because you live in a development where there is insufficient land, you can learn something else, for instance a mechanical or technical trade. Wherever you are, if you have a working brain in your head, you can figure out a way to make yourself valueable enough to others that you can exchange your labor for the goods you need.
Start learning skills now, the more the better; do not delay. And build & strengthen local social networks and webs of trust that will form the basis for networks of trade and mutual defense when "the time" comes.
Joined: Aug 04, 2005 Posts: 421 Location: Traded the man in front of the tank for a cat playing the banjo
Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 3:36 am Post subject: Re: UK: Would you steal food from allotments etc?
SoothSayer wrote:
If things got bad would YOU roam the countryside looking for food?
I honestly hope to be in the countryside providing my own food by then, but if I don’t have the time to set up then the answer would be YES, I would head for the countryside at the first chance, no matter if I have to go on foot for days.
SoothSayer wrote:
Would you steal it from allotments, gardens & fields?
I would rather steal from big from big food chains Wall Mart style, but only if everyone is doing it (way less chances to get caught). I won’t be the one to throw the first stone, that’s certain, but someone will, once there are 100 guys taking as much as they can it does not make a difference to be 101. Stealing from private family gardens is another thing; I rather pick up food from big farm fields, huge ones that are obviously not set for the survival of a family but for the economical benefit of a farmer. Those fields are huge and by the time they see me I may be long gone. If I was desperate I would even steal from family fields, no shame. If I get shot… oh well, at least I’ve tried.
SoothSayer wrote:
Would you expect to be dealt with VERY harshly if caught?
I expect not to be caught at all, but if I was I would try to talk the situation out. If that is not possible I expect to be forced to work or just beaten.
SoothSayer wrote:
Just wondering ... I need to make defense plans
I think you should worry about the stupid type that will just destroy your field when it is not even time to harvest, the kind that will rape all your family, eat what you’ve got, set your house on fire and move on to the next house, just for “fun”. This non-thinking type is hard to deal with. I am thinking about getting gas masks and producing any kind of home made gas that is not lethal, and combine this with as many weapons or home made explosives that you can get a hold of. By explosives I mean firecrackers, of course, there are many good forums on how to make firecrakers on the net. If you are in a community I think the most important is to be VERY HARD on those you find stealing, break bones and tell them to “tell their friends this is the way we deal with thieves here”. I think that’s a must. A rumor saying that your area is full of crazy f—kers that break bones to those found stealing could benefit you. _________________ When someone interprets as derogatory almost anything that is said about him (or about groups with whom he identifies) we conclude that he has inferiority feelings or low self-esteem.
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