Ready To Join the Resistance?

Are You Ready To Join the Resistance? – Part Two

by Shorty Dawkins

from Oath Keepers

In Part One of this essay, I wrote about the many ways we are under attack; politically, economically and culturally. You either grasp how this is so, or you don’t. If you don’t grasp it, yet, then you will not get prepared for the inevitable. Part Two is for those who understand and want to learn what they can do.

Getting Prepared

The first way you need to get prepared is in your head. The US economy is trending downward, steadily. Eventually, goods will become scarce, as the dollar will become worth less and less when it loses its World Reserve status, and the Petrodollar ceases to be. Those goods still available will cost more. There will be massive layoffs. Violence will increase, particularly from gangs, the jobless and from ISIS. Do some research on what is happening in Venezuela and Brazil. In Venezuela it is the drop in income from their oil fields that is causing most of the problems, (and the fact they are a socialist country), while in Brazil it is the near collapse of their currency. In Venezuela, there are shortages. Toilet paper is nearly impossible to find, and feminine hygiene products are scarce. Waiting in long lines for what scarce goods are available is the new norm for them.

Life will change. You need to accept this simple fact, and not wallow in self-pity. Being prepared ahead of the slow collapse is the key to your survival.

All indications point to Martial Law being declared at some point. This will no doubt happen as violence increases and the numbers of jobless and homeless spoke. The cities will be locked down. Rural areas will be largely left alone, at first, and will only have to deal with Military forces coming to take stored supplies, or even farm stores and animals. Gas and diesel will no longer be available in rural areas. The electricity grid in rural areas may very well be shut down. If you live in a city, you will be under the command of DHS or the military. You will depend on them for everything. You will be forced into virtual slavery: do as you are told, period. If you manage to escape from the city, what then? Do you have a prearranged place to go? Heading into the mountains and living off the land is only an option for true survivalists. Most untrained people who attempt this won’t survive the first winter. Prepare ahead of time. Expect to have to contribute something of value to those who are willing to take you in.

This brings me to the next point that needs to be made. You may have great food storage, and you may have a number of guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition, but do you have a group of people capable of supporting you in defense of your supplies? What happens if you are attacked by a hungry mob of thirty gang members? And when those supplies run out, what then?

Beyond stockpiling food, guns and ammo, you need to have skills useful in a collapse scenario. How many skills can you really learn? No one can do it all. You need to have capable people with you, that you can trust. Trust takes time to develop. Start now to grow your group beyond your immediate family. Begin forming your equivalent of a Community Protection Team. It doesn’t have to be associated with Oath Keepers. If you can’t find other Oath Keepers in your immediate area, build it from fellow veterans, farmers, church members, or from your neighborhood. You’ll need people experienced with weapons, communications, medical, engineering (think Mr. Fix-it), and logistics (think Mr. I-can-find-anything).

Building such a team takes time. Don’t delay. While you are doing this, begin learning a useful skill. Combat medicine is a useful skill, communications is another. Learn those, but don’t stop there. Can you grow your own food? Do you know anything about herbal medicines? Can you build a shelter? Can you make clothes? Can you make boots/moccasins from hides? Can you tan hides? Can you raise chickens, cattle, sheep, hogs or turkeys? When your store of food runs out, you need to provide your own. When your boots wear out, you need someone in your group who can make you another pair, no matter how rudimentary they may be.

You, and each member of your group, needs to be able to produce something of value. This will enable you to trade with other groups you come into contact with. For instance, you may be raising sheep, whose wool you can trade to someone who spins and weaves, in exchange for some yarn, or some herbs, or whatever they have to offer. The same goes for growing excess food, which can be traded.

Learn a useful skill. I can’t emphasize this enough. When you become proficient in one skill, move on to the next.

The 17 year old daughter of one of our CPT members is learning to tan hides and make moccasins and other leather goods. A 66 year old member of our Team is already a midwife and a member of our local EMT squad, and is learning as much as she can about herbal medicines. Several of us are learning to extend our food growing capacity. I spent 30 years as a carpenter. That is one skill I possess, but I am learning more. I am learning about herbal medicines and communications. I am starting to gather hand tools for as many jobs as I can. Shovels, hoes, rakes, buckets, axes, hatchets, hammers, saws, chisels, screwdrivers, any type of hand tool, because what good is a power saw or drill if the electric grid goes down? Fuel might not be available for generators.

A very valuable skill is canning and food preservation. If it comes to the point of surviving on what food you can grow or raise, you will need to know how to can your precious food for the winter time.
If you are in a rural location, by all means, get some chickens. You will have a source of food that lasts. You can increase your flock, if you have a rooster, for meat, while gathering eggs. Adding some turkeys is a good idea.

Knowing how to sharpen axes, handsaws, chisels, knives and other tools without power equipment is another good skill.

The survival of your family and group depend on you developing as many skills as possible. You senior citizens have, throughout your life, acquired experience and knowledge. You may be past being able to do something you know how to do, because of infirmity, but you can pass on that knowledge to someone more fit. It will be for you to educate those willing to learn.

Dealing With Others

In a collapse situation, you will have to deal with others. It may be your neighbor, or someone in your town, or a wanderer in search of food. Whoever it is, you will have to deal with them. Hard choices will have to be made.

Here is a scenario for you. Your next door neighbor, Joe, is an insurance salesman and his wife, Jane, is a nurse. They are in their middle 40’s and have three children, a boy of 17, a girl of 14, and another boy who is 9. All are in reasonable shape. They are basically decent people, but have never made any preparations. Let’s assume your group is on your farm of twenty acres. Joe and Jane live in a house with 2 acres. Your group has twenty people of various ages. You live on a country road that is not heavily traveled, 5 miles from town. When the collapse began to be serious, and the stores began to run out of food, Joe and Jane ran out of food and asked for your help. Would you take them into your group? If so, why? If not, why? It will need to be a group decision.

If you turn them away, you have an enemy next door. Of course they may leave and look for help elsewhere, but they are still your enemy, and they know you are prepared. If you take them in, you have added a nurse to your group, along with two men capable of helping out with chores, even if they have no experience with firearms. The girl can be taught many things, such as gardening, helping to look after the chickens, harvesting and canning food, or looking after young children. Even the 9 year old boy will be capable of some chores. There will be an added drain on your food supplies, but at least in the long run you will gain, provided they agree to fully pitch in with all the work.

The point of this scenario is that you need to look at the big picture, and not the little one. Think long-term. Joe most likely has some tools at his house, and maybe they have some other useful items to add to the group’s stash. They have two acres of land for farming, or filled with trees for future firewood. They might have room to take in a few others. Just because they didn’t prepare, like you did, doesn’t mean they can’t be a useful part of your group now, if they are willing to do their share. You have a team member as a neighbor, instead of an enemy. Your group can grow in this manner. Be sure to weed out the bad apples, of course.

You obviously can’t take in everyone. Choices will have to be made. It won’t be easy turning away some people, but your survival requires you to make those decisions. If you have stockpiled enough food, you could give what appear to be decent people in a tough situation a bit of food to take with them.

There will be those who want to take your supplies from you. Be they gang members, townspeople, or the government, they will want your supplies. You will have to decide whether you are willing to fight to retain what is rightfully yours.

Nowhere in the Constitution does it give the government the power to declare Martial Law. A government that does so loses all legitimate authority and becomes a dictatorship; a gang of rogues. As far as I’m concerned, such a rogue gang has no right to steal my supplies. I will fight them as I would a gang of bandits, for that is what they have become. You will need to make your own decision when the time comes.

In all your actions, deal with the present, but keep an eye on the future. In the midst of the coming chaos, think about what kind of future you want. If you become like the gangs, the bandits, what kind of future will result? Be in the present what you dream of for the future. Maintain your humanity. Defend yourself, your family and your group, but do not become murderers of children, unarmed women or old folks. Be careful who you make alliances with. Wannabe warlords will turn on you at some point. Seek out people who are honest, decent people. They might be of different races or religions, but if they are honorable, decent people, you can work with them.

The chaos is coming. It cannot be avoided. The timing is unsure, but realize it is inevitable. Millions will die. It has been planned to happen. The NWO true-believers want a massive reduction in the world population. The Georgia Guidestones call for it. Bill Gates, Ted Turner and others have called for severe population reductions of anywhere from 40% to 90%.

Be prepared for the coming chaos. Learn new skills. Develop a team you can trust. Stockpile food and ammo. Educate yourself and your children on survival skills. That is what you can do. It makes no difference what age you are, you can contribute to your team. Remember, the only White Knight is you.

Are you ready to join the resistance?