Introduction:
Before I begin my explanations, I always ask this question to people who ask me why I practice survivalism:
Imagine for a moment, a fire occurs in your house, you have to leave the premises as soon as possible, you have a minute to recover your belongings before they are destroyed by the flames, what would you take?
The answer I get most often is "My credit card."
Well, all right, will you be able to find her in time?
And in case you don't find her, how will you do it?
Let's say you find her, will you have enough money to support yourself until everything gets better?
It's hard to imagine that the fire would happen exactly on payday and personally at the end of the month, I don't have enough on my account to imagine dealing with this kind of situation.
We can hardly manage a critical situation without being prepared for it, it cannot be improvised. Just like the Fire Alarm Test, it is by preparing for it that we will be the most likely to bring everyone out in the shortest possible time.
We all have a spare wheel in our cars (for those who have a car of course!) and the equipment to change this wheel, as well as a waistcoat and a warning triangle, in order to be ready to help in case of an accident, or simply to protect oneself and protect others, is already implicit oversteer.
Survivalism will allow us to go a little further, you are the first to arrive at an accident site, you find yourself a family in shock a person is bleeding to death, maybe the care kit you still have in your car will be used to keep that person alive until help arrives.
I'm not saying that survivalists are superheroes, doctors or super-soldiers, far from it, they're just people like everyone else trying to be prepared for problems and have the best chance of surviving on a daily basis, just like in the event of a disaster.
The events that can happen are numerous, you have to be realistic about one thing, teleportation does not yet exist and the state, Relief, and any volunteer whether they need time to prepare, then it will be our duty to ensure our health.
Here is a link to a French government website that encourages citizens to prepare an "Emergency Kit": http://www.gouvernement.fr/risques/preparer-son-kit-d-urgence
An introduction to survivalism, of course these tips will not be enough, but it is interesting to know that even the French State recommends this kind of practice.
Definition:
Survivalism is a term that refers to the activities or way of life of certain groups or individuals who want to prepare for a local or more global disaster in the future, an interruption of societal or civilizational continuity at the local, regional, national or global level, or simply to survive in the face of the dangers of nature. Survivors prepare themselves by learning survival techniques and basic medical concepts, storing food and weapons, building shelters, or learning to feed themselves in the wilderness.
More recently, it has evolved into a neosurvivalism that is more inclined to independence from the economic system or a daily attitude closer to nature.
Wikipedia
But in reality, what is survivalism?
The surviving movement emerged in the midst of the Cold War, when the United States, feeling a nuclear war approaching, encouraged people to prepare for the worst.
It was also possible to find plans to build his own atomic shelter.
But the movement really saw its awakening in the aftermath of the first oil crisis in 1971.
The fear of economic collapse led to the population's interest in self-sufficiency and independence.
Survivalism to continue to grow stronger after the multiple crises that followed:
- The 30 pitiful women
- 2 oil shocks in 1973 and 1979
- subprime crisis in 2008
Of course, other factors have been taken into account between 1971 and today so that survivalism can arrive in France, such as the avian flu or the Ebola virus.
So what is survivalism today?
Two types of survivalism must be distinguished: Survivalism and Neo-Survivalism (Preppers)
In France, we don't necessarily make the difference, but the survivist of the time is associating the extremists prepared for a siege alone in a bunker full of AK-47 ready to kill all his opponents and dried meat to last more than a year without leaving their shelters.
Today, things have evolved, so the Preppers or neo-survivalists are the new survivalists:
Cultivate oneself, be self-sufficient, do as much as possible to cope as well as possible by oneself.
And this can be done in urban, semi-urban or rural areas.
It also means becoming more and more strongly engaged with our neighbours, our neighbourhood. Working together and understanding that we are all in the same boat. The best way to move forward is by helping each other "
Jim Puplava, December 2009
Survivalism evolved before it reached our shores.
Beyond a brutal vision, there is in this movement the desire to be able to provide for one's personal needs and those of one's family, friends, neighbours, whatever the situation of the geographical area where one is located.
But also to learn to anticipate every situation and not to find oneself destitute.
If you live in an area with a high rate of fire, it will be interesting to have an emergency evacuation bag called Bug Out Bag (BoB) with the necessities for one to two weeks of survival (the experts recommend 72 hours of food and water, this is not enough for my taste)
Survivalism is part of a foresight of the collapse of the world as we know it and in preparation for a semblance of daily life before sinking into extreme survival at the Bear Grill, working to assimilate knowledge to increase autonomy: sewing, DIY, gardening, hunting, fishing, cooking and much more.
From a single button lost button to his shirt in the middle of a meeting with his colleagues to a tsuami an incalculable number of situations can arise.
Survivalism does not necessarily focus on the risks of a major disaster.
Knowing how to avoid and minimize the problems and dangers of everyday life and how to react to disasters with temporary consequences is even its main concern.
While survivalism is often perceived as a way of life reserved for the enlightened or madmen, the reality is very different.
Job loss, health problems, loss of a loved one, natural disaster are everyday events that can happen to anyone. To have a stock of food or a sum of money aside is a comfort that one appreciates.
Although it is normal to want to prepare for all eventualities, it is impossible to predict everything, no one can live in total isolation, no matter how well prepared they are.
We don't choose the time of our death, but we can try to delay it.
It is also important to keep in mind that it is almost impossible (practically) for an asteroid to fall on our head. It is therefore more constructive to focus on more plausible scenarios and prepare one or more action plans that best respond to the disturbances and limit the damage over time.
For example, the Emergency Evacuation Plan and Emergency Evacuation Bags (BOB) will be just as practical when your home is derailmented as it is during a flood.
You can discover on this blog:
Permaculture: to help build a stable local life that is consistent with your environment, eat healthy food or survive hunger if the economy collapses.
Alternative energies: to reduce the impact of monthly bills on your finances, not being dependent on the system in case of breakdowns or simply running your fan during World War III.
Hygiene and health: in order to assist a person in danger, help the victims of an accident, a little girl who has just hurt herself by falling down or being able to suture you when the world will be returned to the middle ages.
Survival techniques: So that you won't find yourself without hot water in the event of a flood on your property or simply live in the woods until the civil war ends.
Evacuation plans: in order to be found by rescuers, and taken care of as soon as possible in the event of a hurricane or take refuge in your bunker before the collapse of the company.
Preparation of its EDC (Every Days Carry): because preparation begins with the worries of daily life.
And many other things.
But before they ask me the question, I wouldn't talk about a weapon here, because first they are not allowed in France and then not seeking to know more about it, I would be very bad advice for anyone seeking to know more.
Last but not least:
If at the outset it could be said that there was a single surviving population that could be defined racially, politically, economically and otherwise, today the movement is protean, multiple, trans-generational. Anyone can one day become a survivor.
The "prepper", if he does not differ from the survivor in terms of the practices implemented for survival (...), the preparation for the worst is presented as a way of life, a daily attitude rather than as a means of survival. »
Bertrand Vidal
What about you? Did you know about survivalism?
Have you ever thought about getting ready?
All right! See you next time!
**Sources: **
Government website: http://www.gouvernement.fr/risques/preparer-son-kit-d-urgence
Definition: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivalisme
The urban resilience website: https://www.resilience-urbaine.com/survivalisme-resilience/survivalisme-france-societe-valeurs/
Le Blog de Vol West (a reference for Francophone survivalism): http://lesurvivaliste.blogspot.fr/p/presentation.html