You got it. There is a Russian proverb that literally translates: "A holy place is never empty", meaning that if one government or a leader fail, there will be another one taking it's place. There will always be a government and a leader that will feed people promises and often give them false hope. People talk and your place will soon be discovered and your food will be confiscated for "the good of the many". If you live in a house with fortified walls, a perimeter fence and solar power with a water well, your house will be taken from you and turned into a command post for the military. You'd be lucky if they give you 5 minutes to vacate the property. This is exactly what's been happening in Ukraine in the last several years. There are lots of similar examples from WW2 and other conflicts or major disaster areas.

I guess the question I would ask myself is "am I going to help lead my community through this or am I going to be the guy that left the community high and dry when they needed it?".  Not everybody is bad, and not everybody is good.  If you wait until TSHTF to meet your neighbors to find out who is who, then you have lost the survival game, period.  Knowing which ones have skills, which ones naturally bent toward trading stuff, and which ones don't have skills but can learn...THAT's the key to survival.  Sometimes that crabby curmudgeon up the road is a pain in the ass, but he can weld or carpenter like the best of them...that asshole guy with the junk in the yard and broken down house just happens to raise pheasants for hunting...don't count anybody out.  The more you get to know them now, the less testing and risk you will have to take on later.

Not sure if many of you are old enough to have a parent that went through the great depression...there are fantastic stories of sharing and community...and those that shared fairly won the reward of respect and friendship for a lifetime when things came back.  I don't propose giving everything away, I don't propose giving to the point you starve.  But hopefully you have planned for the situation where you might need to help someone out or barter.  If not, then you are missing a great opportunity to leverage your position when tough times hit.

Don't get me wrong, leeches and grifters and those seeking unfair advantage will not be dealt with pleasantly.  Back in the old days, swift harsh justice was the order of the day in many places and it will be wherever I am at the time.

Always trade, barter and even donate ON YOUR OWN TERMS...by that I mean don't let someone else try to convince you...have what you want to offer clearly in your mind and what you want (if anything) in return in your mind as well.  If I want to give a family seeds to help them garden then I expect to make sure they know how to garden and expect some of their crop when they can afford to pay me back...or something in barter. Don't ever let someone talk you into giving up more than you originally intended to...that is usually a bad deal.  It's ok to say No and walk away.

But it doesn't work out that way. You think someone hungry will sit with you listening to what you have to say, that rather than giving them something they can sell or eat right now they will have to learn hardening and plant seeds? There's a general rule of gold for survivalism and disasters: if you can't make it work during good times, don't count on making it work during bad ones. Try giving seeds and explain gardening to someone on feed coupons TODAY and see how that works.  It takes months, even years until people change that much, and it's only a very small percentage of people that are capable of such. About giving away food, I've been in that situation up to the point I was giving away food almost every day, mostly to children. It got to the point where I simply had to say "no" as you say, but onice you start giving away food word gets around and more people show up. Some take that "no" and others don't take it as well and it paints a big target on you and all this happened with my country going down the drain but not quite reaching venezuela starvation levels. When that happens and you're the guy giving away food,  you've got a problem.
FerFAL

Triage.  One part of the population can deal with the emergency situation on their own, or with a small amount of assistance.  Another part can survive if aided now, but will probably not survive if not helped.  The third part of the population needs a lot of support more or less permanently and either can't or won't meet the challenge of the new situation.  Triage theory says help the second group first, as it will make the greatest difference in the long run.  After the second group, direct remaining aid to the first group, who were capable of surviving this long by their own efforts.

The third group is allowed to meet their own fate.  They would require limited resources that could be used to save lives in groups two and one, and for group three members the need for support would never end.  Right now we collectively spend billions of dollars a day to support group three, and when The System breaks down that burden will have to shift somewhere.  I don't think the average prepper  can meet this burden for more than a small number of neighbors without being swamped, so making choices will be important.  I plan to help those I am obligated to, and those who can help me and my family, and those that can get up and help themselves and others.  There probably won't be much more I can do than that.

Best is a matter of location in the valley and access to the various points of egress.

Las Vegas is inside a bowl of a valley, the main 5 ways out are I-15 north or south, 95 north or south, and the 160 west into Pahrump. There are a couple of roads on the east side near sunrise mountain that lead towards the lake, but in an emergency Lake Mead is going to be locked down tighter than a frogs ass because of the dam security. The only way you would be making it out is if you hit one of these points early and made it through before the bottleneck begins.

Living here I have planned my means of unassing based solely on the location of my house and how fast it can be done. I have backups but if you have seen the highway into SoCal on Thursday or Sunday nights when everyone from out of state is coming in it is bumper to bumper from Riverside all the way to Henderson. That's 300 miles of rush hour traffic and that's just any given weekend. If things go tits up imagine not just the tourists trying to leave but all 2.5 million people who live here also. It will be a blood bath.

To anyone who doesn't plan for these things getting out will be their only concern. They will not have factored any of this in and it would be my opinion that the majority of them would be trying to make a break for California or the coast so I-15 south would be inundated. Things would get hostile in a hurry.  

Most people here overlook 160 as it goes to Pahrump and only us gun toting white rednecks care about Pahrump so in a crisis scenario I feel this would be a better means of egress, however, keep in mind it's a 2 lane road over a mountain pass and EVERYONE in Pahrump is armed and will most likely not take kindly to people rushing over the pass.

95 north would be decent, however the next real stop from there is Carson City or Reno. That's a few hundred miles of nothing, so plan accordingly.

95 south to the 93 would be a better bet than the I-15 south, however it is also a 2 lane road and you will need to cross a bridge to get over the Colorado River to make it into AZ. The dam again will be locked down and will not be an option. Just taking the 95 south you would still need to cross a bridge in Laughlin to make it into AZ. Or risk running into anyone trying to escape CA on the 40.

I-15 north wouldn't be bad as I feel most people will not be looking to Utah or northern NV as a viable escape point. Again, this depends on your proximity to the area and how fast you can move. I live on the south side and would not bother moving north through the city to get there, I would never make it.

As I stated before, these are the 5 main routes out for on road vehicles. Besides the fact that these roads can be easily blocked off by a minimal amount of people or resources the chances of any Tom Dick or Harry unintentionally blocking the road with a stalled vehicle is guaranteed. Even on the best of days as far as temperature goes, water and fuel would be key. It would be more than 100 miles in any direction before you could hit a fueling station outside of the valley, except for maybe Jean, and that's if these stations haven't already been over run or pumped dry, and that doesn't even consider time idling in traffic trying to escape. Not to mention water requirements of people. In the summer it takes a gallon per adult per day to maintain normal hydration. More so if you are outside. I know very few people who would even have a days worth of water with them should they need to leave now, and none of them would have a full tank of gas, let alone enough extra fuel to make it out of the Mojave. There is a real good reason this town was nothing but a spit stain of a train stop on the map prior to the invention of AC and the construction of the dam.

There are roughly 2.5 million people in this town, I would safely say 70% of which don't have enough food or water on hand to last a long weekend let alone something going seriously wrong. I say 70 only because there is a large Mormon population here and they will have enough to make it thru something like this. Even with such a large % of the general pop who would be ready there still would be many who are not, they outnumber us by at least 3 to 1. I feel comfortable in saying that this town would literally eat itself alive in 3 days with a conservative 80% mortality rate, and that wouldn't include the weeks or months after the initial incident. My only advice to someone visiting would be to not be here when things go tits up, and if you live here, to have resources and plans to survive days and hundreds of miles of desert and a plan to GTFO in less than 30 minutes because realistically getting out early is the only sure way to not get killed in town.

Getting on at least friendly terms with your neighbors to the point you give their family a small gift on major holidays seems a good idea.  Doubly so if you ake that gift an assortment of edible easily grown garden seeds.  Most of them will never plant them, but they may toss them in the garage or shed somewhere and they could still be viable later.

Also storing some seeds to hand out in SHTF might not be a bad idea.

"Gee Bob, I don't have any food to share, but take these carrot, tomato, bell pepper, etc. seeds and you can grow your own."  Might be enough to distract Bob or at least placate him and make him go bother Jim next door for food.  Sometimes with the leeches just the appearance of trying to help while being ineffectual at actually helping them will make them leave you alone.  Think about the last time you were in a store trying to find something, asked an employee, and after they failed miserably at "helping" you thanked them and walked away to find your item by yourself.  Same concept.

Sure thing. If you have questions feel free to PM me.

The cognitive dissonance and normalcy bias of this town is astounding for the people I talk to about disaster prepping. Even just having a months worth of anything on hand is mind blowing and laughable to them, even though they know they should. Far too many people just expect the lights to turn on when they hit a switch, or expect water or fuel to run when they hit the spigot. We are literally in the middle of the most barren part of North America with nothing to sustain any number of people for hundreds of miles. It's true that natural disasters here may not happen all that often, or ever, but what about something hitting CA? We get all of our supplies trucked in from SoCal daily. This town would literally be empty in under 3 days without supplies from out of state. If a large quake hit the San Andres and crippled CA we would be up shits creek.

at least consider your immediate neighbors as a buffer that you can use as an early warning system in case it all goes to shit. What was that line from the Israeli official in World War Z? Something along the line of Everyone we let in our protection is one less we have to worry about coming after us............

While I agree with the sentiment, my interactions with many people show me they are completely unwilling to do any of this, or what may need to be done which will make them dangerous when times get very tough. I personally don't want to get to know potentially dangerous people. I want to be the grey man, blend into the sheeple, I want to stock what I can without them knowing it, and have the ability to unass with what I need to survive and to do it in one piece with minimal risk. I store enough to get me away from these people when things go wrong. Whatever stocks I can't physically move with me in a timely manner will be left behind for them to literally kill each other over, my parting gift to them. As far as my neighbors are concerned, I don't own firearms, I don't have supplies, I'm just as blue pilled and ignorant to the world as they are. The only way I talk to anyone about these things anymore is if I find out before hand that they have the correct mindset. When you cheer lead these people to prep the ones with half a brain are going to know in the back of their minds that if you're promoting this than you must do it yourself. That you have what they want/need and after they haven't prepared, they will come for you. You are making yourself a target, a big one, at the time when OPSEC and PERSEC are probably the most critical.

The serial killer analogy is brutal, but should realistically be how each and every one of us views our preps. My food, fuel, and water are exactly like those "heads in the freezer", no one knows about them and that's the way it will stay, (because God forbid, one day my life and freedom will very well depend on them). Until they need to or until I'm long gone, or they pry the rifle from my cold dead fingers.

We can sit here all day and plan for shit going tits up. The fact of the matter is without power, frequent restocking of food, or medication 80-90% of people are not going to survive. The odds are stacked very much against each and every one of us. Regardless of Christian values or a charitable heart it will inevitably become all for me and mine and #$%^ everyone else. Everyone's got a plan to fight until they get hit, after that it's all improvisation. I for one am going to do my best to move my family to the most rural place I can while still being able to scratch out until the dust settles. Supplies and stocks may keep your alive and what will pass as comfortable in the short term, but what will keep you alive over the long haul are skills and an ability to adapt. Without either of these, especially the ability to adapt, you will be one of the statistics. YMMV.

Well, basically I have come to conclude that my old boss was right.  He told me the day he sees the mushroom cloud over DC, he is going home and shooting everyone of his neighbors on his block in the face.  He said that with bold honesty and conviction.

Unless things passover in a few weeks, the unprepared really are liabilities.  

Side note: My surrounding neighbors do own several hundred acre commercial farms, and advertise CSAs at their farmers markets.  My best guess is they will capitalize on the business need for food production and start planting food for the many.  That could be a good thing.  Local agg could rebound largely and you would just need enough preps to survive until harvest.

The only problem with the farms is going to be keeping them in one piece long enough to harvest anything useful. People are dumb panicky dangerous animals when they are forced out of their comfort zone. Especially when hungry or feeling threatened. I would love to see them succeed, but I fear they would be rolled over in the tidal wave of destruction that is the general public a la anarchy.

Most of the ones I know plan on bugging in. Living on their reserves and never stepping outside. Only problem with that idea is all it would take is one molotov to the the house to ruin their entire world. I have that ability, but know it has a low to no success rate. Being mobile is a much better option, I have mine practiced, have my items that I need to grab on a moments notice strategically placed and have everything else ready to pack within 5 minutes. Escape routes off road mapped and surveyed and the wife and family are versed.

Plan A will need a B will need a C and a DEF. Things are going to become completely unpredictable and you're correct, dumb luck doesn't make for survivors, but adaptation does.

I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I agree that if you turn your house into a mission, you're in for a big hurt.  However....

You say if you can't make it work during good times, don't count on making it work during bad ones - yes, this is exactly my point.  Find out now who the neighbors are that you can work with....not on a giveaway basis, but on a trading/sharing basis. Yes, it takes a long time.  Without that, you are up shit creek with no canoe.

Agree, you have to say no sometimes, even a great majority of the time.  I never said give away the store, in fact, I said explicitly don't give it away.  I said plan for barter. I said keep tight on what you're trading and trading for.  I said move the criminals along, harshly.  If you are not creating a supply for barter, do you think that is realistic?  If you are, how will you barter without being willing to trade with anyone?  Seems pretty isolationist and a recipe for disaster eventually.

And if you think you're neighbors are going to become some kind of crazed lunatics at your door, why the hell would you tell them you even have supplies or skills? I never said violate OPSEC.  And why the hell would you live there?

Even those on several hundred acres with full livestock, water, hunting grounds, fuel, everything...will need to interact with some part of society eventually.  If you're saying you would never help anyone, the sick, the elderly, young orphans in need...then I'm sorry, you're not gonna be part of any solution except the one that you live in by yourself and that's not sustainable in the long-term.

Nobody should ever be a patsy.  And it's easy to glibly say "just shoot all the neighbors".  A SHTF situation is going to test everyone's mettle, including yours, but hiding in a hole will only work for so long.

What ever happened to the Mr. GodDamned Bonner stories, jesus, people just don't get it.

EDIT: Ferfal, sorry, after reading this it appears harsh, not my intent, just trying to get my thoughts out and perhaps not doing a good job of it.  I certainly respect what you and others here have done over the many years I've been looking over your shoulders.

Option A: Bug in
Neighbors see you're fat and happy, set your house on fire and shoot you in the face when their kids are starving

Option B: Share rations
Neighbors see you have food and aren't giving them their fair share.  Set your house on fire and shoot you in the face when their kids are malnourished.

Option C: Build community
You tell your neighbors to prep, they look at you like Alex Jones, laugh at you, and continue on with life - shoot you in the face and steal your supplies when SHTF

Option D: Established prepper community
You and your neighbors all actually prep.  Other neighbors or the government find out how well you are doing; government sends a company of infantry at you and turns your street into a functioning HQ.  If not the government, other neighbors create a mob and ransack your street.

Moral of the story, you can prep all you want.  But humans are going to be the death of us, not starvation.

so, what is the alternative of preparing? not prepare and raid your neighbors? not teach your neighbors to prepare? die in a government hovel with a thread bare blanket, a moldy ball or rice, and the ghosts of your dead family to keep you company?

It depends on the scenario.  An overnight catastrophe that puts civilization back into the dark ages, options A and B are all you pretty much have.  However, if its a slow decline, I think you have a shot at option D, and hopefully it will be enough to ride out the weather until rule of law is reestablished.  People will act towards their own survival, when your neighbors see that their just in time inventory is no longer just in time at the grocery store, I think talking to your neighbors about producing their own food would no longer seem crazy to them.  You'll see a resurgence of community.  Those in the country will do alright.  Those in the cities need to bug out.

Option E: get the hell out of there before things are as bad as Option A (meaning people around you starving) in every country in every continent all throughout history we've seen going "el Alamo" fail miserably.
FerFAL

I would make any sharing to be highly situationally dependent and not a routine practice.
Past threads have made it clear that many folks here have no regular contact with their neighbors, and thus have no real idea what the neighbors can bring to the table in any sort of survival scenario.

LOL -me too!


I plan not to teach folks how to save seeds and plant a garden...


But to convince them to buy a copter and take flying lessons...

I believe I'll have a better chance of succeeding...

In our world that's mainly focused...

On FOOLING OURSELVES!

I am set up for friend and neighbors that I can make into an enemy or an ally.
EXPY should you get burned out of your place and show up at my place I would rather show you where to park your BORV and give you a hand to restart with food and seed so I would have you at my back than just shoot you and have to dig another hole...

people are into this at differing levels...this is like asking what's a good car

common themes but different levels of committment

Made up stats from too much TV:

This forum isn't a slice of life, but likely representative of the 2% of society with a persistent interest. Of that group we get the following:

50% have guns and like Doomsday Preppers & this forum

30% have a few cases of MRE's, a couple extra months of groceries, maybe 6 gas cans, guns/ammo and a Baofeng with no one to talk with

15% have a rural lifestyle that facilitates stuff we seek. Canning, livestock, low population density

5% have all of the above, a network of like minded folks, alternative energy, medical training, BOL or secure area, tactical training, a year+ of food, $$$, etc.


I think the bottom 80% will just live, eat their stash in secret and hope no one comes knocking.

The 5% will outlast based on the deck being stacked in their favor.


Neighbors? Depends if "pure" survival is at hand or short term crisis. When the math of rations vs time doesn't come out, you're not shorting your family unless another form of certain death is imminent.

Pure survival: you need to live longer than others, so there will be less competition; you're actions will not be judged in any future you can see; the choices you make are to avoid your death, other factors are now secondary or thrown out.

The psychology of scenarios is interesting. We'd be stupid not to work up some statistical models.

IMHO.  Watch the Twilight Zone episode "The Shelter ".

I believe that is a realistic scenario if  neighbors know what you have.  

It is probably best to have enough food and weapons to support them.  Even though it will cost more I think it is worth it.  

Just be as frugal as possible.  Buckets of rice and beans aren't terribly expensive and may help prevent problems.

A group of 8 or more would allow a guard to be on duty 24/365.  I also believe a group of 8 armed people would be able to repel 99.9% of individuals or groups you would run into

Fiction, but plausible.
In this scenario, armed prepper dude is about to spend a good portion of his time and energy keeping neighbors away from his preps, thanks to a lack of people skills. He's also taught his neighbor to bring a gun next time, because of his use of a weapon to resolve a 100% non-violent situation. Don't be like this man.

vid...you don't go meeting anyone one on one in bad times. You will not see the guy proned out in the background...that could be your reality.

I look at the guy selling concertina wire and think this is good to have!

The math is really simple. How much time do you spend worrying about bad buys? 5 %? 50%? Theres predators out there that spend 100% of their time planning how to attack people like you. It's their job. A good friend of mine back in Argentina had this same discussion with me many times. We both shot and took classes together. He had a nice big farm, people,  guns, dogs. He was absolutely certain his place was pretty well defended. The guy is former military engineer, above average shooter, good marksman with a rifle too. Besides thousands of acres of land across the country and a lot of cattle, he designed a great solar system which he was selling and doing good business with,  pretty smart guy, pretty rich too. He knew about my work so we  talked often, somewhat similar to what we do here, only that doing face to face and over coffee after shooting on Fridays. I told him no place can hold against a somewhat well coordinated attack, he went on and on about how great his setup was, certain he could handle it.
He got hit a couple days before I left. It seems they watched the place for some time, gathering Intel,  then hit one building took people hostage and then moved from building to building. He said that at leat no one got hurt.
FerFAL

When you have that kind of money, you can afford fresh construction with high grade doors, windows, a safe room, etc.

Prepper should'a fed him Jason........family or no the kid promised to be a liability.

I don't claim to know how to answer your question, but you can be sure that your neighbors, and everyone that runs into you, who is starving, sick, depressed, of greater numbers, crazy, horny, or whatever is going to attempt, multiple times, to kill you for what you have or might have.

If the end of the world is happening, you won't sleep a single night until the population is, guessing, 1 family per 30 square miles.

Nobody survives on their own. You will need 20 or so people with family bonds in one location to even think about TEOTWAWKI.

One of your best preps, if you can morally live with it, not saying I could, is to hand out poisoned food.

Do you own NVGs and a thermal?
You will become a target and you will need them!
The world will be a COMPLELY different place after SHTF.

"Prepare for the Worst...Hope for the Best"

Part of why I like the story section of this board and other doomer boards is because some of the stories are based around things that make you wonder how others can think and do things and blah blah blah. 

In one there were people using tractors to prepare fields for planting.  I forget if one of the tractors got shot at or what, but basically needed someone guarding the person on the tractor and even then could wind up with someone getting hurt or the tractor damaged.

So scale it down to my possible reality, someone might shoot me while I pick weeds in the garden. 

This is where helping neighbors helps.  A: it keeps people near you from wanting what you have and they should be more willing to assist you.  B: More targets for someone from the outside coming in to take things, also have more people to respond to outside threat once it is noticed.

Being a hermit or whatever will only work til someone discovers you are there.  Even if that person who knows about you does not want your stuff, they will probably talk.

Some stories get into people keeping clothes a few sizes larger than they really wear.  IF the gov. were doing water or food handouts and everyone is showing up in dirty oversized clothes, you might want to blend in rather than showing you can do laundry and have not lost much weight like the others seem to have had happen.

And if you don't show up for the handouts, dang you must have a ton of stuff.

Biggest thing would be water.  Clean drinking water.  So the old wells need some of the pumps and pipes pulled and a bucket on a rope, more like a pvc bucket torpedo thingy, and let people get their own clean drinking water.

Rice and beans is cheap as already mentioned and while boring as all get out I sort of figure anything is better than nothing. 

I figure I would help but you do have to be careful still.

Maybe go weed the garden at night with the nightvision and thermal?

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii[a] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Why didn't the 5 "wise" virgins give some of their oil to the 5 "foolish" virgins?    The parable of the Good Samaritan tells a story of someone who had something happen to him outside his control.  It wasn't that he didn't plan.  Life threw him a curve ball.  The Good Samaritan cared and demonstrated what being a good neighbor means.  The parable of the virgins demonstrates failure to plan....a very different scenario.  

The account of Joshua also demonstrates keeping your word...which is rather rare in this day and age............

Everyone outside of young children have been warned that they should prep.
They have chosen not to.
And if I go crazy and attack my neighbors and try to steal from them or harm them I hope they put me down quickly.
There I will treat my neighbors as I wish to be treated.

I moved rural.
I roughly have 1200 -+ neighbors around me.
Safe to say 90% of that population is aligned politically with my views.
95% of that population is similar in ethnicity..
Most yards have gardens
Most have live stock.
98% are armed
80% hunt and fish
Theres at least 15 "doper/meth/trash" that migrate from flop to flop...and no shortage of trailer trash...see below.


Theres a 20% of that 1200-+ that will be an issue. Then add outsiders....raiders...refugees.

I've been coming here since 13.
Moved here 5+ years ago.
I consider myself an outsider....
I'm sure locals do to...as I don't hang out at the local bait/beer shop....or the big Baptist church....

Can of worms when it comes to security...who's who....etc.


But either way....we talk..wave...check on the neighbors during events and build simple foundations to grow on over the years....

Ill help if I can...and use force if needed...but up to an event...persec/opsec is key.....

Perhaps the real answer is to offer to teach them the same skills and help them succeed.

That way if stuff happens, you have two families who are prepared and can share with each other, vs just one family being tapped to supply everyone else....

Me and mine. My only concern.

You and yours. Your concern.

God be with you.

Stay off my land.Don't fuck with mine.

We will get along famously.

There you go, well said.  Maybe we are all just looking at different models.  I for one, see the probabilities of incremental problems much higher than apocalyptic fight-the-guy-for-the-last-can-of-beans.  To me, that scenario is just the final chapter in the Book of Fail.

Anyone that's lived in a small town will appreciate that people get by much better when the community members can interact, even if under tense situations.  Arguing, fighting, even shooting may be necessary...but some of the stuff proposed here will only get you isolated.  I hope you can farm, work wood, weld, doctor yourself, treat your animals, cook and provide security for yourself all at the same time....if you can't, then the hide-in-a-hole, don't teach your neighbors approach will only last you so long so I also hope the cupboard is long and deep.

The trick is find the 3% and figure out how to work with them. Not blindly trust, not violate OPSEC, as I said before.

Sola Scriptura

There is no contradiction in loving your neighbor and yet being wise and prudent.

The 'me me me' that so many 'survivalists' use as their battle cry will only work for a few and only for a very short while for any.

Mending Wall - Poem by Robert Frost

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbour know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
"Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, "Good fences make good neighbours."
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
"Why do they make good neighbours? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down." I could say "Elves" to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbours."
Robert Frost

How many people are successful at growing and raising all their own food?  Successful as in 100% totally non reliant on anyone else but themselves.  Real answer....no one.  

Community is essential to survival.  One person surviving on his/her own won't last long....low chance of survival.  A group of people surviving together...and mutually supporting each other....high chance of survival.  

We've probably all known some neighbor who was the neighborhood grouch.  The one who won't help anyone and won't work with his/her neighbors.  The person or family no one likes because he/she/they likes no one else.  He/she won't help anyone else in need and consequently, no one will help if they are in need.  My next door neighbor wandered over today to see what project I was working on.  I've also wandered over to see what he's up to.  We help each other out and share equipment and tools.  We also look out for each other's houses and property.

Good neighbors are awesome.  A number of the SF posters (and a large portion of GD posters) would make terrible neighbors.