I was doing some work in the yard the other day and thinking about some of the campouts I've been to in the area, and I thought about some of the people I've met at some of the campouts. I've met a lot of people I would trust to guard my back. In fact, the vast majority of people I've camped with would easily justify that trust.
There have been some, though, that I wouldn't want to be anywhere near in bad times. I figure if a person has a Little Napoleon complex or some other ego problem like that in "normal" times, they'd only be worse in bad times. One of the funny things about situations like that is that people who couldn't be trusted in bad times seem to have trouble working with people in any situation.
If you camp with somebody you'll probably see enough of their character to get the little "alarms" ringing if something isn't right.
Some warnings I've seen at campouts include things like:

People who insist on being in charge even if they aren't fit to lead a Girl Scout troop.

People who have a hissy fit if everybody doesn't do what THEY want them to do all the time.

Parents who bring kids, but don't seem to have the time or patience to deal with them.

I'm not saying everybody who goes to a campout needs to behave by MY standards, but if I see somebody at a campout and they do something I find really bad, I probably wouldn't want to spend much time around them when things got rough. Maybe some of the things I do cause other people to feel "warnings". Not a problem for me. I don't think we all need to get along, but it sure helps if you get along with the people you depend on to watch your back(and who depend on you to watch their back).

I have seen more then my share of the second one, and plenty of the others.



Ms Edit is the most prevalent perpitrator of the second one in my mind. (back in scouts)

She was a vegetarian and tried to force this on all other people.




 

when the shackles of civilization are removed, plan on at least half of the population presenting their true face's...and they won't be the quiet, petite, sunday school treacher you may have seen
them as in normal times

I am not talkng about Katrina SHTF, I am talking the collapse of the dollar, sky Rocketing inflation, true TEOTWAWKI

people go to campouts?

Are you implying there is something wrong with strangers getting together in the woods and sleeping together?  




 

implying more than that...

Yes, people go to campouts. Sometimes they even go back to campouts at the same place year after year. It's kind of funny how the people who can't even get along for a weekend often get weeded out by groups which do get invited back.
I understand that you might not get to know somebody completely by just spending a weekend camping with them, but in just one weekend you can often identify some of the people you might NOT want to be around. It'll take much longer to know for sure if you can trust somebody with your life.
You can also form connections with other survivalists in your area. If things ever fall apart, it could be good to know some of them even if you never "join up" with them. Also, knowing other local survivalists might be handy for any good deals they might find. Sometimes a deal comes along which is too big for one person, but a group of people could handle it.

I agree 100% on this.

Many people are under the impression that a few camp outs and a dinner/post campout  invite gives you front row seats when it comes to being involved with others plans. Trust is key and it is not something that comes over night. It may take months, it may take years. IMHO the longer you hang out with someone the more you learn.

The guy that's been buddy  buddy with you at those twice a year   camp outs, talking gear, having a good ole time, may turn into something  you would not want around post event.  Most of the older folks i have met dont play games and are what they seem to be. The young folks (18-28) that are all new to all of this ( ya know those that fancy themselves a "prepper" ) seem to be the worse.

They all seem to dwell on time. Not enough time to network, not enough time to build that trust. they want that foot in the door and they want it now! Some even go to extreme measures to make that happen. From being a completely different person and family at the "camp outs" to being the biggest "im your best friend.." until they get what they want and the fronts fall to the wayside and all hell breaks lose! Hell ive camped with folks for 4-5 years....only to see when they are not in the  "camp out" enviroment they  act completely different
.



networking is key, im am all for it. My 1st comment was in jest to all of those that refuse to show to campouts for whatever 10001 excuse's they could come up with.

As "the young folks" I take offense to this.

On the plus side I now know what not to do when I eventually get around to attending a campout.

ETA: I thought my excuses for not coming so far have been good ones!

im mid 30's....

I dont trust none of yall hoodlums

and you want me to go to sleep with yall is some remote neck of the woods where no one to be a witness.

If after the SHTF and some guy shows up saying he is from ARFCOM and he is here to help Im Foing the other way , most likly just to get shot in the back.




On a Serious note it is the best way to find out who you dont want around for sure , I wouldnt say who to trust though . There are somehere that are as good as gold then theres some that would steal your gold , it takes alot for me to really trust someone . I can say theres 2 ppl in the world I really trust if things got really bad .

Let me guess, you, and your mom, and you aren't so sure about her...


You damn old people always complaining about us "young hoodlums ruinin' this country, running around high and pregnant. Back in my day we didn't have no fancy multicamshit and operator AR-15's we made do with WWI Surplus camo and mosin nagants!"


Just to be safe, when I go, I'm staying away from Protus.  

I probably won't go until next year honestly. I'll be 21 so I'll have handguns and you guys won't be able to call the cops on me when I drink your old asses under the table.

nope not my mom , i dont trust her or my dad.

I could understand where some people might feel a sense of urgency if they live in a bad area for survival. They might be too eager to form an "alliance' with somebody who lives in a better spot so they'd have a place to bugout to if they needed to bugout, but I'd still want to make sure I could stand being around somebody before I'd start making plans or positioning gear at their home. If things get bad, having an alliance formed with somebody could be one of the biggest decisions you ever made to that point.
Might be rough to have all your survival supplies stocked up at somebody's home, only to get there after TSHTF and hear them say "Have I told you about how great Scientology is?".

If you really want to know a person, get them on a trail after 3 days of being tired, hungry, footsore, cold, and wet.

You will learn lots and lots about their character. It may even be better than fishin'.