Is it just me, or do many online “survivalist/preppers” come off to you as “all hat, no cattle” types?
I’ve been reading posts on blogs & on forums, and I gotta admit some of them are just really making me wonder on earth are these people actually doing to prepare?
Why am I on this “all hat” soapbox?
I was prompted to write this “soapbox” entry after I read an argument that lasted for pages about which type of front pin to use to hold the upper and lower together on an AR-15… a typical “all hat” argument…
That makes me want to shout out at the top of my lungs “WHO THE HECK CARES!!!!!!!!”.
I understand OPSEC, I do. For those who don’t, it’s a military acronym for Operational Security… for keeping your survivalist / prepping activities private and out of sight of (most importantly) your neighbors and acquaintances.
Many people don’t want to take pictures of our preps, list out what guns we have or how much ammo we have stored. I get why we are a bit vague on our locations. I get that, it makes perfect sense.
I do, however, wish more of us would share what we are DOING… what’s on our lists to do, what we have completed, the skills we are working on, the skills we need to develop…
I wish people would show they are not “all hat” from time to time.
I’ve been posting pix of The Place as we are developing it… and I am doing the pix in a way that it is pretty much impossible to pin down where the area actually is, because even if you drove past the place it wouldn’t look like the pictures (I am taking them of places you can’t see from the public roadway, using unusual angles).
Why am I doing all of this? To make money? No, this costs us money, it doesn’t make it.
All hat, no cattle is an expression which perfectly illustrates what I think a lot of “prepping experts” are presenting on the web, and I want to do my part to change that by showing you our “cattle” up front, from the start (and no, we don’t actually have cattle… or cowboy hats for that matter).
Salty’s challenge to you…
My challenge to you, dear readers, is to look at any prepper site with a wary eye and examine what it is they are trying to do… sell you something? Get you to click on their links to make money off of you. Are they actually living the lifestyle, or just monetizing it.
Look at a guy like Jack Spirko… you may like him or you may hate him, but one thing is for sure, he’s an all-cattle small-hat kind of a guy, what he talks about is what he does. I like that. Compare and contrast, that’s all I ask.
Let’s be all cattle, small hat.
Yeah, I love Jack Spirko’s Survival Podcasts. He’s the real deal.
I’m not aware of many people who are living the prepper life the way you and your wife do. I do what I can, but I’m too old to start over like you guys have. Keep up the good work.
I’d be curious about the demographics of the group you’re referring to. I’d surmise that many of them are LEO/EMT/Vets, etc.
As for myself, I think the pivot pin that comes in the typical lower parts kit is just fine. 🙂
You’ve been to the various different forums (I know, we’ve talked at several of them), so I suspect you know the ones I am talking about… guys who “know everything” some of whom could be the poster children for the “Navy Seal Copy Posta” writer.
Sure, they could kill us all by spitting in our direction, but 3 days into a power outage with their spouses nagging on them because they didn’t prepare a latrine, the food in the freezer is all rotting and smelling… yeah, OK… that “Look of doom” isn’t quite as helpful.
I think we’re talking about the same people, what I refer to as “heroes in their own minds”. 🙂
So you want us to share what we are doing? Should we just write it up and email it to you?
I am contacting you via email.