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Thread: The Fallacy of Bugging Out

  1. #1
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    Default The Fallacy of Bugging Out

    A little lenghty but worth the read.

    http://survivalacres.com/wordpress/?p=2324#more-2324

    "Many websites, blogs and forums have covered the topic of bugging out in excruciating detail, all under the assumption that this will be a necessary escape plan for many of us when the proverbial s#!* hits the fan. This notion is predicated upon the belief that escape and evasion, necessary for your immediate survival will be a (likely) event that you must plan and prepare for now."

    "However, nothing could be further from the real and actual truth. This cherished myth is a deceptive and dangerous notion that has little place in reality. I’ve long held a stance against this notion because in nearly all cases and all situations, this is a very bad idea with oftentimes fatal consequences. Bugging out is embracing the refugee lifestyle - a very bad idea. Refugees throughout history have fared very badly, suffered extreme hardship and deprivation, with many not surviving the experience."
    Last edited by Homesteader; 04-18-2012 at 06:05 PM.
    "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. ...those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
    C.S. Lewis



  2. #2
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    I am a firm believer of already being in place where you should be in the event that calamity unfolds, but some of the arguments this fella makes are specious at best.

    Yes, trying to anticipate collapse is folly, but if it actually comes to fruition, all bets are off. The multitude of reasons he provides why bugging out is unwise become meaningless.

    He doesn't even prep for a possible bug out himself. Even I do, and I'm already in the woods. Essentially he is putting all his eggs in one basket. That is the antithesis of prepping in itself. It's almost as if it is a fatalistic notion that where you currently are, is the best you are ever going to do, and that "civilization" is far more comfortable than any potential prospects afield.

    Then he is relying on the phantom of social mechanisms and infrastructure to somehow meet some magical restoration equilibrium.

    Ha!

    All I'm saying, is have a plan to bug out, have a definite destination, know the terrain, the weather, the availability of sustenance, potential dangers, and the feasibility of being successful in that locale.

    No matter where any of us live, there will always be the potential for the continuance of residence to become untenable for various reasons. Those who are unyielding in their plans exponentially increase the chances of facilitating their own demise.

    The polarized arguments on this topic are definitely not the answer to the potential problem.

  3. #3
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    I am pretty sure that if things are bad enough to bug out then your credit rating and your job probably don't matter anyway. Also if things are so bad that you need to bug out the the stability and safety in the area from which you wish to leave have in all likelihood been removed. But I do agree with him on one point, even if it wasn't what he meant to say, there is no reason to bug out as long as things are moving along and you are working towards your future.

    What he doesn't cover is that if you are prepared to bug out, if a natural disaster takes place or the world does go to hades in a hand-basket you will be better prepared than most. There are far more upsides to being prepared to bug out and not having to than to not be prepared and needing to at the drop of a hat.

  4. #4
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    I'm with chicom on this. First, stay close to my supplies that I couldn't move all of them with a semi.

    Then I have a motor home that if timing is good I will do a bug out with that. I have mapped and run several good ways (local roads only) to get the heck away. I've even found hidey holes for it.

    Then if that don't work, I will just have to backpack our way out. This of course is my last option, but it is an option.

  5. #5
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    The VAST majority of people who "bug out" will be called "refugees". Because even those with "preplanned" destinations will be VERY fortunate if they find them still stocked and non-occupied (by squatters who have NO intention of leaving) when they get there.

    But I agree with Chicom... while we have no intention of leaving our farm, I always have prepared (ever since a housefire left me fleeing with two toddlers and a babe in arms with nothing but the clothes on our backs) in case we have to leave our house for awhile.

    We're blessed with multiple buildings which would- at the least- provide a roof over our heads. But being able to grab the BOB's with sufficient clothing and food for a week, plus basic first aid items and other basics would make it a lot easier.

    But the idea of being able to somehow pack a vehicle and head for a preplanned location more than maybe 30 miles from home, after TSHTF, isn't something I'd want to count on.

    Summerthyme

  6. #6
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    Bugging out to a safer superior easier to defend location further from the Golden Horde of
    the Unwashed Masses would be a good idea in some circumstances. Bugging out to
    escape your home just before the mobs burn it down is a better option to becoming a
    crispy critter but if you don't have a well prepped location that you can reach you have
    merely exchanged one set of nasty circumstances for another.

    And for most people if you wait to bugout till the fecal matter is airborne from the
    atmospheric oscillator you have likely waited to long. The optimum plan is to bugout
    before you HAVE to bugout when doing so is feasible and likely to be successful.
    Pleasing your enemies does not turn them into friends.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  7. #7
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    This is why I think forum's like this are so popular.

    In the back of many people's minds - we're always watching what might trigger a SHTF episode that might trigger a bug out, either for us, or for those who might be traveling to reach us.

    And once a few here announce they're going, it will be a golden horde of preppers trying to beat the masses.
    It is sobering to reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence. - Charles A. Beard

    In this day and age, the only path of honor for a patriot IS to become a traitor. - Miradus
    [/SIZE]

  8. #8
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    My BOL is occupied full-time , so I'm not worried about squatters.

    I'm well aware of the downsides to having to get there, but it's the best I can do right now. I still have to earn a living.

    But I hope I've prepositioned enough supplies that I can start over if I have to leave with basically the clothes on my back (hard to believe I wouldn't have my bug-out bag, at least).

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cyclonemom View Post
    This is why I think forum's like this are so popular.

    In the back of many people's minds - we're always watching what might trigger a SHTF episode that might trigger a bug out, either for us, or for those who might be traveling to reach us.

    And once a few here announce they're going, it will be a golden horde of preppers trying to beat the masses.

    I'm not so sure. Some folks around boards such as this have their antennas too finely tuned. Some are so compressed and over-wound that they appear to be ready to spring at the slightest disturbance. Then you have those whom desperately need to fabricate information to substantiate and reinforce their presuppositions.

  10. #10
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    After more than a decade contemplating this issue I've [recently] come to the decision I'm staying in place in an emergency/HTF scenario. That being said, I CAN bugout if I have to but it's not Plan A, B or even C.

    It's the "Court of Last Resort" because honestly there really isn't anywhere to bugout to from here that's going to be any better.

    As an aside, I've lived in the sticks of several States = from WA, OR & CA to ME, RI & NY. If you think the "local boys" can't treat you as badly as any Urban Yute you've got a world of hurt coming. I was sitting by a camp fire in ME when one of the local boys, who I've known for almost ten years got drunk enough to tell me exactly what he would do to me and then what he would do to my wife if he thought he could get away with it....my friend sitting fireside was so stunned by what he heard he almost shot him on the spot. I heard about six months later they came to blows = the local went to jail for a timeout and my friend packed up and moved to Portland.

    ETA: I consider moving by vehicle from Point A to Point B as close to a bugout situation as I hope to get. Which is why I keep the car and truck well provisioned in the event I'm "caught" out on the road during an emergency situation.
    Last edited by BugoutBear; 04-18-2012 at 11:31 PM.
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