So you want to be a Dystopian Warlord…BUT…
You’ve never met your neighbors or hardly, your not involved in your community, and you have no real value to anything but “security”. Guess what. Your neighbors are gonna smoke check you the minute they see you hard charging down the street in full kit “coming to save the day!” Why wouldnt they? They dont know you from any other potential threat.
Any swinging male appendage can learn to shoot well enough to be on a firing line or check point. That doesn't make you a valuable asset to your people. It makes you another pawn in the grand scheme. If you want to help. If you want to “take control” (and you do, trust me. You dont want to be taking orders from the 8th grade social sciences teacher thats been spending the last 5 years talking about feelings and gender identity) then you need to meet these people first. Ever worked on a group project in school (you know, back when people physically spoke to each other and had class in person instead of through a screen in their underwear eating cheetos) and some person youve met but dont know that well starts telling you what/how to do? Remember that small feeling of resentment you most likely felt at “who is this person telling me what to do?? They dont know me! Im a lot smarter than they are!” Well magnify that with real lives on the line. Then consider how important this is. You cant rule a serfdom if your a serf yourself. You cant be someone people come to if knowbody knows who you are.
So, what to do?
Well my hopes are to make this a living document through continual updates and edits where i take you through an example process that im currently going through with our town. This isnt a “oh look at me and the great thing Im doing!” Post. Its a “this is an example of making yourself valuable and increasing your kith and kins ability to survive the harsh times to come. This is an example, one of the many, of things that you can be doing to build community ties and strengthen it now. Instead of it being nothing but disheveled canabalistic karens when they cant get their triscuits from the local walmart any more.
Lets begin:
Ill set the scene. I live in a small rural town that has everything from chicken farms to micro suburbs. The population is between 3-400 strong (Not thousand, were talking small here folks) that live in the city limits proper, with most likely the same number scattered about the outlines. The economic level is somewhere between middle-class blue collar and high-class white trash. Folks farm, hunt, and tend to stick to themselves and their families. I grew up here, moved off, and subsequently moved back when our family began to grow. So while i know many, there are many that i dont because of the time gap. Im an active (barely) member of the VFD, and mid-Coof i joined the city council as an underman in efforts to help the community with aid/relief, and to play “the long game” of community building for the times to come.
Just this week i was able to accomplish one of the major items on my checklist. I brought to the table, and got approved for, starting up a Community Farmers Market/Swap. The base plan is for it to be at a set location that townsfolk and those around can come to a couple weekends a month during the main growing season to not only sell spare goods, swap for things they need food/goods wise, but also network and communicate amongst ourselves. You better believe ill be taking notes of who shows up, has what, and how they behave. This is an excellent example of a low effort, low risk, and potentially high reward movement that can net huge benefits for yourself and community. Folks will not only remember who they bought/swapped with, but also who (you) got the ball rolling and is organizing it. Dont you think this could put you in a positive image for them? When the world comes crashing down around us and its up to communities to fend for themselves and remain self sufficient/independent, this not only lays out the ground work for that, but it lets folks know who you are and that you have positive intentions.
Look at the flip side. You could just do nothing, be nothing, and potentially get shot over nothing. You decide.
To Be Continued.
-Regards
Sam