Is this Survival Monkey or ??

Am very guilty of the negative posts as I find no other real online community where at least an attempt is being made to present both sides of the story. Since the MSM has become a complete tool of the system and it would seem that a well organized attempt is being made to divide our culture into as group of competing tribes, I find it useful to look at some other information sources. In my limited successes I sometimes get carried away and want to share my findings with individuals also seeking other sources. I tend to forget that such information, well interesting to me, may at the same time be a threat to someone with a different viewpoint and trigger very negative responses.

I was born in 1938 and grew up in a rural Minnesota area and into a culture that was almost 100 % Christian, were all suffering from the depression, jobs were scarce and there was no real money around, while the extended family was dominate. The prohibition debacle and the use of the court system to enforce the debt collection and protect assets, while not protecting savings and pensions, had created strong anti government feelings and no real respect for the court system.

In the later 1940's the vets came home and joined those from WW1 and the Spanish American war to put on strong programs in gun rights, sports, and civic duties. As a paper boy one of my customers gave me a years subscription to Boys Life magazine and I was happy to receive it.

While some prepared foods were available, the vast majority of the food was prepared from scratch and on the farms much was grown on the farm. Even those that lived in the small towns bought 1/2 of a beef and canned fruits and veggies purchased from the farmers.

The long and the short of it is I am in extreme culture shock and find that more and more of my basic beliefs are no longer held by the majority, but that in fact are under attack an now being called a form of racial hate and that I am a racist for holding such beliefs. It tends to make me somewhat defensive and also to seek the support of others facing the same viewpoints.

I am of the opinion that the Monkey has in someways went beyond the point of being a source of information on prepping. There is so much more available on the alternative ways of life that it is no longer a question of finding the information, but in removing the wheat from the chaff. I find it much more interesting and rewarding to see what has worked and not worked for others and pointing out where they got the information. I look forward to information on how someones solar system actually worked, pictures of the dam a year later, the latest primitive weapon in use, someones home schooled child off to college etc. I am a total addict to gun, knife, wood working, remodeling, etc porn, and love to see what the others in the community are doing. while it may not be intended, I tend to find this not a forum but a community and have both an ongoing desire to see how some individual is doing as well as interest in what he is doing. Yes, it does interest me that his goat herd is doing well and that they are now making cheese out of the surplus. First as a source of pride in the community and also the knowledge that it could be done if needed and that he has taught me some of the pitfalls in the process.

In the last 30 years there has been a total revolution in the prepping field. You can no longer buy 5 acres of rural land for $500 and build a hunting cabin on it for $200. On the other hand you can for about $1 a watt buy better solar cells than NASA could and plug it into a pump system for a small greenhouse for a few hundred and raise hydroponic veggies all year around. But also now your government and neighbors have a total belief in the right to share your wealth and goods. The chances of you preparing a bug out location, stocking it up, and going to it in a crisis is almost 0. Your "neighbors or a large enough group of them" are going to see it as a community resource and share in it that you will have nothing. I see this every day in the use of taxes and land use rules for the community to collect resources from those of us who are elderly for new expensive school projects and governmental buildings with the comments that if you can't afford the taxes move. Thus $4500 a year property taxes on a house I paid $10,000 for.


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Politics, Religion and to a greater extent where Government Mandates intersect with politics and/or Religion are going to be the most contentious topics any forum will have to contend with.

We are no different.

Except we are different. We allow everyone to voice their opinions.
Unfortunately, we the posters don't like to hear differing point of view and take exception to someone disagreeing with our views.
Then it devolves into the Jerry Springer show in short order and goes downhill from there.
We've lost the mannerly art of disagreement.
And as we devolve, we attract more new members via google searches looking for the fight. As our dirty laundry is searchable on the web when it leaks outside of member only threads.

We have turned into society. And unless we can turn ourselves around. Then maybe we are the canary in the coal mine of society itself. And maybe sadly, @Brokor is right, we are dying just like society.

I don't know what the solution to our problem will be or if we've gone too far down the road of becoming society at large.

Time will tell. God help us all.

 

Look, if the government and, because of it, society weren't so screwed up we all would be talking a hell'va lot less about them and more about other things in life, but this is the reality we live in. Our government is horribly corrupt and becoming more and more complete authoritarian every day. So, yes, this scares us and pisses us off and, as such, we talk about it. Seems normal to me. Anyway, I think this is a pretty damn good site/forum, so much so, that I don't belong to any other one.

 

You all have made good/excellent points Can't add much here other than for deer hunting season I'm almost invisible.

 

But you had a good time !!!!
S

 

Yeah, the focus on prepping has significantly waned. I try to avoid the political stuff but occasionally I can’t help myself.

Many years ago I was involved in a law suit and the plaintiffs were trashing others and myself on the internet. Our lawyer offered 2 pieces of good advice:

A wise man goes not debate a fool in public as the bystander won’t be able to tell the difference.

Don’t wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig enjoys it.

I try to remember those but every once in a while a measured comment is needed so I don’t implode.

(We won the suit by the way, soundly)

 

Frustrations with current affairs? It should say ongoing or continuing affairs. Isn't survival monkey about surviving? or is it only about a very specific and narrow view of wilderness survival? Do you draw the line at an urban environment? Is it extra military to include regular people and the militia or only government funded troops? It would seem to me that "conspiracy theory" and political rants are the starting point for any survival situation as it doesn't help to prepare after, only before and the first step to avoiding a trap is knowing of its existence. Since that is true, it would seem that labeling anything a conspiracy theory with out facts to disprove it does not help. When someone lays down a conspiracy theory (EX: Covid being created in Wuhan by Fauci) and people come in with the "conspiracy theory" name calling to dismiss it right out of hand that person ends any sort of useful warning and investigation into the subject. In spite of Fauci himself admitting to congress that he did create that virus there are people on these forums today still calling that conspiracy theory. How useful is that for survival that they are still arguing over its existence way after the fact? I took very heavy criticism for pointing this out before it was "fact" because I did the research. I read the Fauci emails, visited the sites, saw the VAERS data change in real time. Then had some nitwit call me a conspiracy theorist for sharing it here with the full intent to help people with survival. People had such a fit that I moved all of my posts into the THL.

The subject you are talking about has nothing to do with politics and conspiracy theory. It has to do with education vs personal opinion. That is why these issues will not end. Some people have turned off.

Just think of the audacity someone has to call someone else a conspiracy theorist for their point of view. To think that you hold yourself in such high esteem that you can decree who is and is not a conspiracy theorist just based on your opinion. Then to go into an online forum and call them that to their face, when in reality you never would do such a thing, lest you get punched in the face is just crazy. I have never used the made up phrase 'conspiracy theory' except as fighting words or as an insult and never as an actual statement of fact. I would never be that rude to my fellows.

 

Basic survival was much on my mind, as I am a lifelong Florida native and resident, with the approach of Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. Fortunately my area, up here in Tallahassee, got very little from either. But I did as usual and battened down, my preps ready.

 

Probably should've let a better wordsmith then myself attempt to steer conversations elsewhere, as other's have done in the past. Might not have been taken out of context.

 

...seems appropriate !

 

All i read where good points we forget that many conspiracy theories prove to be facts.And the monkey is for surviving tips and ideas even in this internet/virtual world.Just think,on your mobile spy phone you can almost only choose between google and apple.banks charge you a monthly fee and stil sell your data! You should be aware of this to survive in this modern world, so it fit the monkey.My 2cts

 

Like others, this has become my only forum. If we pay attention, we can see that it has become self policing, as evidenced by trolls dropping off the page soon after they appear. We are a tight group who argue like siblings but band together against an outside threat. Like family, we discuss the things that bother us seeking both comfort and inspiration from other members. I miss Ghrit and Paul every day but never met either face-to-face. I hope every day that T5R starts posting again. I enjoy trading jabs with Chell. You guys should really take stock of the unique mix of friends that have gathered here, and realize that just because every post isn't about knitting an emu saddle from gerbil hair or drilling a well with a 53 Buick rear end, all are relevant to the poster. If one does not like a post, just walk on by.
The truth is, times are actually still pretty good, and when times are good people tend to let their survival guard down a bit, and other topics rise to the front. Trust me, when things get bad again the topics will change. Everyone be happy this forum hasn't devolved into the argumentative and hate filled vitriol found on almost every other forum, where most just come to argue, and be thankful we all have this great resource to fall back on!

 

I apologize if my response sounded directed at you. It was not. It was just a general statement about the issues. Obviously you weren't involved with that.

 

For those wondering about an alert they received, for the betterment of society, I deleted my last posting.

 

One good tool this site has is the Ignore button. I have those troublemakers (including the ones listed above) clamped securely in "the pit". Part of my "Avoid the Noid" process. Keeps my BP in control.
Otherwise, the subforums keep things well compartmentalized and separated.
Easy to simply avoid those unwanted subjects. I have "bannef" a few other forums I had been a longtime member on, as they sold out to PC companies and brought too-liberal mods online. Tgey exercised extreme censorship, which I will not tolerate. I don't miss them. The Monkey Tree here is one of two forum sites I now regularly check in on daily.
Keep up the good work!