Why Should We Accept You?

We have a discussion going on over on the forums that is based on a scenario where you and your family are displaced during a TEOTWAWKI situation and are moving in the stream of humanity to points unknown.
You are a refugee.
"You got nothing."

Up ahead, an apparently competent and well off group is interviewing people - looking for potential members. The scenario called for you to have 30 seconds to describe why the group should take you in and 30 seconds to ask any questions you may have.

We received a lot of interesting responses.
We received a lot of responses that avoided the issue or claimed it was too unrealistic.

Those folks missed the point.
The point of the post was just to get folks to think about themselves as someone else might perceive them.

I posted this in response:

What DO you have to offer to a group?
Why SHOULD a group let you in?

I personally don't care - it is an exercise for you to do some self evaluation.

"What are my strong points?"
"What can I bring to the table?" (as a person - not your barn full of supplies although sometimes that is helpful)
"What are my weak points?"
"What can I do to quickly improve my skillsets/abilities?"

I get a fair bit of mail from folks looking to join groups and asking advice. I get less mail asking how to form a group.
It comes to this: If you had a group, would you let you in?

Life is a journey - we should constantly move forward.
It's hard to move forward if we don't know where we are.

Self assessment is hard.
Thinking the hard thoughts is unpleasant.
Imagining the possible - when it is terrible - is not something we are good at. We put up psychological defenses, we "yeah, but" or "that's not possible", or "it would be hopeless" as coping mechanisms.

We fight the question.
The question/scenario and how it was framed is not the key point.
YOU are.

Elite performers do consider the ugly possibilities - and then take steps to mitigate them.
I want everyone to be elite performers.
I realize we will not all be - but we can all do better - MUCH better.

A typical response was something like:
How could a person have a chance?

By way of example for this one point (but conceptually applicable to the whole) we have this: I have medical people in my crew but I don't have an Emergency Medicine or Family Practice Doctor. We have goodly supplies of medical gear - for our future doc to use.

We don't have a blacksmith or enough musicians - but we have tools and instruments.
We don't have a gunsmith - not a real one.

As far as "good people" who are needed to man guard posts, tend critters and gardens and what not - their value depends on the group's ability to feed them.

Someone asked with exasperation, “How can one ensure one's family's security when they have nothing and are with a group they don't know?"

Indeed.
First we have to decide if our family is better off with the group or alone. I submit that a family is MUCH better off with a good group than they are alone. It is fantasy to think we can do stuff alone. Societies have been built over millennia for a reason.

So then the problem becomes how do we determine if it is a “good group”. In the problem I posed – it was a good group (but people keep fighting the problem to avoid dealing with themselves). But it is a good point – how do we determine that?
You get 30 seconds.

If you decide you are better off with the group and then turn out to have made a bad choice how do you ensure your family’s security? Well, how do you?

These are not new problems; these are not novel situations – mankind has been experiencing similar predicaments forever. And it’s not just ancient history: look at the Balkans, look at Sudan, look at Georgia.

I encourage you to take some time (just a bit, no need to dwell here) thinking the hard thoughts.
Embrace the Monster.
And then get out there and take some steps to improve your (potential) situation.

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. - Matthew 26:39
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If you have any comments I’d love to hear them.
If they really interest me, I may even post them.
You can reach me at Joe

You can also join us to discuss this and other issues at Viking Preparedness Forums

Prepared Americans for a Strong America