Helping the neighbours - in what situations....?

[diamond lil]

Or lookat the Eskimos. I always wondered - if green veg was so important - why didn't they die out centuries ago? Why are they still alive?
And if you live long enough then almost any food you can think of is firstly a godsend and then a killer. And then back again Like butter. Or salt. Or fat. etc etc

[jansman]

I seem to remember that their diet is linked to their DNA.You and I would not last 12 months on that diet.

[shocker]

Its all down to racial metabolism, the races of the northern polar regions have a ketagenic (sp?) digestive and metabolic system, I believe. I would have to dredge my battered memory for detail though.

[diamond lil]

That's very interesting ty.

[sethorly]

I wouldn't help neighbours with equipment or stores in a proper SHTF situation. Op sec is just too important to me. I'd form a neighbourhood group or milita or something like that though.

[oldman]

These are good questions that I had not asked myself. I think it depends on the level of the problem and how long term it is.

1) Do you work with your neighbours for defence, or bug in and lock up?

As I'm part of the "Neighbourhood Watch" scheme then yes, I expect we will work together.

2) If you say yes, to Q1, how much do you tell your neighbours of what you have. What if they say "does anybody have any weapons/food/water stores"?

If it it just a temporary problem (gas leak, UXB, terrorism) then I'm happy to look after the individuals affected but if the was a long term issue (nuke hitting London) then I'd be looking to barter with what I have.

3) You notice one of your neighbours are in trouble (say a gang of 4 rascals are trying to kick down their door)... do you get involved?

Oh yes. I've already done that, in the middle of the night, with a baseball bat, naked. (thank goodness it was before youtube)

4) What about if you see the 4 people trying to break in are other neighbours?

Same answer, Yes. It's bullying and I don't like bullying and it's not going to happen in my area.

5) A neighbour is hungry, you have your prep food stash, do you share?

Again it depends on the situation, short term or long term.

6) What about if you suspect that the neighbour will have his her family coming over to stay with them, and the word will get out and you will end up with the entire street/block on your doorstep. Do you feed them/everybody?

In the short term, not a problem. Long term, then we need to barter, workers to extend and improve defences, farmers to produce more food. It's just another job for another worker for another type of pay. In the long term I would have to start thinking about maintaining a community.

7) What would need to happen for it to turn from a bug in to bug out situation? When do you cut and run?

The ground floor windows here are not laminated so anyone could break them so they provide little defence. The zombie hordes would be inside in no time at all so I'd run if the local area was becoming unsafe. I'm now seriously considering getting the double glazing sorted on the front of the house.

Thank you jaffab for an interesting set of questions. I'd not started thinking long term as all my previous problems have been short term.