As The World Burns

My personal action choices seem to be: 1) I can withdraw from the system. Or, 2) Burn the system down. 3) Hunker down and hide (protecting myself and family), secretly hoping the the system is not burnt down and will be there to serve me in the future.
I don't view it that way at all. I see a clear 4th option, and one that I've been using for as long as I remember: 1) Accept reality: life, law, and human interpersonal experience will always be unfair, especially in our modern agnostic civilization (an in any democracy as people loot the treasury!). Full stop. This is a feature, not a bug, of any society that is both multicultural and not explicitly moralistic. That's us. Get used to it. It will outlast you. 2) Never bang on the table at said unfairness. That's like the stupid monkey in the video! Rather, treat any human-generated events just like any natural phenomena, say like the rain. Sure mother nature is not fair. But it is often predictable! So, never curse at the rain, it's a waste of time. Rather, watch the weather and curse at yourself if you forget to wear a raincoat. I've prospered during many unfair situations against me, and plan to continue doing so. An older book exploring this idea is Juggernaut. 2.

“America is at that awkward stage where it’s too late to work through the system, but too early to shoot the b@stards.” ??‍♂️

This is a video of the man mentioned in westcoastjan’s post. The guy comes out of no where , calmly smashes the windows with a hammer and leaves. He is confronted by the person taking the video and tries to hit him. There needs to be an investigation on this person as this looks planned to incite looting, not a heat of the moment action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vurPRZbLvc&feature=emb_logo

Totally a great movie.

When I was growing up my mom had all the clocks set 10 minutes fast. We were never late for anything.
My experience has shown it is better to be early than late.

This has been going on for a very long time. In the 60’s it would happen at civil rights and anti war demonstrations.

“All of the systems that govern the sharing of resources among humans – political, economic and especially financial – are designed to concentrate, not share, wealth.”
The system is oriented around concentration and not distribution of resources. It’s baked into the way our money system works. Create money out of nothing as debt and charge interest. That’s it. That’s what allows the vast inequality we see today and demands that things continue in this direction exponentially. To all of our peril! As aquifers are depleted, insects disappear, topsoil is eroded, etc…
So wherever we think we are safe because of the privilege we have (whiteness, masculinity/machismo, money in the bank, not being a front-line worker, etc…), those privileges no longer actually keep us safe because the system itself has put us all in peril. We are now only as safe from this virus as the homeless guy is on the corner. As long as he is at risk, so are we.
And when it comes to race relations in the US, the same is true for the relationship between people of color and white people. We (white people) certainly have a “free pass” on many things that people of color do not and we often don’t realize it. At least until the rules change. It was fine in the eyes of many people to restrict the movements of immigrants at the southern border. But as soon as that line moved to our own doorstep, suddenly we have protests. But that’s the point, the rules can change in an instant. Those lines can and will continue to move.
So where you once thought you were safe, suddenly you find you are not. And while it may seem like a stretch to think that as it goes for a black man with a white knee in his neck, so it may also go for the rest of us. We are only as safe as our most vulnerable neighbor. It is actually in all of our interests to stand together, as best we can, from whatever position we have in society, to actually say in no uncertain terms that this is not working, for any of us. There must be another way. The message is louder if it is coming from everywhere, not just those on the “bottom.”
So while I can completely understand the three approaches proposed above by sand_puppy, which in my mind correlate to fight, flight, or freeze, I also see an opening to pivot in the direction that may not be immediately obvious: to band together, across common divides, to create another kind of system. Which actually distributes resources instead of consolidates them. If we wanted to do that, how would we start?

I live in San Mateo County south of San Francisco. In light of events, these are the steps I’m taking:

  • Avoid “symbolic” protest spots like downtown Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco, police stations and other civic buildings.
  • In addition, take surface streets if possible instead of freeways, which protestors have targeted.
  • In general, avoid the East Bay.
  • Accelerate my ongoing project to beef up home security.
  • Strengthen relations with my neighbors, family and friends. This is key.
  • Be The Gray Man, both offline and online. Dress modestly when I go out. Don’t post about my exact location, family, preps, etc.
  • Remember my working class roots and whose side I’m on, ultimately.
  • Plant the seed in my (out of state) relatives’ mind that I just might come to visit them for a spell.
  • Keep our passports up to date. Accelerate my ongoing project to get EU citizenship via ancestry.
  • Consider getting a gun.
  • Ignore friends and family who are in a filter bubble and might call me crazy for taking the steps above to protect my family.
    It’s a Fourth Turning state of mind as much as a list of preps…

Thank you for sharing you responses cicerone. Several facebook friends are discussing this too.
But I must comment on one important one:

-Consider getting a gun.
I must be blunt here: you are already a year or two or three late on this one. The purchase takes time. There is a waiting period. You must buy a booklet, take a safety test, take an approved NRA course, pass a background check that depends on an operating internet and central computer system. Payment will be with credit/debit card which also depends on intact system. Give yourself a full month to make a first purchase. You will need extra magazines. Oops, you store doesn't have additional magazine for the model you bought. They must be ordered on line. And they are backordered. These will be a few more weeks. You will need extra ammo. Lots of ammo. Both for practice and for defense. This requires ID, background check in CA (unless this just changed). Online suppliers will not ship to CA (last I checked). You will need a holster. Order is placed. Wait a week. The one you bought first doesn't fit well. It doesn't hold the weapon securely. It is too bulky. You order another one. Wait another week. It holds the weapon away from your waist too far and can't be worn outdoors. You do more online research, call friends. About the 4th or 5th one you order seems pretty good. But your belt has too much give and it sags. More research. Another few weeks. Then summer happens and you are dressing lightly and you can use it at all. Different seasons require different carry arrangements. And different clothing. Dark prints cover better than solid colors and light colors are really bad. And they need to be big. You get an inside the waistband holster but it is horribly uncomfortable after a few hours. They never told me about the discomfort! You have to try a different one. You find an Alien Gear Tuck or a Crossbreed Tuck. But now you must get new pants that are 2 inches bigger in the waist. Another trip to the store. Your hands (and mind) must learn to touch and hold the weapon. Give a basketball to a child and he is still not a basketball player. He can't dribble, pass, shoot, run and pass. This takes TIME. Your soul has to make peace with the firearm. It must become a friend and loved tool. This takes months and years. It is like buying a pet rattlesnake. Perhaps it becomes a friend after time, but it will bite you and kill you early on. Your family must adjust. "I refuse to allow that evil device in my home! It has only one purpose and that is to harm another human being! If you have that you are no better than any murderer!" "Don't you dare come near me with that vile thing on your belt!" (Yes, this is from my own direct experience.) You must come to know your shooting range. 200 rounds over 45 minutes to an hour. Repeat 20-30 times over the first 2-3 years. 2 shots quickly to the chest. Slow single aimed shots to the head. One shot to each shoulder and hip -- shooting around body armor. Now, quickly. Then the dry practice drills done in your family room after the kids have gone to bed. Slowly and carefully you lift your shirt, place your hand on the grip precisely, draw, rotate forward, press outward towards the target, join with the support hand and push the weapon onto your line of sight while keeping the eyes on the target. Then shift focus to the front sight and press the trigger without wavering the weapon. Then you move to moderate speed repeating the same precise movement. Then faster. You get a laser ammo and put it in your weapon so that a 1 second burst of light shows where the "bullet" would have hit in your dry practice. Oh. And your shooting range will not allow you to shoot from a holster until you have taken their class on that and been "certified." that class won't be till next month and is only on Wednesday evenings. And your state will not give you a concealed carry permit "for your safety." If you carry, you are a criminal. So you weigh your risk of being attacked with the risk of arrest. Mostly though, ones psychology must shift. The role of protector, warrior and killer may not be familiar and cause unease. The firearm is a tool to kill. It takes several years and you are already very very late!

To back up what Sand_puppy is saying, we’ve been trying to get used to what it feels like to have our 9mms on us (I, a Glock17, her a Sig-Sauer compact) and after two months it still feels somewhat alien. It didn’t help that we couldn’t visit the range for two months, and while we have a good amount of ammo, we had to spend nearly a grand just to get to that point…and it still doesn’t feel like enough. I’ll say that it’s worth starting the process though; it might be too late, it might not be. However, if you push it off it definitely will be. Start buying firearms now, and get as far into the process of familiarity as possible. That being said, have some other weaponry on-hand. It’s not much, but a hammer wielded by an angry person is better than nothing. We have things everywhere that we know we could use to strike, stab, pierce, or slash if need be.
 
Most importantly, start thinking about what defense of you and your home might entail. What it might take, mentally and physically? We, for instance, installed chains over our doors. Will they hold someone out forever? Hell no, but if they buy us 30 seconds of reaction time, it’s worth it. We also have one “bigger gun” on every floor and have acclimated our kids to their presence: the AR-10 is in the basement, the Mossberg shotgun on the main floor, and the CZ Scorpion and .22 scoped rifle is on the third.
For reference, my wife and I abhor guns. They go against everything we want the world to be…but we are idealists who are not detached from reality, so we recognize them as necessary tools. Tools we need to become at least modestly proficient in using.
 
May the odds ever be in your favor.

@sand_puppy
Point well taken. It’s a blind spot that I’ve avoided for years and it may well be too late for me, especially here in CA.
However, I would assert that 99% of this is prevention and not about guns. “Ferfal” is a well known Argentine survivalist who is very pro-gun. But most of his advice comes down to “avoid trouble” and “live where you probably will never need a gun.” That rings true to me. That’s why he left Argentina for Europe.
And as someone who has lived in high crime neighborhoods (e.g. MacArthur Park, Los Angeles), I can attest that spotting trouble and/or defusing a potentially violent confrontation is also a skill that comes with experience. I wouldn’t trade that experience for a gun and firearms training, although for sure I’d love to have both.

I would love to see our media and politicians address the question that was first raised in Chris’ video. We have an enormous overabundance of these services now, particularly in the big cities, and the public service city unions in concert with city officials who have caved to union demands have created an unsustainable debt burden that is bankrupting city finances. What happens in a real downturn when we might actually need that level of police presence and it isn’t available (yet the past wasted debt expenditure still remains)? It continually irks me that this is such an obvious problem yet NEVER gets discussed (except at a PP seminar). Why are we never allowed to vote on these issues?

You want to know what it is like not to have police presence? Research New Orleans during Katrina.

An excerpt:

Cultivate spirituality, reject materialism and put people first. When the things that matter most have been subordinated to materialism, we have lost our moral compass. We must change our values to reflect something more meaningful than technology, materialism and politics. Standing at the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City in April 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. urged his listeners: [W]e as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a “thing-oriented” society to a “person-oriented” society. When machines and computers, profit motive and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered. Pitch in and do your part to make the world a better place. Don’t rely on someone else to do the heavy lifting for you. Don’t wait around for someone else to fix what ails you, your community or nation. As Mahatma Gandhi urged: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Stop waiting for political saviors to fix what is wrong with this country. Stop waiting for some political savior to swoop in and fix all that’s wrong with this country. Stop allowing yourselves to be drawn into divisive party politics. Stop thinking of yourselves as members of a particular political party, as opposed to citizens of the United States. Most of all, stop looking away from the injustices and cruelties and endless acts of tyranny that have become hallmarks of American police state. Be vigilant and do your part to recalibrate the balance of power in favor of “we the people.”
There are other gems. This might be worth sharing with those in one's circle deemed amenable to opening their eyes to what is going on. I feel it is so hopeless sometimes to get people to listen but we have to keep trying. There is too much at stake... Jan

Angi, Thanks for posting this interview. I was under the impression Gates was the #2 biggest donor to the WHO, turns out he’s the #1 donor to the WHO. Gates’ influence has steered the WHO from programs like clean water, sanitation, and better nutrition to Vaccines, Vaccines, and more Vaccines.
During this interview, RFK confirms some of the “vaccine” programs sponsored by Gates and/or the WHO have actually been sterilization programs conducted in some African countries. For a long time, I thought that info was fake news.
Then there’s the blackmail, ‘hey if you don’t keep this vaccine program we’ll pull your HIV assistance.’
BTW, Gates is one those fortunate few who’s wealth has grown by the billions since this lock down. Our financial system is creating modern day Caesars!
 
 
 

There is a very thin line between civil society and anarchy. A brave police officer posted a video that went viral, G. Anderson from Seattle, WA. He urged his fellow LEO’s to protect people’s constitutional rights and NOT arrest people for doing nails at home, or opening a hair salon or taking the kids to the playground - no matter what your orders are!
Within a day, the video had been seen by millions of people and he was told if he did not take down the video, then he would be fired. Can’t disobey a direct order from the Governor!
He did not take down the video.
He also gives a prescient warning about the American people. He called the public a sleeping giant that you don’t want to wake up. He correctly claimed that LEO authority is a facade that boils down to a gun and a badge, both of which can be taken away in less than 10 minutes.
When I saw the Fox News team in front of the White House get chased off by an angry mob, and no police came to the rescue, and those news guys were very clearly frightened, I became worried. What happens when those LEO’s walk off the job?
I am SO glad I do not live in a city right now.
Here’s the link, it’s worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLZgQfg27Ck
 

As sand_puppy mentioned it is very late in respect to current events to purchase a firearm. There are other options that might be legal in California and they are easy purchases.
A cross bow.
https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/centerpoint-sniper-elite-crossbow-set#repChildCatSku=114752809
Pepper spray
https://bestreviews.com/best-pepper-sprays
 
Taser or stun gun.
https://buy.taser.com/products/taser-pulse-plus
 

Thought this was a great idea, lol.
[embed]https://twitter.com/demosisto/status/1188518932031762432[/embed]
Lawn care joins the revolution!

Somewhere around 650,000 men perished in the U.S. Civil War. Mostly by muzzle-loaded blackpowder arms. Still avialable, still deadly, no license required (I’m pretty sure. Training, still most definately required…). I remember learning that an accomplished soldier could reload his musket/rifle in a matter of seconds…not an AR-15, but probably better than nothing. Then you’ve got your 80% AR-15 options…I’d prefer to stand with Gandhi and MLK as long as possible, however…Aloha, Steve.

Try not to get blindsided by DemoRat v RePugnatan curtain swishing PlayStation distractions, it’s a sham.
These younger primates triggered to go jigging of an evening screeching off nightly are being played for chumps here.
Vid footage already has leaked out of miltel whitemen all in black hammering in shop windows, and for sure other operatives dressed as rioters seamlessly blend in to whip up the snowflake hysteria:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYCb17RjUTQ
https://twitter.com/IamBrianJohns/status/1266615047784140805
This is SHOWTIME for sure, those really in charge know the social media feeds will fan the flames.
The BIGGER question as JOKER mode plays forward is WHO really benefits?
Evolving a cultural shift to save human freedoms is very difficult, and requires an enormous amount of time and patience, the 99% are out of that.
What I’m seeing leads me to think this is a 1% planned phase 2 demolition of the US of A. The tragedy is of course, those kicking off are too dumb to see it.
To date, all the revolutions have failed because they never change the fundamental system, they all ignore the inherent nature of social anthropology.
It’s at best the equivalent of repainting the woodwork exterior of the house while ignoring the serious subsidence and internal structural problems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BZtvkF-fZk
 
H A P P Y S U N D A Y S
 
PS: Big thaks Chris & Adam for the Lancet shilling exposé