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I Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Transition Was in: Part III - Rejecting Survivalists?
In Part II - Context, I wondered whether there were distinct cultural differences we needed to pay attention to, between the UK and the US. In this post, I spell out one of them that I see as pertaining directly to the Peak Oil community: the perspective on ‘Survivalism’ as a philosophy.
I had initially thought it was just a matter of personal prejudice on Rob Hopkins part, when I disagreed with him so vehemently in his September 4, 2006 piece entitled: “Why Survivalists Have Got It All Wrong.” He displayed pictures of pseudo-cavemen, and made reference to selfish survivalists hording lifeboats on the Titanic and an “every man for himself” behavior in a house fire. He was responding to Zach Nowak’s piece that had earlier posted in Energy Bulletin. He wrote:
I couldn’t imagine how he could so easily dismiss such a large group of people who were not only savvy about Peak Oil, but were also, in my community, among some of the most active members of our sustainability group.
My response:
What Survivalists Got RIGHT
The Transition Handbook has a chapter highlighting Post Petroleum Stress Disorder. Here Rob mentions the “irrational grasping at unfeasible solutions.” Also included is a single paragraph that continues to create a caricature of nihilists and survivalists. Hopkins drags out stereotyped examples designed to ridicule these movements, suggesting that, unlike his own, they have no real contribution to make. As I mentioned in my response to his article, my experience is distinctly different. Far from having nothing to contribute, many people in these movements strongly embrace not only the need for community, but offer preparedness skills, insightful, and valid criticisms of our culture, and its predicament. It was difficult for me to understand, then, why in a book filled with encouragement to reach out to the widest possible audience and teach tolerance in community-building, he would stereotype and reject potential allies, who shared his concerns. In addition, overlapping communities with some differences appeared to me to make a movement MORE resilient, not less. It was disappointing to read.
I also wondered why he would be so hostile to the very same folks who will be some of our most skilled community members in the future. Why a parody promoting intolerance for those who “think differently?” Was the goal to “brand” TI as a more “mainstream” movement that’s “not like them?” At the time, I saw such derisiveness as mean-spirited, and marginalizing the dedicated efforts of those who identify themselves in this way.
I’ve come to look upon this as yet another cultural difference.
Fighting off Invaders with a Shake of the Fist!
While I could find dozens of US sites that covered many different perspectives on Survivalism, I could find only one UK site devoted to the same theme. In one of them, a humorous response by one reader was this:
Capt. Mannering is a character from a popular British sit-com about a military official who keeps order in the UK during WWII.
The only other item about “Survivalism” in the UK, spoke of a 1975-1977 TV series, about a small band of survivors who emerged from a pandemic that wiped out more than 95% of the population. In sharp contrast to our own more recent gun-toting holocaust TV series “Jericho,” the protagonist here, Abby Grant, and her ad hoc group, remained reluctant to arm themselves, even after being confronted by armed adversaries on numerous occasions.
Guns have traditionally been shunned in the UK, and even police did not carry them until recently. One person attributed the spread of hoof and mouth disease to the fact that UK vets aren’t allowed to carry guns, and therefore could not kill the animal on the spot, when they learned they were diseased. As previously mentioned, the UK has, what “is believed to be some of the strictest gun legislation in the world” while the US has some of the most lenient.
Guns and Butter
The very notion of a “survivalist” evokes a distinctly American image of the Wild West, or Appalachian folks with shot-guns in the hills with hidden moonshine stills.
This pervasive spirit of individualism, or the more poetic sentiment that “good fences make good neighbors,” is much more uniquely American. Like the automobile, that allowed us to ‘take in the wide open spaces,’ a majority of Americans believe that they have a right to own a gun. About half of the U.S. population actually live in households with guns, but there is a broad geographical difference between these folks and those who do not. The bulk of gun owners generally live in rural areas and small towns, while the strongest advocates of strict gun laws tend to live in large urban areas.
These rural areas and small towns also enable other features embraced by survivalist thinking, such as raising livestock, farming and creating root cellars. Far from being isolationist, these areas recognize the inherent need to rely on others. Our urban cousins (sometimes referred to as “city-zens”) might have less interest in these arts, given their limited space, zoning restrictions, and easy access to shopping.
Natural Disasters
In a fairly mild climate, like the UK, it is more difficult to remember that there exists in the US, and many other countries around the world, a need for preparations as protection against “the weather.” This winter, my neighbors and I were without electricity for a week or more. My preparations allowed me to have light, keep warm, and to cook hot meals from food storage for my family. We were both the givers and recipients from neighbors, of food, water, and other necessities. We checked up on those that might be facing problems. These preparations are part of our rural lifestyle. Like many of my neighbors, I have pets and livestock to care for, and can’t allow a little ice storm to threaten my life or theirs.
Many survivalists I know have become so, after they’ve lived through a variety of natural disasters or climate conditions such as tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes or blizzards. Some have had to survive the more mundane problems of unemployment that required them to live off their food storage when money was in short supply. A weeks worth (or even three months worth) of preparations doesn’t make you a wacky reactionary, or anti-social when you live with such threats. It makes you sensible.
These preparations can be as simple as following Red Cross and FEMA recommendations by keeping a first aid kit, shovel, and extra clothes in the car, or maintaining a small kit of emergency supplies in the home and car, containing food, water, a space blanket and other essentials. A “bug out bag” can enable your family to preserve precious photos, medicines and a few non-electric toys, when you are forced to flee in a wild-fire. Basic skills, such as knowing how to drain your plumbing, or shut off your gas, can leave you with a home to return to, once the danger has passed.
Preparation: Community AND Individual Solutions
But still, unlike our ancestors, who simply assumed that it was smart to be skilled in basic arts such as canning, preserving, chopping wood, raising livestock, and yes, even killing an animal that posed a danger to your children, these are lost to a great many of us. They aren’t required of urban dwellers. Even those who should take an active interest in “surviving” presenting dangers often do not. They simply assume that government officials will rescue them when the worst happens. This is a decidedly “non-community” focus, that taxes the common resources of all of us. Hurricane Katrina is a teaching tale in this regard.
More worrisome, those who were well-prepared during this disaster experienced the hostile attitude Rob typifies, and were often looked upon with suspicion by relief workers, when they preferred to stay put, after the initial danger had passed. One writer believed that the relief workers assumed that these inhabitants must have stolen what they had, so rare was this notion of being “well prepared.” He believed that these officials were convinced that public shelters were automatically a better solution, than remaining in one’s home, and some homeowners reported being threatened when they refused to go.
I would like to suggest that in the US, we should be emphasizing the need for more of our neighbors to be well-prepared, rather than mocking those who are.
Beyond Cliché: Toward Embracing Commonality
I, therefore, would ask that we, here in the US, take a more sober approach to our writings and our attitudes toward those who might identify themselves as survivalists. We can begin by promoting sensible books like Kathy Harrison’s now classic “Just in Case.” Such books make basic notions of surviving a wide variety of disasters, whether you live in the city or the country, good common-sense.
The current edition of the Transition Handbook is a manual now being regarded as the blueprint for the future. Unfortunately, his prejudice against survivalists is now officially part of the TI perspective. It is unfortunate that Hopkins is incorporating this second-hand cliché of the American survivalist movement, as a truism. Having no first-hand experience of how large and diverse a community it is, he is doing a disservice to spread this bias. I attribute this to another example of how dangerous cultural blinders can be, when we seek to transplant a set of ideas from one culture to another.
American “Survivalist” movements straddle a vast array of attitudes and opinions, from deplorable notions of white supremacy, to accepted wisdom of community self-sufficiency that bear a great resemblance to the best aspects of TI. They do, however, emphasize skills, stores, and self-defense, whether on an individual or community level. “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst” could be said by a survivalist, but this does not automatically mean an individual approach. This preparation often encompasses the community; encompass notions of giving and charity, while simultaneously stressing individual responsibility.
The single most popular and widely read blog, SurvivalBlog, emphasizes the values of community, sharing knowledge, the necessity of faith, and the importance of charity, while stressing the need for “bullets, Band-Aids and beans.” It has approximately 124,000 unique visits per week, 208 million+ hits since it was founded in August of 2005. It is a growing force in the US Peak Oil movement, and might be the dominant paradigm currently having a far greater number of adherents in the US, than the TI movement.
We can all have a good laugh pointing out their “folly,” or we can be sincere in investigating where we share common ground. The choice is ours.
I had initially thought it was just a matter of personal prejudice on Rob Hopkins part, when I disagreed with him so vehemently in his September 4, 2006 piece entitled: “Why Survivalists Have Got It All Wrong.” He displayed pictures of pseudo-cavemen, and made reference to selfish survivalists hording lifeboats on the Titanic and an “every man for himself” behavior in a house fire. He was responding to Zach Nowak’s piece that had earlier posted in Energy Bulletin. He wrote:
“I have very little time for the survivalist response to peak oil…”
I couldn’t imagine how he could so easily dismiss such a large group of people who were not only savvy about Peak Oil, but were also, in my community, among some of the most active members of our sustainability group.
My response:
“I read what you wrote with interest, but I’m afraid your photos and tone might be undercutting your message. It may be easier to stereotype and point to extremes in a community than it is to look more carefully at what wisdom their philosophy might offer to all of us. If we are interested in building community, we may need everybody, including those who have chosen to keep the basic arts of preparing for difficult times a living, breathing art form. These same people teach others how to hunt or butcher or breed animals; how to can or grow or harvest food; how to weave or sew or preserve fabric. While we may not choose to do all of these things, a move toward greater self-sufficiency might be the unifying message we can all embrace. Survivalism, in its more moderate form, is also social commentary that requires the adherents to “walk their talk.” When we teach our children at home, it is commentary on a loss of faith in public education. When we choose to grow our own food, it is because what is sold as ‘food,’ is often tasteless and lacks nutrition. When we slaughter our own animals, it is because we know they haven’t eaten hormones and chemicals, have been raised with care, and slaughtered gratefully.
There is also an implicitly political message in making a caricature of the “survivalist,” as it suggests that there is nothing in our environment that we need to adapt to and “survive.” If we embrace any notion of having to “power down,” we may want to consider a different message.
Such ridicule isn’t deserved by many people I could label ‘survivalists.’ A true survivalist has gone into that ‘dark night’ and realizes that the notion of isolation is an absurd one.
One final point: when the fire breaks out, the true survivalist has already taught their families to prepare for it, which exits to use for escape and to crawl, not walk to them if the smoke is heavy. And also, I doubt you’d get most survivalists to buy the notion of an “unsinkable” ship. The best would have taught their families to swim, and what to do in the event that there was no room on the lifeboats. That event happened because of a lack of planning. I doubt a ‘survivalist’ was to blame.”
What Survivalists Got RIGHT
The Transition Handbook has a chapter highlighting Post Petroleum Stress Disorder. Here Rob mentions the “irrational grasping at unfeasible solutions.” Also included is a single paragraph that continues to create a caricature of nihilists and survivalists. Hopkins drags out stereotyped examples designed to ridicule these movements, suggesting that, unlike his own, they have no real contribution to make. As I mentioned in my response to his article, my experience is distinctly different. Far from having nothing to contribute, many people in these movements strongly embrace not only the need for community, but offer preparedness skills, insightful, and valid criticisms of our culture, and its predicament. It was difficult for me to understand, then, why in a book filled with encouragement to reach out to the widest possible audience and teach tolerance in community-building, he would stereotype and reject potential allies, who shared his concerns. In addition, overlapping communities with some differences appeared to me to make a movement MORE resilient, not less. It was disappointing to read.
I also wondered why he would be so hostile to the very same folks who will be some of our most skilled community members in the future. Why a parody promoting intolerance for those who “think differently?” Was the goal to “brand” TI as a more “mainstream” movement that’s “not like them?” At the time, I saw such derisiveness as mean-spirited, and marginalizing the dedicated efforts of those who identify themselves in this way.
I’ve come to look upon this as yet another cultural difference.
Fighting off Invaders with a Shake of the Fist!
While I could find dozens of US sites that covered many different perspectives on Survivalism, I could find only one UK site devoted to the same theme. In one of them, a humorous response by one reader was this:
“In the event of the world turning upside down, I think most folk in the UK will dig trenches behind their privet hedges and be prepared to fight off invaders with a shake of the fist and a harsh letter to The Times...failing that, Capt. Mannering and his brave brigade will restore order and justice from GCHQ at Walmington-on-Sea ...as long as we have tea, we will prevail!! “
Capt. Mannering is a character from a popular British sit-com about a military official who keeps order in the UK during WWII.
The only other item about “Survivalism” in the UK, spoke of a 1975-1977 TV series, about a small band of survivors who emerged from a pandemic that wiped out more than 95% of the population. In sharp contrast to our own more recent gun-toting holocaust TV series “Jericho,” the protagonist here, Abby Grant, and her ad hoc group, remained reluctant to arm themselves, even after being confronted by armed adversaries on numerous occasions.
Guns have traditionally been shunned in the UK, and even police did not carry them until recently. One person attributed the spread of hoof and mouth disease to the fact that UK vets aren’t allowed to carry guns, and therefore could not kill the animal on the spot, when they learned they were diseased. As previously mentioned, the UK has, what “is believed to be some of the strictest gun legislation in the world” while the US has some of the most lenient.
Guns and Butter
The very notion of a “survivalist” evokes a distinctly American image of the Wild West, or Appalachian folks with shot-guns in the hills with hidden moonshine stills.
This pervasive spirit of individualism, or the more poetic sentiment that “good fences make good neighbors,” is much more uniquely American. Like the automobile, that allowed us to ‘take in the wide open spaces,’ a majority of Americans believe that they have a right to own a gun. About half of the U.S. population actually live in households with guns, but there is a broad geographical difference between these folks and those who do not. The bulk of gun owners generally live in rural areas and small towns, while the strongest advocates of strict gun laws tend to live in large urban areas.
These rural areas and small towns also enable other features embraced by survivalist thinking, such as raising livestock, farming and creating root cellars. Far from being isolationist, these areas recognize the inherent need to rely on others. Our urban cousins (sometimes referred to as “city-zens”) might have less interest in these arts, given their limited space, zoning restrictions, and easy access to shopping.
Natural Disasters
In a fairly mild climate, like the UK, it is more difficult to remember that there exists in the US, and many other countries around the world, a need for preparations as protection against “the weather.” This winter, my neighbors and I were without electricity for a week or more. My preparations allowed me to have light, keep warm, and to cook hot meals from food storage for my family. We were both the givers and recipients from neighbors, of food, water, and other necessities. We checked up on those that might be facing problems. These preparations are part of our rural lifestyle. Like many of my neighbors, I have pets and livestock to care for, and can’t allow a little ice storm to threaten my life or theirs.
Many survivalists I know have become so, after they’ve lived through a variety of natural disasters or climate conditions such as tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes or blizzards. Some have had to survive the more mundane problems of unemployment that required them to live off their food storage when money was in short supply. A weeks worth (or even three months worth) of preparations doesn’t make you a wacky reactionary, or anti-social when you live with such threats. It makes you sensible.
These preparations can be as simple as following Red Cross and FEMA recommendations by keeping a first aid kit, shovel, and extra clothes in the car, or maintaining a small kit of emergency supplies in the home and car, containing food, water, a space blanket and other essentials. A “bug out bag” can enable your family to preserve precious photos, medicines and a few non-electric toys, when you are forced to flee in a wild-fire. Basic skills, such as knowing how to drain your plumbing, or shut off your gas, can leave you with a home to return to, once the danger has passed.
Preparation: Community AND Individual Solutions
But still, unlike our ancestors, who simply assumed that it was smart to be skilled in basic arts such as canning, preserving, chopping wood, raising livestock, and yes, even killing an animal that posed a danger to your children, these are lost to a great many of us. They aren’t required of urban dwellers. Even those who should take an active interest in “surviving” presenting dangers often do not. They simply assume that government officials will rescue them when the worst happens. This is a decidedly “non-community” focus, that taxes the common resources of all of us. Hurricane Katrina is a teaching tale in this regard.
More worrisome, those who were well-prepared during this disaster experienced the hostile attitude Rob typifies, and were often looked upon with suspicion by relief workers, when they preferred to stay put, after the initial danger had passed. One writer believed that the relief workers assumed that these inhabitants must have stolen what they had, so rare was this notion of being “well prepared.” He believed that these officials were convinced that public shelters were automatically a better solution, than remaining in one’s home, and some homeowners reported being threatened when they refused to go.
I would like to suggest that in the US, we should be emphasizing the need for more of our neighbors to be well-prepared, rather than mocking those who are.
Beyond Cliché: Toward Embracing Commonality
I, therefore, would ask that we, here in the US, take a more sober approach to our writings and our attitudes toward those who might identify themselves as survivalists. We can begin by promoting sensible books like Kathy Harrison’s now classic “Just in Case.” Such books make basic notions of surviving a wide variety of disasters, whether you live in the city or the country, good common-sense.
The current edition of the Transition Handbook is a manual now being regarded as the blueprint for the future. Unfortunately, his prejudice against survivalists is now officially part of the TI perspective. It is unfortunate that Hopkins is incorporating this second-hand cliché of the American survivalist movement, as a truism. Having no first-hand experience of how large and diverse a community it is, he is doing a disservice to spread this bias. I attribute this to another example of how dangerous cultural blinders can be, when we seek to transplant a set of ideas from one culture to another.
American “Survivalist” movements straddle a vast array of attitudes and opinions, from deplorable notions of white supremacy, to accepted wisdom of community self-sufficiency that bear a great resemblance to the best aspects of TI. They do, however, emphasize skills, stores, and self-defense, whether on an individual or community level. “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst” could be said by a survivalist, but this does not automatically mean an individual approach. This preparation often encompasses the community; encompass notions of giving and charity, while simultaneously stressing individual responsibility.
The single most popular and widely read blog, SurvivalBlog, emphasizes the values of community, sharing knowledge, the necessity of faith, and the importance of charity, while stressing the need for “bullets, Band-Aids and beans.” It has approximately 124,000 unique visits per week, 208 million+ hits since it was founded in August of 2005. It is a growing force in the US Peak Oil movement, and might be the dominant paradigm currently having a far greater number of adherents in the US, than the TI movement.
We can all have a good laugh pointing out their “folly,” or we can be sincere in investigating where we share common ground. The choice is ours.
Views: 16
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kathy McMahon on -
I'm afraid that your post speaks to the very attitudes that most concern me. According to Wikipedia:
Survivalism is a commonly used term for the preparedness strategy and subculture of individuals or groups anticipating and making preparations for future possible disruptions in local, regional or worldwide social or political order. Survivalists often prepare for this anticipated disruption by learning skills (e.g., emergency medical training), stockpiling food and water, preparing for self-defense and self-sufficiency, and/or building structures that will help them to survive or "disappear"
Self-defense, while one of the aspects of suvivalism, is in no way the only one.
You and I might have a different opinion about whether there is a reason to look at what's happening in the US and feel a sense of apprehension.
Whatever notions of what past survivalists did or didn't do or think as a group, I think you'll find much greater diversity now.
It is great to have such confidence that your sincerest efforts will change around our world. I believe I've heard the argument made, equally strong, that just because you don't believe your house would burn down, most of us still have fire insurance.
There is room in this movement for people who think differently. At least that was my understanding. And if that is true, perhaps we might use our language a bit more carefully and allow for difference a bit more generously. A "racist killer heritage" does not apply to the survivalists I know. That's the sort of inflammatory language that doesn't bring people together, but instead alienates us. "Creating an enemy?" I think you're helping that cause.
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Permalink Reply by Sandi Brockway on -
I am afraid that wiki also give a long history of SURVIVALISTS roots in our culture which supports everything I have said here about the term - and I could have read that first to learn more than I have here.
There is Survivalist, and survivalist/survivalism THE TERM (like i said!). Just because there are pagans that worship war and killing, I suspect it is not a good idea to mix them up with Wiccans - is it? As I said before, I think it very important to distinguish what form of Survivalist we are talking about, because it is the traditional and abundant American Libertarian Anti Communist Racist Religious Apocalyptic Breed that Rob is criticizing. Now, try to follow me again.
You might not mind having armed militia visiting your farm and exacting supplies for their services, but that is not a future I look forward to. It could only reproduce the fear and mistrust what we already have that created this mess- and resemble the Vietnam farms during the war at its height. I am more inclined to put my energies behind the philosophy of THE WELL FED NEIGHBOR.
My mom grew up an abject poverty in a small mid west town in Canada. Her mom did laundry for a living, and grew her own vegetable garden. The Depression hit them hard - and where they lived they had Dust Bowl conditions and locusts. She was always making stuff with her hands - and teaching us to do it. Her parents all came from frontier stock - her father was an avid knitter. My dad's family was the same. Camping, hunting, fishing, and backpacking was a constant in our lives.
We had an orchard, so canning was often. I was taught to make my clothes at a young age. I cannot imagine not repairing, salvaging, and making do with what I have. It is probably why I became an antique dealer. People with these Old World or rural skills are all over, they are not just Survivalists. Unfortunately specialization has made people shed useful self sufficiency skills, lose their imaginations, and not see the forest for the trees. Specialization can also make people more wasteful, codependent, and helpless. I always encourage people to challenge themselves to do new and creative things with their hands, as well as their minds. Perhaps, instead of hiring someone to do a job, make it a personal project. I have learned some plumbing and carpentry that way.
The Survivalist tools and gimmicks, is nothing more but stuff you can buy at army surplus or camping stores. You make the mistake of terming everyone with a backpack and a gun as a Survivalist. But Lehman's Non Electric Catalog would probably interest me more.
My parents were not Survivalists. They did practice some survivalism, for instance, stockpiling. I do recall visiting the first Cold War fallout underground home in Los Angeles.
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Permalink Reply by RosanaHart on -
I read this page before I joined, and it sparked some of my own ideas in this blog post:
Transition Towns and Survivalists: Two Overlapping Responses to Cli...
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Permalink Reply by Sandi Brockway on
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I just posted this
http://transitionus.ning.com/forum/topics/the-future-is-amish-not-mad
which also applies to this thread.
so, how and where do LIBERTARIAN, (privatization, property, gun rights extremists) PATRIOTS, CHRISTIAN RIGHT, overlap with Transition Towns?
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Permalink Reply by Bonnie North on -
I agree with Kathy. Well put I think.
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Permalink Reply by Sandi Brockway on
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Here is some sincere investigating.
You are making some really unfounded connections, and giving Survivalists credit and glorification where it is not even justified - at the expense of ignoring the vast number of people with broad and gifted Old World and rural skills who do not pack guns for a living. There are hippies that moved back to the land decades ago, and they are still there turning over the soil and making their hand made products and tools.
Are you really serious to suggest that only Survivalists know how to can food, chop wood and survive Katrina? Oh, please. Even Reagan and Bush chop their own wood. LOL. Self Reliant farmers are NOT typically Survivalists, are they? What is your need to discredit Old World and rural craftmen, products, and industry?
SURVIVALIST, a movement as born from some fashion of collective conspiracy, paranoia, or hatred - which PROMOTE gun use, even make it mandatory as times, as was the case of one town in Texas or Utah. By marginalizing themselves, and by virtue of paranoia and intolerance, they were forced to become more self reliant. Many of these cultures have been oppressive for women.
My final analysis of this is that the human fear of nature is turned against each other - and is projected in paranoid ideation. The underlying anxiety becomes like a hallucination. In this case, a person believes a gun gives him real control, so it is like a tranquilizer.
Survivalists (as in the American gun collector kind) were the last to accept global warming, and that is probably only because Pat Robertson told them too! Before that, they were making fun of Environmentalists. In fact, some gun toting town in Utah actually outlawed environmentalism.
In your attempt to put Survivalists (the gun movements) up on a pedestal, you have attributed every form of talent at the expense of those who are not gun-toters who also possess these pragmatic self reliant skills. There are craftsmen and handy-persons every where. Open your eyes. They are not carrying guns either.
There is Homeschooling, and homeschooling, too. There are those who Homeschool because they want their children to have very strict pro-life fundamentalist brainwashing - and sadly, sometimes this required packing a gun!
if you google Survivalist Militia History, there are TONS of references, mostly American. So, it is hard to understand why you would have a hard time figuring out why Rob could stereotype Survivalists. There are many books regarding the phenomena. Even in the Survivalism wiki, which distinguishes survivalism from types of Survivalists or Survivalist Movements. It is sadly a part of our reactionary heritage - and even sometimes romanticized in cinema. What is your over-riding need to glorify gun lovers?
Books critical of contemporary private militias
* Lamy, Philip. 1996. Millennium Rage: Survivalists, White Supremacists, and the Doomsday Prophecy. New York: Plenum.
* Stern, Kenneth S. 1996. A Force Upon the Plain: The American Militia Movement and the Politics of Hate. New York: Simon & Schuster.
* Gibson, James William. 1994. Warrior Dreams: Paramilitary Culture in Post-Viet Nam America. New York: Hill and Wang.
* Gibson, James William. 1997. "Is the Apocalypse Coming? Paramilitary Culture after the Cold War." In The Year 2000: Essays on the End, ed. Charles B. Strozier and Michael Flynn. New York: New York University Press.
* Levitas, Daniel. 2002. The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right. New York: St. Martin's.
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Permalink Reply by Kathy McMahon on
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Sandi,
I'm afraid you've put a great many words into my mouth.
I'm finding it difficult to follow your argument as it relates to my post. You obviously take great comfort in embracing the stereotype, so I guess we should end the discussion here and agree to disagree....
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Permalink Reply by Kathy Jacobson on -
Hello!
Thank you Kathy for getting this topic on the table! I'm so glad I popped in to check it out! Great conversation...thanks everyone!
The very notion of a “survivalist” ... Appalachian folks with shot-guns in the hills with hidden moonshine stills.
Hahahaha...well, here ya got yeeself a good ole' Appalachian hill bettywith a shot gun on the hill. However, this ole hill betty is indeed involved with sustainability efforts and emergency planning, preparedness, resiliency, mitigation, response, communications (HAM) and networking for greater interdependency.
If folks are talking survivalist/non-survivalist, perpetuating a continued "us vs them" mentality based upon assumptions and pre-programmed perceptions...it just means to me that we've got a ways to go in our efforts to grow up, mature, evolve and trigger the paradigm shift. It might not sound very enlightened or compassionate...but I've got to admit that I sometimes find thinking, come on folks, let's get real here. However, I know that what might seem real to me might be an illusion.
Anyway, I just tend to take such comments in the Transition materials or other sources with a grain of salt while continuing to walk the talk, share what I can while hoping to help serve as a catalyst in this great adventure. Each one of us have a role to place whether we regard ourselves as a survivalist, non-survivalist, or whatever. We best start getting over our labels and boxes and simply start listening to everyone.
I don't know about you but it's those rural folks with what I call the "skills from the hills" who are some of our most treasured resources, especially the elders who remember the need to work together within systems of interdependency to survive in these hills. It's also the mothers and grandmothers who often draw the line and speak up if it looks like the community, children, elders and vulnerable populations, as well as future generations, are threatened. Do they all fit into the box of "survivalist"?
Anyways, thanks for the post. Maybe I should re-post the photo of me with shotgun titled...Appalachian Home Land Security! Come on over to the Broadwell Hill Campfire and share in a sip or two of moonshine...Just Kidding!
BTW, I've served as an English midwife for many Amish home births. It's best we don't make assumptions, jump to conclusions and box this population either.
Best wishes ...I'm still chuckling.
It's time for me to go string the wicks and get started making the 100% local beeswax Transition/preparedness candles for the year.
kj
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Permalink Reply by Sandi Brockway on
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I have to run, and do not have time to read. But, to clear up more confusion.
There is: Survivalists (as in American reactionary or religious), survivalism, there is SELF-RELIANCE, SELF-SUFFICIENCY, and subsistence... there is specialization, there is tribal, pre-industrial and Old World skills, there was the guilds, and the craftsmen, there was Depression Era ingenuity, and there is the Farmer in the Dell. Did I spell that correctly?
I would rather spend time convincing Fundamentalists that global warming is armageddon approaching (and we must use Free Will to stop it - as God's test to us) and that a WELL FED NEIGHBOR is the Christian thing to do.
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Permalink Reply by Sandi Brockway on
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Kathy said: American “Survivalist” movements straddle a vast array of attitudes and opinions, from deplorable notions of white supremacy, to accepted wisdom of community self-sufficiency that bear a great resemblance to the best aspects of TI.
Please demonstrate to me a real traditional American Survivalist community - in other words, well armed that has been around for more than ten years - that is not an identity movement, a racist group, religious cult group, not preparing to overthrow the government or kill forest rangers and environmentalists - that practices self sufficiency and the best aspects of TI. I certainly would be humbled.
I really would like to know who these [imaginary] heroes called AMERICAN SURVIVALISTS are? There is only one I can think of that come close that that description, and that is Amish. They do have guns, but only for game on occasion. The do not engage in Survivalist training or activities. They probably do not have to and would probably laugh if you termed them Survivalists. I believe the Mennonites and the Quakers are a little more strict about guns. These people have gone into some of the most treacherous parts of the world and setup communities from scratch. As the Amish, the refuse to prepare for war or to do harm to anyone.
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Permalink Reply by Kathy McMahon on
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Sandi,
I'm afraid you've put a great many words into my mouth.
I'm finding it difficult to follow your argument as it relates to my post. You obviously take great comfort in embracing the stereotype, so I guess we should end the discussion here and agree to disagree....
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Permalink Reply by Kathy McMahon on
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My response to Hopkins on Transition Culture and the comments that follow:
It is not that I simply disagree with Hopkins' personal opinions about survivalists, as he's suggested, but that he's put these opinions in a book that many assume is the "blueprint" for how to set up their own TI. Being critical of only a narrow band of folks who engage in extreme activities is one thing. Having this as the "straw dog" that an organization struggles to fight against is quite another.
To quote one contributor both here and in his response on Transition Culture:
"You [Hopkins] were right in your assumptions that those Survivalists, typical in post war American tradition and history, have generally been reactionary, ideologues, paramilitary, racist, identity, reclusive, exclusive, and/or antisocial - and that these people are more likely to be a distraction or hindrance to building cooperative healthy self reliant communities....we are likely to be dealing with lots of closet reactionaries and habitual procrastinators....They were so prevalent at one time that they effectively infiltrated New Age and some Progressive channels...But ours are not the only self defeatists...even among your own UK Transition celebrities I have witnessed sabotaging behaviors that violate the very good principles you propose."
Since her comments were directed to Hopkins, if I were him, I would either strongly disagree with that comment, distance myself from it, or point out my agreement with her.
Racists? Reactionary? Habitual Procrastinators? My, my. This is a "true believer" who propagates hate speech against a declared enemy, and who's intent is on dividing and alienating, and purifying the ranks. This is not a simple misunderstanding of terms. While I appreciate the support that I received on this post, I am concerned that not one person spoke up against this sort of rabid and doctrinaire hate speech.
Silence IS consent.
Either the leaders of this movement encourage true inclusivity, or tolerate that sort of divisive rant.
Where will this lead? If we can't express our concerns or encourage dialog without being attacked or dismissed, I worry that this will stifle serious questions and doubts. Should those expressing such doubts be silenced as "reactionary nay-sayers" who aren't interested in community building? Am I an "infiltrator" who has to be "dealt with?" Perhaps her next comment will call for a TI "Cultural Revolution."
If one can't encourage a dialog without getting personally slandered, ("perhaps [this is] the convoluted psychiatry of having a need to preserve BLUES about peak oil so that their blog still has meaning...") I fear I wouldn't make much headway discussing larger concerns.
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