Even for EAs who live in major cities, it can be helpful to cultivate good relationships with friends or extended family who live in lower-density areas, in case situations escalate (e.g. nuclear brinksmanship, pandemic intensifies) enough that it’s worth leaving the city.
In terms of prepping with supplies, it’s worth remembering that if one doesn’t have effective means to defend one’s supplies from others who might want them, one’s basically just storing up stuff that will end up being taken by others. In some countries, ‘effective defense’ just means good fences and locks; in other countries, it means AR-15s.
The best defense is often just ‘op sec’ (operational security), meaning, don’t brag about being a prepper in public, on social media, or in giving away cues of prepping (e.g. survivalist bumper stickers or house signs), which just makes one a target for others.
Your first point brings up yet another reason the Nauru proposal was ill-conceived on its face—in an active nuclear brinkmanship or pandemic situation, getting a bunch of EAs to Nauru of all places in a hurry would have been extraordinarily difficult.
If I were trying to save a bunch of EAs from a near-catastrophic event . . . the centerpiece of my plan sure wouldn’t be a bunker that was only useful with extensive advance notice.
Jason—good points.
Even for EAs who live in major cities, it can be helpful to cultivate good relationships with friends or extended family who live in lower-density areas, in case situations escalate (e.g. nuclear brinksmanship, pandemic intensifies) enough that it’s worth leaving the city.
In terms of prepping with supplies, it’s worth remembering that if one doesn’t have effective means to defend one’s supplies from others who might want them, one’s basically just storing up stuff that will end up being taken by others. In some countries, ‘effective defense’ just means good fences and locks; in other countries, it means AR-15s.
The best defense is often just ‘op sec’ (operational security), meaning, don’t brag about being a prepper in public, on social media, or in giving away cues of prepping (e.g. survivalist bumper stickers or house signs), which just makes one a target for others.
Your first point brings up yet another reason the Nauru proposal was ill-conceived on its face—in an active nuclear brinkmanship or pandemic situation, getting a bunch of EAs to Nauru of all places in a hurry would have been extraordinarily difficult.
If I were trying to save a bunch of EAs from a near-catastrophic event . . . the centerpiece of my plan sure wouldn’t be a bunker that was only useful with extensive advance notice.