Civil or Uncivilized?

There's been an interesting little discussion going on at Survival Boards for the past few days - revolving around the question: "At what point will people stop being civilized?" In other words, in the event of a major societal disaster or breakdown, when will people lose it?

Hubby has the following opinion - as always, we welcome a hearty discussion and love to hear your individual opinions - so feel free to leave us some comments!

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Like many other questions about individuals, the answer will vary widely with the individual in question.

For some, possibly the earliest they will become uncivilized is when they realize that no one is watching - they are no longer constrained by law enforcement or held accountable. This crew turns savage sometime between the initial event and two days; they are your initial threat and may be present in riots or gangs. NOTE: Well disciplined gangs may conserve assets and gather information biding their time until much later.

Be prepared to deal with this group of people out of your Get Home Bag (GHB) and CCW.

Others will become uncivilized when their food, medicine or other goods they typically purchase run out; sometime between day two and one week after the initial event.

Be prepared to deal with this group of people out of a Bail Out Bag (BOB).

Yet others will become uncivilized when they realize no help is coming, there is no FEMA rescue, I'd say about one to two weeks after an initial event for this crowd.

Be prepared to deal with these people from your Bail Out Location (BOL). In some cases you could use these people to your advantage to recruit critical skills you need in your group. Perhaps something like Labor for Room and Board-type arrangements.

Finally, the organized predators, or road-gangs will come out; they will be equipped to take what they want from small groups of preppers, and will seek out sources of supply to raid or loot. They may be capable of overcoming small communities or fortified family groups. They will appear between three weeks to two months after the initial event. These people are actively looking for your Bail Out Location (BOL). Be aware, this group could also include well-trained former Law Enforcement Officers and Security Contractors.

So, in my opinion I think we should plan to expect multiple different waves of people to get uncivilized as each group reaches its trigger point.

Some people might see the first group as the biggest problem, I don't - they are easiest to dissuade by a threat of forceful response by an individual.

I see the last group as the greatest problem. They will not be dissuaded by the resistance of an individual - they have to be actually be stopped, and individual effort will not be sufficient. This is why many form "mutual assistance groups".

It is my opinion that any "mutual assistance group" with less than six operators will be ineffective or compromised as you move down the list of "uncivilized" people you will have to deal with.