Where are the Survivalists?

sister of mercy · Post by **sister of mercy** » 15 Apr 2007, 23:27

I'm quite glad there aren't many survivalists on here, they scare me a bit, inasmuch as I'm not so sure I'd be very comfortable with such a pessimistic view. I think I would just bury my head in the sand and forget it all if I thought there was no hope for any quality if life.

writerguy · Post by **writerguy** » 18 Apr 2007, 09:16

sister of mercy wrote:I'm quite glad there aren't many survivalists on here, they scare me a bit, inasmuch as I'm not so sure I'd be very comfortable with such a pessimistic view. I think I would just bury my head in the sand and forget it all if I thought there was no hope for any quality if life.

I quite agree. A lot of what oil does these days, though, doesn't really raise my quality of life anyway. Mostly it gets me from here to there faster than I actually prefer to go, if truth be told.

Kentucky Fried Panda · Post by **Kentucky Fried Panda** » 18 Apr 2007, 18:31

writerguy wrote: A lot of what oil does these days, though, doesn't really raise my quality of life anyway.

Really, you're living off the grid then?
Is somebody pedalling for power while you're on powerswitch?
The mind boggles.

writerguy · Post by **writerguy** » 22 Apr 2007, 07:40

Haggis wrote:
writerguy wrote: A lot of what oil does these days, though, doesn't really raise my quality of life anyway.
Really, you're living off the grid then?
Is somebody pedalling for power while you're on powerswitch?
The mind boggles.

There appears to be an assumption here that PowerSwitch raises my quality of life. Nothing against PowerSwitch, but it is formed around a problem.

Kentucky Fried Panda · Post by **Kentucky Fried Panda** » 22 Apr 2007, 12:05

You have electricity right? Probably from a coal fired station, transported by rail. Diesel powered trains.
Unless you're a protege of the Unabomber, you're as connected to the grid and industrial society as the rest of us.

jonny2mad · Post by **jonny2mad** » 22 Apr 2007, 12:54

well there are people living off grid in the uk , Ive lived for years at a time without electricity , I lived for three years in a tent Ive lived in caravans on gypsys sites.

I have electricity at the moment but I keep looking at propertys without electricity and mains water and generally more primitive .

what Id like to do is rent out the house I now own and live in a shack somewhere and have the rental of my house pay for the rent on my shack .

Just because someones living a lifestyle where they use electricity doesnt mean they couldnt live without it .
There is a element that the more so called labour saving things you have the more work you need to do to pay for them .

our society is set up to stop people leaving it even if I own a piece of land I cant opt out of the british society even if I dont want to take part in it .
Im forced to be to some extent in the money system , I cant pay the rates in cabbages I have to change those cabbages into money .

I cant build a shack and live in it or live in a cave I have to obey planning laws , but that doesnt mean that I couldnt live in a shack and be happy if we were not living in a very controling system .

There are people doing this living in shacks sheds and whatever but they generally dont advertise it

great website for people interested in hermits and hermiting , hermits have a great job avoiding the system but some manage it
http://www.hermitary.com/

Pippa · Post by **Pippa** » 23 Apr 2007, 12:34

On a similar thread if you click on reefskins link to his blog (very interesting) he's got some information on living in tiny spaces. It's sort of similar is being a hermit. To get round the enforced society rules he camps in his parents garden. Quite inspirational I thought and a good reminder of how we generally collect far too much....

Oh, just went to have a look at Reefskins link again and now can't find the small house stuff. Where's it gone?

writerguy · Post by **writerguy** » 24 Apr 2007, 03:18

jonny2mad wrote:Just because someones living a lifestyle where they use electricity doesnt mean they couldnt live without it .
There is a element that the more so called labour saving things you have the more work you need to do to pay for them .

Well said, jonny2mad, you got my point. The issue I raised was quality of life, and the assumption that I need to keep consuming all the energy I do to maintain it. Some of it I can do without - indeed, a lot of it i do do without. To reduce my life to an all-or-nothing energy proposition - well, that dawg don't hunt.

Kentucky Fried Panda · Post by **Kentucky Fried Panda** » 29 Apr 2007, 13:56

Pippa wrote: To get round the enforced society rules he camps in his parents garden. Quite inspirational I thought and a good reminder of how we generally collect far too much....

How proud his parents must have been.

jonny2mad · Post by **jonny2mad** » 30 Apr 2007, 12:32

well I dont know about you haggis but my parents would have been proud of me , Id be quite happy if I had a kid who wanted to live in a tent in my garden in fact I would be willing to let some of the hippy kids I know camp in my garden now .

we are being told that the western lifestyle is causing climate change if you have someone who wants to reject as much as they can that lifestyle and have a really low carbon footprint isnt that a good thing .

I mean the kid could be daft and go and fight in some pointless oil war , or drive around up to his ears in debt , making himself deaf listening to loud music , I would think living in tent presents a better prospect

Kentucky Fried Panda · Post by **Kentucky Fried Panda** » 30 Apr 2007, 20:08

I hate hippies. Long haired soap dodging wasters, get a haircut and get a job.

SunnyJim · Post by **SunnyJim** » 30 Apr 2007, 20:39

Man you're going to hate the future Haggis. No jobs, no soap blunt scissors.

Actually I'm quite offended by that comment. I'm a hippy at heart. Hippydom has nothing to do with not working, having long hair or not washing. To say so is offensive.

Hippy: someone who rejects the established culture; advocates extreme liberalism in politics and lifestyle. No bad thing to be if you ask me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippy#Etho ... cteristics

Pippa · Post by **Pippa** » 30 Apr 2007, 20:43

Haggis

My mum has sold her house and intends to live with my family part time and the rest with my brother (who lives in Australia).

I have very mixed feelings about squishing in together but all things considered (and especially knowing what we do) how can I say no?

My mum doesn't believe in all this stuff about climate change and resource depletion (avid BBC watcher) but she is family after all and what's more important than that?

Anyway, I've talked the talk, about time I walked the walk, only time will tell if the fragile family relations can stand it!

Kentucky Fried Panda · Post by **Kentucky Fried Panda** » 30 Apr 2007, 21:15

It's a good thing to get your whole family under one roof, especially the older generation. They have lots of knowledge, hopefully, that they can share.
My parents are dead and my family are scattered across the globe, so be glad if you still have yours and can have them close by.

Andy Hunt · Post by **Andy Hunt** » 01 May 2007, 10:03

Haggis wrote:I hate hippies. Long haired soap dodging wasters, get a haircut and get a job.

It's funny, I've always thought of myself as a hippy at heart, but as I get older I do find myself agreeing with this point of view about certain types . . .

I suppose there are different types of hippies. This one has short hair, a job, likes psychedelic and folk music, grows his own veg and has solar panels.

A mate of mine grows his own veg, likes psychedelic music and getting stoned, and has spent his whole life sponging off the dole/sick. I have to admit I couldn't live like that (any more) - I would just have no self-respect. I don't really think he does when it comes down to it, which is why getting off his face is so important to him I suspect. He always says he is perpetually busy - collecting orchestral samples off the internet or whatever. Any excuse to avoid getting a job.

As for the long hair bit - I recently met a long-haired dreadlocked hippy who was director of a multi-million pound recycling company. Just goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover, eh Haggis?