- 4 months ago
10 Preparedness - Social crisis. Living Off the Grid in the City Podcast. Preparedness. Social and political crises. Living off the grid helps you avoid or lessen the effects of crises. Human caused crises include social and political. Social crises involve unrest and dissatisfaction, which may devolve into widespread and violent protests. Political crisis may be triggered by government corruption, authoritarianism, despotism, and abuse. Or, popular outrage and dissatisfaction with the government. These, may trigger widespread protests and disruptions. All crises may disrupt, or stop, vital goods and services in your area. Living efficiently and having off grid goods and services available to you; may allow you to avoid the ill effects of crises. Here’s how.
Hector Vladimir 2023, 2025©
Hector Vladimir 2023, 2025©
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00:01Section 8. Preparedness. To be prepared is simply to be as ready as reasonably possible for expected
00:08events. Expected events could be categorized between likely and unlikely, or common and
00:15extremely rare. There are two types of events I'll discuss in the context of living off the grid,
00:21crises and catastrophes. I believe that being off the grid prepares you to better survive
00:28and better cope with crises and catastrophes. This is because, often during crises or catastrophes,
00:36that normal utility services and food supplies may be severely disrupted or even stopped,
00:42temporarily or indefinitely. Although living off the grid is not a guarantee to having all that you
00:48need during these events, it is likely to help you have powerful defenses against an event's harmful
00:54effects. Since each event brings different effects and challenges, I will discuss each expected event
01:01as to the challenges they may bring, and I'll explain how off-grid living may help.
01:07Crisis preparedness. Crises are expected and unexpected detrimental events that bring partial
01:14disruptions to existing working systems and services, such as food, transportation, water service,
01:21electric service, etc. Crisis may cause a short or long-term disruption to these,
01:28or even incapacitate the system, or severely dismantle it. The system may slow down or halt,
01:35even if it remains mostly physically intact. This can occur due to a variety of factors that may block
01:42or limit its normal operation. These factors may be one or a combination of many,
01:47like unemployment, underemployment, and low liquidity. Low liquidity is the scarce access
01:54to money due to overinflation, scarcity of goods, and more. Crises discussed here will include human
02:02costs, such as financial, social, climate, and political crises. And, naturally occurring crises.
02:11Human cause crises. Financial crises. Financial crises, in the context of living off the grid,
02:24come from the cyclic temporary ups and downs of an area's overall economy. Sometimes these down
02:30cycles may be severe enough and trigger a crisis. Financial or economic crises may affect water,
02:37food, food, shelter, and other goods and services, especially when unemployment and the scarcity of
02:43money impact those industries. In turn, there may be scarcity in the goods and services available to
02:50you. At the same time, you may be impacted by unemployment or lack of money, and you may
02:57temporarily lose access to those goods and services.
03:00In my lifetime, here in the U.S., I've lived through a few major financial crises,
03:07but there have been many throughout history, some of which have been severe. Some have been
03:13extremely severe, which have expanded worldwide. The most infamous of all is, perhaps, the Great
03:20Depression of 1929, whose effects lasted about 10 years, and many argued ushered conditions for world war.
03:28During that time, the U.S. stock market crashed, and unemployment reached 20% at its peak.
03:36Its economic effects spread throughout the world. Other large economic crises include the early 1980s
03:43recession. Savings and loan crisis of 1986. The special period in Cuba in 1991. The Russian
03:52financial crisis of 1998. And the Argentine Great Depression of 1998. In the U.S., I recall hearing
04:01about the dot-com bubble of 2000. And living through the Great Recession of 2007-2008. During this
04:10recession, there was widespread unemployment, peaking at 11%. And, there were especially deep losses in
04:17financial and property assets. I, along with millions of others, were affected by the home
04:24mortgage crisis which accompanied the recession. Recently, Venezuela has gone through a deep economic
04:31crisis since 2012. And the world entered into a recession of varying severity since the beginning
04:38of the 2019 pandemic. As I write this, here in the U.S., the post-pandemic economic crisis remains for most
04:46Americans. With severe inflation in many critical markets like food, fuel, transportation, and many
04:54others. Needless to say, financial crises are not just graphs and numbers on a screen somewhere with no
05:01effect, they are materially harmful to people living in our money-dependent society.
05:05A financial crisis may slow or stop your employment and monetary income, may diminish your investment
05:12or retirement account balances, may make food and utility prices too high for you to afford, and more.
05:20Some financial crises have caused the stress and suffering of millions of people, and have even
05:25contributed to the death of many, for extended periods. Living off the grid empowers you to be less
05:33dependent on your local, national, and international monetary economy. Although you may not choose to
05:40completely exit this economy, living off the grid provides a buffer zone between the economy and you,
05:47so that in case of a crisis the effects are dampened. For example, if you are debt-free, and rely on only a
05:54small income because you don't have any bills, then, a financial crisis that affects employment may affect you
06:01minimally. In contrast, someone with much debt, living a high-cost lifestyle, may lose many of their indebted
06:09property. In many cases people may lose a home, a vehicle, access to food, healthcare, etc. For example, during the
06:192007-2008 Great Recession, I lost my home due to a combination of low local immigrant wages, and over
06:2750% loss of home value. And my lender, the bank, did not want to renegotiate the extremely bloated mortgage
06:35loan. This is despite my many pleas by phone and in writing. And this is after the federal bailout that
06:42banks received. Then, many had a big mortgage loan, a precarious income, and not enough income.
06:50To no surprise, immigrant and black communities were hit the hardest. For example, when I lost my
06:57income in 2006, I had to move away from the area, mainly due to low prospects of fair wages and
07:04employment, and eventually abandoned my home. A tangible example of how living off-grid provides a buffer
07:11during a financial crisis is having solar energy equipment. It may get rid of your electric bill,
07:18allow you to allocate more funds for savings, and allow you to need less money. Another example is
07:24living efficiently. Living off-grid encourages you to increasingly live within your means, better manage
07:31your finances, save more, and pay less for everyday items. And, the increased efficiency, skill, and
07:39knowledge of off-griders, surely contributes to their resiliency to financial crises. Also,
07:46as mentioned elsewhere, by becoming more ingenious, resourceful, and skilled, you become a more valuable
07:53employee, business administrator, or contributor in just about any place or situation.
07:59I believe producing food off the grid helps you financially. This is in various degrees,
08:05depending on your food producing capacity. It surely would help in the event of food shortages or food
08:12price runaway inflation, such as the current one. Just recently, the prices of hen eggs were a runaway,
08:20and those who had egg-laying hens were at an obvious economic advantage. During that time,
08:26in some areas the prices of eggs almost tripled within a short period, and prices remained about 60%
08:32above average for several weeks nationwide. During this time, many neighbors in my area suddenly
08:39sold chicken eggs from their backyards. Harnessing drinking water can surely help during economic
08:46crises, especially where water may become scarce. As you may know, bottled water is increasingly
08:53popular, with many people opting to consume mostly bottled water during their day. Economic crisis may
09:00impact delivery of water to supermarkets and other stores, and impact access to that need dearly.
09:07Harnessing, processing, and storing water are central pieces of living off the grid,
09:12and these can provide weeks to months of clean water supply. This water supply can help you remain
09:18healthy, even if a severe economic crisis hits, impacting drinking water availability.
09:24Economic crises may impact electrical power and other utility services like natural gas.
09:32These may be brownouts, short temporary electricity outages, blackouts, long-term electricity outages,
09:39and utility gas outages. These may be offset or alleviated by off-grid technologies like alternative
09:47energy systems, solar, wind, generators, and storage systems such as batteries and liquid propane
09:54gas tanks. You may use renewable generators, solar or wind, to refill your storage batteries and keep some
10:02or all of your electrical appliances and devices running during brownouts or blackouts. You may be
10:08completely off the electric or gas grid when your community experiences brownouts or blackouts, hardly
10:15noticing the occurrence. In short, an efficient lifestyle, expanded self-sufficiency skills and knowledge,
10:23and off-grid technologies will surely help you alleviate, or even ward off, the negative impacts
10:28of a financial crisis. And I believe this is a great reason to want to be off the grid.
10:36Social crises
10:37Social crises may take many forms, and do happen quite often in modern society.
10:43Dissatisfaction with governments, laws, the economy, or social restrictions may trigger people to stop
10:52working and take to the streets in protest or riots. Protests are peaceful, while riots are more
10:58disrupting and sometimes violent. During protests and riots, there may be physical and violent clashes
11:05among opposing groups, like different factions of civilians or between factions and police.
11:11During social crises, the normal productive and distribution routines of society may slow down
11:17or stop. This may mean shortages of goods and services, and disruptions of work which may
11:24postpone or stop monetary income. A notable and recent social crisis occurred during the summer of 2020,
11:32the Black Lives Matter BLM protests. During this time millions of people across many areas
11:38took to the streets to demand change to a world system that systematically and routinely discriminates
11:44against and denies justice for peoples of African descent. This crisis was triggered by the
11:50murder of the American citizen, George Floyd. Unfortunately, many local, state, and federal
11:57authorities responded violently to these protests, and many public clashes, violence, and destruction
12:04occurred. And, combined with the effects of the ongoing pandemic, the social effects of the protests
12:10were surely augmented. Further back, in 1980, the African-American communities of Miami, Florida,
12:18erupted in protests and riots after Arthur McDuffie. McDuffie was an unarmed motorist who was brutally beaten
12:25and killed by four police officers. The officers involved were eventually charged. The controversial
12:32trial was moved from Miami to Tampa, an unusual move believed to be racially motivated, done for the
12:38benefit of the officers. Ultimately, all four of the accused officers were acquitted of any charges.
12:46Personally, so far, I have lived through a few social crises, here in the US. In 1992,
12:53the Los Angeles riots were triggered by the brutal beating of Rodney King. The brutal attack was seen
12:59as unjustified and was videotaped, causing outrage, largely in the black communities of this racist
13:05nation. The subsequent acquittal of all officers involved in the blatant abuse caused social unrest
13:12and protests in many areas of the US. Some were reported as riots. In the spring of 2000,
13:20in South Florida, there was a short-term public crisis during the Elian Gonzalez custody dispute.
13:26During this time, outrage erupted in the Cuban-American communities of South Florida,
13:32caused by the dispute over the custody and forcible seizure of the toddler Cuban boy whose mother had
13:38drowned while migrating to the US in 1999. Although there were threats of widespread turmoil in the
13:45streets, in the aftermath of the dramatic raid to seize the child, the threats did not materialize and
13:51tensions waned within days. There have been many riots in America, mostly driven by racism and
13:57discrimination based on protected statuses. Just to name a few, the Cairo-Illinois race riots of 1967 to
14:051973. The Martin Luther King assassination protests. And many others happened all across the world.
14:13During many of these crises, and many others not listed here, businesses were closed,
14:19property was damaged, fires erupted, traffic was stopped, people were jailed, and some were injured
14:26or killed. These crises can affect entire nations, regions, communities, or specific groups to various
14:34degrees. For example, if your business or home is set ablaze, or if you are jailed and lose your job,
14:42during a protest or riot, will surely impact your physical and financial situation.
14:47More importantly, access to basics such as water, food and shelter may be affected during or in the
14:54aftermath of a social crisis. Leaving off the greed largely isolates you from the effects of social
15:00crisis, mainly by allowing you to remain away from the crisis and being prepared for it in many ways.
15:07For example, off-greeders will likely choose to live away from overcrowded areas, produce a significant
15:13portion of their food, and have water and long shelf life food stored. Due to this preparedness, off-greeders
15:21may be able to wait out a social crisis by remaining in their home for however long the crisis occurs.
15:27Also, if you have little or no debt, bills, or financial commitments, then you may be able to
15:34cope with less or no income for the duration of a social crisis. And, if the social crisis affects
15:41utility services like water, gas, and electricity, you may be able to cope with this by relying on your
15:47own services off the greed. The normal methods of communications, like landlines or cellular telephone,
15:55may be disrupted during severe social crises. Fires or vandalism may cause damage to telephone
16:02and cellular infrastructure and knock out these services. If you are off the greed for communications,
16:09your service should not depend on any physical infrastructure outside of your home or yard.
16:15So, unless your home has been affected directly by the social crisis,
16:20you may be able to communicate using various wireless end-to-end equipment. More on this later.
16:27Political Crises
16:29Our world maintains much of its order and peace through government.
16:33Most nations have agreed that government is beneficial and necessary for a variety of reasons.
16:39But, governments gradually, or suddenly, become corrupt, despotic, authoritarian and abusive.
16:46The government may also weaken to where other institutions control much of that society.
16:52Cartels and powerful families may hold more power than the government in certain areas or nations.
16:58In less democratic societies, suddenly, there may be a power struggle within the government.
17:05When any of these detrimental situations arise, with the government, a political crisis may occur.
17:11Political crises may include widespread dissatisfaction and unrest, protests, riots, labor strikes,
17:20and street violence. Even in free and democratic societies, political crises may be triggered by
17:27outraged voters, especially if instigated by demagogue leaders, and real or perceived fraud during or after
17:34elections. This crisis occurred in the U.S. on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. More on this later.
17:44Also, martial law may trigger a political crisis.
17:49Martial law is when the government and authorities require strict curfews and other restrictions.
17:55This has occurred in specific areas, generally, comprised of large, minority groups,
18:01and has been contemplated nationwide several times in history. Again, martial law has been enforced,
18:08for short periods, in several instances. The effects of political crises may bring
18:14social and utility services shortages or stoppages. Water, food, healthcare, education,
18:21and utility services may slow down or halt completely. Businesses may close, or be damaged,
18:28affecting the income of many. Government offices may slow down or halt services,
18:34and things like government-run utilities, water, energy, gas, may be severely affected.
18:41The government may even close, due to budget and staffing problems. For example, local governments
18:48may not have enough funds or credit to keep city services running normally, and may even stop vital
18:54services like water. Often, the first services to be affected are the ones that help the poorest and
19:01most vulnerable people, such as food aid and employment compensations. For example, the Georgia-USA
19:09unemployment and food aid offices closed for several months during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic
19:17in 2020. And payments and benefits were severely disrupted for tens of thousands of needy families
19:24in the state. All state aid offices were shut, and I recall being unable to reach the unemployment
19:30office by phone. I experienced this after applying for unemployment benefits, after I was fired from an
19:38employer in the fall of 2020. Later, about six months after applying, I received a rejection letter,
19:45filled with errors and untrue statements, proving to me, the uselessness of this state agency.
19:52A recent political crisis, with potential national implications, was the insurrection of January 6,
19:582021. Here, a mob of thousands of dissatisfied and violent political fanatics, stormed the U.S.
20:06Capitol, and used violent attacks to try to disrupt and stop the congressional certification of the
20:12newly elected opposition president. Order was luckily restored, arguably because the mob was not large
20:18enough, and a last-minute call from the looser president to go home. I believe, had the mob had
20:25their way, there would be a despotic installed president as I write this. Other dire political
20:31crises have occurred around the world. Recently, a political crisis in Sudan has contributed to the
20:37the displacement of millions of people in that nation. Syria and Somalia continue to suffer from
20:43decades of political and humanitarian crises, with tens of millions of people affected. The nation of
20:50Myanmar has seen political and humanitarian crises develop into violence in recent years, affecting over
20:5710 million people and directly displacing over 200,000. Political instability and violence have
21:04affected many areas of Nigeria. There, currently, about 1 million people live in inaccessible and
21:11conflict-affected areas. At times, political crises have fallen into all-out war, and ushered,
21:18modern-day famines such as the one in Yemen. There, over 20 million people are in dire need as I write this.
21:25Furthermore, countless short-term political crises have occurred throughout the world,
21:30and will continue to occur, perhaps often and for the foreseeable future, affecting the needs and lives
21:36of many people. Living off the greed has clear benefits in preventing and alleviating the ill effects
21:43of political crises. There's many ways in which a political crisis may affect people. But, we can all
21:50agree that political crises may bring scarcity, shortages, or stoppages of public and private goods and
21:57services. And, obviously, if you depend less on those public or private goods and services,
22:03you will be less affected if and when they slow down or stop. For example, a political crisis may
22:10affect your income by disrupting your ability to work or by shutting down your place of work.
22:15Or, if the government stops, this may stop your income if you are a government employee,
22:20or if you supply a good or service to the government.
22:24In summary, when you don't have debt, bills, or excessive costs of living, you may weather a
22:30political crisis much better. Additionally, living an efficient lifestyle lengthens the time you may
22:36live without the goods and services from the outside world. Your ability to remain isolated from the
22:42outside world and extend that isolation period by generating and utilizing off-grid goods and services,
22:48are the off-grid abilities that may help you weather a political crisis. And, you may help others do the
22:55same by allowing them to use your off-grid goods and services or by sharing your methods and technology.
23:01So there is a question,
23:13that will be a good question.
23:14But please, they are going to use your opposition.
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