Lone Rangers when TSHTF, Reality Check

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by stormrifle:
Michael - "It is extremely difficult to live off the land in perfect health for any length of time whilest one is being hunted. "

Ever heard of Eric Robert Rudolph?


[/quote]

Stormrifle
1) Can you confirm positively that he's still among the living?

2) At this time, can you confirm how many armed personnel are involved in the active tracking of Mr. Rudoplh?

Just curious. My personal experience is somewhat dated in this sort of thing. I'd like to keep it that way.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jay Baker:
This is purely anecdotal, but another facet of the discussion.

I have a very good friend in Los Angeles, who was a Navy SEAL (two tours) in Vietnam. (snip).

He looked at me and said, "You know," pointing to his computer goodies, "I can do more damage with that stuff right there, than I ever could with the toys I had in Vietnam."

It won't all be "firefights." Just a thought.

J.B.
[/quote]

When I was in EOD we would often spend our days dreaming up ways to make a mess. We did some basic research on the US power grid and came to the conclusion that for less than $5000 in basic hardware (no explosives) and a little coordination between 5 or 10 people in strategic locations we could cause a cascading powerfailure that would black-out every major city and industrial center in the US for DAYS or WEEKS (depending on grid-part availability & distribution).

The rioting/looting alone would completely occupy the military/police and utterly destabilize the government. There is NOTHING the Fed can do about it short of putting a man on the ground under each and every transformer in the country.



[This message has been edited by MrMisanthrope (edited October 26, 2000).]
 
Michael - You could be right, he may have died. He's on the "10 most wanted" list, so I presume there are agents actively pursuing him. Perhaps not, though.

I guess my point is this - It is indeed difficult to avoid capture. Nevertheless - there are many fugitives out there, probably no smarter or resourceful than I, and some of them avoid capture for decades. Many are NEVER captured (perhaps they died, perhaps not)

If TSHTF - other states & feds ban new classes of weapons, millions refuse to comply with registration/surrender of newly contraband weapons - I don't think the gov is going to start going door-to-door to collect them. They know that after a few televised Waco/Ruby Ridge scenarios, they would have a huge sh*tstorm on their hands - possibly a massive armed insurrection.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Michael:
Stormrifle
1) Can you confirm positively that he's still among the living?

2) At this time, can you confirm how many armed personnel are involved in the active tracking of Mr. Rudoplh?

Just curious. My personal experience is somewhat dated in this sort of thing. I'd like to keep it that way.
[/quote]

I remember hearing about it fairly recently when the feds put the Eric Rudolph search on the back burner. They left a token force in place, but pulled most of their manpower out and reassigned them.

Rudolph may very well be dead. Maybe he starved or drowned or died of exposure. But that's not what I find most illuminating about the Eric Rudolph story. The points that _I_ think are worth noting are these:

1. Dead or alive, the feds have no clue where he is. So much for their "always getting their man" , despite the millions upon millions of dollars spent, the manpower deployed, and all the high-tech search gear they used.

2. Seeing (on television) and reading about ordinary residents of the area being turned against "their" federal government by months of being treated like citizens of the Soviet Union (endless roadblocks, searches, questioning, noisy and intrusive air searches, and constant exposure to arrogant thugs with badges), and public announcements that they would refuse to cooperate with "their" government because of it. THAT warms my heart. That relentless wall of anger, resentment and (quite possibly) silence is a good sign.

3. Number 2 above is based on the behavior of feds trying to find a single person who had not (to my knowledge) attacked "one of their own". Imagine how thuggish they'd be if they were searching for half a dozen or more people who had actually attacked/killed a goon squad. And imagine how many citizens they'd piss off _then_. Guerillas depend on willing assistance from the ordinary citizens around them--behavior like this will make that MUCH easier.

(And then, on the other side of the nation, there's the US Forest Service bigwig who resigned because of the spontaneous but unrelenting hostility she faced from the local citizens she "served". US Forest Service personnel in that area were being SHUNNED. It was so bad that many of them stopped wearing their uniforms some of the time. At least one was thrown out of a hotel by the owners when they discovered that he was a USFS employee.

THAT'S an idea worth spreading.)
 
Another good thing to keep in mind is if the SHTF, don't forget the value of keeping the bystanders neutral, or sympathetic. No man is an island.

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The Alcove

I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me

Compromising the right position only makes you more wrong.
 
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