Outline
- Crackdowns & Reactions
- Disruptions in the Systems
- What Are the Scenarios?
- Do You Have Time?
Start with this quote:
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
Wednesday, January 6th, was a historic day. It will be forever recognized as a defining moment in American history. By accident, by a plan, or a little bit of both, there is no denying the evidence of our eyes that the sacred halls of The Capitol were breached. So what can you expect on the days before, on, and just after Inauguration Day?
America is at an inflection point. The political landscape is violently shifting, and its shift is being violently resisted like we haven’t seen in our recent history. The parallels between America now and other countries where similar events have gone very badly are apparent. While some decry a not so well hidden plot to enslave the masses in a new global world order, others are merely concerned that civil unrest may disrupt their way of life. Were the events of January 6th the first shots fired in a revolution? Was it the final death rattle of a political, populist movement, or a gasp of the first breath of a new era of governance? Whichever emerges as the eventual truth, you need to be prepared. You need to know how the days leading up to Inauguration Day, the day itself, and the days immediately could be violent and dangerous. You have to plan for the worst but hope for the best.
1- Crackdowns & Reactions
Already several right-leaning social media platforms and sites have been forced offline. Some would argue that is a good thing. Others would say that it is a violation of 1st Amendment rights. Many arrests have been made in The Capitol’s occupation, and others have been added to no-fly lists, fired from their places of employment, and targeted. Politicians have been verbally assaulted in airports and continue to be threatened online. Terroristic plans involving pipe bombs have been thwarted. Guns and ammo have been confiscated.
In each instance, each side feels that they are acting in the best interest of the country. In each case, both sides think they hold the moral and just high ground. The tensions that have built for four years are boiling over. These crackdowns and arrests will continue until the party in power feels safe. The reactions will continue through open and sudden flare-ups but will be primarily driven underground. The violent left will counter violent right in cities far away from Washington D.C., and people claiming the moral and just position will continue to act out individually against anyone they perceive to be a philosophical enemy combatant. This is, simply, the result of several years of dehumanization of one’s adversaries. The extreme positions on either side no longer acknowledge the humanity of the opposition. As with other countries throughout history, that’s a bad spot to be in today. It does not bode well for America.
To keep yourself safe in these troubling times, your best course of action would be not to embroil yourself in the chaotic fires of today. I know for many that seems to run in the opposite of what they feel. Many feel this is the do-or-die time where we have to take a stand. Many think that calls for unity are just to avoid the conflict that must inevitably happen. If that’s you, you likely aren’t prepping to survive the calamity. You are prepping to hold power in the worst of calamities. You are less interested in survival and have more bellicose slants.
Instead, tending to your own and making yourself aware of the threats from any side of the loud shouting match are the keys to your survival. Avoiding both the areas and people involved in the crackdowns and reactions is in your survival best interests. In the next few days, weeks, even months, law enforcement and federal forces will have a hair-trigger tolerance of large and raucous gatherings. At the same time, there are people on the extremes of both sides of the shouting match. So extreme, in fact, that they may feel so desperate as to act in terroristic ways. We have already witnessed pipe bombs placed in political locations. On Christmas morning, we witnessed the detonation of an RV in downtown Nashville. I think it would be unwise to assume that we won’t see more explosive threats in the coming days and weeks. Whether they materialize or are thwarted will remain to be seen. Still, you should avoid high target areas: federal and state buildings, rallies and large gatherings, media and press buildings, and the main roads in front of and leading to these places.
2- Disruptions in the Systems
You can also expect periodic or even catastrophic disruptions to the just-in-time delivery systems we all rely upon for food and services. When martial law is declared in an area, everything stops. We all know from last year what a “lockdown” really means. Now, you have the opportunity and should prepare as if another lockdown is about to occur. If martial law is declared in your area, if curfews are enacted, if fire and police services are required elsewhere in your community or region, you will suddenly find yourself on your own. This is where self-reliance as a prepper is so critical. If the roads are shut down, deliveries to your local grocery store cease to occur. People cannot get to their jobs, so the means of production also grind to a halt.
The Christmas morning Nashville vehicle bomb was believed to be partly to destroy technology infrastructure. If there are instances of domestic terrorism, critical infrastructures could be destroyed in your area. The goal of some is to transform the country through the fires of destruction. Others only intend to sow chaos. Our nation’s systems are fragile. When one fails, the effects can ripple out over other systems.
Plan appropriately now. If you have meant to get to the grocery store, gas up your car, or make that purchase of a prepping supply or tool, you are on a short timeline. Things could fall apart relatively quickly. We may again see runs on stores and even looting, draining inventories. You must position your supplies to survive at least 30 days, if not significantly longer.
3- What Are the Scenarios?
One of these scenarios will play out. Trump will resign. Trump will be impeached sometime after the 19th. Trump will remain in office and refuse to leave through some combination of the Acts and Executive Orders. Trump will be forced out of the White House. Trump will seek refuge somewhere else in the world as Democrats pursue legal actions. The Vice President will evoke the 25th Amendment. House and Senate members could be unseated or forced to resign. State capitol buildings across the country could be occupied. Hostages could be taken. Some combination of these scenarios could occur anytime within the next nine days. Any of these single scenarios could lead to highly charged flare-ups throughout the nation. I would not have said with confidence last year that any of these things could happen within days, but that’s all changed.
Every day that passes, the likelihood of nothing at all occurring is becoming increasingly less likely. It is not expected that any Inauguration will be held publicly, as in years past. The optics of crowd size are too prominent these days. No President will want to be publicly Inaugurated when that event has to occur under military guard and in contrast to protests that could also be potential threats. More than likely, when Biden is inaugurated, it will be a private ceremony of some type. It will be held in the House or Senate to show national unity, or it will be done in private, but it will likely not be a public event, as in the past. Much of the coverage of inauguration day may be spent on the whereabouts of Trump instead. Will he hold a rally in Washington, D.C? Will he hole-up in Mar-A Lago?
Trump may seek to pardon himself for anything that can be perceived as criminal by the left. If he is later impeached and removed, he will not be able to run for public office again in 2024. There are rumors that Deutsche Bank will be unloading some of Trump’s loans, and this may reveal aspects of his personal finances that he would rather not be publicly scrutinized. Trump will likely make a final showing and then move his operations to Mar-A Lago.
Any of these scenarios are potential flashpoints for localized or national civil unrest. Unless your desire is to be drawn into the conflict, your best place, as in any disaster, is bugging-in. Prepare now to potentially need to shelter in place for an extended period of time if civil unrest flairs up in your area. Even though this is your best place to be in the coming weeks, you also want to review your bug-out locations and routes. If you have never before established a survival cache, now may be the time to do so. Taking that camping trip you’ve been thinking about may be the right choice if removing yourself from an urban hotbed is what you anticipate.
4- Do You Have Time?
Whatever you decide is the best course of action for you, the window of opportunity is rapidly closing. The storm clouds are looming on the horizon. Your window of opportunity to prepare is rapidly shrinking, and some of the more extensive preps you might have wanted to act upon are likely no longer possible at this late date.
Given this remarkably compressed timeline, you need to focus your preps on the immediate and the achievable. It may seem as though I harp on this repeatedly, at least it does to me, but your food and your water are the essential elements. Whether that means stocking up on food and bottled water now before runs on stores occur or developing a plan to fill bathtubs and containers with water and eating through your supplies, the nervousness and anticipation people feel now and over the next few days will result in runs-on stores.
Inventory your current supplies. Do you have the minimum you need to get you through the next 30 days? If you don’t, what can you obtain now to ensure that you can make it at least 30 days? You have time, but the window of opportunity is closing. Now would be the time to spring for that case of soup or the less expensive staples you should already have on hand, like rice, beans, and Ramen. If you are well stocked and prepared, you are better positioned just to replenish some of the items you may be low on right now.
Remember, too, that COVID-19 hasn’t gone away, either. Already, medical facilities are being impacted. Where I live in Southern California, the local hospital ICU’s are now overcapacity. You may not be treated for medical emergencies with EMT or health services that may be affected with other injuries for riots or further acts of terrorism. Avoid activities that could result in personal injury or could lead to extended periods of exposure to COVID-19. Approach crowded places with caution and take precautionary measures.
To survive the widespread civil unrest possible in the coming days, I recommend you prepare to hunker down. Have a plan to bug-out, even though doing so may force you into the surrounding conflict. Consider visiting friends and family in safer areas, or a plan just to get away. If you have to enact that plan, you will be glad to have it in place. If you haven’t set up a survival cache along the route, you may want to do that now. If you haven’t been to your bug out location in a while, now may be the time to go there and make sure your supplies there are in order. If things fall apart while you are there, you will already be in location.
Conclusion
Our great Union is being tested. We are genuinely testing in the coming days whether this nation or any nation conceived in Liberty and so dedicated, can long endure. We do believe we should be actively trying to hold our grand social experiment together, we feel very strongly that your prepping and your and your family’s survival is essential to our country’s survival as well. We don’t believe that giving in to extremist inclinations at this time will serve anyone’s long term survival well.
As always, please stay safe out there.
