Comment by ThalesX | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ThalesX | Hacker News Reader

I'm from a region close to the conflict, that's been mentioned a few times in recent headlines. Before all this, I was sure I'd flee at the first sign of trouble; get my family and just move somewhere West. Now, as the conflict progresses, and I feel my way of life attacked, I feel a certain flame inside that I've never felt and not sure where it came from. My plan has since updated to:

- Get up to speed with my fitness as I've been slacking for almost a decade; already started morning / evening routine. Nothing fancy, just getting some strenght, mobility and endurance back;

- Fully check-up my car and keep it loaded, spacious and ready to go; also would have some survival gear inside the trunk; I already have thermal blankets and gear that helps me camp for a week. So that should help. It's also tightly packed;

- Use a spare apartment I have a storage for non-perishable food, hygiene necessities and what you might call a prep kit. Some iodine tablets, medicine, band aids etc;

- Stock up my grandparent's house in the country side;

The moment shit hits the fan, I plan to:

- Jump in car, fill it with family, and do some back and forths (if petrol allows) to get everyone as far away as possible;

- Get back and join an armed paramilitary group;

- Die for my family, friends and western ideals without thinking twice about it.

This is of course speculative and I might crawl into a ball and get shelled to oblivion but I've never thought myself of having these thoughts, especially with my nihilistic mindset. I've never for a second thought about my nation, or dying for my leaders, they can all go to hell, but imagining my family going through a humanitarian crisis... just fills me with a resolve and sense of pre-determination that I'm not sure how it would translate, but god damn it I feel like I'd be a vicious beast towards an attacker, war crimes be damned.

> Before all this, I was sure I'd flee at the first sign of trouble; get my family and just move somewhere West. Now, as the conflict progresses, and I feel my way of life attacked, I feel a certain flame inside that I've never felt and not sure where it came from.

100% the same here. I went from "I'd be the first one to run away" to "I'd volunteer to fight for Ukraine" in a heartbeat. I credit Zelensky for it. My own politicians are weak and would have fled to Canada in a heartbeat, just like they did in WW2. But a leader that stays on the frontline and rallies the troops is such a powerful thing that it even has an effect on me. And its not just me, tens of thousands of foreigners are signing up to volunteer for defending ukrain. Apparently it has an impact.

You realize most of what you perceive regarding Ukraine is manufactured psyops? Zelensky is a construct, propped up by far more powerful interests in the shadows, one of which is the oligarch Kolomoisky. All it takes is digging for 20 minutes (OSINT) to see through the superficial narratives that are being blasted to the masses.

Whatever narrative you're talking about doesn't change the highly documented fact that the common man's life in Kyiv and elsewhere is getting destroyed by Russian shelling, which I believe is sufficient for the actions and impulses of the comment you're responding to.

> Before all this, I was sure I'd flee at the first sign of trouble; get my family and just move somewhere West. Now, as the conflict progresses, and I feel my way of life attacked, I feel a certain flame inside that I've never felt and not sure where it came from.

You are not alone.

It must be a deep part of human nature. In my early 20s, my friends and I were anti-war, anti-authority, somewhat nihilistic. On 9/11 we instantaneously felt a drive to get involved. Talk of enlisting etc. Weirdly, I simultaneously held the belief that Bush & friends would use it as a pretext to overreach, along with the primal drive to join in. It wore off, along with that momentary sense of national unity. But if buildings kept exploding, no doubt that feeling would have only become stronger.

> Talk of enlisting etc.

This is the only thing we all agree on. No enlisting for us. There hasn't been a single moment in our existence when our government has inspired us, and we don't plan to die for their ideals.

> no doubt that feeling would have only become stronger.

I saw a movie yesterday, the police in my country shared it. A little refugee girl at the border; it was her birthday, and all the personnel sang her happy birthday and she seemed so happy. I almost lost it, even now writing about it. Not even my children and they seem so important to protect at the moment that it really feels like nothing else comes quite close in terms of importance.

When a nuclear bomb hits, if you survive, stay in your house for at least 24 hours. Houses are great to protect you from fallout. Seal the windows best you can. Do not run outside, drive around, etc. If you are able, stay inside for 5 weeks. Take iodine tablets. If you must travel for supplies wear a p100 mask and throw away your clothes once back inside.

Where will the bombs hit? Military targets. See map:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/U.S._Mil...

FYI Russia have 5k active warheads.

"More than half the total bomb debris lands on the ground within about 24 hours as local fallout.[9]"

"Fallout radiation decays relatively quickly with time. Most areas become fairly safe for travel and decontamination after three to five weeks.[13]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fallout

In the past decade, I've been pretty interested in traveling with the distinct purpose of finding 2-3 backup countries/cities I'd feel comfortable migrating to. Instead of traveling to the over touristed cities doing touristy things that everyone else goes to, for me it's more fun to visit 2-3 serious countries that I could conceivable migrate to if the stuff hit the fan in the current country. Like what's the restaurant scene like, how are the schools, would my kids feel at home, what would emigration look like, what are the country's policies, etc.

If you jump in the car, you're going to get stuck in traffic immediately.

This really depends on the road system, I am somewhat confident that I can get to the countryside on some alternative routes that I know from when I was younger, and it's perpendicular to the direction everyone would be fleeing (I assume). As with any plan, it's good to have it, but they seldom survive contact with reality, so it's important to be able to adapt and improvise.

There's also maybe a difference in culture, and family structure; we're pretty close in these here parts when push comes to shove so we can have a powerful network effect going. I can't speak for everyone, but there are a couple of people I know I could reasonably coordinate with to get as many loved ones as possible to safety, and we're already drafting out some lightweight plans.

Maybe less so if prepared and preempt the hoards getting in their cars. Almost anyone else is going to be indecisive, packing their car, going via the shops.

An example was when the pandemic first hit the news in China. Colleague and I were talking about what would happen in Australia. As a result, we both stocked up on non-perishables. A month or two later, the supermarkets were bombarded and shelves were bare.

A stocked car and backpacks that could go in the car or with you on foot covers two reasonable options at minimal expense/waste. Worst case, it's easier to go camping.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com