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Comment by rnk | Hacker News Reader

At my cabin I have starlink, limited solar power and a generator with propane that comes on (power goes out a lot). Eventually I'll run out of propane and food (everyone has some emergency food supply for a few weeks at their cabin, right?), but I wonder how long I'd last with internet plus short trips in my electric car? I never planned for a post-gas future independent of the grid.

Starlink relies on starlink downlinks of course, I assume they'd degrade quickly, do they have generators, and what internet would there be to connect to. But I am independent of the grid for a week at least. There would be a transition period for society. I kind of regret not spending the bigger money for full house solar with battery backup. Then I'd really be in good shape for the end of the world, except for running out of food. And someone coming in and taking it away from me.

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I think that last line is really the crux of it. Most of us would survive a “collapse” event exactly as long as it would take for people to get desperate. After that, all the batteries and canned food in the world will do you no good if you don’t have a remote and defensible location, ammunition, and lots of training. I have none of the above, so fingers crossed!

There is a counter argument out there that individuals/small groups that self isolate during extreme events/collapse of social stability tend to do much more poorly than groups that prioritize mutual aid.

Thanks for bringing that up. I don't remember who said: "The answer is _always_ community."

Everyone who's been through true turmoil knows. Without a "village" around you you're dead. That's literally why villages formed as they did instead of people just spreading out.

This Death Stranding bunker meme is just clueless people playing survival.

The worst time to do something for the first time is in an emergency.

Definitely a good idea to jump start on some areas that are lacking, no matter how small the steps are they are worth taking.

All my guns and ammo got lost in a tragic boating accident.

You really shouldn't hunt fish by rifle.

I know. Dynamite works so much better.

>And someone coming in and taking it away from me.

perhaps there's another thing you should invest in. well, unless you're cool with someone coming in and taking everything from you

I imagine in a really long haul disaster, it would really depend on the nature of the local community and your distance from society. If the local authorities want to impose order and redistribute your resources, a single person with a gun (I assume that’s what you mean) wouldn’t realistically be sufficient defense.

If you are far enough out and might only have to scare off, like, an occasional random drifter, that’s another story.

Or maybe you mean they should invest in their community and social network. Being seen as a local or at least familiar, and having a good reputation in the community seems like a really useful thing in this sort of scenario.

> redistribute your resources

that means, "steal".

Sure, I was being euphemistic.

On the other hand, what are you going to do, call the cops? They are the cops.

if the local authorities know they risk getting shot by every local they come to distribute resources from, they're far less likely to think that's a good idea in the first place

Unless they have the heavy weapons and someone with a high ego and determination to use the existing state ressources to become the new local warlord.

That never happens. I mean that always happens. Because we are cultured, democratically minded Americans, we are immune from the human passions that other people suffer from, that desire to take the other person's goodies.

Or, they just treat everyone as 'shoot on sight'.

Starlink and probably most isps would not last long

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