Threat Assessment

[The Stig]

Had a business flight get canceled this morning. While waiting in line to figure out my options there were two groups of people, some military guys and some hippies. The military guys asked what the options were, said sir and please and then calmly went off to call their C/O to discuss.

The hippies freaked out, went all drama and started talking about taking buses to Dallas and generally going all retarded.

While blatantly stereotypical it reinforced something that's been on my mind for a while.

Have you done a threat assessment on the people in your neighborhood?

Have you spent some time trying to figure out who might be a problem in a SHTF event and who might not be? Who would possibly fall to pieces, who might be an asset?

Sounds cold, but it's a good exercise to help mentally prepare for bad times.

You have to be careful because folks who appear to be idiots might rise to the occasion while the Navy SEAL down the street might fold. But it's a starting point. If you have a family in the neighborhood with rotting cars in the front yard, kids who are in and out of jail and constant drama, you might not want to build your entire response plan around their assistance.

Thoughts?

[bacpacker]

I've been giving this very idea a lot of thought the past few weeks (since the storm went thru). Out of the families I know pretty well, I think 4 out of 5 could be counted on to some degree. That said, there are 11 others that I know very little if at all, and a couple of them just give me a bad feel drivin by their place.
More thought is needed in this area for sure.

[RedJohn]

All my neighbors are total fuck heads. They're the kind that loot when there is a little problem because it is in their genes. I despise all of them and must be thinking about defending myself against them on a normal basis. I don't want do sound racist (which I am with them) so I won't tell you their ethnicity, but I'll to get them with my baseball bat because i cannot have guns where I am.

I can't wait to be back home.

[The Stig]

And "threat" doesn't even need to be fear of them attacking you.

Could be you identify a family in the neighborhood that is fairly likely to come knocking for a handout when SHTF events happen (and worse, make a big stink if you turn them away). You'd want to stay the hell away from them to avoid getting sucked into their vortex of dumb.

[RedJohn]

Yes, mostly all of them and it is tough to stay away from people leaving in the same building.

[alpmco]

My neighbors a threat? Humm if the SHTF I think half of them would be dead in a matter of two weeks depending on what kind of shit hit the fan. I turn 51 years old tomorrow ... I'm one of the youngest in the neighborhood! Sad but true. My son just turned 13 last week ... no kids for him to play with which is one reason why we do the Boy Scout thing.
Now that is the threat aspect. The trouble aspect is the neighbor in need! I think four times in the last two months I have pulled into the driveway gotten out of my truck and heard her yelling "Help". Every time I give her hell for yelling help when it isn't an emergency. (One day I'll go running up with gun in hand! <Evil Grin>) Little things like she forgot how to turn on the TV. She put too many towels in the washer and they are stuck, her circuit breaker is blown or best of all ... her senior helper forgot to open a can of dog food. (Yes, she has a dog!)
The guy across the street is 82 and suffering dizzy spells. The guy next door takes pill to keep his BP and heart rate down so he doesn't rupture his aorta. Next to him the old couple summer in Michigan. The rest are a gaggle of 60+ families that can't even get out to mow their own lawn.
I would have to get cold hearted really fast. That might be rough.

[Twitchy]

Drug dealers, the old sense of survivalists, sheeple, looters, career criminals (yes we have one with a current felony warrant and have had the SWAT team here twice now...) (NO we aren't in the ghetto... yet) i am abandoning ship when the shit hits the fan... this little area isn't NOT worth the troubles after shtf... We are a deadly mix here...

[Stg1swret]

Most of my neighbors are living large on the governments dime - welfare , section 8 housing, one known drug dealer, so I count on no one. Most will be trying to loot the local businesses and screaming bloody murder when their hand outs stop post - SHTF.

[LUNCHBOX]

I am lucky in a way on this one....5 acre empty lot next door owned by neighbor who won't sell (nice)-seasonal tree/flower shop a 1/4 mile down the road. 60+ the next few houses on the other side and across the street.

[piranha2]

My neighbors a threat? Humm if the SHTF I think half of them would be dead in a matter of two weeks depending on what kind of shit hit the fan. I turn 51 years old tomorrow ... I'm one of the youngest in the neighborhood! Sad but true. My son just turned 13 last week ... no kids for him to play with which is one reason why we do the Boy Scout thing.
Now that is the threat aspect. The trouble aspect is the neighbor in need! I think four times in the last two months I have pulled into the driveway gotten out of my truck and heard her yelling "Help". Every time I give her hell for yelling help when it isn't an emergency. (One day I'll go running up with gun in hand! <Evil Grin>) Little things like she forgot how to turn on the TV. She put too many towels in the washer and they are stuck, her circuit breaker is blown or best of all ... her senior helper forgot to open a can of dog food. (Yes, she has a dog!)
The guy across the street is 82 and suffering dizzy spells. The guy next door takes pill to keep his BP and heart rate down so he doesn't rupture his aorta. Next to him the old couple summer in Michigan. The rest are a gaggle of 60+ families that can't even get out to mow their own lawn.
I would have to get cold hearted really fast. That might be rough.

got news for you, buddy. She ain't looking for that kind of help.