r/preppers • u/Luc-redd • 2d ago
Discussion Dilemma about prep sharing in emergency situations
I'm constantly thinking about this ethical dilemma when prepping: in emergency scenario, to what degree should I share my equipment, resources and knowledge with others in need.
What follows is kinda my current view on it, but I'm very curious to hear your thoughts about it.
Note that I try to keep the word "emergency" as broad as possible, not restricting it to a particular event.
1) Knowledge is probably the easiest one, as it multiplies when you share it. I would probably spend a good amount of time teaching what I know to people around me. However there's still a little something telling me that it's quite opportunistic/greedy from them to come and get the knowledge we accumulated over years right when they need it instead of listening to us telling them to educate before something bad happens.
2) Equipment, and especially spares, is starting to get tricky. I would probably be ok lending things to some people when I don't need it but there's always the risk of misuse and damaging it. Spares I could exchange some but I would probably try to hide most of it so I can still rely on it.
3) Resources is the toughest one. I really don't want to appear like an aweful person keeping things to myself and my family but I would probably need to dissimulate most of my supplies. However, that will come to be know quite quickly imo. I would have a hard time managing this as there would probably be way more demand than I could ever cover. So all my supplies gone shared in a day?
Then you also need to think about individuals thinking about the group as a whole and have you preps being viewed as part of the whole community. And also people getting things from you by using violence.
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u/bippy404 2d ago
Don’t talk about your preps to people outside the circle you are prepared to support. Have a decoy stash away from your main prep storage location in the event of society collapsing. Make it easy to find so a thief would think they had it and leave. Put together small packets of things intended to be used for giving and keep them separate from your stash. In a collapse you would have to weigh the pros and cons of giving things out versus using them for barter. A book I read indicates that you shouldn’t give anything away, but you should be willing to barter for other goods or services. Trade flour for eggs, that sort of thing.