Preparing for this Fall (Read: this ain’t over)

Armed Protesters in Michigan

This post might be speculative intertwined with a bit of what could be considered conspiracy-ish but the good news is being over prepared never really hurt anyone.  In short I’m thinking this is the lull before the real storm during which we might face even greater challenges than we saw in the spring.  A few key factors at play here:

• Covid 19 and all associated implications
• All of the civil unrest we are witnessing
• Elections

This is where things get a little conspiracy-ish but if I were to frame this up in a phased operation it would go something like this:

• Phase 1: Prep Phase
• Phase 2: CV and associated lockdowns
• Phase 3: Civil Unrest / Restrictions from CV lifted (we are here)
• Phase 4: Restrictions from CV gradually walked back into place
• Phase 5: Elections

What I’m Preparing For

Here is where the danger lies, you take a nation that is already on edge and conditioned to tear sh*t all to pieces and re-introduce more lockdowns and then host an election…a powder keg ready to explode.  If the Dems win the election you’ll have all of these “patriot” types showing up with their Gadsden flags, ARs and poorly fitting Condor body armor to “take the country back” from a “rigged election” (read: something about Soros and TPTB).  A real danger here of some armed conflict taking place.  If the Repubs win the election you’ll have more of the liberal types quite literally rioting in the streets and burning things to the ground with police completely ineffective and not able to contain, they will claim a rigged election (read: something about Russia and China and collusion).  No matter who “wins” the losing side will call foul play and the winning side will say “the people have spoken” and “deal with it.”  Damn…I despise politics and my excessive use of quotation marks, but I digress.

How I’m Preparing

To be honest not much has changed from a day to day perspective but most of our preparation involves the financial aspect of things.  Here are a few examples of how we have moved some things around in order to prepare as best we can.

• I pulled out my available vested stocks after the market recovered and tossed them into much more accessible outlets, some of which includes straight up cash and precious metals.
• My wife did the same with some of her retirement, to supplement already existing savings.
• We are making no major purchases at this time, no planned travel, no commitments financially other than our standard stuff.  That 7.62 Suppressor that I’ve been eyeing can wait, along with the bathroom remodel.

Really all of this boils down to having some readily available financial backstops should the economy take yet another turn for the worse, a job loss occurs or who knows what else.  I’m not worried about running out of food, toilet paper or getting into some civil unrest spawned gunfight in the streets.  The good news is that if all is good and I am completely wrong on all accounts the worst we will have to face are a little more in owed taxes next year.

No Protests For Me

I thought I’d include this in here – everyone should be entitled to an opinion and to speak their mind however you won’t find me at any protests for any reason.  If folks want to go out there and march about the racial inequalities in our country (which are still very much alive and well today) I think they should do it.  If folks want to go out there and wave flags and talk about patriotism and the founding fathers and the constitution, I think they should do it.  The issue is that these things never really work out well (bad actors typically not associated with the real message using these as an opportunity to bring about violence) and as such I tend to avoid them.  I think that any of these types who are talking about a civil war and all that sh*t are complete idiots, people like to talk a big game but in reality aren’t about anything other than an extra large Baconator and fries at Wendy’s.   My responsibility lies with my family and that means I need to be here for them, my decision matrix starts and ends with that.  Cue the guy in the comments section: “Imagine if our founding fathers thought like that….”

Final Thoughts

If there was one thing I could impart it is this:  Don’t get lulled into a sense of false security, that we are somehow on the path back to “normal” and that all will be good soon enough.  Personally I believe we are in for a reasonably shaky summer and a bad fall during which the key will be to stay aware and avoid as much conflict as possible.  The goal here is to come out on the other side safely and securely – hopefully retaining a source of income and all family good to go.  None of us can do anything more than speculate at what TPTB have planned and how it will impact our lives but what we can control is typically right in front of us…focus on that and let come what may.