Telling family there's no room in your bunker?

[Smitty901]

It comes down to this . We have a group that will lock down and ride it out days, weeks ,months ,years what ever it takes.
Others have been offered the chance to be a part of it . If they refuse that is the choice . It will not be us turning them away it was their call.
By the way even some of them are starting to get nervous,

[Fuzzee]

I'd find it quite simple. "Yeah sorry, but there's no room in here for you dipshits who laughed when I built my bunker, worked against me in moral support and otherwise, and looked at the possibility of this oh so awesome world going to hell in a hand basket. You made your choices of what to do with resources and I made mine. I worked hard for mine and you wasted yours. Go find a rock somewhere and crawl up under it and see if that helps."
Family and friends with that attitude (and most of them have it) are on their own. I've become more comfortable with that outlook over the years and hearing their BS and looking at their smug faces.

[dwight55]

I started to not answer, . . . changed my mind.

Man is by his very nature a "groupie" animal, . . . and may think he is self sufficient, all knowing, all prepped, all ready, ad infinitim, ad nauseum.

Those who elect to exhibit those attitudes could live long, . . . but it will be a lonely, sorry, dark, dank, existence filled with remorse, fear, agitation, and ultimately end in abject depravity.

Those who are willing to band together, . . . for the common good, . . . work together, . . . share skills, . . . share tasks, . . . share resources, . . . will survive, intact, with a sense of accomplishment, sense of pride, and with a bit if not a full smile on their face.

Those who "disappear" for the duration, . . . will disapper forever. Why? They forgot something. I don't care how thorough and "professional" a prepper is, . . . his mind is not, . . . and it will fail him. The one or two things forgotten, not attended, will be the undoing: history is resplendent with incidents of such.

We all need a support group, not a cell, . . . and to arbitrarily send one's own family to a certain death by exclusion, . . . I truly feel sorry for people whose mental makeup is so small and so selfish.

They may out "exist" me, . . . but I will "out live" them, . . . regardless of the number of years we are here.

May God bless,
Dwight

[Mesozoic Survivalist]

There's a reason why preppers can't save the world and a reason why it's up to everybody as individuals to prepare for the future. If a super nice guy who stored a years worth of food for himself, shared that supply with everybody in the neighbourhood when SHTF, supplies would dwindle in mere weeks if not sooner. Ultimately the point of prepping is nullified. If you put the money into the preps, when SHTF it's simple enough to let your relatives know that they chose that new car they wanted when they had the money and that unfortunately demonstrates their lack of forward thinking for when an emergency situation occurs. The people who will be most useful in a crisis situation will be those with skills and knowledge, kindness can kill us all and unless they bring something to the party, you're not capable of sustaining them or yourself with kindness.

[Smitty901]

Group think is a big part of what has brought us to the edge......

[Lucky Jim]

Like people have said, don't let on to anybody that you've got a bunker or you'll get the whole neighbourhood coming round begging to be let in when SHTF.
Your secret bunker should be just that, a secret, otherwise you might just as well put up a sign like this one pointing to a tourist attraction in England..




But having said that, there might be one or two people you'd happily let in such as this dood who'd come in useful for food-foraging and security in a SHTF world-

"Stay away from the Smith family, they're with me!"

[paraquack]

Every "group" must have a sufficient membership with skill sets needed. You might have a group of real "he men" that whip the snot out of anybody. But would they do if they got badly injured, and they will. That's why diversity is so important. I consider myself lucky, being a retired paramedic and jack of all trades mechanic/electrician who cab think out of the box. But without my wife, retired ER nurse, to help me it would only be a matter of time before something got me. I can keep my eyes open 24/7, so, in numbers, there is safety.

[Montana Rancher]

I have 11 immediate family members and all will be welcome, I'm cold and cruel but not that heartless. Neighbors I ll be happy to help them help themselves but not taking them in.

[PaulS]

This is a tough issue than can be made easier by letting your family know that if they are willing to invest in gear and perhaps an adjacent bunker they are welcome but if they don't want to do both then you can tell them that there just is no way that you can afford to include them at the last moment. If you have room for extra bunker space then they can actually save some money (you too) in the excavation and outfitting the space through bulk buying.
I don't know what skills you already have but the reality is that you need medical skills, someone who can fix stuff that breaks, gardener, cook, and people who have the capability to shoot well and who can actually shoot to kill if the situation demands it. You need to have at least three people to be "on guard duty" so you can rotate with no one on duty longer than two or three hours in an ideal situation. It would also be benifitial to have someone who can come up with new things to do. Making up games or other ways to help bring some level of "normalcy" to a stressful situation. There are those of us that can do a lot of things but none of us can do it all.

[Kidzthinkimahoarder]

I wouldn't turn family away, no matter what. Yes, we have some that would be of no use because of failing health, but I couldn't let them die alone and without because I didn't have enough. I prep...but not only for the 4 of us, but for others as well. How many? I don't know...I'm hoping to have a years worth with extras when/if I ever get to that point. I haven't shared my secret of prepping, but have a gut feeling with things said/done from other family members along with known purchases they've made..I know they are doing the same. We as a family have too many skills to dismiss each other in any case scenario. We are foragers, builders, mechanics, recyclers, that think outside the box, we are gardners and winemakers, were all hunters/trappers and fishermen. I even know things that I can't share on here that I personally know how to do...LOL

But total strangers...probably wouldn't help.... unless there was a child involved. It would all boil down to what they may have to offer, and how I were approached.....So...it may be to my demise in the end. I'm sure I'll have to answer to God for my choices, but some people I'm sure I could say NO too...