As someone who has been thinking about #survivalism since I was a child in the 1970s, there are a lot of truths that aren't immediately apparent to people who are late to survivalism, the first of which is that, while there may be a place for bastions in a collapsing civilization, the honest truth is the the people most likely to survive are not those who hole up inside bastions and hoard supplies and weapons, but those who form strong communities.

Trust is the true currency of civilization.

Franchises like #Fallout and #Silo are wild to me, because I was born in 1968 and grew up with the constant threat of, as the movie "WarGames" (1983, the first great hacker movie?) put it, "Global Thermonuclear War", and I well remember how #survivalism took root in the fears of American minds during that era.

They seem apropos all over again, in an era where, while the threat of nuclear war has never truly left us, we are far more likely to face near-extinction due to climate collapse.

* The truth is, I’ve been carrying N95 masks in my handbag since 2001-09-11, and that has often been supplemented by ANSI Z87 impact resistant safety glasses and pairs of nitrile exam gloves and leather work gloves. These items do not take up much space or add much weight. Every New Yorker who saw the cloud of cement dust from the collapsing World Trade Center towers can understand why and how these items might be useful.

#masks #masking #PublicHealth #survivalism