Paranoia, Suspicion, & Government Infiltration
I’d like to start off this article with a quote
from an unknown source: "A little paranoia is a good
thing." Having stated that, I’d like to say that things seem to be
getting quite out of hand.
Running a Self-Reliance/Survivalist (SR/S) web
site, founding a survivalist group called "Rocky Mountain Survival
Group," and having been involved in SR/S activities for some years, I, too,
have noticed a number of clicks and splurts on my telephone line, from time to
time. I get at least two phone calls per day in which nobody says anything on
the other end, and I have remote computers attempting to dial-in to my system.
Now and then, I notice the occasional non-descript vehicle in my rear view
mirror, as I tool about town. I even get mail & packages that I didn’t ask
for, or that aren’t addressed to me.
But guess what? I noticed or received all of
these things, long before I ever started becoming visibly involved in SR/S!
It’s called "life," people, and weird things sometimes happen that
have no covert or hostile significance. God help us if it ever stops - for life
would become exceedingly boring!
I suppose it would help if I didn’t
consistently buy the cheapest telephone I can find, but so what? A little
mystery can be a good thing, too! Besides, I’ve got nothing to hide that I
wouldn’t freely discuss with any proper government agency official presenting
themselves with the appropriate court-ordered documents. I’m too busy to be
paranoid! Let them listen-in all they want, if that’s what turns their crank.
But who’s to say it’s really "them," and why should I care, either
way?
I know, I know – all of you folks who think you
have the right to privacy just stood up in front of your computers and screamed
your entire vocabulary of derogatory terms at the screen. I didn’t hear it,
but I know you did it. I believe in the right to privacy, but I also know that
there’s very little I can do about it, if the government wants to abuse it.
I’m not going to spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars
"protecting" my phone lines with gadgets and gizmos. I just don’t
see the point. Nor will I waste my breath protesting the infringement of this
right to some bureaucracy that is going to smile benevolently at me, assure me
that this sort of thing never happens, and then go on doing business as usual. I
am a realist, not an activist.
The cheapest reliable car on the market, these
days, is the mid-sized, zero option, plain package (non-descript) Chevy, Dodge,
or Ford. Naturally, there are going to be millions of them on the road at any
given time. Corporations use them, government agencies use them, and – you
guessed it – I use one. They are cheap, comfortable, and fairly reliable. That’s
why they sell! Simply noticing one in your rear-view mirror does not mean
you are being tailed by the feds. Somebody is always following you –
and chances are, they’re in a humble vehicle. Look around your neighborhood.
Unless you’re living on Mercedes Row or in the BMW Village, chances are that
every other neighbor owns one of these cars. Now, if they are following you into
your driveway…
One of the acquired skills of the self-reliant
survivalist is an awareness of his surroundings with an attention to detail a
bit more developed than the average Joe. This is a very valuable survival tool
– provided it is coupled with an equally developed ability to discriminate and
evaluate the details we perceive. Automatically equating every coincidental
occurrence as a threat is counter productive, and a little pathological.
Survivalists develop their skills in order to operate efficiently in any manner
of situation. Sustaining a constant state of paranoia/emergency is not exactly
efficient.
The true survivalist is able to accept their
surroundings and evaluate their situation in a relaxed and rational manner. This
enables them to think clearly and develop ongoing strategies to improve their
situation. Being constantly on guard and constantly worrying about what
everybody else is doing will not only give you ulcers, but may prevent you from
thinking about what you should be doing. Turning your head every
which way in an attempt to see who is following/watching you will only give you
a stiff neck, a constant headache, and lead to severe eyestrain. It’s rather
difficult to concentrate on your environment (and the possibly real dangers)
when you’re too busy trying to notice who’s noticing you. Take a chill-pill
and learn to relax. You’ll feel better - trust me.
The Dreaded "Government Infiltrator"
Now this is just a bit too much. If you’ve got
C-4, thermite, mortars and rocket launchers stored in your basement, I don’t
want you living next door to me. If you’re planning on killing someone simply
because you don’t agree with their politics, their religion, their sexual
orientation, or the color of their skin, you are friggin’ insane, and I
don’t want you living next door to me. As far as I’m concerned, if you fit
these profiles (and a few others I can think of, with disgust), then you deserve
to be infiltrated, caught, tried & locked up! Quit your whining.
You can think and learn all you want, and I
won’t mind a bit – save to disassociate with you as far as possible.
You’re not my kind of people and you’re decidedly NOT survivalists. Your
actions invite destruction and elimination. They scream out for it.
Last I heard, intellectual knowledge was not
illegal. If you think you are going to need claymore’s and rockets if/when
civilization decides to exit, stage left, then by all means – learn what it
takes to produce them. Nobody can fault you for knowing how to do something, and
I certainly won’t. But when you start making or stockpiling dangerous
explosive materials in your kitchen cupboard, or basement, or garage – or
whatever – I’m afraid I’ve got to draw the line. You don’t need this
stuff now! If things really do get bad enough to where you feel you need them,
there will be plenty left lying about to scavenge for everyone. Do yourself (and
the rest of us) a favor and forget about it.
As far as I know, there wasn’t any law against
associating with like-minded individuals engaged in activities that pose no
direct physical or fraudulent threat to others. You can delude yourselves and
spew your hateful diatribe all you want - and any number of civil rights
organizations will flock to your side to defend your right to make a blithering
idiot of yourself. I don’t have to like it. That’s MY right and MY choice.
But when you start planning to hurt others simply because they don’t look,
think, or act the way you think they should, then you need to be
watched. Planning and action have a funny way of following one another. Should
you start to act on your ridiculously irrational plans, you need to be put down
– swiftly, and with whatever amount of force is deemed necessary.
A true survivalist organization has nothing to
fear from government infiltration – and much to learn from the infiltrators
themselves. The government doesn’t send idiots undercover into what they view
as a potentially dangerous situation. These people are bound to be intelligent
and resourceful. Once they see that your organization poses no threat to the
government or other folks, they may even be interested in joining the group as a
bona fide member - one who stands an excellent chance of becoming one of the
group’s best assets.
A well-prepared survivalist can sustain himself
on little more than his wits and skills. A group of well-prepared survivalists
does not have the need or desire for stockpiles of heavy weapons and munitions.
In a post-catastrophe world, the greatest threat will be starvation, disease,
and the wannabe Rambo survivalists/marauders. Better to stock up on food,
medicine, medical and survival training, than arms, munitions, and paramilitary
training. The Rambo-types can be dealt with through evasive actions and
intelligent defensive tactics requiring little more than primitive techniques
and equipment. Sooner or later, these groups will butt their thick heads
together and wipe each other out. The remainder can be dealt with at that time.
Knowledge and intelligence are as much a key to survival as are individual
ability and skills. They will always prevail over crude force and reliance upon
weaponry. And they aren’t illegal to "own."
If you are worried about government infiltrators,
then you had better re-evaluate your own survival potential. Chances are, you
are relying too heavily on the wrong skills and the wrong equipment.
An Exception Which Proves the Rule:
The only caveat to this is the "agent
provocateur." This is an operative sent into your midst to compel a desired
(usually illegal) action or foment dissention within the group. Either method
results in the sure and quick dissolution of the group by death, imprisonment,
or the more insidious lack of direction and faith in the group’s ability to
survive a catastrophic event. Why anyone would want to do this to a good-faith
survivalist group is anyone’s guess – but there it is. It happens. It’s
the one thing you really need to guard against. I’ll post an article on this
at a later date.
For now, I’ve said my piece, and feel a whole
lot better for it. I’m certain this article will dredge up a great deal of
witty repartee designed to increase my vocabulary. So bring it on, I can take
it. Please don’t expect a response to anything but reasoned rebuttals or
praise. I promise to read each and every response, though, as I’m sure it will
be most amusing.
Meg.
5 May 1998
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