Dealing With Outsiders After Civilization Falls

A common topic of discussion among preppers is what to do when people come calling. There you are, minding your own business, and suddenly you need to deal with some sort of visitor. You have just enough to support yourself, unless you’ve been lucky, and now you need to debate what to do with them,. Usually, you can break them down into five types and each one has its own issues that come with it. These types are marauders, allies, freeloaders, temps, and recruits. How you deal with each is up to you, but here are some suggestions.

When Paranoia Is Your Friend

The problem is that you need to always think in terms of homestead security: If people know you have something, then they’re likely going to want it. Also, if you give too much out you may be putting your own survival at risk. Adding to the fun is that if you don’t give anything to those who ask for it, they may find ways to take it. As such, you need to walk a fine line between all three: you need to give out just enough that no one wants to take your stuff. The best example of this is how homes worked during the Great Depression of the 1930s in the United States: While there were plenty of bread lines and soup kitchens, restaurants would give out their surplus when they closed and homes would trade food for work or just give out the food.

If you can afford it, that’s not a bad model. While it does set you up as a known location for charity, you can control where people meet you. Cynically, it means you’re being just nice enough that no one will feel like they need to invade you, and it limits how nice you need to be. It also means that if you need to close the doors on someone, it will be assumed that you have a reason, but at least you’ll be opening the doors again, eventually. This also gives you some goodwill with those around you. But…don’t give if you can’t afford it. You need to focus on your needs first and those of others second; forget that and you’ll likely be just another victim of the apocalypse.

[It should be noted that these are just guidelines. There is nothing preventing you from hoarding your supplies, and it’s actually advised if you’re running low on a lot of things. However, note that there is a level of cynicism present here: Being a good neighbor can be a good defense, especially if you come with lots of freebies. People like others that share with them, after all.]

Some People Just Want Your Stuff

Marauders come in two stripes: gangs and rustlers. Rustlers just want what you have and are always looking for ways to gain it, or at least access to it, be it animals. Supplies, or water. They’re usually best dealt with by the liberal application of firepower. Gangs are more problematic as they are either more interested in stripping whatever they can carry and despoiling the rest, or setting your homestead up as a permanent stop on their circuit. Sadly, as they are usually desperate, you’re pretty much in trouble if they show up.

Your options are pretty much limited: Fighting isn’t really much of an option as they have overwhelming force and desperation means they’ll fight to the last man. You can run, and setting up an evacuation point where everyone can meet is always a good idea. Setting up mutual defense pacts is good as well, especially if they are close enough to be of some good. However, if you are offered to become a permanent stop, debate it: It minimizes the potential damage as well as allowing you to get some people together and ambush them. Paying tribute sucks, but at least you survive to see another day.

In short, gangs are a major potential danger, but they can be dealt with, if not always to your satisfaction.

Some People Want to Be Friends

Allies should always be sought out. Beyond mutual defense, they also provide a potential contingency. Friends to celebrate with, and someone to trade with (really nice if your homestead is successful). However, they do have the potential to become rustlers (especially if there are long-term advantages, such as water) or become a gang of sorts, demanding tribute. Their proximity complicates the problem, as they have their own nearby base. If they do become a problem, the best you can do is get other homesteads to gang together and deal with the problem. However, deal with the problem as quickly as possible: Once entrenched, they become part of the environment, like a form of cancer in the community.

Others Want the World But Not The Responsibility

Freeloaders are the easiest to deal with: They just want food or something; give it to them and they disappear. However, they are the big reason you need to decide how much you can give on a regular as they are like rats: Once a food source is detected, others start showing up.. They can be dealt with through greater numbers and superior firepower, but the problem is that some prey on your sensitivities; young women and children will be your biggest problem in this regard. By setting up a limit on giving, it becomes easier to deal with even the youngest child.

Children and other “innocents” pose another problem: Adoption. Seriously debate adopting anyone who comes to your door. Until they’ve proven that they can be trusted, they should be assumed to be potential liabilities and should be kept on a short leash. Also, if you can’t adopt an entire group, don’t adopt just one or a couple, unless the situation presents itself; you could be setting yourself up for greater problems by splitting up groups.

Some People Can Work For It

Temps can make your life easier in so many ways. While you need to limit how much you give away, the trade-off of work for the food can make your life easier, especially during harvests, when you have some spare food for extra workers. However,m they can be useful to catch up with tasks you’ve gotten behind on or deal with problems you can’t, such as some repairs. The hidden issue here is that they can become problematic, either assaulting women, becoming too demanding while threatening, or stealing. You need to lay down the law right from the beginning: Point out what their tasks are, and that they need to play nice or else. You also need to trust your people; if they point out a problem, then you need to deal with it.

Temps are great for helping out around the homestead. However, don’t assume they can be trusted until you feel they can be trusted.

[Fosters present an interesting opportunity. These are kids or others from neighboring farms that someone has decided to either rent out or shift to other homesteads for any number of reasons (an obvious one is that this is an excellent way to foist that surly son or troublesome daughter on someone else, hopefully curing the problem). This fosters better trust between homesteads as well as helping them out, and provides a way for dealing with someone with issues who is otherwise a great person.]

Others You Want to Adopt

Recruits are those you decide to take on permanently. These can be temps you decide to take on, people from other farms, or even people from surrounding homesteads (although you should only do so with permission to keep the peace). These should only be people you trust and are willing to follow your rules, to the letter if not the spirit. Permanent workers can help expand your homestead, or at least add to your success, so they should be debated. These also add new blood, allowing you access to new ideas. As long as you can trust them, they can help your homestead become even more successful.

Paranoia Isn’t A Completely Bad Thing

Obviously, the post-apocalyptic environment can be toxic on all sorts of levels. In all honesty, sometimes the best way to deal with someone coming after your supplies is to just send them away; you don’t have a lot you can spare and you don’t want to get the reputation as someone with supplies to spare. Mankind will always have to deal with those looking to screw over their fellow man and those people need to be separated out somehow. Your homestead depends on your ability to discern whether or not someone bears ill intent to you and yours, but you may need an infusion of supplies, animals, or just new blood; you need to figure out whether or not an intruder is good or bad for your homestead as quickly as possible.

As usual, it’s best to remember that “a little paranoia is a good thing, too much or too little is dangerous.” It’s up to you, and only you, to determine how paranoid you want to be; your life may depend on it.