Ferguson

[Lurker66]

Any of you guys take notice of the tactics and equipment and speed law enforcement and Govt brought to bear on the rioters n looters?

Im thinkin if shtf, thats the kind of response we're lookin at.

Whats the thoughts of OSAs Preppers? Bug in and ride it out, leave the area and avoid getting caught up?

Id like this to be a discussion. Dont care about causes, reasons or outcomes so lets try to keep focus off the rightness or wrongness of Looters/Rioters/LEOs.

 

[excat]

I would think there would at least be a decent chance of seeing something of the sort coming, because I don't see anything starting that big. It would be an escalation in events I would think. If I saw a steady escalation, I would load up all my guns, and small valuables, and bug out to my go to place. That is my first thought, which is taking a worst case scenario out of my head, since you said causes don't matter in this.

To me though, the cause DOES matter. Is it a simple riot like is going on in Ferguson? Or is it something much bigger? To me, the Ferguson event could have turned a lot bigger, a lot quicker, but it seems there's only a select few with the hot heads doing stuff. If it was something like the Ferguson event, I'd stay home, I wouldn't sweat that at all, pending the location. As in the events there, it has mostly all be contained to a single area. The location of that area would definitely effect my decision though. It would have to be a pretty decent sized event that was close enough to home to cause me to feel uncomfortable enough to feel the need to get my family out of the safety of my home.

The police aspect of it doesn't worry me though. I'm not going to be a rioter, I'm not going to be out there trying to get attention, and if I was, there's much better ways to go about doing that. If I mind my own, and stay in my house like a smart person, makes it easier for myself, and for the police to do their job as well.

 

[Lurker66]

I would think there would at least be a decent chance of seeing something of the sort coming, because I don't see anything starting that big. It would be an escalation in events I would think. If I saw a steady escalation, I would load up all my guns, and small valuables, and bug out to my go to place. That is my first thought, which is taking a worst case scenario out of my head, since you said causes don't matter in this.

To me though, the cause DOES matter. Is it a simple riot like is going on in Ferguson? Or is it something much bigger? To me, the Ferguson event could have turned a lot bigger, a lot quicker, but it seems there's only a select few with the hot heads doing stuff. If it was something like the Ferguson event, I'd stay home, I wouldn't sweat that at all, pending the location. As in the events there, it has mostly all be contained to a single area. The location of that area would definitely effect my decision though. It would have to be a pretty decent sized event that was close enough to home to cause me to feel uncomfortable enough to feel the need to get my family out of the safety of my home.

The police aspect of it doesn't worry me though. I'm not going to be a rioter, I'm not going to be out there trying to get attention, and if I was, there's much better ways to go about doing that. If I mind my own, and stay in my house like a smart person, makes it easier for myself, and for the police to do their job as well.

Good post. I guess when I said causes, I just dont wanna see a GD type thread. So sure causes are important.

Imo in a situation like Ferguson, my main fear is the escalation. It wouldnt have took much.

I guess because im a semi paranoid type, I followed Ferguson as soon as a curfew and State of Emergency was called.

I really think thatll be our First sign, Curfews n SOEs. We may be able to hunker down n ride it out, if it just stays a riot or disturbance but as soon as that Curfew hit or that SOE order happens, it should be go time.

I also think the curfew and SOE could seriously cripple a groups ability to get out.

 

[Biggsly]

Not sure what I would do. Probably get my family out and wait it out. I will say that if I was a cop, I would not go into North County without being loaded for bear. It is a very dangerous and violent place. I never drive through there without my gun ready and I won't go after dark. It has earned the rep that it has.

 

[excat]

I would be fine with the curfew, because the curfew would be for that "event" to disperse, and to me, that would be a good thing. With something like that, bad things tend to happen more after dark, and this has been a prime example of that. The SOE, yeah, that would make me really question sticking around tough.

To take the Ferguson event in consideration, if everyone would have gone home at the curfew (midnight), the SOE would have never been issued, and the NATG would have never had to have been deployed. For the most part, everyone was at least semi behaving in the early part of the evening hours, but once it hit 11 or 12, they started shooting at cops and being completely savage. I have no issue with them deploying the NATG. If you are going to shoot at cops, and the state HWYP, yeah, show them that you have bigger guns than them. I'm most impressed that LEO's refrained as well as they did on returning fire. Sorry, I'd be shooting back - play stupid games...win stupid prizes. (I really like that saying.) I can also see the point where the PD may have escalated the situation by coming off so heavy handed, but when you are looting, throwing molotiv cocktails and burning stores down, well....I think we know how the saying goes.

While I do have limited faith in people, I still retain some.

 

[SMS]

I really think thatll be our First sign, Curfews n SOEs. We may be able to hunker down n ride it out, if it just stays a riot or disturbance but as soon as that Curfew hit or that SOE order happens, it should be go time.

I also think the curfew and SOE could seriously cripple a groups ability to get out.

That depends on the size of the area we are talking about. The affected area in Ferguson was not very large, and it took the collective effort of multiple law enforcement agencies (St. Louis PD, Ferguson PD, County PD and Highway Patrol) and the NG to try to keep it under control....and they mostly didn't.

Now spread that area out even further to include suburban and rural areas and it becomes pretty hard to enforce a curfew...a determined, organized group can still function in that environment.

 

[Johnjosiah]

Single city/location I would wait it out as long as I was a decent distance from the problem. Multiple cities/states I would head out. It would not take long to spread peacekeeping forces too thin if there were multiple locations spread across the US.

 

[Blitzfike]

Remember, once you hit the road you become one of "Them" from "our" viewpoint. Going early before people start looking at events with a more jaundiced eye is the key. I'm close enough to the metro area that when a major event happens, I am going to be right in the path of the horde looking for anything they can lay hands on to survive. If I see enough markers to predict with any reasonable accuracy that an event is going to happen, you can bet your bippie that I am going to be long gone to the family farm in a more rural area.

 

[1krr]

I think St Louis is lucky it didn't get bigger. The north side of the county and the east suburbs across the river in Illinois has a larger population of poor and black folks. I point this out only because St. Louis has more notable racial tension than any city I've been in so the chances of a Ferguson spilling over to other surrounding suburbs seems higher there any in most other cities. I think the police show of force would have disappeared if it had scaled up. I also read that gun sales in this traditionally old union blue city were skyrocketing with each new night of unrest. If it started pushing into the white flight parts of town, I could see some angry citizenry trading their frustrations with brass, copper, and lead.

If I were stuck in the middle of a few blocks of some jackasses giving sensationalist media some good photo op paydays, I would stay put and protect my property. A larger scale event, I would probably get out of Dodge if it were safe to do so. If it were some kind of nbc event that was clearing out a city, I'm with Blitzfike. I'm probably looking at a semi-permanent relocation to someplace away from the hoard.

 

[Lurker66]

Cool insights. Because Ferguson is fresh in my mind, ive really been researching the tactics used there. How quick they bottled up the area. Blocked entry and egress, steered or corraled the crowd. Not saying it right or wrong but from a tactical standpoint, if you got "caught" in or had a house in the area, you were stuck. There was no bugging out, esp after a curfew.

Now imagine if it wasnt as "mild" as Ferguson. Say something in OKC, it really doesnt take much to block access in or out.

Thats why I think as soon as a SOE is issued, itd be better to bail. Im way outside OKC, so if we had a Ferguson type event, with the potential to escalate, my new plan is to Vacate.

One thing I dont ever want is to be stuck or caught up in a "zone" thats easily shut down.