Ready for Riots and Social Unrest?

Article written by guest blogger Dan F. Sullivan

Recent events have shown that one of the SHTF disasters that will continue to hit our western world is social unrest. Race and religion, poverty, people protesting on various social issues, these are some of the reasons people fight, scream, destroy, loot and even rape, to express their anger. All of these are happening in the US and Europe, not in some secluded 3rd world country.

Riots in Ferguson and Baltimore and, most recently, migrant and Muslim riots and protests in some European cities, prove that no one is truly safe from social unrest, even if they live in a small town. When people are out in the streets, surrounded by other people just as angry as they are, they act like wolf packs, thinking they’re above the law and that they can do anything.

It’s time to prepare for what’s coming and see what we can do to avoid getting trapped in the middle of such trouble.

Basic Preparation

Before we talk about how to actually deal with angry protesters, we need to talk about the basics. One of them is that you stockpile supplies for at least a week, maybe more. Why? Because, depending on the severity of the situation, you might be advised or even forced to stay inside for a long time.

That’s exactly what happened in Brussels following the Paris attacks of November 2015. One of the terrorists, Salah Abdeslam was thought to be in the city, so authorities had to lock down the entire metropolitan area for 5 whole days. The terrorist was caught months later, in March 2016.

Now, if one man can cause this kind of reaction from authorities, imagine what’ll happen once refugees, economic migrants and radical Islamists start causing more and more riots, just like they were used to in their home countries? Much has been said about the basics of prepping; you have more than enough resources from which to read and apply. You can check this older mega-article I wrote a while back.

For riots, though, I recommend you pay extra attention to your everyday carry kit. You’d be amazed at all the mini-survival items you can attach to your key-ring: flashlights, multi-tools, knives, pepper spray, lighters, even lock picking tools.

Some of the other things you should consider:

• an extra phone battery or charger
• a mini first aid kit
• offline maps on your phone
• a pocket knife (if the laws allow it)
• a monocular (smaller and lighter than binoculars)
• a credit card shaped survival multi-tool (for your wallet)
• ...and the list goes on.

As a general rule, the larger the city you live in, the more thought you should put into prepping for riots and social unrest.

Self-Defense

By asking ourselves the old survival question What if?, we reach the inevitable conclusion that self-defense is of critical importance whether you live in a city or a small town. Guns, folding knives, pepper spray, stun guns…make sure every family member has at least one on their person, especially when they’re alone. Buying them is easy, but what’s harder is learning how to use them.

YouTube is your best friend for finding how to videos. This one, for instance, teaches the importance of being able to quickly reach for your pepper spray and point it in the right direction (plus some other tips): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJuOJfbVlLU

Of course, if you don’t practice self-defense, you might as well not worry about it, so I recommend you take a self-defense course, just in case you can’t reach for your weapon, whatever that is. This will set you back some time and money, but it will pay off. You will not only get to experience close combat, but you’re also going to get some pretty good full-body workouts.

Explore Your Neighborhood

If angry protesters are standing between you and your home, you’ll be glad you knew the narrow streets of your town or city. Remember that even a peaceful protest can take a turn for the worst in a matter of minutes.

The easiest way to know your town is to explore it not only in your car, but on foot and on a map. Make it a point to always take a different route home. If you can, see how long it takes you to do it. Even better, try and memorize some of the street names so you know you’re on the right track.

While you’re at it, maybe you can find a nice house in the suburbs. This way you’ll not only move away from city center, where things are most likely to happen, but you’ll also be able to afford a bigger home, which will be able to accommodate a larger stockpile.

Stay in Shape

Fitness is important regardless of whether you’re bugging in, bugging out or if you’re in a get home scenario. If you’ve seen footage of Muslim migrants in Koln, Germany, then you know that these women didn’t stand a chance during New Year’s when hundreds sexually assaulted them. Still, the stronger you are, the more you increase your chances of survival.

There are 4 key things to focus on when you start working out for Doomsday: strength (lifting weights, doing push-up, sit-ups and squats), endurance (jogging, walking, and hiking), speed (sprinting) and flexibility (yoga and numerous other exercises). If you truly want to be prepared, you should focus on all four aspects. Develop a work-out plan and try not to mix all 4 of them in one training session. Each session should be focused on one, and only one, of them.

Develop Your Awareness

Let’s get one thing straight: awareness is not about thinking everyone is out to get you. It’s not about living in fear. It’s about trusting your instincts and knowing when one of your fellow humans is up to no good. If you would meet most thugs during the day in a crowded place, you’d probably feel pretty safe. But when they walk around in packs during the night... we all know what they’re capable of.

Awareness is about being able to analyze people and circumstances and knowing how to avoid the wrong ones. As humans, we’re hardwired to be on alert when we feel something is wrong. Only problem is, we’ve lost this primal instinct in this modern world so now we have to re-train ourselves to get them back.

Some of the things to do to improve your awareness:

• Do visualization exercises. Imagine yourself in various survival scenarios and think what you’d do and how you’d react. Watch some You Tube clips of riots to make the experience more real. Try to stimulate your senses by imagining sounds, smells and even touching people and objects.
• As you’re passing people in the street when you do your chores, analyze them (without looking like a creep, of course) to figure out if they’re trouble makers. Try to go beyond stereotypes such as skin color or if they’re poorly dressed. Anyone can turn into a beast in a riot, particularly if they’re angry on the inside.
• As you’re walking or driving around town, notice the various secondary roads, wonder where they’re leading and whether or not they can take you home.

Here’s What You Should Do the First Few Minutes

When trapped in a riot, you should never ever panic or start running. Even if it may seem you can make a run for it, it will make you stand out from the crowd. That’s when you become a target. How do you “not panic”? By keeping your brain busy. Put the left, rational hemisphere to work so the right-emotional one doesn’t take over and diminish your chances of survival. Remember that your brain can only think focus on one thing at a time.

Easier said than done... You have to get down to specifics. Some of the things to do right after you notice or feel that things are going downhill:

• Look at what people are doing. Are they standing around or moving in a specific direction, maybe even more?
• Are there any fights going on? What about verbal abuse?
• Is anyone throwing rocks or objects? Even if they’re not flying in your direction at the moment, they might at some point.
• Is your car nearby? Can you get to it without running?
• If you’re outside and things are going from bad to worse, can you find the open door of a nearby building to take shelter in?

One thing is clear: if people are starting to become aggressive, you have to be on the move. Many people just stand there and watch what happens because, to them, it’s exciting. You should also hide anything that could make you a target such as jewelry or a gun. If you’re wearing a hat, you may want to remove that, too. Many youngsters who’re out in the streets hate people who are doing better than them, people they consider rich even though they may not.

Things Are Happening... Now what?

Maybe you weren’t able to run for cover, maybe you ran into another angry mob, maybe you ran into law enforcement. You’re trapped so... now what? The first question to ask yourself is: how many people are with you? Are you alone, with your family, with co-workers or with your dog? If you’re in a group, you should stick together because you stand a better chance if you’re under attack, UNLESS someone has a window of opportunity to run for cover. Always keep in mind that you have to move with the flow of people, not against it. Always be on the lookout for a chance to make a quick turn on an adjacent street. What if there’s no place to go? In that case, maybe you can find a building you can hide into? Anything will do, even a dumpster. Sometimes, these dumpsters are set on fire by rioters so don’t hide into one unless you really don’t have a choice. A building is best because they’re less likely to get in. Even if they do, they’ll probably do their business at the ground floor (break the windows, loot etc.). And if you can’t find a place to hide, as a last means of resort, you could act like one of them. Remember the old saying: if you can’t beat them, join them... if only for a little while and to save your life. No, I’m not recommending that you turn into a villain, it’s just something to keep in mind for when your life will be in jeopardy.

How to Handle Rioters

There’s one thing that shocked me in one of the migrant videos I’ve been watching. This migrant was yelling at an old man on a bus in Sweden and no one could really figure out why. The old man asked: Why are you so angry? And guess what happened. The migrant immediately replied: I’m angry at this dirty paper system, because every time I go to the hospital, I have to write papers. The young man needed to tell someone about his problem. Now, I’m not saying this will work in a riot, but all rioters are angry about something. They don’t go out there because they like bullying people, they do it because they want something. Obviously, most of the time, the things they want are impossible, but getting them to share how they feel might just get them to calm down enough to leave you alone. Now, I hope you won’t use this as an excuse to run away from them as fast as you can. You have to appear fearless, even if on the inside you’re trembling. Talk loud (like them), empathize and just try to let them know you understand them. They know you’re not one of them, but on an emotional level, you can be. What if they want to take away your money or your gun? The best thing you can do is just give them anything they ask. If you’re outnumbered, they’ll still take it so why fight it? This might just save you from getting your you-know-what kicked.

How to Handle the Law Enforcement

Why would you need to “handle” them? Because, as far as they’re concerned, you might be one of the protesters! If they’re throwing a tear gas canister in your direction, you don’t have time to explain that you’re a good guy, you have to run like hell, even if that means they’ll chase you. If they try to arrest you, it’s better to comply, especially since it’s your chance to leave the danger zone.

What Else?

As you can see, preparing for riots is more about trying to avoid them in the first place. Some of the things you can do to ensure you or your loved ones never end up in one include:

• teaching your kids to avoid protests and find other, more productive ways to make the World a better place
• avoid going to any kind of protest, even if it’s a peaceful one
• move out of bad neighborhoods

...and continue to prepare for other disaster scenarios. Stay informed about what’s happening in the world, your country, your town and your neighborhood.