What to Do If All Hell Breaks Loose on Nov. 4th

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By Daisy Luther

Tomorrow is November 4th, the date that has been bandied about by wannabe Communists and people who hate the President since last summer as the starting date of their uprising. Cities across the country have planned events (find the list of locations here) and I’ve gotten photos from people in small towns all over the place of signs with the ominous warning, “November 4th It Begins.”

Now, before we delve into prepping for this, please know that there is every chance this is a tempest in a teapot. It’s most likely that anywhere from 20 to 200 people will show up with their signs, chant mean things about the President, maybe throw a rock through a window, and go home. If you aren’t near these locations, you probably won’t even know it’s going on unless you check the news. So, while you should be prepared for anything (as usual), you shouldn’t be afraid.

But…considering the fact that this is on every media outlet everywhere (the NY Times actually allowed it to be promoted with a full-page ad on November 1), the possibilities of all hell breaking loose should at least be considered.

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I’ve cited before Newton’s Third Law of Physics which states “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” From Antifa, the threats of violence are becoming more extreme.And if this gets crazy, there WILL be a reaction. 

A lot of folks are sick and tired of being pushed around, threatened, and censored by these ironically named Anti-Fascists. You need only check out the comments section on any article about the potential event to know that some fed-up Americans intend to push back and counter-protest. Hard. I  have talked to more than one member of the military who says, “Bring it on.” Tensions have the potential to boil over.

If your goal is to be out there in the thick of things because you believe it is your obligation to do so, this article probably isn’t for you and I offer you my very best wishes for your safety.

If you are planning to avoid any conflict and focus on keeping your family away from trouble, you can be prepared for the possibility that civil unrest erupts. By planning ahead, we can avoid the fear, panic, and confusion that leads people to rush to the store and clear the shelves like a horde of hungry locusts.  We can stay away from the angry masses, the rioters who will use any excuse to steal, and the hungry people who are determined to feed their kids no matter who stands in their way.

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Whether the next few days lead to pandemonium or even martial law to crack down on unrest, a prepared mindset, a defense plan, and a well-stocked home can help to keep you and your family out of harm’s way. My personal goal is the safety and security of my family. This is my primary responsibility.

In her article Anatomy of a Breakdown, Tess Pennington wrote:

“When you take the time to understand how a breakdown behaves and how it progresses, only then can you truly prepare for it.

This glimpse into a systemic breakdown is based on an isolated, limited disaster or event where emergency responders have been deployed. I must emphasize that all bets are off if the event is wide spread, affecting multiple tens of millions of people simultaneously.”

Spend today getting ready, just in case. Here are the most vital things that you can do to be prepared for civil unrest.

Get home

In a perfect world, we’d all be home, watching the chaos erupt on TV from the safety of our living rooms.  However, reality says that some of us will be at work, at school, or in the car when unrest occurs.  You need to develop a “get-home” plan for all of the members of your family, based on the most likely places that they will be.

  • Devise an efficient route for picking up the kids from school.  Be sure that anyone who might be picking up the children already has permission to do so in the school office.
  • Keep a get-home bag in the trunk of your car in case you have to set out on foot.
  • Stash some supplies in the bottom of your child’s backpack – water, a snack, any tools that might be useful, and a map.  Be sure your children understand the importance of OPSEC. (Here’s a school kit that won’t get your kid expelled, but in this situation, your children should NOT be encouraged to set off on their own.)
  • Find multiple routes home – map out alternative backroad ways to get home as well as directions if you must go home on foot.
  • Find hiding places along the way.  If you work or go to school a substantial distance from your home, figure out some places to lay low now, before a crisis situation.  Sometimes staying out of sight is the best way to stay safe.
  • Avoid groups of people.  It seems that the mob mentality strikes when large groups of people get together.  Often folks who would never ordinarily riot in the streets get swept up by the mass of people who are doing so.
  • Keep in mind that in many civil disorder situations the authorities are to be avoided every bit as diligently as the angry mobs of looters. Who can forget the scenes of innocent people being pepper sprayed by uniformed thugs in body armor just because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Stay home

Once you make your way home or to your bug-out location … STAY THERE.

By staying home, you are minimizing your risk of being caught in the midst of an angry mob or of sitting in stalled traffic while looters run amok.  In most scenarios, you will be far safer at home than you will be in any type of shelter or refugee situation. (Obviously, this isn’t true in all cases – you must use common sense before hunkering down.)

This is when your preparedness supplies will really pay off. If you are ready for minor medical emergencies and illnesses, a grid down scenario, and a no-comm situation, you will be able to stay safely at home with your family and ride out the crisis in moderate comfort.

Be sure you have a supply of the following:

  • Water
  • Necessary prescription medications
  • Food and an off-grid way to cook it (Do NOT rely on mail order stuff for an event starting tomorrow – get your supplies locally)
  • Or food that requires no cooking
  • First aid supplies
  • Lighting in the event of a power outage
  • Sanitation supplies (in the event that the municipal water system is unusable, this would include cleaning supplies and toilet supplies)
  • A way to stay warm in harsh winter weather
  • Over-the-counter medications and/or herbal remedies to treat illnesses at home
  • Survival and first aid manuals (hard copies in case the internet and power grid are down)
  • Alternative communications devices (such as a hand-crank radio or a ham radio) so that you can get updates about the outside world
  • Off-grid entertainment:  arts and craft supplies, puzzles, games, books, crossword or word search puzzles, needlework, journals

Be prepared to defend your home

Sometimes despite our best intentions, the fight comes to us.  Even though we stay home, something about our place draws the attention of an unsavory person or group.  Defense is two-fold.  Your best defense is avoiding the fight altogether. You want to stay under the radar and not draw attention to yourself.

The extent to which you strive to do this should be based on the severity of the unrest in your area. Some of the following recommendations are not necessary for an everyday grid-down scenario but could save your life in a more extreme civil unrest scenario.

  • Keep all the doors and windows locked.  Secure sliding doors with a metal bar.  Consider installing decorative gridwork over a door with a large window so that it becomes difficult for someone to smash the glass and reach in to unlock the door.
  • Put dark plastic over the windows. (Heavy duty garbage bags work well.)  If it’s safe to do so, go outside and check to see if any light escapes from the windows. If your home is the only one on the block that is well-lit, it is a beacon to others.
  • Don’t answer the door.  Many home invasions start with an innocent-seeming knock at the door to gain access to your house.
  • Keep cooking smells to a minimum.  If everyone else in the neighborhood is hungry, the meat on your grill will draw people like moths to a flame.
  • Keep pets indoors. Sometimes criminals use an animal in distress to get a homeowner to open the door for them. Sometimes people are just mean and hurt animals for “fun”.  Either way, it’s safer for your furry friends to be inside with you.
  • Remember that first responders may be tied up.  If the disorder is widespread, don’t depend on a call to 911 to save you – you must be prepared to save yourself.  Also keep in mind, as mentioned earlier in the article – the cops are not always your friends in these situations.
  • Don’t be drawn outside. Sometimes, thugs will try to engage people by damaging their car or property outside.  Going outside, you will likely be outnumbered.  In most cases, you’ll be better off just calling the insurance company the next day.

If, despite your best efforts, your property draws the attention of people with ill intent, you must be ready to defend your family.

  • Many preppers stockpile weapons and ammunition for just such an event.  When the door of your home is breached, you can be pretty sure the people coming in are not there to make friendly conversation.  Make a plan to greet them with a deterring amount of force.
  • Have a safe room established for children or other vulnerable family members.(Here are instructions – you may be able to put something together quickly, depending on your home.)
  • Plan an escape route.  If the odds are against you, devise a way to get your family to safety.
  • Have a plan to deal with a fire. Fire is often used in situations like this. Be sure to have well-maintained fire extinguishers in case of a small blaze.

What about a martial law event?

While many of the officers involved most likely just want to resolve the situation and go home to their families, the methods that are often used are not methods most of us wish to encounter.

In a highly charged situation like this, police and military are trained to use the most efficient methods to speedily shut down a conflict. These methods can include tear gas, sound cannons, and outright physical assaults on citizens. It’s important to note that fear can be a powerful motivator when deciding how much force is appropriate when addressing a threat. Cops are just as subject to fear as the rest of us. 20 cops with shields and batons would be quite reasonable to fear an angry mob of hundreds of shouting people.

Your safety when interacting with officials during a martial law situation does not rely on the intentions of police officers and military. It really doesn’t matter if they are trying to crush your rights under a jack-booted heel, or whether they are trying to benevolently keep people safe and re-establish peace and harmony.

Here are some suggestions to help keep you safe when dealing with cops and soldiers.

  • Avoid crowds. If you are in the midst of a crowd, you’ll be considered part of the crowd and treated exactly like everyone else in that group. If they get tear-gassed, so will you. It’s guilt by association. If the crowd is violent, and you are part of the crowd, you will also be considered violent, and you’ll be dealt with accordingly. Legally, you are actually guilty if you are part of a group that is violent.
  • Be polite. If you have to interact with officers, be courteous. You won’t restore the Constitution by arguing with them or threatening them. It’s fine to assert your rights – you don’t have to allow them to search your house without cause, for example, but do so civilly. Belligerence will get you nothing but a beat-down.
  • You don’t get to explain. In a highly charged situation, the cops probably aren’t going to listen to you when you try to explain that you’re just taking that baseball bat in your hand over to your nephew’s house so he can hit some balls in the backyard. No matter how innocent your intentions are, if you’re walking like a duck, you’re going to be treated like a duck. Training will kick in, and perceived threats will be immediately neutralized by whatever means the cops find necessary.
  • Stay home. It really isn’t worth risking your physical safety to go see what’s going on.

Underneath the uniform, cops are human.  I’m not justifying the brutality, the methods they sometimes use, or the assaults on journalists. Cops are just as likely to be swept up in a herd mentality as protesters and rioters are during a high-stress situation. By understanding this, you can be better prepared.

*****

Every civil unrest scenario is different.  You must make a personal plan based on your environment, your neighbors, and the type of situation that is occurring in your area.  By thinking ahead, you’ve already improved your family’s chances of surviving unscathed.

Daisy Luther

Daisy Luther

Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites.  1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty on her website, 2)  The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived, and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. She is widely republished across alternative media and  Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.

Leave a Reply

  • The nightmare did end on Jan 20, 2017, that is the day the obamination ended!

    People who feel the need to HIDE THEIR FACES AS THEY CREATE VIOLENCE ARE THE TRUE FASCISTS!

  • Personally I loathe the current president with every fiber of my being. Such a person would never be counted among my friends, because everything about him is on my list of “terrible traits that should never be emulated”, and I feel pretty much the same about everyone in Washington who refuses to call him out on his unacceptable, unpresidential behavior. He seems to believe the presidency is a dictatorship, and he has made it his mission to undermine our environment and our humanity with every stroke of his pen and childish comment on twitter. He refuses to arm himself with facts from reputable sources before sounding his ill-informed opinion, thus perpetuating untruths and misinforming the public who still believes anything he says. His treating the presidency like some terrible reality show, yanking the public around with loaded statements as if he’s fishing for ratings on next weeks installment is beyond low. I think this administration is the greatest threat to the freedoms this country was founded upon since, well, ever. I have been one of those people showing up at my Senator’s office with signs, and showing up at protest rallies, for the first time in my life. That said, this is the first I’ve heard of any “November 4th” thing, so I have to chalk it up to likely being much ado about nothing. For myself, I’m not going to worry about it, and I hope you aren’t losing any sleep over it either. These days there are too many other things to lose sleep over, unfortunately.

    • “… He seems to believe the presidency is a dictatorship, and he has made it his mission to undermine our environment and our humanity …”
      How’s that any different from the last few presidents, except this president is making more use of social media to make his abuse of power more evident? I, for one, am grateful that the blatant arrogance and stupidity is right out there in the open instead of skulking in some smoky backroom somewhere.

      Personally, I think we should stop looking to the government to save us or to better our lives, because they have neither the ability nor the desire to do so. Every action the government takes just makes things worse.

      • “…we should stop looking to the government to save us or to better our lives, because they have neither the ability nor the desire to do so.”

        Exactly. Well said.

        • IF Hillary would have gotten into the White House, ALL of their policies and agendas would have just kept on rolling along. With one exception however that hers would have been more to an extreme…

    • spare us the public display of deliberate ignorance,OK ?
      No one can be bothered to even attempt an INTELLIGENT discussion when [REDACTED] claim threats to freedom etc.
      so go and cry with the elites who are so super intelligent, they can see things we can’t.

  • The New York Times is not promoting this. They sold the ad. Selling advertising does not equate to promotion. The number and frequency of statements of alternative fact on this website lead me to believe that it is almost as much about promoting political agenda as it is about providing prepping advice. That agenda has a flavor of sensationalism in that it tends to invoke a fiery spirit of motivation toward prepping—at least so among those readers who buy into the agenda. In reading posted comments, I have found this spirit to sometimes incite a disturbing motivation toward violence. I believe prepping at its core is apolitical and non-confrontational. The author of the articles on this site may prefer to avoid confrontation for her own family, but she certainly doesn’t seem to mind stoking dangerous political fires from afar.

    • True, it’s only an ad. However, the NYT does review the ads that it posts and it has occasionally declined to run ads for those causes that it feels are not in line with whatever agenda it happens to be pushing at the time. As this particular ad happens to be from a group who seems to have violent aspirations, I think the NYT would have been within its rights to reject it. It didn’t, of course – that would not have been the P. C. thing to do.

      Daisy has not, to my knowledge, promoted violence on her site. She has, however, promoted self-reliance and self-defense. There are many pacifists who believe that the simple act of carrying a gun or a knife is promoting violence and you may be one of these. If so, I’m sure there are plenty of other prepper sites that avoid the self-defense aspect of prepping.

      I myself find many of the comments on Daisy’s articles to be not well thought out. Occasionally, I comment on those if I feel they require some … redirection. A lot of people are very frustrated with the way society is heading, myself included, and are thinking with their heart instead of their head. Many of them still look to government to save them. They have not awakened to the fact that government is, in general, a brainwashing parasite.

      I mean, how else can you explain the apparently naive and insane actions of most people, except that their minds have been twisted by disinformation and propaganda? They complain and gripe about the government like it was some sort of embarrassing drunken uncle but then they turn around and willingly hand over even more money and responsibility! Health care is a prime example; a problem caused in the first place, I must add, from government meddling. These people are, as yet, blind to the indoctrination they have received and continue to receive from their leaders. However there seems to be, in some people, a remnant of free thinking left, a sort of longing for a society where people mind their own business and allow you to mind yours. I pray that such people may find themselves in the majority some day.

      Until then, I suggest a modicum of tolerance and patience may be in order. If you feel that some commenter is promoting violence, please feel free to call them out on it. However, if you feel that self-defense in general, is a form of unjustifiable violence then perhaps Daisy’s site is not the best place for you.

  • I’m not sure what to think of this whole Anti-fa, Nov 4 thing. You don’t have to read Sun Tzu to know that it’s the height of stupidity to tell your enemy what you’re going to do and when you’re going to do it. That is, unless your position is so unassailable that it doesn’t matter: and their position, most certainly, is not.

    Is it arrogance? Is it stupidity? Is it both? Is Nov 4 a decoy? After all, Guy Fawkes day (BTW, Guy Fawkes was, politically, a far cry from these jokers) is Nov 5, the following day.

    Since the vast majority of these people seem to be pseudo-intellectual socialists who simply wish to swap out one imposition for another, I think it’s pretty safe to assume stupidity and arrogance.

  • thank you daisy
    your words, information and good will helps out in this now crazy world. I am in Portland Oregon where the motto here is ‘keep Portland weird’ Yuck! your advise is gold. Thanx

    Dr Bert

  • The NYT’s ad is open sedition and fomenting overthrow of a duly elected President. I don’t care what you believe, but you better believe, that there are millions of people who will rise to support the Constitution if it becomes necessary.

    • “… you better believe, that there are millions of people who will rise to support the Constitution if it becomes necessary.”
      I do hope you are right but I doubt that any of these millions of which you speak will be from any of our fair cities …

  • We MUST get control of these idiots or our Country is going to be in DEEP trouble, caused mainly by the Democrats with some help from the RINO’s. We MUST back POTUS Trump!!!

  • As a side note, per your usual excellent analysis….what if some dedicated OPFOR types were to “war-game” using Antifa’s useful idiot background noise…to cover their tracks and eliminate their funding source (Soros) & his offspring?

    …the old axiom goes thus: …cut off the head of the snake & the body dies quickly!!!

    Of course, this scenario is predicated upon the assumption that said OPFOR possesses near real-time surveillance capability of the mark…but also, that of the manifold ring-leaders who distribute / allocate the funds ($$$) to the useful idiot leadership at the street level.
    Call it a sanitizing exercise, writ large.

    NOTE:
    It’s much easier to ‘ harvest’ the enemy leadership, very early in an uprising / revolution / coup….as opposed to attempting to do such, once they have a media foothold in destroying Western Civilization….and a stake in the social narrative, per recruiting like minded misfits…

    …just an opinion, of course!

    • Hunter, I was just thinking of you and hoping that you were doing well. This is a great assessment and definitely something to consider.

  • You’re all pretty much morons. Wannabe hippies looking for something to whine about. Communist idiots that should move to Russia or china and see the real world. Just leave the US and take your crap with you, don’t let the door hit you in the ass.

  • NOTHING will happen. If it does then you know they are colluding with the Democraps. That should be your BIG worry.

  • While I won’t go looking for trouble, I nevertheless refuse to change my normal lifestyle by so much as an eyelash twitch. If I do that then the leftist terrorists have beaten me.
    It is they who should fear me.

  • you are an idiot it’s people like u that fan the flames of disorder… use that energy to unite people not divide them…
    take off the foil hat

    • @nunya, “fan the flames of disorder”………In YOUR previous post YOU are the one going to these radical rallies! YOU are the one fanning the flames of Disorder. You are part of the sheep just following the crowd. You’re the one that needs to take a look around and see where You can be useful in society and take off the blinders.

  • While I think there might be some trouble in the larger cities, (most being demo run) in small towns and most of flyover country this will be a non-event.

    • That got through the moderation queue without being read. It’s been removed. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

  • OH NO, NO, NO, NO!!!
    If antifa pukes want to release the kraken…I say bring it children, but your safe space won’t save you if you do.

  • The bottom line is to be prepared (or get prepared) NOW and STAY HOME then. PERIOD! It is beyond my comprehension how people could choose to attack people in their own homes not only destroying property but endangering their lives as well. Its not just Antifa either. There are right wing violent groups such as the proud boys who have their HQ less than 50 miles from me. I think it is more than just partisan politics here. There is a violent undercurrent that is surfacing in more violent ways lately for whatever reasons. It makes me consider the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah and before the flood as recounted in the Bible.

    • Dear JoEllen PLEASE give some links showing how the Proud Boys or any other “right wing violent groups” that have attacked anybody’s property or a civilian not actively fighting them?

      I can show you real time examples of dear Antifa and Burn Loot Murder (BLM for the semi-literate) burning stores, assaulting peoples eyes with dangerous LASERS, burning car dealerships and now attacking peoples homes during “Mostly peaceful protests” per CNN.

      Apples to Apples please. I don’t support Proud Boys per say but their self restraint under duress has been impressive.

      BTW where do YOU get off telling people to STAY HOME PERIOD? Not all of us can hide in our Mommy’s basement drawing unemployment and playing X-box for days an d weeks on end as Portland’s siege of the Federal Courthouse showed.. Some of HAVE A JOB and Bills to pay.

  • Actually Daisy this article with but minor changes would make an EXCELLENT reminder for the next 90 days of our Republics existence.

  • Yeah, I know the article is three years old, but there was no significance to November 4, 2017. However, the article never said anything about the year.
    November 4, 2020 is the day after the general election. Significant? Maybe. Maybe the intervening three years have been all about preparation, and the real s**t storm is yet to come.

    Maybe.

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