How to Prepare Your Home and Life for Civil Unrest

We experience civil unrest in one form or another every year. 2020 certainly felt like an amplified year of protests and unrest due to COVID-19 as well as a variety of other factors.

Cuba and South Africa are going through a civil unrest situation as of July 2021. Hong Kong, Venezuela and others have also had unrest due to a variety of circumstances.

Nobody wants unrest or civil war to be the answer, but as a society, if we’re being mistreated by those who are supposed to look out for us, we must stand up for ourselves.

As preppers, we’re realists and understand that with high tensions and emotions comes desperate actions. Protesting is one of the most powerful ways to express our thoughts, and sometimes those protests could take a turn for the worst. And other times, they are out of necessity due to demanding basic human rights.

Civil unrest can happen anywhere for any reason.

This is NOT to scare you. I am NOT about fear mongering. All we have to do is look at the past and present to see the truth in the above statement.

We prep as best as we can to minimize our exposure and danger level.

We don’t need to be afraid, but rightfully need to be prepared for anything. There have been many cases of peaceful protests which turned violent rather quickly.

“If you want peace, prepare for war.”

“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.”

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

Don’t be caught off guard.

Here are some ways we can prepare our life and home for civil unrest:

Securing everyday life

Let’s start off with some tips to be prepare our everyday life and family for civil unrest.

1. Always have a consistent stream of intel. By keeping an eye and ear out for information that’s being dispersed via a wide variety of sources, we can know when we should or shouldn’t be doing something. Intel can come at us any time of the day. That’s also called situational awareness. Be aware, be open to intel and know how to process the information that you’re getting.
2. Know how to act. For instance, if you see a fight break out at a restaurant you’re eating at, do you know where the nearest exits are? What actions would you took during an active attack? If a grease fire flared up, do you know how to extinguish it? Taking in intel is certainly important, but knowing how to act is also just as important. Think of scenarios and figure out how you would act in those scenarios.
3. Avoid. In general, avoid the areas in which you know will have demonstrations. If the demonstrations are happening in the downtown area, then avoid the downtown area. If something happens around your general area to make you feel uneasy, then avoid.
4. Keep a bag packed. Have a bag with you that is packed and ready to deploy should you need to use it for any reason. The reason could be that you need first aid supplies or maybe you need to access a map of the area. Keep an emergency bag packed with food, water, first aid, mylar bag, navigation, possibly change of clothes and if you have children, extra clothes, diapers, food and water for them as well.
5. Self-defense options. I highly encourage everyone to not only carry a firearm, but to be trained in how to use it properly. Get your concealed carry license and carry it with you always, but also know how and when to deploy it in a self-defense situation. There are other self-defense options such as a knife, pepper spray or even a blunt object. In any case, always know how and when to deploy these self-defense methods. Also get to know your local self-defense laws.

Securing your home

Now let’s talk about how to prepare your home.

1. Security options. Increase the security of your home. Make sure there are no dark areas people could hide by installing motion sensor lights. Install motion sensor security cameras. Increase your door security with a kick plate and extra dead bolts. Secure your windows and sliding glass door(s) with security bars. Cut back tall bushes so people can’t hide behind them. But at the same time, add some pokey foliage such as rose bushes, cactus and the like. Keep your home generally well kept. Have any home defense options ready to go, such as a firearm, bat or other self-defense option of your choosing.
2. Be ready to bug in. Be prepared to bug in for an extended period of time. Start with 1 months worth of food, water, medications/medical needs and alternative heat and cooling options, alternative cooking options and so on. Be ready to not only stay indoors for a certain period time to avoid the unrest, but also be ready for any unexpected power outages. Don’t rely on anyone else for your safety.
3. Also be ready to bug out. If you would feel safer simply leaving your area, then have a bug out plan ready. Keep your gas tank full, keep your bug out bags easily accessible and listen to your gut.
4. Consistent intel. Always have consistent intel coming in through various news sources, ham radio, social media, neighbors, etc. Be aware of your community and what’s happening in it. Keep an eye on what’s going on outside and around your home, which can be accomplished through the use of cameras.

Expect the unexpected.

The hype over civil unrest leading to civil war could be nothing. Or it could be something. I would rather be prepared than have it suddenly happen with zero plans or preparations in place.

There’s still time to be prepared. Get a plan. Take it one step at a time. Get prepared.

You got this!