I write this time of the Grey Man, bribery, weapons, the Long Descent and being prepared.
In our future, as we travel farther down the slope of economic and societal collapse bribery will become more open in our society. Get used to it. I worked overseas for 9 years and I know where of I speak.
Bribery in 1st world countries is behind the scenes only with the powerful and for large mind boggling sums between the rich as with Cheney's Haliburton and the Iraq war. Or the Bush bank bailout. In the 3rd world, bribery is a way of daily life....and this is where the Bush crash takes us. It has already taken us to a position below Columbia South America in terms of infant mortality. The slide home to 3rd world conditions has already taken us to a world leadership position in Medically caused personal bankruptcies.....America is outraged if a building inspector takes a bribe---but allows the congress and the senate to operate freely with lobbyists. Amazingly stupid you are.
Get used to bribing everyone if your want anything further down the slope of the descent....it is your future.
'The Grey Man' is a military term used by covert action forces. It means someone who operates under the radar, someone who blends into the background.
We work hard at being the Grey Man.
We do this for we believe that the Long Descent for our society, our nation has already begun. There are many individuals who believe that we are facing a pivotal point in America's history and our Empire. Most believe that there will be an overnight collapse of our economy, our system of operation and our society.
This we do not believe, rather I am a proponent of the long descent theory. Over the course of the next 10 to 15 years our society will slowly degrade at a rate slow enough that most will refuse to admit our decline. Services will be cut, benefits taken away, followed by what has been considered to be middle class luxuries then by middle class life fundamentals. Services will go next, power, water, sanitation, food distribution...one by one. A slow rot, it will be as compared to a sudden Zombie Apocalypse that many believe in and would actually prefer.
Because We truly believe in this concept We prepare. Solar Panel and battery electric storage system, stocks of long term food, intensive small plot gardening, hybrid and human powered vehicles, rain collection water system. Because of this preparation I have become the Grey Man that "I" means our system of operation, our residence and ourselves disappear into the community background. From the street we appear as nothing more than a very small fenced bungalow,owned by lower middle class older people. This residence appears to house nothing of value or interest. No riches. Nothing to see here. We are off downtown in an OK area of older houses but no bankers, doctors, politicians or investment brokers would be caught living anywhere near here. There are no high dollar vehicles in driveways, boats, expensive RVs or landscaping. Nothing to covet---nothing you would want, nothing worth dying for.
Our move to become the grey man has been purposeful. Our purchase of bland, but high mileage vehicles by intent. Our lack of high dollar clothes, jewelry, and mid life crisis "toys" by decision....Our privacy and security against the future descent into chaos is assured, not by retreating, or becoming some kind of weirdo commando but by becoming the grey man--by disappearing into the background by intent----by saving money, removing debt, learning new skills, avoiding useless material flash,concentrating on items such as good doors and windows--motion detectors--excellent exterior locks, taking two years to build up a high producing organic garden, planting fruit trees and bushes all on a 50x90 urban lot but absolutely not publicly displaying our prepper lifestyle or our skills and our commitment to live intelligently by analyzing the future's prospects.
Those that have fallen victim to the huge new lawyer house, big truck and toys in the driveway, lifetime debt system that George Bush promised would last forever are simply fucked in the long descent. Do the people fitting this description honestly believe that anything they have right now can be turned into viable cash? Do they honestly believe they can sell that monster of a house? When there is no fuel, and believe me that is coming, what do you think a jet boat, a ford expedition and a house 15 miles from anything will be worth? When the power, the water is on for 2 hours a day how will they live? When there are no deliveries to the supermarket--15 miles from their homes on foot, how will they, what will they eat?
The one thing they will still have is attention---but not the attention they were used to---the attention of envy, the attention of covetousness, the attention of the unintelligent mob who still believes they still have something valuable---because it looks that way and they used to have money and powerful things.
The police in collapsed societies demand higher bribes,when they stop you using the last of your gasoline, in your Mercedes trying to find food. It is the nature of the beast. Meanwhile the Grey man rides by you on a bicycle, unnoticed. That is the design of the Grey Man, prepared, skilled but invisible----
The prepared lifestyle comes with, as standard equipment, the public expectation that you are some kind of gun nut busily stockpiling vast quantities of weapons and munitions--wearing camouflaged clothing and a fighting knife to city council meetings--all the while driving a huge armored personnel carrier like SUV. Although this condition does affect many in this life style--- it is not a universal truth.
As a proponent of the 'Gray Man' theory of survival i believe that during our long duration system decay an increase in crime will occur---- there will however be no defending the bunker homestead against massed zombie mobs. That will not occur in the long descent. What will occur is a lack of funds for law enforcement patrolling and investigation of crimes resulting in a scenario where you are responsible for your own safety all the time.
The perfect personal defensive system demands completely unobtrusive tools. I neither telegraph my abilities nor do i appear as an easy target---this should be your goal as well. I own multiple, small caliber, modern pistols and small custom knives all capable of being easily hidden about the body under normal street clothes but immediately put into action. No big weapons, for there is no need for them. I am not hunting Predators in the jungle, I just want to be left alone or make someone leave me alone if necessary.
I do everything in my power to refrain from drawing attention from either law enforcement or the criminal element. Which of course, big guns openly or improperly displayed, camouflage clothing, an armored personnel carrier type SUV, or visible paranoia will all do--they will Attract attention. During our Long Decline into 3rd world status it is best to avoid both of the most dangerous cultures------law enforcement and those with criminal intent since they will both want the same things...your valuables and your weapons. Ask the Russians or the Argentines how noble their law enforcement officers were during the collapse of their nations.
Avoiding or protecting yourself from both these groups on a daily basis is the goal of billions of normal citizens in the 3rd world and one you should begin practicing right now.
I believe there is much to be thankful for now that I am older. One of my specific thanks is giving to the fact that I can now carry a sword cane without attracting undo attention at this age. Silver hair, wrinkles and bad hearing are a requirement for this perfect 'Gray Man' weapon and i can check affirmative to all those descriptions. It is in many ways the perfect weapon. Concealed,unobtrusive, quiet and very, very deadly in the proper hands. I love mine.The sword cane has been found in the tombs of the Pharaohs that is how long this weapon has existed. The Sword cane's greatest era was the Victorian, where it was considered a necessary gentleman's accessory when traveling abroad or afoot within the festering cities. 
Never appear lost, confused or afraid--- nor--- rich, armed and incapable. Be prepared to defend yourself when necessary and during the long descent-----never, ever call the police after the fact, to report an incident, never. These are the rules to live by in a collapsing nation or culture and these will have to be our rules. During the long descent you will have to go out to school, work and shopping---------these things will not stop suddenly as if in a film. You will have to do these things and this will be your most vulnerable point...Never start an incident, bribes are always better than a fight..but if trapped fight hard, finish it, then walk away quietly immediately after it is done.
