“The night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting. That’s pride f-ing with you. F-k pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps.”
Those were the words of the character Marsellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction.
He’s basically telling Bruce Willis’ character to throw a boxing match – and his argument is that the punishment for refusing is much, much worse than the pain of losing.
Well, Pulp Fiction is just a movie… but when I rewatched it not long ago, it reminded me of… survival conventions!
“Wait… what!?” you’re probably thinking.
Well, I’ll explain… because that quote about pride f-ing with you can teach us something really important about your “operational security”.
Operational Security For Preppers: Don’t Let Pride Make You Burt Gummer
I’ve been going to survival and prepper conventions for a long time, now.
They’re a lot of fun… but I gotta say, it always amuses me to be surrounded by “Burt Gummers.”
Burt Gummer, if you don’t know, is a character from the Tremors movie franchise.
(Man, I’m practically Blockbuster Video today… which is still a thing, right? Right??)
He’s kind of a running gag because everything about him is impossibly tactical.
Everything he does, says, and wears is all about paramilitary jargon and gear.
He talks like he’s on a military operation no matter what he’s doing.
He dresses like a 5.11 catalog exploded in his bedroom.
And of course, he’s armed all day long, and loves to talk about guns.
As much as I love to meet and talk with my fellow preppers and survivalists, a LOT of them are so proud of their dedication to prepping that they walk and talk just like this… completely blowing their “operational security”!
In other words, you can spot them coming from a mile away.
It’s like they can’t turn it off… and I guarantee that everybody they know is completely aware that they’re all about being prepared.
“Why’s that bad, Jeff?” you might be asking.
Well, like I’ve said before, the last thing you want to do is let the people around you know that you’re prepared.
In an emergency – especially a collapse or survival situation that lasts for a long time – these people are going to show up at your door, begging for you to help them.
They’ll ask at first.
Then they’ll beg.
Finally, they’ll demand… and they won’t take “no” for an answer!
Now, if you’re thinking that this isn’t a problem for you, because you don’t dress or act that way, that’s good.
But I have to ask… is your Bug-out Bag (your BOB) going to give you away?
Even discreet folks will buy what they think is the best BOB for their survival kits – and often, that’s a military-style bag covered in tactical accessories that is a dead giveaway to anyone looking.
In other words, the pride you have in that tactical bag could punish you much, much worse than sucking up your pride and going with a less “tactical” looking option!
In an emergency or collapse, if you’re bugging out with one of those bags over your shoulder, people are going to spot you – and they’ll know that you have things they desperately need.
As proud as we all are of who we are and what we do, the “you’ll pry my gun out of my cold dead fingers” approach will end just like that.
“You’ll pry my MREs out of my cold dead fingers” will have the same result!
Predators, your desperate neighbors, gangs looking to supply up… even the authorities will be happy to oblige you if the alternative to robbing YOU is watching their families starve.
See, your BOB, and the supplies in it, aren’t just going to keep you and your family alive at home… they’re also the ONLY thing that will keep you alive if you’re forced to evacuate.
Understanding ideas like this – and preparing the smart, covert way (rather than the Burt Gummer way) is just the beginning of truly preparing to keep your family safe in an emergency.
This is a tip like the ones you’ll find in my survival gear secrets report, which you can see right here…
Don’t let pride make you a “Burt Gummer” (and therefore a target).
Get the tips and tricks that can keep you and your family safe… while you stay prepared.
