It’d be reasonable for you to wonder, perhaps, how my posting drone video and photos squares with our attention to OPSEC here on The Mountain. I mean, wasn’t that giving potential pillagers (or perhaps tools of the State) a key to our kingdom?
I suppose you could look at it that way. I don’t.
First of all, I chose carefully what I shared. What may seem obvious, certain, complete or conclusive simply isn’t. That was intentional.
Second, location and layout viewed from the air are very different than reality on the rugged ground. Anyone who’s been on this patch of land will attest to that.
And third, anyone who wants to find us can do so easily, whether that unwelcome intruder is a private actor or a government agent. We don’t presume to be hidden, nor are we hiding.
The belief that one can “go gray” these days persists, despite that train having left the station 25 years ago. Nobody can “disappear.” Thinking that the State can’t find you, that it doesn’t know more about you than you know about yourself, is patently delusional.
What’s more, the Interweb gives individuals virtually unlimited access to information about you, your family, your finances, your home, everything. I know this because I essentially built a career on it.
The extent to which you can manage your OPSEC and PERSEC — the pursuit of becoming a “gray man” — is limited. It does exist, however. The mindset is simple.
Don’t make yourself a target.
In a world in which the details of our lives are available to anyone who comes looking, don’t give them a reason to look. Don’t be flashy — displaying wealth and valuable material possessions may be good for your ego, but it also attracts the wrong kind of attention.
The more private your life, the less of a target you are. Public people tend to get longer looks and are more vulnerable to scrutiny and intrusion.
Consider sharing less about your life on social media. And whatever you do, don’t publish a blog.
Still, I’ve seen folks who live otherwise private lives do some seriously dumb shit. Like posting pictures of their personal arsenal to Facebook. Sharing images of their SHTF preps, well-stocked pantry and lifetime supply of TP.
Running an open-frame generator in front of their house during a power outage. When neighbors have run out of food and supplies, grilling steaks outdoors.
Yeah, don’t do that.
In sum, it pays not to advertise what miscreants would want to steal or what the State means to confiscate.
So no, dear reader, the security of our humble Home isn’t jeopardized — or the jeopardy isn’t exacerbated, at least — by those aerial images. Truly, there’s nothing here worth taking. (Read: We have nothing worth the risk that’d accompany the attempt.) We do nothing and own nothing that violates the law.
Besides, access to this place is a good bit gnarlier than it might look from above. You’ll just have to trust me on that.
“If you’re not ‘on a list,’ it’s because you haven’t taken a side.”
Mike “Mad Bomber” Sterling, Survival Dispatch
Deb’s trying to fight off some sort of upper-respiratory bug — a helluva way to spend a beautiful spring weekend. Trooper that she is, however, today she was down for our regular visit to the laundromat, along with several other errands.
The trip wasn’t without its pleasant detours. We paused at the Flippin access to Crooked Creek, which is running strong after this week’s storms. We found the banks trimmed in vivid greens, punctuated by pops of pink and white and yellow.
On our way Home we had curbside pickup scheduled at Walmart. Since we were running a little early, we decided to kill time at the park in Cotter. We’d just begun our descent toward the White River when flashing blue lights filled my rearview mirror.
I pulled to the side of the road. A friendly Cotter PD officer came to my window.
“How we doin’ today?” he said with a smile.
He wanted me to know that my Silverado’s left-rear brake light was out. (Yeah, that gremlin is back.) He had no intention of writing me up. We had a great conversation.
Now let’s face it, this was a St. Patrick’s Day traffic stop. The officer may have lit me up for a brake light but he hoped to catch a tipsy reveler behind the wheel. He didn’t.
We did make it to the park, hung out under the bridge and watched the Mighty White roll.
Back on The Mountain by mid-afternoon, we unloaded our laundry and provisions and set Deb up to get the rest she needs to convalesce. If she’s no better by tomorrow morning, there’s a very good chance that she won’t be going to work.
We’ll see.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB