Tag: riot preparedness

Preparedness Items for Social Unrest: What to Have Ready If Riots Break Out (Like in Minnesota)

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Emergency Preparedness, Survival & Self-RelianceLeave a comment

Let’s start with an uncomfortable truth: nobody ever plans to be caught in the middle of social unrest. If they did, they would probably also plan to be wearing more comfortable shoes. Yet history—and recent headlines—tell us that social unrest, riots, and periods of social upheaval can happen quickly, escalate fast, and linger longer than anyone expects.

Preparedness is not panic. Preparedness is insurance. You don’t buy fire insurance because you want your house to burn down. You buy it because when things go sideways, you’d rather not be standing there holding a garden hose and good intentions.

There are many survival preparedness items that you can store now, to be used later, or to be carried with you for preparedness sake as insurance for varying degrees of an emergency. The following suggested items can be stored at home, kept in your vehicle, or carried on your person depending on the scenario you’re preparing for:

  • Social unrest
  • Social upheaval
  • Social chaos
  • Riots and civil disturbances

Before determining what the “best” preparedness items are, it’s important to step back and ask a few foundational questions. Because context matters. A lot.

Start With the Right Questions

Preparedness isn’t about owning the most gear. It’s about owning the right gear for the situation you’re most likely to face.

Where Will You Be When This Happens?

Ask yourself honestly:

  • At home
  • At work
  • In your vehicle
  • Walking in a public place
  • Traveling on a business trip or vacation

Each of these locations changes what you can reasonably access. The backpack under your bed does you zero favors if you’re stuck downtown wearing dress shoes and optimism.

What Will Your Support Group Look Like?

  • You are alone
  • You are with one other person (friend or family member)
  • You are with a larger group (less likely, but possible)

Being alone dramatically changes priorities. Suddenly redundancy matters less, and portability matters a whole lot more.

How Long Might the Social Unrest Last?

  • An hour or a few hours
  • One day or a few days
  • One week with sporadic outbreaks
  • A longer-term breakdown scenario (worst case)

Each answer reshuffles your preparedness deck. Short-term unrest focuses on escape and avoidance. Longer events shift toward sustainment and security.

Each combination of answers alters what preparedness items should be close by—or literally on your body. The most difficult scenario to prepare for is being alone, out in public, with only what you’re carrying. Preparing for unrest while at home, by contrast, isn’t much different than ordinary preparedness—just with more emphasis on security and situational awareness.

Core Principles for Social Unrest Preparedness

Before diving into gear lists, let’s establish a few principles:

  1. Avoidance beats confrontation every time.
  2. Mobility equals safety.
  3. Blending in is usually better than standing out.
  4. You are not the main character in an action movie.

Preparedness is about getting home safely, not “winning” anything.

Preparedness Items to Carry on Your Person (Everyday Carry)

If social unrest catches you while you’re out in public, your everyday carry (EDC) becomes your lifeline.

1. Situational Awareness Tools

  • Your phone (charged, with emergency alerts enabled)
  • Offline maps downloaded
  • Local news and alert apps

Knowing where unrest is happening is often more important than knowing how to deal with it once you’re inside it.

2. Basic Personal Protection Items

  • Sturdy shoes (yes, this counts as gear)
  • Durable clothing that allows movement
  • Gloves (lightweight work gloves can protect hands from debris)

Broken glass and sharp debris are common during riots. Hands and feet take the first hit.

3. Medical Essentials

  • Compact first aid kit
  • Tourniquet
  • Bandages and antiseptic wipes

Emergency services may be delayed or unavailable. A small kit can make a big difference.

4. Respiratory and Eye Protection

  • N95 or similar mask
  • Safety glasses or low-profile goggles

Smoke, tear gas, and airborne debris are frequent features of civil unrest. Your lungs and eyes will thank you later.

5. Light and Communication

  • Small flashlight
  • Portable battery pack and charging cable

Darkness adds confusion. Confusion attracts problems.

Vehicle-Based Preparedness Items

If you’re in your car when unrest breaks out, congratulations—you have storage space. Use it wisely.

1. Navigation and Escape Tools

  • Paper maps (because GPS isn’t magic)
  • Preplanned alternate routes

Road closures and blocked intersections are common during riots.

2. Vehicle Emergency Kit

  • Water (at least a few liters)
  • Non-perishable snacks
  • Blanket or poncho

You may be stuck longer than planned. Hunger makes people cranky, and cranky people make poor decisions.

3. Vehicle Safety Items

  • Fire extinguisher
  • Glass-breaking tool
  • Jumper cables

Fires, abandoned vehicles, and damaged infrastructure are not rare in unrest scenarios.

4. Personal Protection Additions

  • Additional masks and eye protection
  • Extra gloves
  • High-visibility vest (for breakdowns, not blending in)

Context matters. Sometimes visibility saves lives; sometimes blending in does.

Preparedness Items for the Home

Preparing your home for social unrest is less about turning it into a fortress and more about making it a place you don’t have to leave.

1. Food and Water

  • Minimum of 3–7 days of food per person
  • Stored water or water filtration system

Supply chain disruptions don’t care about your grocery list.

2. Power and Lighting

  • Flashlights and lanterns
  • Battery backups or generators

Power outages often accompany unrest, either intentionally or coincidentally.

3. Home Security Enhancements

  • Reinforced door hardware
  • Motion lights
  • Cameras or doorbell systems

Deterrence works best when it doesn’t require confrontation.

4. Medical and Hygiene Supplies

  • Expanded first aid kit
  • Prescription medications
  • Hygiene items

Hospitals may be overwhelmed. Pharmacies may be closed.

The Minnesota-Specific Reality

Minnesota has a wide range of environments—from dense urban centers to suburban neighborhoods and rural areas. Social unrest here can look very different depending on location.

Urban areas may see:

  • Rapid crowd formation
  • Road closures
  • Public transportation disruptions

Suburban and rural areas may experience:

  • Supply shortages
  • Delayed emergency response
  • Spillover effects

Preparedness should reflect where you live and where you commute.

The Psychological Side of Preparedness

Gear matters, but mindset matters more.

  • Stay calm
  • Avoid crowds
  • Don’t film, gawk, or linger
  • Move with purpose

Preparedness isn’t about fear. It’s about reducing surprise. When you’ve thought through scenarios ahead of time, your brain doesn’t freeze when something unexpected happens. It simply moves to the next step.

Final Thoughts: Prepared, Not Paranoid

Being prepared for social unrest does not mean you expect it—or want it—to happen. It means you acknowledge reality, respect uncertainty, and prefer options over regret.

Most people prepare after something bad happens. Prepared people do it beforehand, quietly, and without drama. They don’t panic. They don’t posture. They just leave early, get home safely, and make a sandwich while everyone else is still arguing on social media.

Preparedness is boring. And boring is exactly what you want when everything else gets exciting.

How To Stay Alive During a Los Angeles Riot

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn California, California Preppers, Los Angeles riots, UncategorizedLeave a comment

When the streets of Los Angeles erupt in chaos—burning storefronts, sirens wailing, mobs overrunning city blocks—you don’t want to be figuring things out in the moment. As a seasoned survival prepper and self-defense trainer, I’ve learned that survival doesn’t depend on luck. It depends on preparation, situational awareness, and knowing how to respond when society takes a nosedive.

Riots, especially in a sprawling city like LA, are unpredictable and can spiral out of control within minutes. It doesn’t matter if you’re caught in Koreatown or driving near Melrose when the flash mobs hit—you need to know how to defend yourself, protect your loved ones, and get out alive.

This guide lays out 8 must-know self-defense skills, 3 DIY weapons you can make from household items, and the mindset you need to adopt when the city turns into a war zone.

Understand the Environment

First, get real about where you are. Los Angeles is a sprawling urban jungle with over 4 million people, and it has a history of civil unrest—from the 1992 Rodney King riots to the George Floyd protests in 2020. When a riot starts, it spreads fast. You need to know the chokepoints, escape routes, and danger zones in your neighborhood.

Download offline maps and mark exits out of your area. Freeways can get jammed—sometimes it’s better to travel on foot through alleys than be stuck in a car.

8 Must-Know Self-Defense Skills

These aren’t gimmicks. These are battle-tested techniques that can save your life:

1. Situational Awareness (SA)

Your first and strongest weapon. Always know your surroundings—who’s near you, where cover is, and where the exits are. Riots are fluid; mobs move. Don’t stand still and don’t look like an easy target.

Pro tip: Keep your head on a swivel—avoid tunnel vision.

2. Verbal De-escalation

Not every confrontation needs to go physical. Being able to read body language and talk someone down is underrated. Stay calm. Use strong, clear voice commands. Maintain distance and confidence without aggression.

3. Open-Hand Strikes

If you must defend yourself, open-hand strikes are safer for your hands than punches. Target the eyes, throat, and nose—areas that disable, not just hurt.

4. Knee Strikes

If someone gets too close, a knee to the midsection or groin can end the fight quickly. Practice good balance and aim.

5. Escape From Grabs

Learn basic escapes from wrist grabs, chokes, and bear hugs. Practice the principle of going “with the grab” to break free using leverage and momentum—not strength.

6. Improvised Weapon Use

A pen, belt, flashlight, or broken chair leg can become a powerful weapon if used right. Practice using household items as force multipliers.

7. Ground Defense

Fights may go to the ground. Learn how to shrimp, bridge, and get to your feet. Never stay flat on your back during a riot—mob mentality shows no mercy.

8. Team Movement Tactics

If you’re with family or a small group, you need to move like a unit. Establish hand signals. Appoint a point person. Never break formation unless you absolutely have to.

3 DIY Survival Weapons From Household Items

If you’re caught without a firearm, knife, or baton, don’t panic. The best survivalists know how to build tools with what’s available. Here are three effective DIY survival weapons you can create with common items in a pinch.

1. PVC Pipe Baton

Materials: 18-24 inch PVC pipe (¾” diameter), duct tape, sand or nails for weight.

How To Make: Fill the pipe with sand or nails, cap both ends with duct tape, and wrap the handle with extra tape for grip. It’s lightweight, concealable, and can deliver bone-cracking force in close quarters.

2. Sling Weapon From Paracord and a Sock

Materials: Paracord, a rock or a padlock, thick sock.

How To Make: Place the heavy object inside the sock, tie the open end with paracord, and now you have a makeshift flail. Easy to conceal, fast to deploy, and devastating when used against limbs or to clear space.

3. Modified Tactical Flashlight

Materials: Heavy-duty flashlight, steel nuts, epoxy.

How To Make: Epoxy a couple of steel nuts around the head of your flashlight. You’ve now turned a common tool into a bludgeon that can break bones and glass alike.

What to Do When the Riot Starts

1. Get Off the X
If you see crowds forming or hear sirens nearby, move. Don’t film it. Don’t spectate. The X is the danger zone—get off it and don’t look back.

2. Secure Your Home
If you can’t evacuate, barricade entrances using furniture and tools. Booby-trap the approach with noise-makers (like aluminum cans on string). A dog, even a small one, can give you vital early warning.

3. Blend In
Wear neutral colors—gray, tan, brown. Avoid tactical clothing or bright colors. Don’t give anyone a reason to think you’re with the opposing side. Use calm, slow body language. Avoid eye contact.

4. Go Grey Man
Blend into the environment. Hide valuables, ditch flashy gear, and move low-profile. The grey man survives because no one notices him. That’s your goal.

5. Know When to Fight and When to Flee
A real survivalist doesn’t fight every battle. If escape is possible, take it. If confrontation is unavoidable, finish it fast and disappear.

Bonus Tips for Staying Alive

  • Have a go-bag with first aid, water, a multi-tool, N95 mask, flashlight, extra phone battery, gloves, and protein bars.
  • Memorize key phone numbers. Don’t rely solely on your cell service.
  • Use radios or encrypted apps like Signal if communication goes down.
  • Secure your documents and cash. Riots are a magnet for looting—if your home burns, your ID and emergency cash better not be in your sock drawer.

Train Before You Need It

None of this matters if you’re not training. Self-defense and survival are perishable skills. Practice them. Drill your family or group. Take classes in Krav Maga, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or urban survival tactics. When it hits the fan, you’ll either react with clarity—or panic and become part of the problem.

Final Words

Los Angeles is a beautiful, complex, and volatile city. If the next riot breaks out tomorrow, will you be ready? Or will you be scrambling for supplies, wondering how to defend your home with a frying pan and hope?

Get prepared. Stay trained. Think ahead. And never underestimate the power of calm, confident readiness.

Stay sharp out there.