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Thousands trapped on Pine Ridge burn clothes for warmth in wake of storm

argusleader.com

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Re: Thousands trapped on Pine Ridge burn clothes for warmth in wake of storm

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article, the community has stockpiled resources, but their plows and skidsteers are all out of commission. They literally cannot get to the firewood, and every time they clear some snow out more blows in. Some people have been completely isolated in their homes for 8 days. I'd say most people, even in rural areas, don't have a supply that'll last longer than that, except for some hardcore preppers.

Most people in rural areas have some kind of food store with canned goods. With things like Soylent and Huel, those can also be used. I had 6 months of Soylent back in the day. 2 bags of Huel can last about 6 days and fits in a small bag — it is one of my hacks for backpacking. If you haven’t already, I recommend having a supply of canned beans, canned tuna, canned meats to preference, canned sardines, bulk rice (you…

>No one in the US, for instance, has any excuse because it is all very very affordable

What a thing to say.

Re: Thousands trapped on Pine Ridge burn clothes for warmth in wake of storm

#132
I wonder if there could be some kind of inland Cajun Navy [1] which operates using trucks and plows or snowmobiles instead of boats for disasters like this. Although given the remoteness and conditions this just might not be possible.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajun_Navy?wprov=sfti1

Re: Thousands trapped on Pine Ridge burn clothes for warmth in wake of storm

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even though it's not technically wrong, but I also don't see how viewing a people (or worse, viewing yourself) as a perpetual victim is in any way useful. There's no rewriting the past. Saying "I'll never amount to anything because of what happened 50, 100, 200 years ago" denies your agency, and thus a fundamental aspect of your humanity. Some people seem to think that the bigotry of low expectations is "social justi…

Pine Ridge has unemployment of 80-90%, median income of $4000/year, and life expectancy of ~50 years. Many people live without electricity or running water. I don't know that people who live there say "I'll never amount to anything", I don't think any of us participating in this conversation live there; probably none of us are natives. So we're not talking about what they say about themselves, we're talking about wha…

My girlfriend's mom went to a boarding school. The abuse she experienced as a kid still affects her and her family.

Re: Thousands trapped on Pine Ridge burn clothes for warmth in wake of storm

#134
For some context from someone who's been on that Res, its population is highly vulnerable with no margin for mishaps. It's a place of generational, crushing poverty, crime, illness, genetic-exacerbated substance abuse, broad lack of economic opportunity, cultural isolation, and federal disinvestment.

Free federal healthcare is available, but only at an IHS hospital in Rapid City 1.5 hours away in good weather: it's antiquated and maximally bureaucratic and probably lower standards of care than your vet provides.

The local Habitat for Humanity chapter (I served on their board) tried to help them with community housing efforts, but houses were always gutted of all fixtures before completion.

IMO, at a minimum, the IHS (and the VA) need to merge under Medicare for standardization, availability, and economics of scale and industry needs incentives to bring employment opportunities (I think Cisco tried once and bailed).

Re: Thousands trapped on Pine Ridge burn clothes for warmth in wake of storm

#135
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for the context. It’s a little cringey to read all of the comparatively wealthy and privileged comments that boil down to “why didn’t they just spend lots of money on equipment and supplies.”

Another question is why they all still live there?

It’s a reservation and they’re the natives there. And the average is quite young, so I think everyone who can escape does (which can harm the remainder in other ways).

Re: Thousands trapped on Pine Ridge burn clothes for warmth in wake of storm

#136
post #61

This triggered two thoughts for me. First, how much of a killer the cold is. We've moved on from "global warming" to "climate change" language but there are a lot of places in the world that would be grateful for a few degree temperature rise (such as Latvia where I am from). Today, cold kills hundreds of thousands of people a year, while "heat deaths" are limited to geriatrics in the "first world." Second, preparedn…

The whole world being a couple degrees hotter is not guaranteed to be equally distributed. The reason why Latvia, and most of "Northern" Europe is livable instead of a frozen wasteland is due to climate mechanisms that we're not entirely sure how sensitive they are to climate change It might get a bit warmer, it might get a lot hotter or it might even get a whole lot colder Climate change is a better term because the…

I don't disagree with your logic but your conclusion that one term is better than the other. The globe is warming, and individual climates are changing as a result. One is not a better term then the other, people are just using the wrong terms to suit their agendas.

Re: Thousands trapped on Pine Ridge burn clothes for warmth in wake of storm

#137
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for the context. It’s a little cringey to read all of the comparatively wealthy and privileged comments that boil down to “why didn’t they just spend lots of money on equipment and supplies.”

Another question is why they all still live there?

For the same reason they cannot stockpile.

Moving is very expensive. Then how can they afford rent in a more expensive area? How will they find jobs?

Re: Thousands trapped on Pine Ridge burn clothes for warmth in wake of storm

#138

The real story here seems to me to be not that people burned their clothes to stay warm but that people in a place with fragile connections to the outside world had so little in the way of supplies to weather a relatively short period without food deliveries. I'm not blaming them, I assume that many of the affected people don't have the resources to keep a buffer stock.

From the article, the community has stockpiled resources, but their plows and skidsteers are all out of commission. They literally cannot get to the firewood, and every time they clear some snow out more blows in. Some people have been completely isolated in their homes for 8 days. I'd say most people, even in rural areas, don't have a supply that'll last longer than that, except for some hardcore preppers.

I grew up in North Dakota, and the place in this news story is in South Dakota. I knew plenty of folks in rural areas with enough resources for weeks, not days. Running water might be the exception, but many farmers I know had well water.

Re: Thousands trapped on Pine Ridge burn clothes for warmth in wake of storm

#139

The real story here seems to me to be not that people burned their clothes to stay warm but that people in a place with fragile connections to the outside world had so little in the way of supplies to weather a relatively short period without food deliveries. I'm not blaming them, I assume that many of the affected people don't have the resources to keep a buffer stock.

From the article, the community has stockpiled resources, but their plows and skidsteers are all out of commission. They literally cannot get to the firewood, and every time they clear some snow out more blows in. Some people have been completely isolated in their homes for 8 days. I'd say most people, even in rural areas, don't have a supply that'll last longer than that, except for some hardcore preppers.

> Some people have been completely isolated in their homes for 8 days. I'd say most people, even in rural areas, don't have a supply that'll last longer than that, except for some hardcore preppers.

I wouldn't say that, I try and always have 3 months supply of food on hand in case something happens, even just a temporary job loss, in fact the idea of having less than a full months supply of food on hand seems terrifying to me, as evidenced all you need is one bad winter storm and your looking at starvation.

In fact the church I belong to encourages members to have 1-6 months supply of food on hand in case of emergencies and it would be something I'd recommend everyone do. It gives you substantial peace of mind.

Re: Thousands trapped on Pine Ridge burn clothes for warmth in wake of storm

#140
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for the context. It’s a little cringey to read all of the comparatively wealthy and privileged comments that boil down to “why didn’t they just spend lots of money on equipment and supplies.”

Another question is why they all still live there?

If someone doesn’t have the money to stock pile some food and fuel do you think they can afford to move?
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