Humans are social animals---even those of us who are introverts. Being in the resistance can be a very lonely existence. Having to compartmentalize parts of your life even within the existing compartments, having to “live the life” of privacy and security, having to constantly keep track of ever-changing threat landscapes even within your own groups, never being able to really trust anyone...all of this is exhausting. It requires a mental discipline that quite frankly, most people don’t have and aren’t interested in cultivating. As the saying goes, the human element is always the single greatest point of failure in anything. This is true even if (especially if) you're talking about security protocols and resistance members.
Imagine going an entire 24 hour period--or longer--where you specifically attempt NOT to talk to anyone, not to interact with anyone, not to let anyone really see or notice you, being absolutely forgettable…while being in public and around people. Can you do that? You might think so. You don't like people anyway.
But now consider all the tiny things that humans do to stand out without even thinking about it (and believe me, this list applies to us all—I’ve had to make some changes myself as I’ve learned and grown over time).
- T-shirts with various sayings
- Tattoos
- Hairstyles and colors (including men’s haircuts and specific styles of facial hair)
- Makeup
- Other clothing that defines your interests (Motorcycle leather, etc)
- Anything that does not fit in the environment where you are (wearing a jersey for the Minnesota Vikings while in Green Bay, for instance; or camo pants in a section of town more known for its vegan restaurants and yoga clinics)
- Things we are interested in or collect.
Now imagine that whether you get arrested or even killed today depends on your ability to fade, to go without talking to people you know, to go without being yourself. Now could you do it?
Whether we admit it or not, the same thing that drives us to get tattoos, to wear that in-your-face T-shirt, to put the bumper stickers on our car and announce to everyone who we are and what we are willing to do, is the exact same thing that is exploitable by anyone who’s trying to watch/track/hunt you. That’s what will make someone remember you when you desperately need to not be remembered. That’s what will get you caught, or make it impossible for you to carry out certain tasks.
No one remembers the guy on his laptop wearing a button-down shirt and a clean-cut appearance in a coffee shop full of guys on their laptops, all dressed like businessmen and sipping lattes and whatnot, who come in for an hour, get a bit of work done on their laptops or have a quick meeting. They do, however, remember the guy with the big ol' beard who came in to that same trendy little shop wearing a shirt that brags about his willingness to kill for liberty, tactical pants and a DTOM hat while ordering a large coffee, black. If someone comes to the shop later showing your driver's license picture around, which of those two scenarios would result in someone saying "Yeah, I remember that guy!"
We could talk all day about being the gray man, about fading into your environment and being invisible even in public, but that's not the focus of this article. Today we're talking about something deeper: the drive that makes humans naturally want to NOT fade. The drive that craves identity and wants to let that identity shine through, whether it be through our clothing, our vehicles, our stickers, our hair, even our mannerisms and habits. We are who we are--and that leaks everywhere we go, unless we learn how to control it and how to hide it when necessary.
The greatest point of failure in your operations, your security, your group, your life...is you. By extension, that means that the people you work with are also on the hook for your mistakes---and you are on the hook for theirs. (Reason #489 why you should be very careful who you associate with and/or even discuss liberty resistance business with.)
Even basic good character traits can be exploited. People's desire to help others, their need to impress people, even to feel accepted and liked; all of these things can be used against you. In other contexts, criminals use these all the time. There is a reason why in many places it's not safe to pull over and help a stranded motorist. There is a reason why Ted Bundy was able to rape and kill a number of women by wearing a fake cast and pretending to need help. Human nature is, by default, exploitable.
Take the time to sit down, go through your life, your closet, your vehicle, yourself. Find the places where you "leak" information or make yourself vulnerable, and find a way to plug the holes. Plan out how you would go about getting a burner phone, for instance. Don't just plan the location, plan it all. How will you get there? What will you wear? How will you act? If you already have that burner phone, think through how you did it. Is there something you could have done better?
You might be surprised at how much you give away...even when you're hiding. We all learn, we all evolve. If you're doing everything the same way you did a month ago, a year ago, you're not learning.
16 comments:
SGT Matt, great article! The future belongs to grey men, provided one can understand the concept and live it.
Sign me, Neal Jensen
"Security through Obscurity."
-Blake
Great article. Keep 'em coming.
European Union Military Police Rehearses For Civil War In Germany
Coming soon the USA.
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/04/29/european-union-military-police-rehearses-civil-war-germany/
One thing is to plan ahead so that memories fade and surveillance tapes get erased or recorded over - to draw on what you mentioned, if you buy a burner phone and phone card 6 months or a year ahead of when you need it, at a store you don't frequent, you won't be remembered later. If you squirrel away money $20 at a time as part of your 'regular' withdrawals from the bank, or ammo a box at a time, etc, it won't be noticed but will be there when you need it if you are disciplined.
On the other hand, keep doing what you normally do - don't suddenly stop using your credit card or stop going to stores or restaurants you frequent without so clear a reason for it that no one asks. You can be remembered for what you AREN'T doing as well as what you ARE doing.
SGT M : For those thinking this is absurd, on a recent drive with my oldest son he began to describe - in detail - the owners' lives of numerous cars we followed. From where they worked, what they probably did, the number/genders of their kids, their pets, and hobbies. From that he could interpolate where they lived, what times they would be away from home, what schools the kids attended as well as how alert or attentive the operator was. He did it all from "tells" on or in the vehicle and the operator's driving habits.
Made me feel like a modern day Watson.
I've thought this stuff for a long time, though I don't always live it out. All the people I see driving around with NRA stickers on their trucks or Gadsden flags on their property......why don't you just advertise to criminals that you have guns in you house,
TheBohunk has a valid point, but most criminals are cowards, especially burglars. I suspect they are far less likely to burglarize someone who may put them down. He's right, though. Better to not advertise. There's no benefit other than saying "this is what I'm into". Half the people on the road will think you a "gun nut", the cops will look on with some suspicion, you increase the likelihood of a roadside vehicle search and you might a wave or nod from me or one of our fellow travelers.
Anonymous mentioned letting time pass and the "tapes erased". Forget it. If you are here, on Mike and Matt's blog, you ARE on the list. In fact, I would venture to guess that every one of us has been flagged and re-flagged and are well-known....in a database anyway, stored away for the day they start looking.
Since we are all well-identified at this point, the best thing that we can do is have an E&E plan in place. With interest rates at near zero, there is absolutely NO reason to have money in the banking system other than to pay bills and avoid service charges. I live in NYC and my wife and I are fortunate enough to have good paying jobs and grown children. For all of our income, aside from our retirement funds (you have to plan for your future), we have a working balance in our checking account and $66 in our savings account. That reminds me, I can take out another 40 and still be above the $25 minimum, lol. Cash is king, until it's no longer in circulation.
That plan includes a place to boogie that you do not have numerous texts, phone calls and e-mails that link you to it. If you're planning to go to Arizona, having tons of traceable communications with people and businesses in Phoenix would not be a good idea. That's hard to get around, but it can be done.
Personally, I think it's a good idea to pre-position a lot of items to a future locale, or at least somewhere along the way. It's a bit easier for a city dweller like me, who doesn't have place to store my crap in a one bedroom Manhattan apartment, but you get the point.
What I have not done, but need to do is make a plan with the boss and our two grown kids. We should have some contingency plans for when something happens, it is probable that we would be split up. Especially here where it is easy to have egress points blocked. If you must go east....do this. West, do that. Natural disaster, outbreak of lawlessness or just a reason you have to go? Have a plan.
It's best if you live your life being as unmemorable as possible. It's hard to do, as we want to feel liked or accepted and the things we do to achieve that can make us stand out. I have it harder than most, because while I'm a run of the mill white dude, with short hair, my wife is of Asian descent. Every time someone says, "I remember you guys", I know it isn't because of my devastating good looks. I thought of this recently when I ran into a bit of trouble with a jackass on a subway, and realized that, particularly with video everywhere, I would be easier to identify.
Being the "gray man" is solid advice for everyday life, but can likely save your life when things get dicey.
When we get to true social collapse and police following us, obviously the stickers etc... come off. Until then, we need to be trying to get people to think differently about the anti freedom anti gun nonsense in a variety of ways and to know they are not alone. Love the practical inspiration to get us practicing by trying to really "go gray" for a day or a week...
SigInt is difficult to defeat - you are identified as much as by the patterns you create, as you are by the gap you leave in the patterns around you. Facebook doesn't need you to have an account if three of your friends already have one, for example. Confusing such a mechanism can be quite tricky.
Standing out is also an issue; the most notable would be the prick who called in a bomb threat at Harvard; this jerk used an anonymous email account to send his hoax, and reached it via TOR. The problem? His was the only TOR traffic on the entire network. Being a needle is not of much value when you wrongly presume there's always a haystack.
Some days, the best camo is a polo shirt and a Volvo.
Of course, if everyone tries to keep their heads down and blend it, who would know there's any broad discontent?
How can there be an sort of movement to bring reform or restoration if everyone who wants reform or restoration tries to look and act like those who don't?
Americans have become herd animals who move on the proddings of culture and media. Somebody somewhere has to stick his/her head out at some point to make known there are alternatives, that there's a path less traveled.
Are we hiding or fighting?
Is there any connection between this group and the fellow mentioned in the George Patton article?
Only Cointelpro agents want you to blend in, use burner phones, not post on Facebook and be super secret squirrels. It gives them a reason to look into you.
Anon @ 10:28 pm,
Alright man, you are going to have to explain that one. For me, that is a yet uncharted level way beyond the Statist meme of "if you have nothing to hide you don't have anything to worry about".
Be a grey man. Hide in the shadows.
Fuck that! BE a man not a pussy.
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