Fear and Ammo in a Texas Suburb

Today is training day for the Texas Survivalists, a militia group operating in the suburbs of Dallas, a mile from a middle school softball stadium. Bad times are coming: economic collapse, overnight inflation, nuclear war, epidemic, invasion and fuel shortages. The Survivalists – maybe a dozen in all, men and women in their early 20s to late 50s – are steps ahead of most. They are combat training, storing food, stockpiling ammo, planning escape routes, packing survival kits, making soap and, most of all, assuring themselves that they don’t need another human alive to survive. They have all had hard lives, it turns out. I hear stories of deep personal pain, stories of people exchanging loneliness for the feeling of preparedness that comes with being part of the Texas Survivalists. Helplessness and arms bind them together as they prepare for their last stand – Armageddon.)