This person asked a great question, and I was repeatedly challenged yesterday on my "it's too late" statement w.r.t. prepping.
So I'm going to do my best to address it here.
Yes, I do believe it's too late for someone starting from zero to acquire all the knowledge and skills they'll need to survive what's coming.
Because here's what I think is coming:
There has been a concerted effort to delegitimize, defund, and demoralize law enforcement in this country. Law enforcement officers (LEOs) are resigning or quitting in record numbers. Police (a political arm of force directed by a city mayor -- as opposed to sheriff's deputies) across the country have been ordered to not pursue or respond to certain property crimes, and even violent crimes. They have been ordered to release even violent repeat offenders back onto the streets with no bail.
LEOs are overworked, understaffed, and thoroughly demoralized. Violent attacks in broad daylight on city streets are increasing, many racially motivated. The influx of illegal aliens has brought with it a rise in organized crime of a style this country has not experienced before.
Drug abuse is rampant, as is mental illness. As with LEOs, many cities have legalized and decriminalized drug use, even beyond marijuana. Look into the NGOs and even direct city funding and direction of homeless encampments; this is all being fostered and cultivated.
Politicians are benefitting from this turmoil, and using it in a Hegelian Dialectic to push forward their agendas.
Meanwhile, city populations grow more and more dependent on the state, and on the global supply chain and the service economy.
All this is prelude, and a recipe for disaster.
We are currently sitting on a knife's edge; a powderkeg, waiting for a spark.
I do not know what form that spark will take, but with the elections looming in November, I can tell you there's no shortage of potential sources. The slightest thing will tip us over the edge, collectively.
The useful idiots will do the same thing they did in 2020, with one major difference: the millions of illegals now in country will use the opportunity to seize territory and control, settle old scores and tribal animosities. This will increase the violence far beyond what we witnessed in 2020.
You need to understand something: the current LEO tactics to control unruly mobs is 'kettling'. And kettling relies solely on a single fiction: that both sides agree the state has power and authority, as represented by the LEOs on the ground. We've witnessed the erosion of that belief in the fiction of LEOs' power and authority with the average citizen over the past several years, now aided by concerted efforts from the political class.
Throw in the wildcard of South American and African illegals, and you have a situation the LEOs will not be able to contain on the strength of that fiction alone, and they absolutely do not have the manpower to contain it on the basis of physical force. Not unless an entire skirmish line decides to open fire on the rioters. And, if that happens, things will spin wildly out of control almost instantly.
Now, add to the mix foreign aid to certain belligerent groups in the US, in the form of funding, training, and advising and, possibly, materiel supply. Yes, this happens, and is a thing. We do it ourselves in many foreign nations.
Couple that with rogue(?) elements in the fedgov who are actively working towards exactly this scenario, again in service of a Hegelian Dialectic.
I believe we will be without rule of law and/or in a nonpermissive environment in many areas of the country sometime in the next six months.
There will not be two sides. there will be a dozen, or more, each jockeying for supremacy over the other in all domains, each with aid from various factions, and opposition from others. There will be temporary coalitions formed. You will see groups playing to provide SWET (Security, Water, Electricity, Trash service), or to disrupt same to pin the blame on the local, regional, and/or federal government. It will be a 5th-generation fight, abetted by the leftist media and directed at a high level, at least in terms of messaging, by the fedgov politicos desperate to retain power at any cost.
You will begin to see area denial tactics from various factions.
In the meantime, if things get chaotic enough, you can expect foreign state actors to begin disruptions in the cyber domain, which will have knock-on effects on our critical infrastructure and the supply chain.
Take out a city's grid, and people will devolve to violence within 72 hours.
Take out a city's supply of natural gas and/or vehicle fuel, and without swift and decisive government intervention, you will see similar.
Meanwhile, all of this chaos will disrupt the service economy the urbanites have come to rely on. No more DoorDash at 3am. No ubiquitous streaming media. No Amazon deliveries. The more inconvenienced the urbanites become, the worse things will get. When the WIC cards don't work any more, violence will increase yet again. Ditto point of sale (POS) terminals for credit and debit cards.
It will not look like 1861. It will also not look like Croatia, Serbia, etc., not for some time. But it will be a level above low-intensity conflict, and it will not be safe for those who have, when others have not. It will not be safe to travel openly, whether it's down the street, across town, or across state lines. It will be limited to the cities and suburbs, for the most part, but the effects will be felt nationwide.
The smell of cooking food, the sound of your generator running, the glow of your interior lights at night will all be beacons to those who have been deprived of those things, or who are not capable of obtaining them through any means other than violence.
I think it's great to have all these skills just for normal everyday emergencies.
Your car breaks down in the middle of butt fuck nowhere etc.
But I have to ask about the extremes you mention and do you think that society is in for a total collapse that needs all the skills?