what is the grid and why do people want to live off it
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There’s two different definitions for “the grid”, and they aren’t exactly conflicting definitions.
The first grid is the utility grid, the networks of centralized power, water and sewage processing plants, high tension lines, substations, local networks, individual homes and businesses. This grid is starting to be decentralized with home generation, but is still controlled and regulated by central authorities of some description, how much influence and control will vary depending on where in the world you live.
I personally live “off grid” in this sense, as I live too far from a substation and other infrastructure to be cost effective to extend the utility grid to my home, and so I generate electricity using a combination of solar and wind, haul water from the nearby town, and have a septic tank for processing effluent. The land was cheap, I’m not a huge fan of close neighbors, and I’m still close enough to things like grocery and conveniences that it’s not overly burdensome.
The second type of grid is the grid of governmental oversight that comes from being interconnected in the social networks. Vehicular and personal licensing, banking and taxation, credit and debit cards, social media, internet and media connectivity, regular bills that generally aren’t easily anonymous. The average person is trackable through their devices, without resorting to something like AirPods, simply by following where their mobile phone’s internal identifiers are detected, though depending on locale license plates, facial recognition, or other tracking is easily accomplished in a modern setting.
To remove oneself from this “grid” requires severing as much connection between oneself and the government and commercial entities as is possible. Don’t have a bank account, and therefore no credit cards or debit cards, and therefore no electronic transaction trails. Have a pre-pay phone that doesn’t require a contract or identification to activate. Pay cash in full on a property, and all property taxes. Register vehicles in cash and to PO Boxes or rural route addresses, IF you register them at all.
As for why people would want to remove themselves from this second grid, there are those who believe that the government is specifically hostile to citizenry, and therefore the less “they” know about a person the less “they” are able to react to that person. There is also a collection of people who simply don’t like other people and don’t want to interact with anyone unless they absolutely have to, and you *do* get less junk mail if advertisers don’t know you exist. The specific reasoning will be individual, but in general it comes down to a heightened sense of independence and desire for separation.
Not going to say they are right, not going to say they are wrong, FFS I live ten miles from town myself, but I couldn’t ever live without my Roku linked through a Starlink, with my IT job two towns over, and the ocassional day trip to a movie theater for a flick and some popcorn paid on my Credit Union debit card with my Android phone on silent while I check Reddit and Facebook. Live and let live.
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