This was taken from an old prepper forum that I can't actually find. It has an interesting perspective and would be great to go in c/SHTF if that community existed. Anyway:
I grew up in West Africa and lived through Civil Wars in 3 nations: Liberia, Sierra Leone & Gambia. Literally as we escaped to another country, war broke out there (the point of that is unrest in one location can turn into unrest in a neighboring location)
I learned many lessons from these experiences and hope that my experience can be of some benefit to you as you prepare for whatever comes.
When society deteriorates, it's ugly. The majority of people are not prepared. During the first few days, people hold onto hope that things will go back to normal and someone will save them. For that week, many are largely in denial that what's going on will last longer than a few days.
About a week into a SHTF event like a civil war, people become EXTREMELY desperate. Parents start begging for food for their children, etc.
This is when you have to be very careful in helping others because you too could become an easy target. During one outbreak of war in Liberia, my family and others bugged out to heavily fortified military compound.
On our way to the compound, we had to stop and spend a night at a family friend's house. Armed robbers came to the house that night and tried to steal from us. The homeowner's wife was killed in the attack. She was shot through the window in front of us. They wanted to set the house on fire to smoke us out, but it was raining heavily that night and they apparently ran out of ammo.
They left and said they would be back. We fled the house right after and slept in the bushes on a nearby beach.
The next morning we made it to the compound where we stayed for months until a cease fire was called. The compound was attacked on two occasions during those months.
During another outbreak of war (the war lasted over a decade with periods of cease fire) when we didn't have that compound available, we traveled on foot across the city to my grandmother's house.
This time, the community tried to protect itself from armed robbers. We created a night watch of ordinary people that would monitor the neighborhood. Finding allies like this was very helpful.
Basic necessities were needed the most. Coffee, tea & sugar became the biggest commodities. People who smoke or drank gave those up quickly. If you were drunk or high, you were not attentive to potential attacks.
The people who joined the night watch got paid in food. You gave them enough food for that day.
Basic necessities bought you allies. The vast majority of people wanted some sense of normalcy. They didn't just turn into savages. My father had his coffee everyday for example.
Rice was a major staple because it filled you up. We often had it with something called bulgur wheat.
People needed toothpaste and powdered milk. Toilet paper was a luxury and very few people had them. After you've used newspapers, you'll work for free for TP.
Having a clean water supply was important. People often got sick from drinking unclean water so basic medication was also important.
Unless you were participating in the war, you didn't use much ammo to be honest. You also didn't want people knowing how many guns you had so you wouldn't be a target of armed robbers, especially if you were a small group. Using ammo could draw the wrong crowd so you didn't unless you had to defend your area.
While you're prepping, load up on basic necessities. People won't risk their lives for cigarettes or alcohol like you see in the movies, but they will risk their lives for food for their kids.
During those wars I experienced, people still banded together. They still wanted a sense of community, a sense of normalcy. Have like minded allies, even if they're not part of your immediate group.
One way we survived was by banding together and laying low. Don't show a lot of people your goods. The main thing is to survive and you do so by not drawing too much attention.
It's why I wouldn’t barter things like marijuana, much alcohol, etc. A lot of these things start to attract the wrong element. Stick to many basic necessities. During the war, rebels used child soldiers, these kids were drugged up. People who had marijuana attracted rebel forces who killed them and took their weed.
We experienced so much more than this but I hope this is helpful to you as you prep to survive without yourself becoming a target during a SHTF situation. A war is one of the worst SHTF situations to encounter.