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For the trolls that show up here after watching some goofy entertainment show portraying preppers as a bunch of redneck idiots out building castles hoping for society to fail in order to be able to shoot at marauding bands of Mad Max bikers, here is an example of why preppers prep.
After going through Rita (that was expected but turned) and Ike, I was enlightened on how fast supplies can disappear when disaster strikes.
We live in a mostly day-to-day society where we have become accustom to food, water, heat, etc on demand.
For those in areas where things like hurricanes can be a major disruption to our on-demand supply chain once every X years, we get to see the effect of chaos to a very structured on-demand society every so often. Some people learn how precarious most of our society is while others choose not to learn from history.
What we experience every so often in the U.S. is generally predictable which gives us from a couple of days to nearly a week to prepare. What preppers think is, "what happens when there is not time to stock up, what happens in a larger than expected event and what happens when there is no prediction of the event?"
For the vast majority of us, it's about having the essentials on hand for when/if a disaster, which can come in many forms, strikes.
I can 100% guarantee you that when the final bottle of water disappeared off the neighborhood grocery store in Atlanta, it was NOT the last person who wanted water showing up to buy it. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of people showing up at that store after the last bottle was sold who were wanting it.
My goal is insuring that I can meet the basic needs of my family when a disaster strikes. Some people might find this idea 'kooky', but what I find strange is anyone with the mindset of "if something bad happens, I'll rush to the store and stock up then" when we see over and over that supplies WILL run out.
I know this type of information gets posted from time to time, but I think it's appropriate when we can see it in the headlines today.
Yep. I learned to prep living in Alaska, the end of the line for the "just in time" delivery system.
I recall while living in Juneau (where nothing comes in by land) after a stretch of really bad weather in the 80's where nothing could land at the airport for several weeks that people were running out of money waiting for their checks to come in. Fresh food supplies in local shops were getting very low though thankfully a lot of food staples came in on the barges. Direct deposit has taken care of the money situation but that was my first taste of periodic shortages.
A couple of volcanic eruptions and a rice shortage and rationing (which means nothing unless rice is a staple of your diet but we have a large Asian population in AK who live on rice and it was a key component of our home feeding for our dogs) taught me to think ahead, have a month or two of food in my deep pantry in case of an earthquake which is aways possible there. Here in flyover country the temptation is to slack off because everything is so readily handy but my habit is to have reserves. It's just a wise thing to do.
In complete agreemenent with Pedro and Cathy here.
Montana is very similar to Alaska as we are end of the road for supplies, and many small towns are pretty isolated in the best of conditions.
We have had several instances of blizzards shutting down the roads for several days to the point the National Guard had to drop supplies by helicopter to isolated ranches, farms and evens some small towns.
When the snow melts we can get serious flooding that takes out roads or makes them impassible and repairs can take months.
We are subject to huge wildfires that can cut off whole towns, or cause mass evacuations all summer long.
Montana also ranks 4th in the nation in the number of earthquakes each year. Most are small, but we have had major ones in the past.
When it is 30+ miles to the nearest store, you learn to have some supplies on hand. With the horrendous weather, you automatically carry a survival kit in your car as you can easily go off the road and be marooned in a place where you may only see 2 or 3 cars pass through in a day if the roads are good.
We can have temperatures that fall far below zero, and Montana holds the record for the lowest recorded temp in the lower 48 at -70. Add to that the existance of winds that can exceed 100 MPH and last for days, and you have a climate where you better be prepared for anything.
While not everybody here preps, the majority are aware of what could happen and do have the resources set by so they can eat, keep warm and if necessary, get the heck away from what is happening if they have to evacuate.
When it is a way of life it isn't as unique as in places where disasters only happen once in a while, like a snowstorm in Atlanta
I don't know, we lost power for over 1 week in Michigan and got along just fine with no preps at all. Just eat and drink what you have.
I would only worry if for some reason you keep bare cupboards and no food in your house (why?), have serious medical issues, live in an area with frequent floods, tornados, hurricanes, etc., or plan on losing power for close to a month or longer.
1 week without electricity because of heat or snow is more of an inconvenience than anything.
For those of you in frequent disaster zones, or very remote regions, totally understandable.
If the electric grid goes down for a month I'll hardly notice it. I have an automatic backup system and a backup for the backup. I have enough food, fresh, frozen, and canned that I'll not only have enough to eat but I'll have my choice.
In the unlikely event a criminal ever tries to invade my premises I have the means and knowledge to defend myself.
Should there be a banking problem whether inadvertent, cyber attack, or even a full-scale collapse of the currency I'll be ready for it.
I can exist independent of the system. Consequently, there are millions who hate me and people like me. They hate us for the same reasons that they hate the wealthy: they're too lazy or too stupid to do what their betters do. That's fine; I can live without their love.
My apologies to Pedro Martinez: I can't yet rep you for starting this most excellent thread.
I don't know, we lost power for over 1 week in Michigan and got along just fine with no preps at all. Just eat and drink what you have.
I would only worry if for some reason you keep bare cupboards and no food in your house (why?), have serious medical issues, live in an area with frequent floods, tornados, hurricanes, etc., or plan on losing power for close to a month or longer.
1 week without electricity because of heat or snow is more of an inconvenience than anything.
For those of you in frequent disaster zones, or very remote regions, totally understandable.
I just want to say, there's a world of difference between a person keeping supplied in the middle of Wyoming, and a person stockpiling three months of food and water and thousands of rounds of ammunition and mountains of stuff to account for every imaginable contingency while living in downtown San Diego or something. The latter are the crazies. The others are just being sensible.
I just want to say, there's a world of difference between a person keeping supplied in the middle of Wyoming, and a person stockpiling three months of food and water and thousands of rounds of ammunition and mountains of stuff to account for every imaginable contingency while living in downtown San Diego or something. The latter are the crazies. The others are just being sensible.
If I lived in Chicago as you do I'd be spending far more time and money on security. If it breaks loose there you'll either kill them or they'll kill you. I'm originally from that hellhole so I am well aware of the differences in the two areas.
There's not enough money in the world to get me to live in a place like that where every single day I'm in constant danger and subject to a government that has instutionalized graft and corruption.
People who prepare pick their locations carefully. That's the most important.
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