Are most survivalists crazy??

I think some people go too far with it.
I wouldn't call it crazy to stock up for a SHTF scenario. It can happen
What I think is crazy is when they advertise they are stockpiling. A true survivalist keeps their mouth shut about what they have.. They will be the first people robbed of their supplies.
Surviving means looking out for number one. That is YOU and your family. Nobody else.
It requires a certain level of selfishness.

As a general rule I'm a very generous person, but in a shtf situation, would I feed my neighbours? No way. That would be stupid.

Most people whether they believe this or not, live a very spoiled lifestyle and wouldn't last more than a few hours going without what they currently take for granted now. If you have already experienced some hardships in your life, then you might be better equipped to cope, than others who haven't.

Yup, we're all crazy, crazy like foxes!
How did the media convince a goodly portion of the population that being prepared for an emergency is somehow less than sane? I hear it all the time---"those crazy preppers"---and yet when a storm hits and power is out, it's "those crazy preppers" that have to give shelter and food to the detractors.
I was born into a family of preppers, my parents married at the beginning of the Great Depression, 1930, and having lived on farms their entire lives, they survived it without the problems that city folk faced because they knew how to grow and preserve food, hunt and live frugally. They taught their offspring to "make do" with what is at hand and to prepare for a "rainy day." It's just common sense but sadly, with today's education system, that is a commodity that is in short supply indeed. I wonder what would happen if we replaced all those classes in "Being Green" with classes in "Being Prepared for Emergencies"?? Just a thought!

reply to post by blkcwbyhat


Preppers/survivalists, for the most part, are not crazy. Reality TV, IMHO, are the worst shows ever produced and can make the sanest person look like a total nut job. If you base your opinion of survivalists on these shows, then your opinion is flawed. The shows specifically look for the craziest preppers they can find and, through the magic of editing, can make them look even more ridiculous.

Preparing for a natural disaster is not crazy, it just makes sense. If you live in an area prone to disasters, you need to be prepared to take care of yourself and your family when that disaster strikes. Heading to Walmart an hour before Hurricane Whatever strikes is crazy. Living in Tornado Alley with little more than a can of beans and no basement/storm shelter is absolutely nuts! These are the crazies and the ones who will be wondering why FEMA hasn't saved them yet.

If you are prepared for the disasters that are most likely to strike your area, you'll most likely be prepared for the one you're not expecting. That said, no one can be fully prepared for the zombie apocalypse or alien invasion.

The only "crazy" people are the ones who live under the delusion that they can just readily run to the store at the last minute to buy what they need until Mr. Government Man rolls in to save the day.

Pfft.

reply to post by CranialSponge


Yep

Took 5 days to get WATER to the victims of Katrina

I think that the advent of labels like "prepper" and "survivalist" is what allowed the media (and govt) to start profiling and creating images of fringe doomsayers and/or national security risks - I suppose there are always going to be those who are that, but as far as I'm concerned "prepping" is nothing more or less than what my grandparents did on the farm back in the day and if I could come close to being in the same league as my grandmother, I'd be happy with that...

ETA: and as far as "suvival" goes, I really do believe that if you intend to spend time in the wilderness you owe it to yourself and anyone who goes with you to know a little something about the skills needed to survive out there (hopefully only temporarily) should something go wrong - remember Murphy is lurking - plus, it's kinda fun to know that you can make a fire with a bow drill set...

reply to post by LadySkadi


Ype

My Granny was a Prepper and never knew it

blkcwbyhat
I know this will create a lot of noise,but hear me out.If you watch Doomsday Survival,prepper,whatever,you'd assume they are all whackadoodles! I recall one that showed a family in Virginia,I believe,waiting for a massive earthquake....and stored all the canned food in glass canning jars! A great skill,but not for a massive earthquake! And if you read JWR,he recommends you buy a few hundred thousand rounds of ammo,37 Main Battle Rifles(stupid term),and every electrical device he advertise's.Freeze dried food at 5 bucks a serving,radiation detectors,ham radios....the list goes on. At what point do you,or we,give up?

How about the word stupid and ill equipped fools…at least on the survivalist TV show.
That is a ploy to marginalize, demonize, and discredit the patriot movement folks.
The mass media people are not your friends!
Try to remember that in all of history war has always followed peace just as peace has followed war.
This country has had one civil war and will someday have another. We see it coming and if you can’t hear the drums of war, you must be deaf.

semperfortis
reply to post by LadySkadi

 

Ype

My Granny was a Prepper and never knew it

On that line of conversation, since when did normal everyday things we did become "prepping" or "survivalist" skills? Hell, we did a lot of this stuff as a daily life or seasonal thing. Now its treated as some fringy survivalist zombie apocalypse ideation. LOL!

I believe wholeheartedly that every person is responsible for themselves. You CAN NOT expect the govt to save you. Even if they desired to, they can not. Ive lived through several natural disasters and I am here to tell you... youre on your own. End of story. Youre a statistic or a survivor. I personally feel ( as does my husband) a very serious personal responsibility to care for our family.. in normal times and times of trouble. Its no ones fault but OURS if we suffer hardships within a disaster or any event. Its our duty to prepare as we have those who depend on us.

I have a few weapons and 30 days food.

Survivalist maybe. I can always get more guns, ammo, and food from the looters and criminals after SHTF.

granted,being prepped for a SHORT term SHTF is fine,but night vision and 20k rounds of ammo is almost begging for a crisis,or just an armchair Rambo fantasy

I would agree that 20k of ammo is pretty much overkill. Then again, ever try and go to the store to buy ammo lately? If you have, you would have seen all the empty shelves. At this point, nearly have to buy it up when in stock...as currently, a major shortage.

As for night vision, I can think of at least a few nights last year this would have been handy. Ever try to find horses in a storm, at night, with no light? Luckily, I caught the reflection off their eyes from the maglite, and was able to bring them inside safely. (storms just came out of nowhere, so no warning time to get them in the easy way).

I am crazy as a Loon!

My hubby and I watched a Doomsday Prepper episode where a guy blew off his own thumb. After that, we sort of lost interest (except for the cool egg saving trick!).

Having lived on the South East coast for the last 25 years, I've always had hurricane supplies. Also, my parents grew up during the Depression, so I learned to be frugal. I also married a man who happened to grow up on a ranch, and is a retired Army Ranger. We'll probably do ok, at least for a while.

Except, of course, I am crazy as a Loon!

Lolliek
I am crazy as a Loon!

My hubby and I watched a Doomsday Prepper episode where a guy blew off his own thumb. After that, we sort of lost interest (except for the cool egg saving trick!).

Having lived on the South East coast for the last 25 years, I've always had hurricane supplies. Also, my parents grew up during the Depression, so I learned to be frugal. I also married a man who happened to grow up on a ranch, and is a retired Army Ranger. We'll probably do ok, at least for a while.

Except, of course, I am crazy as a Loon!

You are not crazy and you are lucky to have an angel/ranger in the house!

I don't beleive survivalists are crazy..I mean what is a survivalist in the eyes of most people? Someone who can take care of themselves in any situation independently of the government and societies luxuries in an extreme event,i.e food, water shelter,essentials..I mean it seems we have been conditioned to beleive we need 'them' when we don't really,its that kind of control they have on most people, whether it be financial or food etc..Say that to most indigenous cultures and they would laugh!!

For those that can see the bigger picture and trends of the past, realize that us in the so called civilised world, need to go back to being self sufficient willingly,we may have no choice before it may be thrust upon us, through financial means i.e crash,hyperinflation,grid meltdown(solar flares?) or more than likely a pending natural catastrophe,for reasons i shan't go into.

So in summary it makes perfect sense to embrace that way of a self sufficient lifestyle and regain true freedom.

The Bottom Line is they will have Food when the rest have none .

jaytay
The Bottom Line is they will have Food when the rest have none .

Until the rest take it.

reply to post by conundrummer


The folks that have plans to take from others will at some point
knock on the wrong door and that would be a serious career ender…

waltwillis
reply to post by conundrummer

 

The folks that have plans to take from others will at some point
knock on the wrong door and that would be a serious career ender…

Yep. Those folks don't understand permutation mathematics.

Suppose you are smarter and stronger than your neighbors, and you decide to prey on them. Suppose also that you have a basic 75% of winning any given encounter in your neighborhood.

Now, that may sound like a pretty good deal, but the fact is, only one "LOSS" spells the end of the game for you. This means that your chance for over-all failure is rapidly increasing. To the point where you can expect not to survive you third encounder.

Likewise, predators will remove themselves from the game as time goes on.

LadySkadi
I think that the advent of labels like "prepper" and "survivalist" is what allowed the media (and govt) to start profiling and creating images of fringe doomsayers and/or national security risks - I suppose there are always going to be those who are that, but as far as I'm concerned "prepping" is nothing more or less than what my grandparents did on the farm back in the day and if I could come close to being in the same league as my grandmother, I'd be happy with that...

edit on 23-1-2014 by LadySkadi because: (no reason given)

Why do those on this board and elsewhere always blame the media and the gov't...

I see the blame squarely on the shoulders of the 2012 doom porn movement. In my opinion, prior to all the doom porn that was associated with 21DEC/NIBIRU, people who prepared for disasters were just called smart. Then it all changed with the world is ending BS that was prevalent on this and every other board on the internet. People who prepared for this event started calling themselves preppers and proudly stated that they were survivalists ready for NIBIRU. The media simply reported it, they didn't make it up, they just reported it. Most looked at this Mayan calendar BS as simply BS and that's why "prepping" got a bad rap; it became nothing more than a joke.

I would say that, if it weren't for the prophets of doom, the prepper movement wouldn't have been as widely reported as it was. 21 December did more to hurt the idea of prepping then anything else.

Sorry to make a 2012 rant but that entire year I remember nothing but doom porn on this site and folks (Preppers) stating that those who aren't taking this seriously will be sorry on the 22nd. Further stating that, don't bother a knockin' cause you'll only get a hot lead welcome.

Yet, during "Superstorm" Sandy and even during the snow event in GA, it wasn't about lone preppers holed up in bunkers, it was about communities coming together, working together, and helping each other out. Dare I say it? The "HAVES" helping the "HAVE NOTS" out...what a crazy concept.

Again, it wasn't the media or the gov't (shadow or otherwise) that made a mockery of being prepared, it was the folks who sold 2012 and those that bought into 2012 that made a mockery of it.

reply to post by blkcwbyhat


I recently moved above the snow line and asked my colleages in the job I had waiting if they had stocked up on water for winter. Judging by the looks I received they thought I was crazy.

I'm not a very good example though, I really am as mad as a box of frogs.