8 ms·

True "prepping" (beyond the basics for realistic disasters like utility outages and hurricanes) has always seemed to me like a deeply depressing obsession. Spen

True "prepping" (beyond the basics for realistic disasters like utility outages and hurricanes) has always seemed to me like a deeply depressing obsession. Spending so much of your real-world time and money grimly preparing for a far-flung end-of-the-world scenario so that, in the very best case, you can... what, eke out a survival for a little while longer? In terms of maximizing the amount of happiness in one's life, it feels like a terrible waste of resources and energy. If you actually want to increase your number of years on this planet, go on a diet. Go to the gym. Now: I think (looking at this from the outside) that for some people it's really just a hobby. They may not admit it as such, but I think some people just truly enjoy running through scenarios and stocking things up for the sake of the process. If so, I can't judge them for that. I spend plenty of money on useless things at renaissance fairs because I enjoy the roleplaying aspect. If prepping is just someone's preferred flavor of expensive roleplaying, then have at it. But for people who genuinely spend all waking hours trying to guard against a single, narrowly unlikely catastrophe, I have nothing but pity.

DJBunnies 6y ago
I think that perspective is limited to an extreme percentile. Most preppers plan for realistically possible catastrophes.
- brundolf 6y ago
  There's probably some ambiguity in the term. I tend to assume that the title of "prepper" (as opposed to just, "a prudent adult") is reserved for people who spend a significant portion of their time and money on this stuff
  - DJBunnies 6y ago
    That's true, we didn't characterize the term very well.
- hinkley 6y ago
  I don't think the realistic people go bragging about it. One it's just something you do, not something you need approval for. Two, now everyone knows you have supplies, and they'll be knocking on your door with or without a weapon if the shit really does hit the fan. It only takes a couple freeloaders for your supplies to go from weeks to days, and you'd rather get to make that choice yourself.
dragontamer 6y ago
One of the funnier "Preppers" episodes I've seen was a rational prepper who was interviewed by the show. It was along the lines of "We're Honey Farmers. Every few centuries, an earthquake shakes the East Coast and may destroy the highways. We have a plan to survive for 30 days isolated from the rest of the country". They had a large stockpile of honey, water, etc. etc. They explained how their system would work without power. Their scenario was based on Hurricane Katrina (and how long it took for aid to arrive: over a month). Overall, a rational set of people. They got low-scores from the show's hosts because they didn't have enough guns to survive, apparently. Now, some form of self-defense seems needed after a disaster, but we've never seen roaming gangs of bandits running across the countryside stealing food from those who have it (which is apparently the main thing those "Preppers" want to prepare for)
- throwawaygh 6y ago
  How absurd. "Let's go raid the honey farm" said no one ever. I'll never understand the fantasies about armed bands roaming the suburbs. Must come from tv shows and video games, because there's never been an actual natural disaster in the US where that sort of behavior was wide spread. And we've had a lot of natural disasters
  - anonymousse1234 6y ago
    Did you pay attention to the news for the last few months? There are roaming bandits in many places of the world including streets of US disguised as "peaceful protesters".
  - White_Wolf 6y ago
    "Let's go raid the honey farm" would be said. It's fairly energy dense, antiseptic and perfect for long term storage.
  - moduspol 6y ago
    You don't need a raid if you have guns and they don't. You probably don't even have to do any shooting. You might just be hungry, or in a group with others who are hungry, and heard there was a farm in a general area.
thom 6y ago
I think it's effectively LARP for a lot of people, although I'd expect actual LARPers to last longer in the apocalypse (I mean, they can at least sew and fix holes in their shoes).
- hprotagonist 6y ago
  i have had the "zombie apocalypse? well, i've got steel armor, a spear, and a bicycle" conversation a few times.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
macksd 6y ago
It goes both ways. I can see what you're saying, but on the other hand I look at the sheer panic some communities experienced at the fear of running out of toilet paper and the anxiety people have over what might come next, and I just can't relate because I haven't missed the slightest beat in 2020. From simply going camping regularly, being involved in community emergency plans, and always buying in bulk to ensure I have a buffer, I think things could get several orders of magnitude worse before I'm even slightly inconvenienced. Local 911 stops responding to calls because they're overwhelmed during riots? Not to worry - that wilderness EMT course and the kit I built after it should cover most things life threatening things reasonably well. Grocery store is cleaned out or shut down for weeks? I'll just go check the basement shelves. Local school can't open without enough PPE? Oh I can supply a bunch of teachers with N95 masks for weeks and still have plenty for myself. All the utilities could shut down, and I could keep my family and several neighbors comfortable and safe for quite some time. I was a little less carefree than most people before this, but boy I'm relatively carefree now. There's been some real hardship for people in this pandemic that few could prepare for, but I was surprised how few people were prepared to have to stay in their home for a couple of weeks in areas that are routinely hit by natural disasters that might place a similar burden on them at any time. Now's a good time to evaluate if you can deal with other things that might happen: an ounce of preparation.
orblivion 6y ago
I certainly think of it as a hobby I may want to take up because of recent events. Like, "supposing supply lines X Y and Z run out, will I be ready"? Self sufficiency is just kind of a cool thing. And this year we had a tiny taste of how our economy is not invincible. So I wouldn't say bad outcomes are impossible. BTW I tie free software, self-hosting, open data etc into the "self sufficiency" thing as well.
bob1029 6y ago
I agree with this. I go for the middle ground options that give me the most bang for buck. Planning for a total breakdown of society and investing any major amount of time into it is a depressing concept for me as well. I can see how its a lot of fun for many people but I'd rather build for an optimistic future rather than a bleak one. I meal prep out to a buffer of about a week. These are extremely high quality meals that I eat regularly. Beyond this, I have about 2 additional weeks worth of dried, frozen and canned foods sitting around that are sub-par but get the job done. None of this requires any extra ongoing maintenance aside from the occasional 5lb bag of rice or can of beans at the grocery store. I also have a way to distill water in reasonable quantities and a power source that can run my entire house for as long as I can locate fuel. I have a rotating 48 hour supply on-site and burn older generator fuel in my car so I don't have to waste anything or worry about it going bad. I also have a very small generator that can run critical loads (fridge/freezer) for a much longer timeframe if I have trouble finding quantities of fuel that can support the larger unit. Anything that causes disruption beyond a month, I don't bother planning for. After the 3rd week of apocalypse I figure I am going to try to venture out into the hellscape and start working with others to put the pieces back together. Being able to defend yourself is also very important, but going overboard is ridiculous and can even make you a target if you are open about it. A good shotgun and/or handgun are all you really need if you aren't planning to go out and assault other people. Ample ammo is always good, but you can only effectively use 1 weapon at a time unless you have friends/family/neighbors who can also use them on your behalf.
Ishmaeli 6y ago
I absolutely agree that for most people it is a hobby. Unlike some other hobbies, though, this one comes with an ideological bent that can be dangerous for impressionable people. No one is going to liquidate their 401k to get new golf clubs or model trains.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

DJBunnies 6y ago

I think that perspective is limited to an extreme percentile. Most preppers plan for realistically possible catastrophes.

brundolf 6y ago
There's probably some ambiguity in the term. I tend to assume that the title of "prepper" (as opposed to just, "a prudent adult") is reserved for people who spend a significant portion of their time and money on this stuff
- DJBunnies 6y ago
  That's true, we didn't characterize the term very well.
hinkley 6y ago
I don't think the realistic people go bragging about it. One it's just something you do, not something you need approval for. Two, now everyone knows you have supplies, and they'll be knocking on your door with or without a weapon if the shit really does hit the fan. It only takes a couple freeloaders for your supplies to go from weeks to days, and you'd rather get to make that choice yourself.

dragontamer 6y ago

One of the funnier "Preppers" episodes I've seen was a rational prepper who was interviewed by the show. It was along the lines of "We're Honey Farmers. Every few centuries, an earthquake shakes the East Coast and may destroy the highways. We have a plan to survive for 30 days isolated from the rest of the country". They had a large stockpile of honey, water, etc. etc. They explained how their system would work without power. Their scenario was based on Hurricane Katrina (and how long it took for aid to arrive: over a month). Overall, a rational set of people. They got low-scores from the show's hosts because they didn't have enough guns to survive, apparently. Now, some form of self-defense seems needed after a disaster, but we've never seen roaming gangs of bandits running across the countryside stealing food from those who have it (which is apparently the main thing those "Preppers" want to prepare for)

throwawaygh 6y ago
How absurd. "Let's go raid the honey farm" said no one ever. I'll never understand the fantasies about armed bands roaming the suburbs. Must come from tv shows and video games, because there's never been an actual natural disaster in the US where that sort of behavior was wide spread. And we've had a lot of natural disasters
- anonymousse1234 6y ago
  Did you pay attention to the news for the last few months? There are roaming bandits in many places of the world including streets of US disguised as "peaceful protesters".
- White_Wolf 6y ago
  "Let's go raid the honey farm" would be said. It's fairly energy dense, antiseptic and perfect for long term storage.
- moduspol 6y ago
  You don't need a raid if you have guns and they don't. You probably don't even have to do any shooting. You might just be hungry, or in a group with others who are hungry, and heard there was a farm in a general area.

thom 6y ago

I think it's effectively LARP for a lot of people, although I'd expect actual LARPers to last longer in the apocalypse (I mean, they can at least sew and fix holes in their shoes).

hprotagonist 6y ago
i have had the "zombie apocalypse? well, i've got steel armor, a spear, and a bicycle" conversation a few times.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

macksd 6y ago

It goes both ways. I can see what you're saying, but on the other hand I look at the sheer panic some communities experienced at the fear of running out of toilet paper and the anxiety people have over what might come next, and I just can't relate because I haven't missed the slightest beat in 2020. From simply going camping regularly, being involved in community emergency plans, and always buying in bulk to ensure I have a buffer, I think things could get several orders of magnitude worse before I'm even slightly inconvenienced. Local 911 stops responding to calls because they're overwhelmed during riots? Not to worry - that wilderness EMT course and the kit I built after it should cover most things life threatening things reasonably well. Grocery store is cleaned out or shut down for weeks? I'll just go check the basement shelves. Local school can't open without enough PPE? Oh I can supply a bunch of teachers with N95 masks for weeks and still have plenty for myself. All the utilities could shut down, and I could keep my family and several neighbors comfortable and safe for quite some time. I was a little less carefree than most people before this, but boy I'm relatively carefree now. There's been some real hardship for people in this pandemic that few could prepare for, but I was surprised how few people were prepared to have to stay in their home for a couple of weeks in areas that are routinely hit by natural disasters that might place a similar burden on them at any time. Now's a good time to evaluate if you can deal with other things that might happen: an ounce of preparation.

orblivion 6y ago

I certainly think of it as a hobby I may want to take up because of recent events. Like, "supposing supply lines X Y and Z run out, will I be ready"? Self sufficiency is just kind of a cool thing. And this year we had a tiny taste of how our economy is not invincible. So I wouldn't say bad outcomes are impossible. BTW I tie free software, self-hosting, open data etc into the "self sufficiency" thing as well.

bob1029 6y ago

I agree with this. I go for the middle ground options that give me the most bang for buck. Planning for a total breakdown of society and investing any major amount of time into it is a depressing concept for me as well. I can see how its a lot of fun for many people but I'd rather build for an optimistic future rather than a bleak one. I meal prep out to a buffer of about a week. These are extremely high quality meals that I eat regularly. Beyond this, I have about 2 additional weeks worth of dried, frozen and canned foods sitting around that are sub-par but get the job done. None of this requires any extra ongoing maintenance aside from the occasional 5lb bag of rice or can of beans at the grocery store. I also have a way to distill water in reasonable quantities and a power source that can run my entire house for as long as I can locate fuel. I have a rotating 48 hour supply on-site and burn older generator fuel in my car so I don't have to waste anything or worry about it going bad. I also have a very small generator that can run critical loads (fridge/freezer) for a much longer timeframe if I have trouble finding quantities of fuel that can support the larger unit. Anything that causes disruption beyond a month, I don't bother planning for. After the 3rd week of apocalypse I figure I am going to try to venture out into the hellscape and start working with others to put the pieces back together. Being able to defend yourself is also very important, but going overboard is ridiculous and can even make you a target if you are open about it. A good shotgun and/or handgun are all you really need if you aren't planning to go out and assault other people. Ample ammo is always good, but you can only effectively use 1 weapon at a time unless you have friends/family/neighbors who can also use them on your behalf.

Ishmaeli 6y ago

I absolutely agree that for most people it is a hobby. Unlike some other hobbies, though, this one comes with an ideological bent that can be dangerous for impressionable people. No one is going to liquidate their 401k to get new golf clubs or model trains.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]