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Self sufficiency and self reliance are just good skills to have regardless for the well being of your family. When did it become some type of negative epithet t

by aliqot 4y ago

Self sufficiency and self reliance are just good skills to have regardless for the well being of your family. When did it become some type of negative epithet to call someone a 'prepper'? We all know the story of the grasshopper and the squirrels. One thing really irks me though about this.. It really speaks to the city privilege of some of these authors and their editors to even assume a position of "hey maybe these preppers were right all along"; how condescending. It is my way of life to harvest my own resources, build my own things, and support my community through thick and thin, that is my culture and my legacy. To use that as an ideological strawman is about as disrespectful as it gets.

giantg2 4y ago
"Self sufficiency and self reliance are just good skills to have regardless for the well being of your family. When did it become some type of negative epithet to call someone a 'prepper'?" I think most people who prepare are not called preppers, nor think of themselves that way. During the cold War, there were all sorts of preparedness info being given out by rhe government. Some people made bunkers, I'd say most tried to have about a month's worth of food just on a natural rotation in the pantry. I think specialization of labor and increasing wealth tends to wipe out a lot of self-reliance over generations. Why fix your own toilet if you make enough at your regular job; or work too many hours to get to it; or that you never saw your parents do that kind of work so you don't know what to even look up?
zach_garwood 4y ago
Grasshopper and the squirrels? I heard the fable as the grasshopper and the ants. Wouldn't the squirrels just eat the grasshopper, instead of having philosophical debates with it? I mean, c'mon, you expect me to believe that an invertebrate and a mammal even share a common language!? Inconceivable!
- the_third_wave 4y ago
  The advantage of squirrels over ants is that the former are a lot better roasted than the latter, giving sustenance to both the listener as well as the narrator.

by aliqot 4y ago

giantg2 4y ago

"Self sufficiency and self reliance are just good skills to have regardless for the well being of your family. When did it become some type of negative epithet to call someone a 'prepper'?" I think most people who prepare are not called preppers, nor think of themselves that way. During the cold War, there were all sorts of preparedness info being given out by rhe government. Some people made bunkers, I'd say most tried to have about a month's worth of food just on a natural rotation in the pantry. I think specialization of labor and increasing wealth tends to wipe out a lot of self-reliance over generations. Why fix your own toilet if you make enough at your regular job; or work too many hours to get to it; or that you never saw your parents do that kind of work so you don't know what to even look up?

zach_garwood 4y ago

Grasshopper and the squirrels? I heard the fable as the grasshopper and the ants. Wouldn't the squirrels just eat the grasshopper, instead of having philosophical debates with it? I mean, c'mon, you expect me to believe that an invertebrate and a mammal even share a common language!? Inconceivable!

the_third_wave 4y ago
The advantage of squirrels over ants is that the former are a lot better roasted than the latter, giving sustenance to both the listener as well as the narrator.