"Prepper" survey

[Lloyd Smale]

dont like the work prepper. It has gotten to the point where prepper and crazy go about hand in hand. Its about like the term assult rifle. both should be banned from use So I voted no. I do feel im a conserned person that is better prepared to weather bad times then most though.

[Dixie Dude]

Yep, assault rifle should be replaced with Personal Protection Rifle.  Prepper should be "Boy Scouters"

[Winter Hawk]

Got food in the pantry, a wood stove in the living room, a bunch of kerosene lamps and a 250 gallon water tank in the basement, just in case things get bad.  We have lived here 6 years and have had a winter power outage of several days to a week at least once each of those years.  Don't consider myself a "prepper", just like to be prepared.  During the summer the garden provides most of our vegies and the wife cans a bunch up.  We do all right.  Got the water tank when the village water was turned off for fear it would freeze without power one year.  And a 3500 watt generator to plug the freezer and fridge into, with enough gas to keep it going for a week or so.  It also helps if the wife wants to bake during a power outage since the oven needs electric to fire up.  (The stove top burners can be lit with a match if need be)

-WH-

[cjclemens]

Thanks for all the feedback on this survey. This is a very interesting topic to me. I always like to hear other people's solutions to a problem. A lot of times I usually find something I hadn't considered or thought through well enough.

[SHOOTALL]

We often cut down the wealfare crowd , sometimes with good reason. They are the bottom of the barrel of the non prepared. Consider if there was little wealfare given then more people would be prepared . They would need a job and have to be prepared to get to work. Instead we see the ones on wealfare then the ones who have a job but spend every dime on nothing that would help them if they lost their job . Why because there is wealfare to fall back on. then there is the big hump in the system. Once you get over the hump and decide to live with an eye toward taking care of yourself you often live with less toys and nights on the town as your extra funds go to the wealfare crowd. It's very hard for this group to prep.
 At one time having stores on hand and some cash was the norm. Today with so many on wealfare and others so close and those who can't afford to stash some food and cash often it is looked down on , sometimes thought of as silly or crazy. It is this attitude that gives the TV shows a following. Of course the shows add to the crazyness with all the hype .

[cjclemens]

I agree with your sentiments on the welfare issue, but I think it goes a little deeper than whether or not they can afford to be prepared.  The welfare culture has created a large segment of people who do not produce anything or provide any kind of service whatsoever.  They rely on the government to give them what they need.  Most people who hold regular jobs can see the value in being productive, and would likely continue being productive despite some breakdown in social services.  Those who don't produce anything would likely be the ones who would try to take from others, when the system fails to give them what they want/need.  This might be more appropriate for the political issues forum, but I think the topics are related.  Anyway, I think there should be a safety net in this country, and I'm glad we can afford to provide one.  However, that safety net needs to be low enough that its uncomfortable to stay on it.  There also need to be provisions mandating that recipients are drug free, actively looking for employment, and maybe even requiring the fathers of welfare children be identified.  I think that would, at least, discourage the long term abuse of the system.  I think its good to maintain a reserve of cash, but in a serious disaster, I don't think it would hold much value - at least in the short term.  But I digress.

To me, the most interesting part of this survey was people's thoughts on the term "prepper," and how the TV show has shaped that perception.  I used the term mainly because I couldn't think of anything else at the time.  Since the show depicts some rather unusual people and their "less than conventional" approaches to preparedness, it seems the term has taken on a negative connotation.  I had never really considered it, but it seems there is a deep divide between people who live a more independent lifestyle, and those "preppers" who go out of their way to prepare for some specific event.  Like I said earlier, I find this topic fascinating.  I'm always interested in hearing others' thoughts and opinions on it!

[SHOOTALL]

thanks good adds , as for term in the old days it was self reliant

[keith44]

voted no I am more of a Boy Scout hobby farmer than anything.

[Victor3]

I voted no because as much as I'd like to believe that I'm prepared, I've come to realize there's probably no amount of prepping I can do to survive for more than a few months in a city I have no way out of. Too many deadly variables.

[SHOOTALL]

If you make it a few mos. you might be OK .

[Ranger99]

don't give up hope
till you see the grass
from the bottom side

[45-70.gov]

I believe it's the TV show that makes me hate the term prepper.  I haven't seen one person on the show that didn't come across as an idiot.

+1


i am preping for a long uneventful life

[Victor3]

If you make it a few mos. you might be OK .

 One thing I think about is the fact that the area I live only stays dry due to our storm drains. They need to be cleared regularly. If anything prevents that (like if everyone is dumping poop into them 'cause the sewer's clogged), one good rain and I'm floating in a backed-up toilet bowl.


 I'm glad some folks are in a good position to prepare but many can't really do so for the long haul if basic services are cut off. 

[45-70.gov]

THERE ARE 9 VOTES  THAT ''ARE NOT PREPPERS''


i assume they have no savings account
i wonder what they are doing for lucnch??....are they prepared to eat at noon?


EVERY BODY  IS A PREPPER TO SOME EXTENT!!!....unless you have some mental dis-order


that show  on  TV  is odd
they  all  have  one thing they are  obsessed with....not a diverse array  of probabilities
funny how they get a group organized around that one  remote probability

[Old Syko]

THERE ARE 9 VOTES  THAT ''ARE NOT PREPPERS''
i assume they have no savings account
i wonder what they are doing for lucnch??

If you're counting on that savings account to be there when you need it, you're not a prepper either.  The only way to be even a little prepared for an unknown event is diversification in your preparations.  A savings account is far down the list for any event I could think of.  Especially in today's economy.

[45-70.gov]

you  are 100% correct about the diversification


i actually only have a few thousand on hand


mostly  invested in real estate and ammo

[ole 5 hole group]

I voted yes, as I and my family can go a month without any assistance from anyone because of what we have on hand.  Our home is wired for our 6500 watt Honda, so we'll have heat or air conditioning too.  After 30 to 40 days we'll be SOL and will need to resupply but at least we'll have that time to come up with plan B.
 
For those who will depend upon a generator for power - I'll suggest you store aviation gasoline, as that won't go bad for at least a decade or more.  Run your generator with it and don't worry about draining the gas out when finished, as a year or two later it'll start right up first pull or at the press of a button.

[Ranger99]

we used to buy av gas for a race car, but
here local they won't pump av gas into
anything but a plane anymore. no cans.

[geezerbiker]

I don't consider myself a prepper but I do keep some food storage and supplies on hand for an emergency.  I don't believe in going completely nuts about this like on the prepper shows.

Tony

[SHOOTALL]

If you make it a few mos. you might be OK .

 One thing I think about is the fact that the area I live only stays dry due to our storm drains. They need to be cleared regularly. If anything prevents that (like if everyone is dumping poop into them 'cause the sewer's clogged), one good rain and I'm floating in a backed-up toilet bowl.


 I'm glad some folks are in a good position to prepare but many can't really do so for the long haul if basic services are cut off.  living to survive is a everyday thing. from picking a place to live to having some food on hand . It is hard to change over night . You may invest in a friendship with someone in a better situation. Become a friend , help them with projects and mention after some time and when the friendship is secure that you worry about your situation and could you store supplies at his place , maybe in a gang box or small trl. And could you come stay there in an emg. as it would boost his security etc. and you could bring food etc.
I don't believe in the one guy or family striking off into the wilderness alone and surviving for years and returning to good times years later. It will take teams to get by . Pick any city and consider the population walking away in all directions , there will be few places to be alone.
Better to have a place to retreat to with help when you get there. This is a good plan for natural emgs . Try to get a room inland when storms hit the coast.
If you have a good plan for the small stuff the big stuff will be easy.

[Couger]

THERE ARE 9 VOTES  THAT ''ARE NOT PREPPERS''


i assume they have no savings account
i wonder what they are doing for lucnch??....are they prepared to eat at noon?


EVERY BODY  IS A PREPPER TO SOME EXTENT!!!....unless you have some mental dis-order


that show  on  TV  is odd
they  all  have  one thing they are  obsessed with....not a diverse array  of probabilities
funny how they get a group organized around that one  remote probability

 
Normally 45-70, your posts are logical and well-thought.
 
But this one I think is a bit knee-jerk!     
 
I answered 'non-prepper', because thinking beyond the ends of our noses and storing food for more than a week, month, year ..... is just something we do!
 
I'm from the West, and many of my relatives are LDS (Mormon) - besides having ancestors (many times) who can trace their linage to the settlers and pioneers.
 
Being self-reliant is synonymous with being self-responsible and GOOD citizens! 
I.O.W., its a way-of-life!!
 
Also What BriarPatch said in his post is largely correct regarding Mormons, too.
 
I think we all need to remember something else as well,
that many of the ignorant, libbtards THINKthe cities are where its ALL at!

And country [rural] folks are stupid rednecks and not much else.
 
Well let the maaaaaassses think that way.     

[45-70.gov]

i think  the LDS    were the first preppers?

[geezerbiker]

i think  the LDS    were the first preppers?

Some LDS people also sell the best food storage stuff.  I bought some Auguson farms stuff out of Utah for part of my 72 hour emergency kit.  I bought a few extra cans of the stuff so I could try it out.  I have to say it's the best of it's kind that I've tried.

My goal is to eventually have enough supplies on hand so that my daughter and grandkids could come and stay with me for a 3 month event and not need to resupply.  I'm about a 1/4 of the way there and I figure I should over stock about 30% just to be sure and to barter if needs be.  I don't think this makes me a preper.  To me it's just common sense.

BTW, all this boy scout stuff reminds me of the Tom Lehrer tune "Be Prepared."  Any one else remember it?

Tony

[Couger]

i think  the LDS    were the first preppers?

symantics?   perhasps?
 
when did the first whitemen start settling the [colonial] USA? 
If not the Western states?
 
The mountainman era reached its peak by 1830 or so.  Whitemen and Californios/Mexicans were already starting to make their 'marks' by then.
 
Mormons first left Independence [Navoo] Missouri in 1844; arrived in Salt Lake Valley in 1848.
 
I will agree however,  that the LDS people/church have done at least their share keeping many of those cultural-aspects alive since then, and into the 21st century! 

[spooked]

Never thought of myself as a "prepper"...Was raised to look ahead...put food away for winter..raise meat..milk a cow...have a firearm(More than 1)  ..tools...knowledge(65yrs young and still learnin) ever since the ancestors came over in the mid 1600's I guess we bin "preppers".

[45-70.gov]

i think  that preper  show  si designed
do  make ALL prepared  people  look foolish


after all....it is  main dtream  media indoctrination

[Couger]

 
digressing just a little .......
 
 
When discussing whatever topics with freinds, family, peers, whomever ....
 
would it behoove us to talk about being
 
independent?
[self] responsible?
ready for trouble?
determined?
 
and maybe a believer in the Boy Scout marching song (motto) - Be prepared!?
 
Of course those of the sheeple-mentality camp won't like my ideas.      
 
 
Also sometimes I think about our public skrewl systems ........
 
And when I was growing up in the 60's and 70's, and if I got in a fight.  That was always a no-no, but what to do about the bully or incesant-pest who wouldn't leave one alone?
 
turn the other cheek?  ya right!  (but not in that case!) 
 
But fast forward to 2013 ...... Nowadays around my community a fight erupts at skrewl
and EVERYBODY is suspended! 
(how STOOPID is that?  condemning those not-guilty?)
 
Talk about "conditioning" THE SHEEP!!      
 
and those who REFUSE to roll-over and play dead (in any capacity of their lives). 

[45-70.gov]

the media  and the skrewlz  are the main indoctrination centers


those prepared......must be put down or diminished


they can't stand  all that  indepentance


they derive power and votes  from  the dependence  of others

[cjclemens]

I think I've noticed that, as well.  If you look at the media, it does tend to push a more "contemporary" image of what life is supposedly like.  For example, modern sitcoms like "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "King of Queens" (I could name a lot more) ignore traditional family values, and emasculate the male lead, by portraying them as impulsive nincompoops, who's antics would surely lead the family to ruination, without the support of the wise and practical woman of the house.

I mention that because this "Preppers" show that everyone has brought up uses extreme cases of "prepping" that make the whole premise of being prepared or being self-reliant seem ridiculous.  Is this an incidental projection, of mainstream views on prepping and self-reliance, onto television.  Or is it an intentional move to discourage independent and self-reliant ways of life?

[Blue Duck]

digressing just a little .......
 
 
When discussing whatever topics with freinds, family, peers, whomever ....
 
would it behoove us to talk about being
 
independent?
[self] responsible?
ready for trouble?
determined?
 
and maybe a believer in the Boy Scout marching song (motto) - Be prepared!?
 
Of course those of the sheeple-mentality camp won't like my ideas.      
 
 
Also sometimes I think about our public skrewl systems ........
 
And when I was growing up in the 60's and 70's, and if I got in a fight.  That was always a no-no, but what to do about the bully or incesant-pest who wouldn't leave one alone?
 
turn the other cheek?  ya right!  (but not in that case!) 
 
But fast forward to 2013 ...... Nowadays around my community a fight erupts at skrewl
and EVERYBODY is suspended! 
(how STOOPID is that?  condemning those not-guilty?)
 
Talk about "conditioning" THE SHEEP!!      
 
and those who REFUSE to roll-over and play dead (in any capacity of their lives). 

   Id even take this a step farther.  I see a lot of posts about teaming up with friends, family or neighbors.  Maybe ...   Look around you.  How many have you known someone for years, or all your life and when  something happens in their life that causes  stress,  they change.  Some flip out, some shut down and some quit.  If you are truly in a survival situation,  I don't think putting yourself in a situation where you have to count on someone you know is not dependable is a very good tactic.   Those you pick as allies can make or break any survival situation.