• Please be sure to read the rules and adhere to them. Some banned members have complained that they are not spammers. But they spammed us. Some even tried to redirect our members to other forums. Duh. Be smart. Read the rules and adhere to them and we will all get along just fine. Cheers. :beer: Link to the rules: https://www.forumsforums.com/threads/forum-rules-info.2974/

"The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
"The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

Thought this was interesting, it does not make the Prepper movement look like a bunch of crazies.

If the sh** hits the fan, they are ready for it
natural catastrophe terrorism United States

http://observers.france24.com/en/co...ers-food-storage-first-aid-ready-for-disaster

food-storage-couple.jpg

Photo by Jud Burkett, The Spectrum.com

Global economic meltdown, mass natural disasters, pandemics... Whatever the apocalyptic scenario, "preppers" are ready for it. Lamps made from potatoes, toilet paper from cloth, toothpaste from glycerin and... lots of Spam.

It's no surprise that the trend, known as "survivalism", was born in the United States, where the principle of self-reliance is one of the founding values of society. Convinced that disaster could strike when we least expect it, the most prudent of US citizens are preparing for the worst.

One self-described "prepper" explains the reason for his lifestyle change to emergency "survivalism" on his website: "In May of last year, I had an epiphany: bad times lay ahead. I accurately predicted the current financial crisis back then, and with my new-found knowledge, I don't see much hope for recovery any time soon. I've learned that our "global economy" is nothing more than a great Ponzi/pyramid scheme, and I've come to realise that the only way to insulate one's self from the collapse of that scheme is to prepare for self reliant living."

"Preppers" use the Web to share warnings, tips and do-it-yourself instructions for making everything from toothpaste to cloth female hygiene pads.

Most see owning a gun to defend their stockpile as a natural part of being prepared, and are staunch advocates of the right to bear arms. Women "preppers" are experts at stockpiling year-long supplies of food, and come up with ingenious recipes for cooking with anything canned, frozen or dehydrated.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0nT0HRbf-c"]YouTube- Getting Your Food Storage[/ame]
A prepper demonstrates how she stores two year's worth of food. Posted on YouTube by foodstoragedeals.


“It's more important to be prepared in a big city, because there is a wider range of disasters that could happen”

Tom Martin is a truck driver from Idaho. A little over a year ago, he founded the American Prepper's Network, which started out as a group of blogs and is now a non-profit organisation dedicated to bringing "preppers" together and centralising free information on efficient emergency preparedness.

The biggest factor for determining what kind of preparation you need is your location. People in Florida or Louisiana need to prepare for hurricanes and possible floods, whereas people in California need to be ready for earthquakes. People in big cities may be more concerned by possible terrorist attacks or high crime rates. However, if you are well prepared for one disaster - if you have an emergency evacuation plan, if you have useful emergency equipment and know first aid gestures - then it can help in many cases.

Where I live, in Idaho, it's mostly severe blizzards in the winter, and forest fires in the summer. I live in a very sparsely populated rural area with my wife, and my brother and his family live close by. We have our own livestock and grow our own fruit and vegetables, so I don't really have to worry about stocking years' worth of food. We'll stock enough to get by for two, maybe three months, in case of drought or particularly hard winters; otherwise I can always hunt or grow my own food. We also get fresh mountain water from a river near my house. We have a wood stove that heats the house and that we can use for cooking too, and stocks of candles for lighting so we don't have to worry about power cuts.

I actually think that it's more important to be prepared in a big city, because there is a wider range of disasters that could happen. But it's also more difficult (less natural resources, less storage space), so most people find it overwhelming and would rather just not think about it. I don't think that's the right solution though: after hurricane Katrina, hundreds of families had no access to food or drinking water for weeks, and the government was criticised for not getting emergency aid to them faster. But if they had prepared, at least they would have had enough to get by on during that emergency, and less people would have suffered. If you use your space wisely, there's always a way to be prepared for the unexpected."​
 

Cowboy

Wait for it.
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: "The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

Wow !! NO beer & ceegars ? :w00t2:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: "The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

Wow !! NO beer & ceegars ? :w00t2:

Compared to these folks my house is woefully understocked. I wish we had more but the lovely wife doesn't see the need (yet?).

But as to the beer and ceegars comment, it really does make sense to me that there is something to be said for NON-ESSENTIAL items. If the economy gets much worse, and if there are shortages of goods, its pretty likely that "want" items will be hit pretty hard. Things we take for granted, but that we really don't "need" to get by may be much harder to come by. Can your wife survive without lipstick, can your kids get by without their favorite candies, can you make it through the week without your favorite "beer and ceegars?" Sure you all can but if you have plenty of stuff that will get you through, will you have what it takes to enjoy your life or will you just survive through the hard times? Maybe having a couple dozen extra red lipstick containers from Revlon seems silly, but it might make for a good barter item. There are countless items that might work the same way, small, shelf stable and really not necessary but still desired. I'm just saying :ermm:
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: "The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

Compared to these folks my house is woefully understocked. I wish we had more but the lovely wife doesn't see the need (yet?).
:ermm:

I think that I'm married to her sister. :smile:

Bob, you posted a thread somewhat similar to this one several months back and it got me thinking at the time. The two areas that I identified where I had a shortfall, and don't laugh, was in kibble for 3 dogs and Scotch for the big dog. Not what you would call absolute necessities but certainly nice to have's.

As far as the beer and cigars go, I read an interesting article about a guy on the Gulf Coast after Katrina. He said that the most valuable thing he had after the disaster was a fully stocked beer fridge. With no power, no ATM, no banks, cash money was at a premium and there wasn't anything that he needed that he couldn't trade beer for.

If it ever does hit the fan, I think that many of us could get by for a reasonable period of time but it's those little luxuries that change the situation from merely getting by to being tolerable. And yes, I do have some cigars stashed away. Well, you just never know, do you? :whistling:
 

muleman

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: "The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

Ammo,fuel and seeds are the most important items to me. The nice things are easy to do without. I can go for a good while on food on hand even if I tire of the lack of variety. We are in the process of using and rotating our inventory of many items. It is an annual ritual before planting time. The green house will be a big plus for fresh food year round.
 

bill w

Member
Re: "The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

i recently purchased a year worth of supplies,dry goods,that will go well with fresh moose and caribou.i'll rotate some out from the last six months...got another case of arctic mre's,freeze dried, way better than even the new firefighter ones. with one and a half moose in the freezer,it's looking fine here....and a new 308...lifes good for now..Bill w
 

Cowboy

Wait for it.
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: "The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

Compared to these folks my house is woefully understocked. I wish we had more but the lovely wife doesn't see the need (yet?).

But as to the beer and ceegars comment, it really does make sense to me that there is something to be said for NON-ESSENTIAL items. If the economy gets much worse, and if there are shortages of goods, its pretty likely that "want" items will be hit pretty hard. Things we take for granted, but that we really don't "need" to get by may be much harder to come by. Can your wife survive without lipstick, can your kids get by without their favorite candies, can you make it through the week without your favorite "beer and ceegars?" Sure you all can but if you have plenty of stuff that will get you through, will you have what it takes to enjoy your life or will you just survive through the hard times? Maybe having a couple dozen extra red lipstick containers from Revlon seems silly, but it might make for a good barter item. There are countless items that might work the same way, small, shelf stable and really not necessary but still desired. I'm just saying :ermm:


I here what Your sayin Melensdad , But We are perty simple folks , You wont find nothing fancy around here . Wife dont wear make up , Never has & Only owned one dress since she was a lil girl . Dont do fast food , eat out , drink pop , Fancy wines or hard liquor . So Yes Beer & Ceegars ARE Very important to me . Also 19 inch is What We consider a big screen tv :w00t2:

We buy what we need or want , When we need it or can afford to pay cash for it . Only thing I,ve Splurged on lately was a newer tractor It was a good deal & I paid cash . We dont do credit cards xcept for buying something on line & use a debit card for that . Other then that We owe no one any money other then Utilities , taxes & such .

My wife shops once a month to restock , But we could easilly get by for 6 months or more on what we have now , Including , Deisel, kerosene, & gas , clean water & most importanlly beer & Ceegars :biggrin:

We both have 20 dollar cell phones for emergencys that We just buy minutes on as needed & Our DSL comes through the phone line for the puter , as I need because I buy & sell off of craigslist for a little extra money .

I dont hunt anymore But have plenty of wildlife around if it became necesary as well as a river running through the rear of our property for fish . Plenty of ground to grow crops & I,m still in the process of building a pond that I also hope to have stocked with fish & draw the gamebirds in . So I guess bottom line is We,re well perty prepared & Our needs & prioritys are much different then most folks :biggrin:
 

RobsanX

Gods gift to common sense
SUPER Site Supporter
Re: "The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

Well I guess it has been 10 years since Y2K... :rolf2:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: "The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

Well I guess it has been 10 years since Y2K... :rolf2:

And clearly you don't understand the mentality of the modern 'prepper' movement if you make such a statement. Few modern 'preppers' thought the Y2K preparedness movement was sane, in fact most thought it was silly.

Modern day preppers do so for a wide variety of reasons, but it all boils down to a simple lifestyle of wanting to be prepared for any sort of disaster, being it a flood along the Missouri, a hurricane like Katrina, winter ice storms in Indiana/Kentucky causing power outages for weeks, or a job loss that causes financial hardship. Having food and basic supplies stored to get you through the rough patch in your life is what it is all about.

Y2K was not about the preppers ideals and while preppers were prepared for whatever, they did not do so because of Y2K, but rather looked at the Y2K crowd as a source for cheap supplies as those idiots sold off their ill conceived goods.
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: "The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

Good reply Bob. I think that about sums it all up.

It's really much more like being a good Boy Scout and being prepared than it is about being ready for Armageddon; taking personal responsibility for being able to continue to function when the systems that we all rely on get a glinch in them for some reason and for some period of time.
 

SShepherd

New member
Re: "The S*it has hit the fan" article from France about US "Preppers"

well, the old folks in the OP are screwed....

now EVERYONE knows where to go when they run out of their own stuff:hammer:

loose lips sinks ships
 
Top