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Why I Hate Preppers, by Allen C.
I may as well go ahead and apologize to anyone who is already offended by my title without apologizing for offending you. I do not actually hate preppers. I’m just fed up with them. While I’m at it I may as well apologize for generalizing. I don’t like putting labels on anyone any more than I like being labeled, but it is necessary to generalize in this case so if you consider yourself in one group, but the other better describes you then I accept that in advance. If it sounds like I apologize a lot it is because I do. Survivalists being antisocial in nature, I sometimes say things that are inappropriately blunt and get criticism for doing so. You may disagree that I distinguish between the two, so let’s defer to an objective third party on the differences. Popular Mechanics magazine did a fair job of explaining it:
Preppers call themselves Preppers, in part, to distinguish themselves from survivalists, a term that conjures up images of a paranoid loner hiding out in a cabin. The Preppers focus on reaching out to other people, and they are avid social networkers. They share tips on things like canning, Port-a-Potties, and other useful skills to have for natural disasters. And they say the effort does not stem from fear. “It’s encouraging, uplifting,” insists Janet Liebsch, a dedicated prepper, who, along with her husband, publishes guides like It’s a Disaster. “Once you start learning, you get addicted.”
If you are a survivalist you may have already asked yourself why in the world anyone would want a Port-a-Potty. You may also be thinking “I wouldn’t be so paranoid if everyone wasn’t out to get me.” I know I am. I’m that paranoid loner hanging out in the woods. At least I was before I got married in my forties and started a family. I was first labeled a survivalist by local authorities in the 1980s and it was a pretty lonely twenty years so I was originally excited about the blossoming of the prepper movement, but after meeting hundreds of them I must admit I am disappointed. Here are some reasons why.
Preppers Are Presumptuous
The prepper movement has boomed in the last few years and I must admit I resent being lumped in with the suburban grandma who goes online in the morning and orders some MREs, a can of bear spray, and a Gold Eagle coin. In the afternoon she plants a container garden and fills some soda bottles with water. Viola, she’s a prepper and despite the fact that I have done none of those things apparently I am too because prepper equals survivalist. If it says so on Wikipedia it must be true. At least that is apparently the mantra. The fact that I am willing to have an online discussion with her does not make us the same. To a lessor extent preppers are also attempting to also envelop homesteaders. But that’s a discussion for another day.
It has been said that to a man with a hammer every problem is a nail.
Source:
It’s really stupid and inaccurate. It doesn’t matter what we call ourselves.
Rarely have I seen so many generalizations made about a group in one article.
“Preppers are presumptuous”
“Preppers are know-it-alls” etc etc..
Preppers are not monolithic. Stop painting with such a broad brush. Just because you had a bad experience with some doesn’t mean the entire group should be dismissed. Geez.
sorry SurvivalBlog, I meant Allen C.
” I resent being lumped in with the suburban grandma who goes online in the morning and orders some MREs, a can of bear spray, and a Gold Eagle coin.”
No one is “lumping” you in. Clearly your insult to a well-meaning individual is vital to supporting your ever-eroding sense of superiority. This straw grandma you create then insult is an easy target. Bear in mind most grandmothers are about 50 years old and an awake an vital one is a welcome member of the society we need to rebuild.
You must be trying to justify your lifelong tendency to run away and hide from perceived challenges. In that your hoped for social conflagration has yet to occur (in which your relatively meager possessions become invaluable) – you have been so far made to look the fool.
I applaud your intelligence and foresight in providing a retreat for you and your family. I applaud your experience in shelter and food-production. After a significant social collapse, however, the mobs will be flooding your forest redoubt and even your finest fantasy of holding them off with guns and murder will prove insufficient. Think further along this self-aggrandizing fantasy and wonder when will you find time to bury the bodies you create before the next wave. There is nowhere to run and hide. We must head off these challenges now, here, wherever we are.
So before you expend your ego-based blather insulting others whose imagined efforts pale in comparison to your own imagined superiority – know that we need people with your experience to rise to a higher calling and be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
I applaud you as a brother, but study the motivation behind this lengthy and miss-placed rant and see if you can find a way to productively channel these frustrations here and now. Start a class for the newbies rather than insult them. At least they are aware and that is to be appreciated.
sounds like prepper envy to me
survivingsurvivalism.com
Just one more thought on the “3 days of food” grocery store stocking estimations. You would be lucky if a store has 3 hours of food if the breakdown starts. Further, you can not get there as the roads will be barricaded and anyone leaving with a car full of groceries will be taken. The only option is to prep now, which will get you insulted by the likes of Allen C.