Reference Prepping in "general" on this and other forums, what is your thoughts about other people's prepping, not you're prepping.

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Sourdough

"Eleutheromaniac"
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It is all in the thread title.

My observation as I look around and interact with others on forums reference "Prepping", is the surprising calm. Not that they don't have a few more "little" things to pick-up or do, but they pretty much feel they are ready. This seems to include nearly all preppers. They feel done, ready.
What is your read on this or any other observations you have about the mood or feeling with-in prepping community in general. Not inquiring about your personal feeling reference your prepping.
 
I assess that for many, the most serious current threats seem far, far away.

I also think that most people prep to an extent/degree driven by their own perception of risk and how bad things could get. For most however, that is more to do with their own personal balance of Normalcy Bias vs Abnormalcy Bias - so that means it is mostly about what is going on inside their head, and less so based upon the real risks/probabilities as they are.

For many, they are underestimating the risks severely. For a few, they are overestimating the risks. Only a very tiny minority will have the balance exactly right.

One problem with being a frog in hot water (along with a whole bunch of other frogs), is that when the heat is suddenly turned way up, most of the frogs hardly even notice.

I suppose that those of us who have a tendency towards abnormalcy bias are not helping. A lot of us have spent a long time thinking about and working on this stuff - and so we don't really panic when big threats turn up. But that doesn't mean that unprepared and lightly prepared people shouldn't be concerned.......they have arguably good reason to be.

My advice for them, would be to work on the basics and get those genuinely covered - and do that with a sense of urgency.
 
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I've gotten to the point where it does me no good at all to be a crazy mess. I've been prepping for something for years, it's just what I do now. I have changed lately in that I don't feel the need to tell other people to prep. There was a big awakening when covid lockdowns started. And then I'm guessing, the people that did wake up went back to bed. Other forums and this one....now and again we see a newbie come in all worried about starting to prep. Boy, they've got alot of work to do.
 
Interesting thread, thank you Sourdough. I wouldn't consider myself a prepper compared to you folks- but people here would consider me to be one. Life is different here, there are more social supports that America doesn't have, or aren't enough. Therefore, the mentality here is different, partly because of history too- acquiring land, homesteading etc, was encouraged, so it's in your DNA.
I feel there's no point in being anything else but calm; as a Mother, I've enough to get me stressed! I am as prepared as I can be for what I know, it's all I can do. I agree with Amish above, some people went back to bed- we just remade it -when I think of what could happen- the possibilities are endless and I can't prepare for it all. I also feel I have a duty to not scare the s**t out of my children; I have taught them to be prepared, but I don't want them to spend a lifetime worrying either.
 
I don't think most people have really experienced the things that many of us are preparing for. I think this creates the Normalcy Bias that @Hardcalibres was talking about, people have short memories (a couple of years at best) and when things change they freak out. For example when you look at the droughts in the West everyone is screaming "Climate Change", but if you look at the weather data you will read that the west had 60 years of exceptionally wet weather and over the past 20 years it has shifted back to the dryer norm... the last dry norm lasted several centuries.

My point is that when the "all clear" is given people will try to go back to their norm, kind of like traffic and a firetruck passing....

We have been prepping since 1990, first it was because of our personal food insecurity, in 2000 it was the Y2K non-event, after that we have had several financial disruptions, then we had the COVID- oh what the heck was that! event, now we are in a time where the government is trying to push and pull the economy and change everything from the power grid to the food supply.... I don't expect that to end well either...

Right now the "all clear" is being given by every major new source, the government is blasting it out as loudly as they can, and this is reassuring the masses so they don't panic (it also gives them the feeling that they don't have to prep, Uncle Sam has it covered).

Personally, I have been prepping for over 30 years, if I'm not close to ready by now, rushing to get stuff in at the last minute will not help....

For you newbies out there who read this, don't get discouraged. Make a plan, eat what you store and store what you eat, don't get wrapped up in expensive "quick fix" solutions, there are no silver bullets. Take baby steps, make priorities but keep your execution balanced (Water, food, shelter (heat), security) and you'll be fine.
 
IMHO this begs the question "How much is enough?" and that is as individual as it gets. Everybody is different. Every circumstance is different. Prepping tends to be a fad depending on the crisis of the time. We had Y2K and some people started to prep, then forgot about it. Next we had the Mayan Apocolypse in 2012, and prepping became a cottage industry. After a brief spurt is was forgotten again until Covid when we were no longer preppers. We were evil hoarders. Some people feel they have enough. We can all second guess.

Very few people make it a way of life, and that is what I believe we have done. It isn't a fad. It is in my mind a very practical way to live your life. The news is rife with people who were unprepared, or who never thought it would happen to them. I don't want to be one of those people. Could we do more? Sure. But we do what is best for us, and don't break the bank doing it.
 
I didn't think of my grandparents as preppers, they were homesteaders. Me too.

I think most folks today can't even imagine a BIG change in their lifestyle. I believe their problems will be as much mental as physical when something actually happens.

So many are on so many prescription drugs that will not take to going cold turkey.

Since change is the only constant, I believe it will get (not interesting, but uncertain) for so many!
 
I hate to say this, but I’ve given up on most folks. My heart palpitates looking at all the threats in front of us. While I have lost hope in mankind, I am growing stronger in faith and pray everyday for Divine intervention for a revival in our nation.

And I prepare.
 
I believe almost all the people on this forum are preppers.
For an accurate measure, you should meet some people who are not preppers.
They live in an expensive 4th-floor apartment in a high-rise in the big city and keep 2 days of food on hand. When you ask them about it, they say: "If we run out of food, we will just go to the restaurant, you silly boy!🤪".
Some things you just can't fix. :confused: (like stupid).
 
I hate to say it, but part of me is looking forward to watching them get what's coming to them.
For what I fear, we or many are going to get what is coming to us. The distinction is (be it) in 30 or 90 days, six months, 1-2-4-6 or seven years. I "FULLY" 100% support people's right to prep for whatever duration they choose. My fear is that upwards of 70% are going to underestimate the future.
 
I hate to say it, but part of me is looking forward to watching them get what's coming to them.
Darwin has been 'thinning the herd' of stupid-people for hundreds of years.
Give him a chance to do his job. ;):thumbs:
 
Seattle tried that but they used fairy dust,...
 
It is all in the thread title.

My observation as I look around and interact with others on forums reference "Prepping", is the surprising calm. Not that they don't have a few more "little" things to pick-up or do, but they pretty much feel they are ready. This seems to include nearly all preppers. They feel done, ready.
What is your read on this or any other observations you have about the mood or feeling with-in prepping community in general. Not inquiring about your personal feeling reference your prepping.
I can't and won't try to speak or think for others.

In my opinion prepping will only get you so far. You HAVE to have the ability to produce what you need!

For myself and my family I am as ready as my dollars and health can let me be. Yes there is a lot more I could do if I had better health and LOT more money to work with. As it is we have preps but in my opinion preps will only last so long. The real win is having the ability to grow and raise food. My goal has always been to have enough stored stuff to get us through until we can grow our own. We are pretty much there. It took me the better part of fifteen years to reach this point!

There is one real big ticket item we don't have and likely never will have and that's a good NBC shelter. Up until the last few years I couldn't imagine anyone in power STUPID enough to take us down that rabbit hole. Sadly that's no longer the case.

One item I think a lot of people & preppers fall short on is HARD COPY knowledge. That and the actual experience of having done it! My fifteen years of homesteading off grid has given me that and I snatch up all the hard copy stuff I can afford to. Not so much for myself but for those that come after me. Much of what I have in print I could have written myself at this point.
 
I hate to say it, but part of me is looking forward to watching them get what's coming to them.

Unfortunately, in their desperation of the facing the death of them and their loved ones, they will take a lot of people down with them. The inhumanity will be unimaginable and horrific. Stay away from crowds. Actually, best to be as far away as possible from anyone.
 
Actually, best to be as far away as possible from anyone.

I think when it is all said and done, that will be a huge factor, likely greater then supplies.
 
We have three years, or more, of non perishable food put back.
Plus hundreds of pounds of rice.
Plus dry ingredients to make food.
Plus chickens. Plus a vegetable garden.
Plus a horse if there’s no gasoline.
Plus weapons and thousands of rounds of ammo.
And we live on a dead end dirt road six miles outside a one stop light town.

Are we prepared?
 
I know many if not all of us store the things we know we need on a daily basis. What about things you might not need for a year or two or ten?
I just got in many pair of reading glasses in different strengths. In the last ten years I started needing reading glasses for detail work as well as reading. SO now I’m stocking up on the power of glasses I need now and the next time or two. The next time I have more expendable money I’ll order the next levels of glasses to have them on hand. Sure I might die before I need them but I might not and even if I do they will be here for whoever needs them. Right now they don’t hardly cost anything in comparison of not being able to see to solder the tiny wire that keeps the inverter going or to stitch up a bad cut on one of my kids or grandson. You guys see what I’m saying here?

So what things will you need one day that may not be able to be bought at any price? Do you have them or plans to get them?
 
So what things will you need one day that may not be able to be bought at any price? Do you have them or plans to get them?
I suggest you start a new thread and restrict it to this subject,
 
I don't think I'm a worrier, but I have thought more than once that some people, here and on other forums, and those that I see frequently (non-preppers), are still not realizing the necessity to prep, the ultimate realization of what is coming and how terrible it is going to be. One thing that concerns me is a bit of an "I'm okay" attitude from some. Maybe they are okay. I don't know. I won't tell you what I have, how much of this, how much of that, etc., but I don't know if I can ever have enough, and therefore, how can I think that anyone else does? Can we have enough bullets, beans, rice, wheat, water, socks, shoes, soap, firewood, ...? Can anyone? Does anyone? Is one year's worth enough? Is ten year's worth enough? And if I am dead tomorrow, my daughter and her friends can have it and use it as they see fit.

One discussion I have considered starting is how long do you expect for the world to be struggling after SHTF? A few months? A few years? For the rest of our lives or the rest of time? Once this whole world derails, as it is becoming more apparent that it is, what will you do for things like shoes, coats, fabrics, anything? Or will we be dead before we run out of what we need? Or will we run out of what we need and that will ultimately be the death of us?

I don't mean to sound hysterical, but sometimes I wish that some people would be a little more concerned about the future and what it holds, or maybe what it doesn't hold.
 
I think if the economy collapses, it will never be "like it used to be". And I believe it is collapsing right now. I think being prepared for as long as possible is the best thing. And also to have a plan for the future, because there will be a future. Who says that our future has to be what the WEF says it has to be? It can be something else.
 
Sorry I wasn't trying to sabotage your thread.
NO..NO.....you misunderstand, I love your idea, and that is why I suggested "You" start a thread on that subject. I think the idea/subject should be stand alone, not buried in this thread.
 
NO..NO.....you misunderstand, I love your idea, and that is why I suggested "You" start a thread on that subject. I think the idea/subject should be stand alone, not buried in this thread.
Maybe tomorrow I'm tired tonight. lol Been over at Activity Feed - Freesteading trying to get people thinking past the end of their noses. lol Seems like more new preppers over there if you know what I mean.
 
I think if the economy collapses, it will never be "like it used to be". And I believe it is collapsing right now. I think being prepared for as long as possible is the best thing. And also to have a plan for the future, because there will be a future. Who says that our future has to be what the WEF says it has to be? It can be something else.
I agree. I don't think things will ever be the same. I believe we are in a tail spin now.

So often the discussion about food storage has been a one year's supply. I wonder how many even have that? And what if whatever we have now in food storage, as one area of preps, is all that we will ever have again? And when it is gone, it is gone? That is of course for most of the world, that does not grow any of their own food.

Have just one pair of boots and one pair of shoes now? What will they look like in ten years? Or will most people be barefoot then? There is the possibility that we will never be able to acquire more of some things ever again. Two is one and one is none!
 
Plus, I consider the probability high that things will go sideways with America & China. Imagine if America started the same foolishness with China as far as bizarre "Sanctions". China would jack up export prices to America 400%.
America is rapidly becoming more and more irrelevant on the world stage. Last week Saudi Arabia told America who is driving the bus.
 
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Interesting question.

I've reached the point where most people are already dead to me. A world of zombies, ghosts, or NPC's to use more modern terms.
They are running around alternatively panicking, and in denial, but to no effect. Its like a play and they are playing the part of the background characters. I used to wonder things like how many of them would survive or how....I don't really care anymore. They are already gone.

This IS a post-apocalytic world to those who have been paying attention.

I've pulled back in my life from the 'real world', curled inward. I've moved to more esoteric goals than I had a couple years ago. The basics are covered, for years if need be...and slowly getting better every day, but not in any dramatic fashion.

But as the OP said....It's not so urgent now as it was.

I often think of this clip:
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxRsCtJN6b3PNO10XkldDZM-57UjeF7nxf
 
Once this whole world derails, as it is becoming more apparent that it is, what will you do for things like shoes, coats, fabrics, anything? Or will we be dead before we run out of what we need? Or will we run out of what we need and that will ultimately be the death of us?

We will go back to the way things where done. These things aren't terribly hard to make if you have studied the past.

And an awful lot of the problems we have, are only problems BECAUSE of the things we have. Most of modern life is just busy work, to support more busy work.
 
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