tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934313418859465616.post83705542270966463..comments2023-10-30T06:56:16.806-04:00Comments on The Soap Box: 5 Things I've noticed about... people on "Doomsday Preppers"The Lockehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13593240704921333636noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934313418859465616.post-43131036579236214802013-11-07T17:28:54.226-05:002013-11-07T17:28:54.226-05:00These people can't really protect anyone from ...These people can't really protect anyone from a real collapse, no matter what they say. I can clearly see that a real American Blackout would quickly make End of Evangelion look like Blue's Clues. <br /><br />Help us prevent it from happening in the real world:<br />http://www.securityweek.com/how-stop-cyber-attack-it-happens<br />http://www.shieldact.com<br />http://www.icanw.org<br />http://cutnukes.globalzero.org<br /><br />What's at stake:<br />-Video games<br />-Movies<br />-Anime<br />-Cartoons<br />-Hygiene<br />-Personal safety<br />-Safe streets (the blackout would cause people to become violent)<br />-Peace of mind<br />-Education<br />-Energy<br />-Water<br />-Sanitation<br />-Food<br />-Grocery stores<br />-Hundreds of millions of stories<br />(I could go on and on, but we'd be here forever.)1241231https://www.blogger.com/profile/12220392406803514263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934313418859465616.post-43416197913280061222013-04-07T04:30:10.746-04:002013-04-07T04:30:10.746-04:00I think this is a bit skewed, perhaps because of t...I think this is a bit skewed, perhaps because of the "preppers" selected for this program. NatGeo is, to say the least, more than slightly left-wing and seems to enjoy picking the stranger candidates, usually the rural (and often Southern) ones. Like the reality shows that almost exclusively focus on rural Southerners (anything with "swamp" or "gator" in the title) and their "peculiar" ways. Any other ethnic or sociological group would be hands-off, of course. And naturally they select only the preppers with weird beliefs, like pole-shifting, sunspots, etc.<br /><br />I probably qualify as a prepper, though my reasons are more pedestrian: I was an intel officer for 25 years, specializing in potential terror attacks. Few Americans realize how fragile our infrastructure is, or how even a minor attack against the electrical grid or water sources could wreak havoc & likely cause urban riots & widespread disease or death in most any area targetted. Even basic needs would be unavailable for many weeks or months at a time, and FEMA has little chance of even minor relief. Whether one chooses to believe it or not is irrelevan -- it's still true, and we have prepared for it for over 30 years.<br /><br />It's not particularly difficult if it's approached sensibly, and costs little. We simply have a lot of food, prescriptions, medical supplies, etc that we rotate as we use them. <br /><br />Since I had a military background and my wife was a competition shooter long before she met me, we already had a fair number of firearms & reloaded our own ammunition, so simply stocking more than usual took little effort. Your characterization of preppers as gun nuts is silly, considering that arms are a rather basic part of defending yourself when the "unprepared" are obviously (and naturally) going to be on the prowl for food, water & other basics. Why you would assume we should simply "give up and share" with everyone sort of beggars belief. In our County of 250,000 people, probably less than 2% could even feed their family more than a few days, even assuming they could cook it, find safe water, or somehow stay warm in winter temperatures. I would share water from my pond, and a small amount of fish, but beyond that only our firearms would prevent nearly a quarter-million people from taking everything we've stockpiled.<br /><br />I'm a northern-bred atheist with no strange beliefs, just a lot more knowledge of likely terrorist targets & methods than most people are cursed with. I plan accordingly, since it's the responsible thing to do, and since I buy in bulk I actually save money. I have a year's worth of necessary medications, including antibiotics & painkillers, and enough basic food to last longer. Purifying my pond water or well water is simple enough, and the fish, deer & chickens could stretch that much further. I heat with wood & keep a 2-yr supply of cordwood anyhow<br /><br />Those that don't bother to even think or plan for a computer attack on electrical grids, destruction of local reservoirs, or interruption of consumer good deliveries ... well, that's their choice -- but not my problem. "Sharing" is such an idiotic concept that it doesn't withstand examination. I've lived in countries with huge disasters and/or martial law, and I have a pretty good idea what people turn into when they & their families are starving, or freezing -- it's the Mob Mentality, writ large, and it's not pretty.<br /><br />Some "preppers" are pretty odd and often believe strange, illogical things -- but then one could easily state the same about the author of this article.<br /><br /> saber tooth owlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06961680277613073053noreply@blogger.com