I suppose I'm not very tuned in to the current scene. I had no idea there was a Doomsday Preppers show on the National Geographic Channel. In fact, I'd never even heard of "preppers." That is until I read a newspaper article this morning about the National Preppers and Survivalists Expo coming to Nashville next March.
One local prepper quoted in the story said the growing movement believes preparing for the end of civilization is more rational than ridiculing those who do. According to the writer, what was once viewed largely as a practice by survivalists on the fringe has achieved cohesion and community in the Internet age through best-selling writers, bloggers, risk assessors, conspiracy theorists, and companies that cater the preppers' needs.
The American Preppers Network has a website that promotes "Freedom Through Teaching Others Self-Reliance." Its Facebook page has the motto "Helping Others Help Themselves." The organizer of next year's Expo in Nashville says the Doomsday Preppers TV show focuses on "the extreme, the worst-case scenario." But he points out that people in New York and New Jersey are still without power from Hurricane Sandy and have to wait in line four to eight hours for gas.
One prepper who is a former deputy sheriff says social unrest from a financial meltdown could be devastating. Another situation that could cause massive disruption is the sabotage of the power grid, which has been warned against with increasing concern.
James Wesley Rawles achieved best-seller status with Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse. He wrote two other novels in the series as well as a non-fiction book on how to survive in an uncertain world. He and various contributors provide tips on how to survive in his survivalblog.com.
Mainstream authors have penned post-apocalyptic books, including Stephen King with The Stand and Cormac McCarthy's The Road.
We're all familiar with the wealth of end-of-the-world predictions that proved false, with one still outstanding for December 21, 2012. But that one has been debunked by numerous scholars. It seems the serious preppers community has something more realistic in mind, however. That's the ever-present possibility of our facing the necessity for survival of natural disasters and devastation brought on by those who wish us ill or blunder us into oblivion (think a Congress that has spent us into bankruptcy).
Maybe I'd better check out this Expo next March, if I'm still around.
Chester Campbell
Visit me at Mystery Mania
4 comments:
It wouldn't hurt to have a basic survival kit handy, such as water and canned food which you can open without an opener, a windup radio/flashlight with weather station capabilities. Also, good to keep track of where important items are, such as pills, and identification. Also, pet supplies and leash. Though they say to let your charge almost run out on your phone or laptop before recharging, that wouldn't do you any good in an emergency.
Morgan Mandel
http://www.morganmandel.com
Excellent post, Chester.
The preppers are definitely going mainstream. Here in Northern Colorado, there's an emergency preparedness focus at Colorado State University that tries to help communities prepare for anything from big storms to a power grid disaster. In this morning's paper there was a link to an article that tells us what to do with the food in our freezer if there's a long-lasting power outage.
I was close to Hurricane Andrew when it hit South Florida, and I was around during the big trucker strike (clearing throat) years ago. I know what it means to suddenly do without food and/or water.
And if we're honest, we have to face the fact that things are going very wrong in the world. We're silly if we ignore that.
I've considered a basic survival kit for a long time but never did anything about it. I'm thinking now is a good time to follow through.
They used to be called "survivalists." I can remember news stories back in the late seventies in the local media about groups here who were buying land out in far West Texas and prepping for the end of the world.
Survivalists were thought of as whack jobs. I have a feeling that is why now they are called "preppers" by some. there have always been some who saw the end coming for any civilization. One of these times they will be right again.
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