What makes someone a REAL prepper?

[Pearl]

I'll be back..... watching a movie with Hubby! Some of y'all are gonna catch it!!

 

[Hardcalibres]

The nerve you hit it is fear. This subject holds up a mirror that people look away from when passing that mirror.

I am sure that once in a while, even those with the worst normalcy bias, hear that little voice in their head that says ".....but what if they are right?"

When that happens, they dismiss it........because the alternative is too much like hard work or accepting that they may be a goner.

 

[Neb]

...

People can and should just consider the material/ideas and knowledge being offered, on face value.

Everyone is free to accept it or not.

Some preps make sense for some but not others.

My goal of using a steam engine to generate electricity is only practical because I have a coal seam. Sadly I don't have a propper boiler ... my Achilles heel in my plans.

Ben

 

[Supervisor42]

What a range of responses!

I have a wet face from laughing so hard. And my stomach hurts.

You fired off the funniest thread we have had in a month!
Thank you!!

 

[Neb]

I believe a man prepper and a woman prepper are better @ prepping If they prepp together. They can also make more peppers!

Ditto that.

In the interest of Thrivalism (thriving not just surviving) a long term plan to rebuild for future generations is a must.

"Children are like arrows in the hand of a strong man. Happy is he who has is quiver full of them."
Proverbs

Ben

 

[Hardcalibres]

Anyone can be a prepper or survivalist... it's only when you start defining the context which defines the viability of someone's prepping/survivalism that you start to see who's actually good at it or not.

I think the criteria for a viable survivalist is higher than a prepper in most long term contexts. The biggest difference I believe is in methodology. In the extreme, most philosophical debate between the two titles comes from some sort of societal collapse. That is a very stringent criteria to define viability by.

Right now while society is in session everyone participates in a system that is built on organizationally dependent technology- you take that away and the surplus that allows for such high population plummets... the ones that survive do so by either accumulating enough resources to sustain their current lifestyle in the face of new threats or those who can adapt and embrace a new viable lifestyle. This is where I generally make the distinction between preppers and survivalists. A prepper prepares to sustain a semblence of what was, a survivalist prepares to embrace the new alternative method. Most people are a hybrid of the two.

Think of it like slope (y=mx+b) concerning resources.

Prepping is your y-intercept. Survivalism is your rise/run.

A prepper stockpiles and starts very high on the y axis, over time as resources are used their line slopes down along the x axis to zero- ideally they die before they run out of consumable resources that they cannot produce, or gain some survival skills to stretch that timeframe out as needed.

A survivalist starts a bit lower on the y axis generally (never zero if they can help it) but invests heavily is skills that allow them to create/obtain those resources. their line may have peaks and valleys but overall it's gotta stay somewhere above starvation as time stretches it furthur along the X axis.

Personally, I am more on the extreme end of survivalists- where as im heavily invested in mobile systems and wilderness survival. Yes, I can make/procure my own food, medicine, clothing, and tools in the field to sustain myself. I am not dependent on stationary infrastructure. I've developed my own personal methods/techniques to facilitate those needs in account with the primitivism neccesary to utilize the naturally occurring resources I would be dependent on procuring and refining to keep living. That's very different from folks with literal warehouses full of supplies which I would consider viable preppers in long term scenarios. Neither strategy is without risk.

Do both.

That is the lowest risk path.

They are not mutually exclusive......indeed they are more complimentary.

But (in general terms) prepping alone is easier and survivalism alone is cheaper.

 

[Supervisor42]

Ditto that.

In the interest of Thrivalism (thriving not just surviving) a long term plan to rebuild for future generations is a must.

"Children are like arrows in the hand of a strong man. Happy is he who has is quiver full of them."
Proverbs

Ben

So, to be a REAL Prepper, i need to get a quiver full of children?
...I think I got me a lot of copulating to do.

 

[Weedygarden]

You fired off the funniest thread we have had in a month!
Thank you!!

I had a busy day so I posted the first comment and then was gone for a few hours. When I saw how many responses there were, I had no idea how far off track this thread would go. As I was reading it, I was sure it was going to get locked down, or that at least one argumentative person was going to be in time out.

 

[Canon29]

Do both.

That is the lowest risk path.

They are not mutually exclusive......indeed they are more complimentary.

But (in general terms) prepping alone is easier and survivalism alone is cheaper.

Sure, though the cost can become very prohibitive depending in how deep down the rabbit hole you go.

First in the time/effort/sacrifices in the cost of making tons of money to go deep, secondly there's risk in if spending that money on something like EOTW level preps not panning out. Then there is also scale- from your immediate family to neighbors and specialists (like say a doctor to reduce medical risk) etc. Scale can also becomes prohibitive unless you really hit the context in the head. Very quickly you can get into the realm of multimillionaires. You can scale things down to the individual level, but for most this will never be feasible or even desirable.

An ideal stationary strategy can be expensive, and living in your post-shtf lifestyle or whatever to eliminate the travel risk is another cost aswell to many. Basically, the cost is also often the normal life (bias perhaps) in the meantime while you're waiting forh the balloon to go up. Often the cost then is a degree of luxury which is one if the biggest motivators for financial excellence- so you really have to have a very particular world view to achieve just mastery in either spectrum.

Perhaps the ability to front that cost could be considered a facet of "fitness"- but there is also many capabilities that money just cannot buy on the flipside of survivalism and usually the degree of specialization it takes to create that kind of wealth, then gain the knowhow to convert it into secure preparations takes a lifetime- a lifetime seperate from the other lifetime of field experience needed to maximize the survivalist side of the equation which is more along the lines of insulating yourself from the need of money, which ultimately represents a type of dependancy or at least time concentration.

To make matters more complicated and worse- people often accumulate medical dependencies on orginizationally dependant technology, not just as they age, but often as a consequence if the risks they took to make all that money in the first place. All of this stuff is of course extra-curricular- and in addition to all of the success neccesary to achieve this stuff in the highest degree and thus live with the lowest risk gaining that level of capability itself is not without its additional risk, which can work against the ultimate goals.

So, easier said than done I suppose. Low risk can be achieved- but thats relative to one's particular beliefs concerning what actually happens and just how correct they end up being when something does. Technically a high risk strategy can succeed too haha- but all of this stuff has to be balanced to the individual(s)... who's worldviews generally change over time.

Quite the conundrum- which is why most people prefer blissful ignorance and dependancy- rather than costly freedom.

 

[Hardcalibres]

Sure, though the cost can become very prohibitive depending in how deep down the rabbit hole you go.

First in the time/effort/sacrifices in the cost of making tons of money to go deep, secondly there's risk in if spending that money on something like EOTW level preps not panning out. Then there is also scale- from your immediate family to neighbors and specialists (like say a doctor to reduce medical risk) etc. Scale can also becomes prohibitive unless you really hit the context in the head. Very quickly you can get into the realm of multimillionaires. You can scale things down to the individual level, but for most this will never be feasible or even desirable.

An ideal stationary strategy can be expensive, and living in your post-shtf lifestyle or whatever to eliminate the travel risk is another cost aswell to many. Basically, the cost is also often the normal life (bias perhaps) in the meantime while you're waiting forh the balloon to go up. Often the cost then is a degree of luxury which is one if the biggest motivators for financial excellence- so you really have to have a very particular world view to achieve just mastery in either spectrum.

Perhaps the ability to front that cost could be considered a facet of "fitness"- but there is also many capabilities that money just cannot buy on the flipside of survivalism and usually the degree of specialization it takes to create that kind of wealth, then gain the knowhow to convert it into secure preparations takes a lifetime- a lifetime seperate from the other lifetime of field experience needed to maximize the survivalist side of the equation which is more along the lines of insulating yourself from the need of money, which ultimately represents a type of dependancy or at least time concentration.

To make matters more complicated and worse- people often accumulate medical dependencies on orginizationally dependant technology, not just as they age, but often as a consequence if the risks they took to make all that money in the first place. All of this stuff is of course extra-curricular- and in addition to all of the success neccesary to achieve this stuff in the highest degree and thus live with the lowest risk gaining that level of capability itself is not without its additional risk, which can work against the ultimate goals.

So, easier said than done I suppose. Low risk can be achieved- but thats relative to one's particular beliefs concerning what actually happens and just how correct they end up being when something does. Technically a high risk strategy can succeed too haha- but all of this stuff has to be balanced to the individual(s)... who's worldviews generally change over time.

Quite the conundrum- which is why most people prefer blissful ignorance and dependancy- rather than costly freedom.

Good points.

But I would point out that those that have arguably gone the deepest into prepping/survivalism have bought land out in the sticks.

Most who have done that, have reaped a big windfall profit from that land......and will continue to do so.

Many have made so much from capital gain, that anything they spend on preps to locate at that BOL is peanuts by comparison.

I assess that many of the hobbies that people with a survivalist mindset are drawn to are also preps (and help those people practice survivalism skills).

Those same people could have instead spent their money on vacations (overseas), boats, new cars, etc, etc that normal people spend too much on.....and that would have made them completely normal.

If you are prepping the best way, it may be that you are spending less "down the drain" money than most would guess.......and that many others accept as normal.

 

[Pearl]

Some of you idiotic dudes......good Lord ....have NO IDEA!!! I am putting this thread on ignore because I feel so sorry for you pathetic little jerks!! You BOYS need to stop and think about why you are where you are at right now!! And any of you BOYS who feel women are for prostitution or making babies are NOT PREPARED!! You'll never make it post SHTF!!

 

[Amish Heart]

Some of you idiotic dudes......good Lord ....have NO IDEA!!! I am putting this thread on ignore because I feel so sorry for you pathetic little jerks!! You BOYS need to stop and think about why you are where you are at right now!! And any of you BOYS who feel women are for prostitution or making babies are NOT PREPARED!! You'll never make it post SHTF!!

I think it was just Ol Steve O feeling that way

 

[Canon29]

Good points.

But I would point out that those that have arguably gone the deepest into prepping/survivalism have bought land out in the sticks.

Most who have done that, have reaped a big windfall profit from that land......and will continue to do so.

Many have made so much from capital gain, that anything they spend on preps to locate at that BOL is peanuts by comparison.

I assess that many of the hobbies that people with a survivalist mindset are drawn to are also preps (and help those people practice survivalism skills).

Those same people could have instead spent their money on vacations (overseas), boats, new cars, etc, etc that normal people spend too much on.....and that would have made them completely normal.

If you are prepping the best way, it may be that you are spending less "down the drain" money than most would guess.......and that many others accept as normal.

Yup, difficult. But I wouldn't ever say impossible.

Funnily enough the scenario I prepare for negates the ownership of land. Thus my obsessive need for independence from stationary infrastructure.

I think alot of capabilities can be had for very little money if people are invested in the skills and know-how- the tradeoff is generally time though and that's never unlimited.

Some people are somewhat mentally limited in their capacity aswell, but that's an ugly subject which again I think falls under the "fitness" aspect of it.

 

[Magus]

AGAIN....YOU said a prepper was someone, "that could live without the current system and that YOU considered YOURSELF a prepper."

YOU were the one that defined what a prepper, was not me.

Seems I struck a nerve when I asked a few simple questions that showed you were indeed still needing the system to survive.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you strike me as a guy who lives like he prepares. I'm pretty raw myself, I might have six months of stored food in a good year because it's all I have room for. I have a few guns and a fairly acceptable amount of ammo, but where I've packed it in is my skill sets, I'm no longer in fighting shape and I have no delusions about raiding or heavy hunting, about the only thing that will take me down is a large nuclear war or a planetary shift, and the older I get, the less I care if I survive. I can and have eaten some pretty awful things, lived on yard salad and pine needle tea, roast robins, and beaver bacon. The bottom line is, how far are you prepared to go? I prep like I live, and I live like doomsday has already come. If I had a bunker, I'd be living in it.

 

[UserNameTaken]

HI! I haven't been back since page one and I seem to have missed round one. Can someone give me a summary?

 

[Magus]

Hey @Steve_In_29
I was the biggest a$$ hole on the forum this week until... Thanks man, you took the spot light off me.

I thought it was me?

 

[UserNameTaken]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you strike me as a guy who lives like he prepares. I'm pretty raw myself, I might have six months of stored food in a good year because it's all I have room for. I have a few guns and a fairly acceptable amount of ammo, but where I've packed it in is my skill sets, I'm no longer in fighting shape and I have no delusions about raiding or heavy hunting, about the only thing that will take me down is a large nuclear war or a planetary shift, and the older I get, the less I care if I survive. I can and have eaten some pretty awful things, lived on yard salad and pine needle tea, roast robins, and beaver bacon. The bottom line is, how far are you prepared to go? I prep like I live, and I live like doomsday has already come. If I had a bunker, I'd be living in it.

Well said @Magus. I'm still in the delusional Rambo stage of denial of reality.

 

[Magus]

HI! I haven't been back since page one and I seem to have missed round one. Can someone give me a summary?

Well... there was this yardstick and a sausage measuring contest, lots of bragging, burning, and butt hurt going on, and somehow I wasn't involved to a great degree!

 

[Weedygarden]

HI! I haven't been back since page one and I seem to have missed round one. Can someone give me a summary?

No, you should read it yourself. We all need a good laugh here and there and to see who and what we are dealing with in this place. So many great people here, but then, all it takes is one person to go off the deep end.

 

[Swing]

I'm glad to see this thread still going reasonably well. A couple of posts, bringing in the agnst and fuss from earlier, but not bad. And prepping and survival is such an individual thing.

(Have any of you read all of the A. American Going Home series of books? It sure addresses a lot of issues that pop up in this thread.)

 

[Sourdough]

I think most preppers can't imagine there would be "NO" help coming. "EVER".

I think most preppers can't imagine a SHTF where it never gets any semblance of pre-SHTF conditions. Even after years & years.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/peo...p&cvid=65d5998932b94b6ad0040dac579467cc&ei=47

 

[elkhound]

hey..i got a teton -35f...what i just went through the last 3 weeks would have killed lots of population in a grid down scenario.

 

[Sourdough]

I doubt very many are as mentally capable of enduring an endless SHTF event as they think.

I know that for myself at this point in my life the "mental" part of enduring a SHTF event is my weakest link.

 

[SLADE]

I think if you can't make it through the teeny tiny confrontations on a homesteading forum, you are already a goner in a real event.

 

[dademoss]

I made more and

 

[Pearl]

I made more and beer.

Good, I never put the thread on ignore!

 

[dademoss]

Good, I never put the thread on ignore!

Some of us came to that conclusion . Might make spicy popcorn for later.

 

[Pearl]

Some of us came to that conclusion . Might make spicy popcorn for later.

We might need one of those big commercial popping machines

 

[poltiregist]

Real preppers see through the wanta be prepper plans easily . Real preppers usually just try to not attack these delusional individuals . On the opposite side of the coin the wanta be preppers are frightened and feel vulnerable and we constantly see them attacking the real preppers on forums . The way I look at these wanta be preppers , they will not survive when S.H.T.F. and their survival is their problem , not mine .

 

[Cabin Fever]

If only people would put as much time and effort in preparing for their eternity as they do for continuing their life on earth, the world would be a better place.