Is anyone still not 'prepping'?

No, I don't mean having a bunker filled with guns (though thats certainly a valid strategy). I mean having some storable food, warm blankets, firewood and water. The basics.

We already saw how easy it is to run out of something as simple as toilet paper. At least two 'automous zones' have been allowed to exist where both law enforcement and EMS were prevented from reaching folks in need. Cities all over the nation are losing their police force, either due to personnel quitting or active defunding. Large sectors of the economy have been getting paid to not produce anything, and that lack of production is eventually going to hit the shelf at your local market. And now we don't have enough gasoline because of the internet. Is it finally clear that perhaps 'the system' may not be 100% reliable and is it plausible enough yet that you may be the only one you and your loved ones can depend on for simple survival if enough things go awry?

Im not saying the end of the world is nigh. But it sure seems like the writing is on the wall that the next time you go to the grocery, maybe buy an extra $2 bag of rice and an extra $2 jug of water to shove in an old box in the back of the closet under the stairs. Do that once per paycheck, and unless a karrington event wipes out the grid tomorrow, you will be a good long ways from fighting your neighbors to the death over their half-cooked chihuahua if the system finally fails us in the big way.

 

15 days is how long it takes the average human to go without food before they will hunt, murder and cannibalize a stranger. Also, 50% of you reading this are 'average' ;D

 

prepping is such an odd thing and you don’t hear much of it outside of America

 

not too sure, here in UK I know a year ago I bought a lot more than normal. Pasta, rice, tinned foods, all foods that will keep - plus I stocked up on tobacco and rum - we didnt know if the lockdown was going to get worse so all essentials I made sure we had.

Didn't hurt to do it - and it will all get eaten anyway

 

There is some value to prepping for Hurricane Katrina style events, but really if you're prepping it's for if society disintegrates.

I see people collecting gold, silver, tens of thousands of dollars of rimfire ammunition, etc. You're far better off collecting food, water, comms equipment (HF radio is a good idea).

 

You can rest assured that whatever stash you have stocked away, if the sh$t really hits the fan, people more powerful than you with better guns and who are more ruthless will take it away from you.

As much as it pains the individualists, autonomy in the modern world is a pipe dream. it starts with prescription drugs that a large percentage of Americans need every day. Try making your own metformin.

 

i am always "prepped" for a katrina class event, and survived that very event as well as anyone.

the actual "disintegration of society" would be, of course, a more serious matter to which we would adapt or die.

i don't really buy the op's "2 weeks to cannibalism" scenario. after katrina we shared whatever we had and i have a feeling that my neighborhood would cooperate well enough to grow a crop of beans.

 

generators are noisy enough to attract all the wrong attention. after katrina police showed up needing my generator for the hospital. i'm sure the "individualists" would have died protecting a little generator barely able to power a light bulb and a fan and that would need gasoline shortly anyway.

 

If I remember correctly, after Katrina people run out of gas for their generators within a day. The first thing one would have to do is stash gasoline.

 

gasoline was "commandeered" by police (many were fleeing in their police cars) . no gasoline was available south of baton rouge. of course, none of us really knew that we would not have electricity until thanksgiving.

even after 2 weeks i don't remember any cases of cannibalism. i really need to look up the donner party and the essex survivors. i think it was a little longer than 2 weeks before they started looking appetizing.

 

Someone watches too many zombie apocalypse type movies.

 

What's strange these days is that preparedness and self-sufficiency seems odd to a lot of people. I imagine that perception has to do with the extreme preppers who are planning for some sort of Apocalypse but what we call "practical prepping" is just common sense.

For example, my wife and I live in an area that is not particularly disaster prone but last February we got hit by a freak ice storm that wrecked the electrical grid in our area. If we hadn't been prepared for that we would have been without power, water and heat in the middle of Winter for 10 days and there were folks north of us who were knocked off the grid for almost 3 weeks.

There's nothing crazy about being prepared for things like natural disasters, and as we're now experiencing in the Southeast U.S. there is also the threat of cyber attacks on our energy infrastructure to consider. What's crazy is not being prepared, and finding yourself stuck in the Stone Age for several weeks is a mighty unpleasant way to learn that lesson.

 

Well it did hurt to do it. Hoarders like yourself caused massive shortages and led to others going without.
Hoarding during times of crisis is selfish and counterproductive.

 

If you're remote, this makes perfect sense

 

You really see the best and worst in people after a natural disaster.

I got a glimpse of what the breakdown of society looks like after Hurricane Isabel steamrolled the Mid-Atlantic, and a friend of mine saw the same thing in California after the Northridge earthquake. It's an ugly thing seeing people go feral, but on the flip side it's good to see how most people will rally together and look after one another in the aftermath of a disaster.

Having been through several bad disasters myself, I don't buy that 2 weeks to cannibalism BS, either, but I have seen some people start to fray in less time than that.

 

Why bother - in some ways you are better off with a decent battery and some solar panels - I would just hide out on the camper

 

We are remote, but I learned to be prepared while I lived in the city and the power was down for almost a week after Hurricane Isabel. The only difference is that power and water outages tend to be shorter in densely populated areas because that is where restoration efforts typically begin.

 

that is a good idea. i stole a solar panel from a parking meter and rigged it to charge cell phones. wish i had a bigger panel. maybe enough to run a light bulb or 2. (after "normality" i did return the solar panel to parking enforcement with a thank you note.)

 

I would say it's best to have both.

When we were knocked off the grid for 10 days in February having a whole home generator and a portable back-up enabled us to split the work load between two generators instead of overworking one. Our ultimate back-up proved to be our wood burning fireplace which enabled us to stay warm and reduce our fuel consumption to the generators. Having back-ups to your back-ups (or multiple layers of preparedness) is always a good idea.

 

I agree. We have a small camper in the yard that we also use as a guest room. It has 350 watts of solar panels and a couple of deep cycle batteries. It can run on solar forever, and the fridge needs propane. The two 20 lbs tanks last about a month. So, with respect to power, we'd be all set, we'd just live in the camper.

 

100 W solar panels are now $80 on ebay. Note that you'll also need a charge controller, otherwise you'll kill your batteries.

 

Last time I experienced power being out for more than a few hours was the blizzard of '78. I believe we had no power for a few days. Grateful I don't live in the typical hurricane area of the US.

 

when did I mention hoarding? I just bought a few extra packs of pasta and rice! 3-4 bottles of rum and 100g of tobacco... didnt go mad just bought enough to fit in my rucksack and pannier.

its common sense to have these things - and yes I agree the people filling their SUV's with everything they can get their hands on is selfish but one needs to think and be prepared everywhere.

EDIT - Plus - im in the UK, and even if I had bought the entire stock from every shop in my local area - if any of the people in my area needed anything, then they would get. Not all the world is as selfish as you may think

 

Another reason to be prepared for anything well before the pooh hits the fan. There are always going to be runs on supplies and equipment immediately preceding and during a disaster. If you wait till the power grid is down to run to Home Depot for a generator you're going to wind up empty handed.

 

So having extra cans of food is now hoarding? What do YOU deem as appropriate? Only what you and yours will consume in a day? Two days? Going to the grocery constantly with no supplies for a sudden urge to make oatmeal raisin cookies?

Or is dependency on others the way to go? Believing the government will be there for you immediately to satisfy your needs?

Your position holds no water, not even a drop.