[Wōdnes-dæg] Preppers: Not Starchy and Dull Ties, but Freeze Dried Food and Bartering

Introduction
Going too Far
Some Possible Disasters
Conclusion
References

This entry's topic is a bit of a cheat, since it didn't come from a newspaper or a Google Alert. I'm letting it slide in since I did get it through email, it was unexpected, quite surprising, and it offers a whole group to learn about.

{Preppers. Even National Geographic is curious, enough to make a show about them. Picture from Doomsday Preppers' Overview page}

Introduction

Preppers, people who are preparing for what they believe is an imminent disaster or cataclysm,¹ might seem a little crazy to some. People a little too close to the paranoid thinking espoused by people like Glen Beck. But before jumping to any conclusions, let's see the extent of Preppers' preparations.

Based on the content of Prepper.org, it seems like they do it all.² But, the three mainstays, understandably, look like becoming self-reliant for food, bartering, and self-defense.

The first two are understandable.

Bartering doesn't necessarily need to undercut money or the economy, it could be used to buttress it in some ways.

And learning how to grow your own food, make your own flour,³ and so on and so on are all really important things. Doing things in the old ways helps to perpetuate those ways. In a way, people who know how to mill their own flour are living pieces of history while the rest of us still buy it from store shelves. Stockpiling food can be problematic, however.

Nonetheless, if you're expecting civilization to collapse, it makes sense that you'd want to make sure you can defend yourself, but this sort of preparation is where the movement starts to sound less quaint and becomes vaguely threatening.

Going too Far

Yes, if society as we know it collapses, that means that the law might lose its power to maintain order. And a return to what some call "natural law" would not be pretty. But to take preparations to the extreme of stocking up on guns and ammo is simply going too far.

Getting firearms or archery training in preparation strains the boundary, but still seems somewhat sensible. If it makes a person feel safe, that's great, but it suggests too firm a belief in the imminent collapse of society.

Some Possible Disasters

Now, there is a lot going on across the world to suggest something might be coming down the tubes shortly.

The problem of having a money based more on an idea or series of concepts than any tangible thing (like gold); a new disease breaking out of laboratories and causing a pandemic; an earthquake that will finally cut large pieces of California and British Columbia away from the North American continent; a zombie apocalypse.

Okay, the last one's made up, but all of these scenarios seem to lean so heavily on things out of people's control or their own self interest that zombies may as well be included in a list of possibilities.

A small group of people may have a lot of sway over the global economy but what do they have to gain if that economy crumbles? Without that sort of system in place all of their value becomes meaningless. If you were in such a powerful position wouldn't you do everything possible to serve your best interest as well as, at least nominally, the best interest of everyone else?

The same goes for the fear over scientists potentially publishing their findings about making avian flu transmittable between mammals.³ Human hubris doesn't put people beyond trying to spread it in the mistaken belief that they have an antidote and will be safe. All the same, if pandemic strikes and the world's population is decimated where does that leave the survivors re: its resources? A power vacuum might exist, but society would also be entirely re-ordered.

Conclusion

Times are tough, economies are eccentric, and people might be getting more paranoid as a result. But it's important to remember that as much as there's a lot going on in the world, ours is also a world in which its easier than ever to see/read/listen to what's going on.

Our high level of connectivity means we get more news, the fact that a lot of it is negative definitely isn't going to help us feel better about the future. But it's more a matter of volume than of content. Bad things happened all over the world before we could read about them with just a click or a flick.

Nonetheless, Preppers should be commended for their dedication to their beliefs. And, ultimately, for those of us who are perhaps more optimistic, for their preparing themselves as potential teachers as well. And if there is no major disaster, then at the least there will be a whole subculture that keeps extreme DIY attitudes alive while the rest of us rely more and more on each other.

References

1. Forsyth, Jim. "Subculture of Americans prepares for civilization's collapse." Reuters 21 Jan 2012.

2. The Prepper Networks. Prepper.org. 2009-2010.

3. Branswell, Helen. "Future work on lab-made bird flu viruses should be done in most secure labs." Winnipeg Free Press 6 March 2012.