I read this article the day before the 4th of July about a doomsday prepper “revealing his fallout shelter,” which, if I’m being honest, made me sad. Actually, it was the comments section that made me sad, but I’ll get there.
Once upon a time, I watched the Doomsday Preppers television show that aired from 2012 to 2014 with a bit of jealously. These people seemed to have their act together, even going so far as to building complete underground bunkers that, they say, would survive nuclear fallout. Perhaps. But it was really their level of dedication (in time and money) that I was envious of.
Truth be told, I could never put that much time or money into my preparedness since I don’t have enough of either, but I’ve found what I can do for myself and family, which will have to be enough come what may.
Generally, I agree with the so-called doomsday prepper’s advice, which you can read for yourself. Aside from my disagreement on prioritizing food storage over water storage, he says, “My advice is to take a deep breath, come up with a plan that you can stick to, and don’t stress yourself out. We are living in a fragile society, and things could unravel very quickly.”
I agree with the man. But I’m afraid the sheeple simply don’t understand this and never will. I still know plenty of people who say “it” whatever “it” is will never happen here in America, or that “it” won’t happen to them, or that “such and such” a catastrophe can’t happen until some specific date. Whatever their reasoning is, their conclusion remains the same: they don’t see the need to prepare themselves and won’t until it’s too late. Probably.
I can’t really blame them. After all, it’s not like we’re all dodging tornadoes everyday or complaining that yet another earthquake destroyed our homes. Things are generally status quo, which is good! But it breeds complacency, which is surely bad.
Anyway, I’ve complained about the sheeple enough. What I really want to complain about today are the idiots commenting about what this doomsday prepper is really concerned about because, from what I can tell, they’re off base by a large margin.
Let’s start with one of the first comments I read that completely misses the point:
Don’t they get so disappointed when nothing happens and they have blown all that money on a hole in the ground?
Not really. Sure, there are ways to spend tons of money on prepping and end up not needing whatever it is you bought. An underground bunker is an obvious example that the comment section brings up on occasion, but from what I can tell, the doomsday prepper never mentioned owning one. Anyway, most of my preps will be used over time (food, medications, hygiene supplies), while some are useful in other capacities, such as IBC totes for watering my garden when it’s horribly dry. Are there supplies and equipment that I’ve purchased which may never get used? Yes. But it’s a small price to pay, in my opinion, to be better prepared just in case.
The next comment is so annoying:
How do you become a “professional doomsday prepper”, as if that’s a job like assuming you are an “influencer’? How does your C.V. read with regards to previous experience….none…but I have a vivid imagination & 3 years of dehydrated food packs & I’m still working on the water supply to rehydrate the food…..
This is, to a point, a fair criticism. But I’d bet this doomsday prepper is far more able to survive damn near anything life throws at him than you, the commenter, could imagine. My guess is you work for the government, right?
Another commenter is off base, as usual:
Who wants to live underground like a rat in a radioactive wasteland? If it comes to it I hope the first strike lands smack on my head.
Here, I believe the commenter is assuming that, because the article referenced mentions nuclear war more than once, the prepper must have an underground bunker for survival, but I don’t recall that being stated anywhere. As with most people who don’t understand something, this commenter jumped straight to an extreme view that most of us likely don’t hold. Preparedness is much more than about surviving extreme events, like nuclear war.
The very next comment, again, doesn’t understand the point in preparations:
What if he’s not at home when it all kicks off. Doh.
Yes, there’s a risk in being away from home where the bulk of your preparations and plans lie, but that doesn’t mean whatever the prepper has done and planned for is pointless. What if he is home? What if he can return home? What if his family is home even if he’s not? What if, believe it or not, something bad happens but it’s not the world-ending event the sheeple always jump to as the ONLY reason they think we, preppers, do what we do?
I hear this one a lot:
I’d grab those closest to me, open the swankiest bottle of champagne I had and watch the fireworks on the nearest vantage point. What’s the point of living after nuclear war? However, it can’t happen yet as I have lots to do.
I think this is just a way for most people to act like they don’t have to do anything productive. And, again, they jump straight to nuclear war. There’s a lot that can happen in the world, including in America, that falls short of such a catastrophe in which having preparations make sense.
Here’s another person who can’t read:
Poor chap must have been born after the 1980s, bless.
The prepper in question is actually 50 years old according to the article. Good job reading! In any case, what difference does this make? I can only hope and pray that more young people wake up and understand just what’s possible and likely. Maybe they’ll clean this place up after we’ve totally destroyed it. 🙂
Here’s one commenter I can probably agree with:
90 days of food is woefully inadequate
My guess is that the prepper in question has more food than that, but add in family, friends, and unexpected guests, and 90 days of food goes quickly. Add in all the ways that things can get destroyed, from water damage to pests, and you’ll surely want more stored than not.
I’ll end this with three comments, one after another, that center around the same topic of preparedness being fear-based:
Is a life lived in fear really better than no life at all?
Why is being prepped equated with fear? It’s just about being prepped.
You can’t truly prepare for doomsday. Being unafraid means living your life and not trying to control that which is beyond your control. Being ‘prepared’ will only, at best, prolong the suffering for a while, if you survive the initial catastrophe.] Say ‘Lord [or whatever floats your boat] grant me the serenity to accept those things I cannot change, the strength to accept those that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’
Fear is a part of preparedness, that’s true. But so is hope. While I have no interest in meeting my maker before it’s my time, I absolutely don’t want my children (and eventually my grandchildren) to meet Him before their time!
Preparedness is about the future. It’s about getting through something until the world straightens things out, whether that problem is a localized natural disaster or a world war.
Please, sheeple, for the love of all that’s holy, stop acting like life is an either/or proposition. There’s a lot of grey area to be sorted out, plenty of ways for things to be bad but not catastrophic, and many times where people who swore things were never going to “be that bad” turned out to be horribly wrong.
At the very least, a little bit of preparations won’t hurt. And if it turns out you never needed extra food or whatever, then donate it. You’ll have helped somebody in need and maybe even won a few brownie points with YOUR maker.
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