DOOMSDAY Preppers vs. DISASTER Preppers - What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate

Emergency Management ^ | December 2, 2012 | Valerie Lucus-McEwen

[2ndDivisionVet]

A few days ago, I posted this blog: Doomsday Preppers are Socially Selfish. The role of a blogger is to foment discussion an it certainly appears that’s what I did. I very much appreciated most of the 150+ comments – except perhaps the ones that called me ‘stupid’, ‘nuts, ‘arrogant’, ‘ignorant’ – and a few personal emails that were much more graphic.

I wrote this for the emergency management community, who pretty much misunderstood what I was saying. Social media is certainly powerful and I had no idea this would be so controversial.

FIRST .. let me offer a heartfelt apology. The title of that blog was misleading because there is a difference between DOOMSDAY Preppers and DISASTER Preppers. My sister, Marilyn, is a great example of a Disaster Prepper – although she calls it stocking up while working with her community. I asked her what the difference was and she said Disaster Preppers want to prepare for a prolonged power outage (all to common these days), while Doomsday Preppers are preparing for half the world to be destroyed.

For the record, I was a practicing emergency manager for over 20 years before I retired last year. The words 'All Disasters Are Local' are permanently inscribed on my brain. I would NEVER discourage or disparage work being done in communities as part of CERT or any other volunteer group. Those are the folks who are going to save the world. I can also unequivocally state (and I don’t know an emergency manager who would disagree with me) that NOBODY should expect help from their government during the first few weeks of any major disaster. The issues we saw in Katrina and Sandy (among others) only confirm it. The people who needed help right away were the ones who didn’t prepare...

[JRandomFreeper]

Actually, after contemplation... It's you who is dodging defining SHTF. So define. Or dodge.

/johnny

[danielmryan]

Actually, I suspect that the community will confiscate “excess food” for the “community good”.

Yep, and Ms. Hyphenated-Name is just doling out the standard patter to soften up anyone who would strenuously object. Only, things don't seem to be working according to plan right now. Preparedness takes many forms :)

But, of course, the patter would work once amplified by demagogy if the S really hits the F. Sadly, the demagogy will largely broadcast what already lurks in the heart of many men.

[Secret Agent Man]

what the hell is it her concern why people plan for whatever level of problem they think could occur?

not everyone preps for the same reasons, and not everyone plans as long or as detailed as’others. you do what you can, you plan for what you feel you need to, and if you want to keep going, you do.

[yorkiemom]

This country simply can’t survive united, it gets clearer every day.

WHY does everyone insist on sticking together? What is in it for each group?

It's no different than the Euro concept. All the countries either fail together or succeed together. So the more successful countries are forced to prop up the losers.

[yorkiemom]

This country simply can’t survive united, it gets clearer every day.

WHY does everyone insist on sticking together? What is in it for each group?

It's no different than the Euro concept. All the countries either fail together or succeed together. So the more successful countries are forced to prop up the losers.

[yorkiemom]

The selfishness of the doomsday preppers is real but is harmless because the scenarios in which they get to play out their selfishness will never come to pass.

Selfish? You're as bad as the socialist author.

If every time you go to the grocery store, you only buy food for your family and not the entire neighborhood, then you are being 'selfish'. Everything you do must be for the common good, after all.

[yorkiemom]

Every communist nation that ever existed has built walls to keep their people from escaping. The need for these walls is because the people who are more productive know that they will be better off outside the walls rather than inside.

For the same reason, those who support socialism realize that no productive person who could, say, leave Kalifornia and move to Texas if the nation split up, would stay in Kalifornia. The socialists cannot afford to have the nation split up.

Many posters on this thread seem to be blind to what is happening in Greece and, more importantly, what is yet to happen.

There is simply not enough wealth in the world to do that which the socialists among us have promised to do. This reality is slowly being recognized.

Another poster on this thread points out that there is a limit to just how long productive people are going to be willing to be "fair" to those who expect themselves to be supported. I predict an UNCIVIL WAR.

Excellent post. And exactly why I am prepping. And have found other intelligent, conservative, productive people to be around if/when the time comes. The ignorant Obama-voter socialist masses will have to fend for themselves.

[Justa]

Well one event you haven’t considered is a solar-orbit asteroid or low-magnitude comet impact approaching from the sun, ala the Tanguska impact. No one saw that coming since it approached from the sun.

SOHO might pick it up but radar systems eventually would.

All of a suddent lots of people are leaving Washington and the news networks reporters are all low-level subs or go to taped programming. That’s how you’ll know. And you won’t have time to make a trip to the stores you’re completely dependent upon.

I know from comet Lee in 1999 that if there’s any reason to be concerned Americans will be the absolute last to be informed.

[CodeToad]

“The selfishness of the doomsday preppers is real”

Define ‘selfish’. You talk too stupid to know the meaning of the word without distoring the definition like a liberal. So, go ahead. Give your best liberal try.

[Paladin2]

"...tornadoe..."

Dan, is that you?

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

This author seems more like a liberal do-gooder to me.

Let's call a spade a spade.

She's a communist. Plain and simple.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

You are delusional. You should really stop commenting on this thread. You won’t be convincing anyone here to think as you do.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

And remember, out here, somewhere, somone is doing something you don't like.

That used to be the definition of a Puritan. These days, it seems to have started to cover a wider range of the populace. Most disturbing.