Doomsday Preppers: Are They Mentally Ill?

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The discussion centers around a reality show featuring families preparing for extreme doomsday scenarios, such as a coronal mass ejection and nuclear holocaust. Concerns are raised about the psychological impact on children exposed to these beliefs, with some arguing that it constitutes child abuse. The families engage in drills and training that instill fear and promote a survivalist mentality, including preparing for violent confrontations with neighbors. Critics express disbelief at the show's portrayal of these families and the so-called experts who endorse their actions, suggesting it sensationalizes fear for entertainment value. The conversation also touches on broader societal issues, including the normalization of extreme preparedness and the potential consequences of such beliefs on community dynamics. Participants question the rationality of these preparations, contrasting them with practical emergency planning and expressing skepticism about the motivations behind the show and its production.
  • #61
Pigpen said:
A few cans of beans, some water, ramen noodles. Does not seem like that would cost a lot.

Well, perhaps the people did that. But then suddenly they find their houses underwater and their supplies ruined. What to do then?
The thing with Katrina was that nobody expected the levees would break. If they didn't break, then most would have been fine.

We all saw Katrina comming a week in advance. Plenty of time to prepare, be it stocking up on food and stuff or hoofing it out of there. People chose to be lazy and not do anything.

Haha, that's not the first time I heard that poor people are lazy. Well, I guess it says quite a lot about you.
 
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  • #62
To be clear, we are discussing armageddon, holocaust nutters in this thread.

We are not discussing hurricane or other storm preparedness scenarios.

We're not discussing people that fear a few weeks of a power outage. We are discussing people that, as that woman on the show said
Mother: We have no other purpose in life than to prepare for armageddon.
 
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  • #63
Everyone has their own limits for the risks they're willing to take, and if someone wants to stockpile a few days' worth of food just in case a disaster hits, I think that's fine. However, stockpiling weeks of food for an EMP when there's absolutely no credible threat of an EMP is just ridiculous. You're probably much more likely to die while driving or crossing the road than you are to ever use those supplies.
 
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  • #64
Pigpen said:
Point is preparations are not only physical things. Like I said, we all saw it coming people chose to do nothing. Don't throw the "they were too poor to do anything for themself" card, been played already.

So basically you're saying that I can't throw that card because you don't like that argument?? It happens to be the reality here.
 
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  • #65
Everyone has their own limits for the risks they're willing to take, and if someone wants to stockpile a few days' worth of food just in case a disaster hits, I think that's fine. However, stockpiling weeks of food for an EMP when there's absolutely no credible threat of an EMP is just ridiculous. You're probably much more likely to die while driving or crossing the road than you are to ever use those supplies.
i wouldn't put the risk at 0% for an EMP. It has happened before: the sun can cause an EMF blast (happened in the eighteen hundreds and fried telegraph lines. Today, potentially, it could be much much worse). Rare it is... but not impossible. Better to need it and have it then need it and not have it.

And as an aside (not that I have or will do this...but for the sake of argument), if I want to stock-pile 5 years of food and can afford to do so, what gives you the right to say that its stupid or should not be allowed. Am I hurting you? Nope. If I want to teach myself to defend myself in a dozen ways? is that hurting you? Nope. If I want to grow all of my own food and am not bugging anyone? SHould I not be allowed to do that?

Granted, you should not be scaring young kids like that. Now that being said, there is nothing wrong with teaching kids to defend themselves (once they are old enough to realize what they are learning and are mature enough too). Heck, better this then letting the TV raise your kids imho, or letting them get into drugs and alcohol and the such...
 
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  • #66
BavarianRaven said:
i wouldn't put the risk at 0% for an EMP. It has happened before: the sun can cause an EMF blast (happened in the eighteen hundreds and fried telegraph lines. Today, potentially, it could be much much worse). Rare it is... but not impossible. Better to need it and have it then need it and not have it.
The 1800's, yeah, post that. How many people had phones in the 1800's?

And as an aside (not that I have or will do this...but for the sake of argument), if I want to stock-pile 5 years of food and can afford to do so, what gives you the right to say that its stupid or should not be allowed. Am I hurting you? Nope.
And if you had bothered to read this thread, you'd see that we have no problem with hoarders, if that's all you are.
 
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  • #67
BobG said:
Saying nobody expected the levees to break is an exaggeration. In fact, the fear of the levees breaking was one of the reasons for trying to evacuate the entire city.

It is true that many of the people that stayed didn't believe the levees would break. Or that believed they could take care of themselves and weather it out in their attic. Hence the other warnings also put out on TV that those foolish enough to try to weather it out in their attic should at least take something with them so they could cut through the roof when the water got too high.

And, even some of those that believed there was a possibility of the levees breaking stayed - either because of a lack of transportation or because they were afraid someone would loot their house while they were gone.

The possibility of the levees breaking was no surprise to the overwhelming majority of people in the town. It was only a surprise to those that refused to believe the warnings.

I would be shocked if there were even one household that was prepared to evacuate in an emergency that found their supplies suddenly ruined because the levees broke.
Bob, you live in Colorado, how much food have you stockpiled? :-p

And no more hurricanes and tornadoes, this is about wacko armageddon. Any more off topic posts will be deleted and infractions given.
 
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  • #68
BavarianRaven said:
i wouldn't put the risk at 0% for an EMP. It has happened before: the sun can cause an EMF blast (happened in the eighteen hundreds and fried telegraph lines. Today, potentially, it could be much much worse). Rare it is... but not impossible. Better to need it and have it then need it and not have it.

It's not impossible, but if it's much less likely than me dying of a heart attack or in a car crash, I'd rather focus on those scenarios.

And as an aside (not that I have or will do this...but for the sake of argument), if I want to stock-pile 5 years of food and can afford to do so, what gives you the right to say that its stupid or should not be allowed. Am I hurting you? Nope.

The fact that you're not hurting me doesn't automatically make your opinions 100% correct. You're perfectly free to stockpile 5 years of food, just as I'm perfectly free to believe that Earth is flat, but that doesn't mean either is rational.
 
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  • #69
Ok this has gone off to the deep end.

I don't care to debate my lifestyle and what I feel is right for my family in good days or bad.

Some people are making a case from a TV show which was cut and edited to make it more spectacular than it is.

If you want more info PM me, also my email should be in my profile.


Want some more information? Go listen to something like the survival podcast who're motto is:
Helping You Live the Life You Want, If Times Get Tough, Or Even If They Don't


Ciao ;)
 
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  • #70
And if you had bothered to read this thread, you'd see that we have no problem with hoarders, if that's all you are

evidently you do. its called being prepared...not hoarding ;)
sure a small percent do have OCD and the such... most are just people who want to see their family and friends cared for should the worse happen.



he 1800's, yeah, post that. How many people had phones in the 1800's?

thats the whole point. no one knows how bad it would be today? it might be nothing... or it could nock out everything from computers to cars to planes and the such... and imagine the hell that could create. the odds are low. but i like playing it safe =D
 
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  • #71
bill1064 said:
While all the intelligent rational people were sitting on their roof waiting for the government to save them.

While the rational

Quoting my original post:
Post disaster crisis handling is job of the government not of individuals.

All the government agencies advice on what kind of measures should be taken during crisis.

You don't need to go to self proclaimed experts to know how to prepare for disasters. Neither, you need to be self proclaimed expert to be prepared for disasters.
 
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  • #72
BavarianRaven said:
evidently you do. its called being prepared...not hoarding ;)
sure a small percent do have OCD and the such... most are just people who want to see their family and friends cared for should the worse happen.

Well, it is hoarding. And it's not a bad thing to do. We're discussing the nutters on national geographic, not the people that are "prepared".



thats the whole point. no one knows how bad it would be today? it might be nothing... or it could nock out everything from computers to cars to planes and the such... and imagine the hell that could create. the odds are low. but i like playing it safe =D

And you think that our technology didn't improve with respect to 1800?? And you think that power companies don't anticipate the trouble??
 
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  • #73
The fact that you're not hurting me doesn't automatically make your opinions 100% correct. You're perfectly free to stockpile 5 years of food, just as I'm perfectly free to believe that Earth is flat, but that doesn't mean either is rational.

Doesnt mean i am 100% wrong either. (and i don't believe the world is flat).
But it doesn't make me a bad person either if I want to do this either. ;)
 
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  • #74
Well, it is hoarding. And it's not a bad thing to do. We're discussing the nutters on national geographic, not the people that are "prepared
yes, but we are getting lumped together. :/

And you think that our technology didn't improve with respect to 1800?? And you think that power companies don't anticipate the trouble??
__________________

the problem is... its not as easy as you make it sound. Military hardware is "hardened" for EMP shocks... civilian and transport technology not so much. sadly. :/ (the problem is of course cost)
 
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  • #75
BavarianRaven said:
i wouldn't put the risk at 0% for an EMP. It has happened before: the sun can cause an EMF blast (happened in the eighteen hundreds and fried telegraph lines. Today, potentially, it could be much much worse). Rare it is... but not impossible. Better to need it and have it then need it and not have it.

Geez, guys, get your acronyms straight. EMPs are caused by nuclear explosions and didn't happen in the 1800's. CMEs are caused by the Sun, and you're right it fried telegraph lines in the 1800's. Long power lines are also vulnerable. The longer, the more vulnerable.

In the 1800's, that wasn't even a known risk. In the 2000's, not only is it a known risk, but we have satellites that warn us a CME is on the way hours before it arrives (or at least the mass part of Coronal Mass Ejections). Power companies have methods to reduce the risk of a CME causing a blackout.

Yes, there is still a chance of a CME causing a blackout. No, there's not a chance that every precaution every power company takes will fail. The worst case is a local blackout; not a world catastrophe.
 
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  • #76
I'm a prepper and I'm shocked by this thread.
I became a prepper AFTER a natural disaster that i was not prepared for. A hurricane.
I had no water, no electric, no sewer, no way to drive for help, no cell phone service, and no land line for over a week.
I ran out of food very quickly. If it had gone on for another week, i would have had to start eating pets.
And that was only a category 1 hurricane.
I now keep at least a month's worth of free dried food in the house at all times, and i stock up on water when i here a hurricane is expected.

If being labeled "mentally ill" means i'll survive the next time. then so be it.
 
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  • #77
BavarianRaven said:
yes, but we are getting lumped together. :/

Well, I don't think anybody here lumped you together. If I did, then I'm sorry for that. I don't agree with you, but you're not mentally ill either. :-p
 
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  • #78
BavarianRaven said:
Doesnt mean i am 100% wrong either. (and i don't believe the world is flat).
But it doesn't make me a bad person either if I want to do this either. ;)
As said before, if all you are doing is hoarding, more power to you.
 
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  • #79
DoD2706982608 said:
I'm a prepper and I'm shocked by this thread.
I became a prepper AFTER a natural disaster that i was not prepared for. A hurricane.
I had no water, no electric, no sewer, no way to drive for help, no cell phone service, and no land line for over a week.
I ran out of food very quickly. If it had gone on for another week, i would have had to start eating pets.
And that was only a category 1 hurricane.
I now keep at least a month's worth of free dried food in the house at all times, and i stock up on water when i here a hurricane is expected.

If being labeled "mentally ill" means i'll survive the next time. then so be it.

We're not talking about that kind of thing here. We're talking about doomsday preppers. Keeping a month's worth of food is a good thing to do (certainly in a hurricane unsafe zone). Drilling your children for a doomsday scenario is not ok.
 
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  • #80
micromass said:
We're discussing the nutters on national geographic, not the people that are "prepared".
I think this is key, and puts the thread back on topic.

The issue, I think, is where do you draw the line between them?

One man's prepared is another's nutter. Who here claims the right to have a bigger share of opinion than another?

I guess it really comes down to probabilities. Each of us assigns a probability to the way civilization might fall, and when. The way we assign them can vary wildly.
 
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  • #81
think this is key, and puts the thread back on topic.

The issue, I think, is where do you draw the line between them?

One man's prepared is another's nutter. Who here claims the right to have a bigger share of opinion than another?

this.
 
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  • #82
Evo said:
Bob, you live in Colorado, how much food have you stockpiled? :-p

And no more hurricanes and tornadoes, this is about wacko armageddon. Any more off topic posts will be deleted and infractions given.

That's not fair. We only have blizzards and tornadoes in Colorado. We don't have any armageddons. Heck, we don't even have armadillos!

But I do make sure I have cold weather gear and my winch gear in my Jeep before I head off across the prairie in a blizzard.
 
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  • #83
DaveC426913 said:
I think this is key, and puts the thread back on topic.

The issue, I think, is where do you draw the line between them?

One man's prepared is another's nutter. Who here claims the right to have a bigger share of opinion than another?

I guess it really comes down to probabilities. Each of us assigns a probability to the way civilization might fall, and when. The way we assign them can vary wildly.
I draw the line at the ones that gather weapons and practice shooting at human targets because they believe that they will have to kill their neighbors.

A good place to draw the line?
 
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  • #84
micromass said:
We're not talking about that kind of thing here. We're talking about doomsday preppers. Keeping a month's worth of food is a good thing to do (certainly in a hurricane unsafe zone). Drilling your children for a doomsday scenario is not ok.

Is is ok if i teach my dog how to dial 911 in case I'm incapacitated?
 
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  • #85
DoD2706982608 said:
Is is ok if i teach my dog how to dial 911 in case I'm incapacitated?

You might go on "america's got talent" with that.
 
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  • #86
DoD2706982608 said:
Is is ok if i teach my dog how to dial 911 in case I'm incapacitated?
My cat dialed 911 once, try explaining that to the county sheriff. He had no idea what to do when I told him what my daughter claimed happened. She said he jumped on the fax machine, knocked the handset off (with buttons on the handset) and she thinks when he walked over the phone, he must have managed to hit the right buttons. She said she heared a voice coming from the phone, got scared and hung it up. :p
 
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  • #87
I draw the line at the ones that gather weapons and practice shooting at human targets because they believe that they will have to kill their neighbors.

A good place to draw the line?

i'd put the line closer to the giant unground bunker complex but that's just me. some of these people are over the line, some are not. I have lived in some really shady neighbourhoods and defending your life/friend's life/property is not over the line imo. (granted there are some loons out there that just want to hurt people...they are sick). The problem arises (as in Katrina), you have supplies you need to keep your family and yourself alive. Your neighbours dont. There is not enough to go around... so do you help your neighbours and feed 'em (or give them water, etc) for a day then starve together. Or do you defend your stuff and keep yourself and your family alive? Its a tough question and I know everyone will answer differently... but family should come first imo. (at least they do to me, imo).
 
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  • #88
Always always keep in mind that, if there's a reality TV show about it, you can guarantee nothing about it is real. They blow this up for the shock value. Don't fall for it.
 
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  • #89
DaveC426913 said:
Always always keep in mind that, if there's a reality TV show about it, you can guarantee nothing about it is real. They blow this up for the shock value. Don't fall for it.
Then you haven't seen the serious websites for these people.
 
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  • #90
Evo said:
Then you haven't seen the serious websites for these people.
Mm. Fair 'nuff.
 
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