Doomsday Preppers: Are They Mentally Ill?

[Ftheog]

It's ok to come out of the prepping closet evo. We won't judge you.

 

[turbo]

Thanks. Nope, not going to happen, IMO.

I'm not going to tell you what you should and shouldn't do. It's your life, not mine. Unfortunately it was fear of banks that caused the Japanese to keep their money at home in small safes. Those that survived the Tsunami had their entire life's savings lost. And you know what, people that found those safes full of money and jewelry didn't steal them, they turned them into the police in hopes that the owners could be found.

I live very cheaply and practically. I can grow my own food, I'm a great cook from scratch. I sew, knit, crochet, about the only thing I don't do is spin my own yarn and weave cloth, but I can take clothes apart and make new clothes from the cloth. I know how to make patterns. I'm good at plumbing and carpentry (thanks to my mom and 1st husband.

But I don't fear any doomsday scenarious. I'm far more likely to die of a stroke or heart attack.

Why don't people preserve basic skills in their families and pass them on to their children? I was the only kid in my family who would work hard to gather wild foods, prepare them, and learn cooking and baking skills from my mother and grandmother. My 3 sisters couldn't be bothered, and nobody pressed the issue. That was a LONG time back, so I can't hang that laziness on the current generation, but it is disappointing to see basic skills falling by the wayside.

One of my neighbors loves to hunt, but when he shoots a deer he calls me so I will go down to his place and gut it out for him. The last time, the non-hunting neighbor between us (he used to hunt, but he stopped eating meat) asked me to wait a bit so he could take his grand-daughters down to watch. They were 4 and 6 at the time, IIR. As I gutted the deer, I explained what I was taking out of it (intestines, stomach, liver, kidneys, etc) and explained what all the parts did. The girls were thrilled. Their grandfather chimed in with extra information whenever they had a question. As usual, I was all blood practically up to my elbows, but the girls weren't put off by that. That summer, my neighbor had bought a bunch of broiler chicks and raised them in a portable rolling pen. The girls were there to see the broilers slaughtered and cleaned. He's a good guy - he just wants the girls to know where the meat on their plates comes from, and they are better-off for it, IMO.

 

[Ftheog]

And who will insist that the US pays off his debt?? If the US goes bankrupt then it will drag the whole world down. Nobody wants this...

There lies the question. On September 11 2008 almost 500 billion dollars was electronically withdrawn from the fed trading window. There was a electronic run on the banks. The fed immediately closed the window and raised the FDIC insurance level to 250000. You can Google it. There is a video on YouTube of a Rep from pa talking about it on cspan. Yet no one has explained exactly where the money has gone. China and Russia are pushing for a replacement of the dollar as the world reserve currency. China is buying assets and commodities with money funded by consumer lifestyle of the us. Heck they are building a majority of the new bridge in San Francisco. While the government goes on TV giving lip service about job creation.

 

[Evo]

There lies the question. On September 11 2008 almost 500 billion dollars was electronically withdrawn from the fed trading window. There was a electronic run on the banks. The fed immediately closed the window and raised the FDIC insurance level to 250000. You can Google it. There is a video on YouTube of a Rep from pa talking about it on cspan. Yet no one has explained exactly where the money has gone. China and Russia are pushing for a replacement. Of the dollar as the reserve currency. China is buying assets and commodities with money funded by consumer lifestyle of the us. Heck they are building a majority of the new bridge in San Francisco. While the government goes on TV giving lip service about job creation.

We don't allow fear mongering over overly speculative posts.

The thread topic is the Nat Geo show depicting the lifestyle of *doomsday preppers*. Further off topic posting will be deleted.

I will allow discussions of doomsday cults, like the raelian invasion of part of France that has been in the news recently. But it must be about that issue.

 

[Ftheog]

It explains my thoughts on why I think hyperinflation is a concern. Everything I posted is easily verified.

 

[Evo]

It explains my thoughts on why I think hyperinflation is a concern. Everything I posted is easily verified.

But extrapolating anything out to the point of a doomsday scenario is too overly speculative for our forum.

 

[Ftheog]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGVeLFscMFw"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/6152204/UN-wants-new-global-currency-to-replace-dollar.html"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8602786/New-San-Francisco-bridge-built-in-China-to-be-shipped-to-US.html"

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/12/31/1472023/chinese-company-eyes-boise.html"

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/into-africa-banks-expand-south-of-sahara/"

 

[Ftheog]

But extrapolating anything out to the point of a doomsday scenario is too overly speculative for our forum.

since I listed mainstream outlets to support my speculation on the doomsday scenario that we are discussing can my position stand then?

 

[swishAL]

Why don't people preserve basic skills in their families and pass them on to their children? I was the only kid in my family who would work hard to gather wild foods, prepare them, and learn cooking and baking skills from my mother and grandmother. My 3 sisters couldn't be bothered, and nobody pressed the issue. That was a LONG time back, so I can't hang that laziness on the current generation, but it is disappointing to see basic skills falling by the wayside.

One of my neighbors loves to hunt, but when he shoots a deer he calls me so I will go down to his place and gut it out for him. The last time, the non-hunting neighbor between us (he used to hunt, but he stopped eating meat) asked me to wait a bit so he could take his grand-daughters down to watch. They were 4 and 6 at the time, IIR. As I gutted the deer, I explained what I was taking out of it (intestines, stomach, liver, kidneys, etc) and explained what all the parts did. The girls were thrilled. Their grandfather chimed in with extra information whenever they had a question. As usual, I was all blood practically up to my elbows, but the girls weren't put off by that. That summer, my neighbor had bought a bunch of broiler chicks and raised them in a portable rolling pen. The girls were there to see the broilers slaughtered and cleaned. He's a good guy - he just wants the girls to know where the meat on their plates comes from, and they are better-off for it, IMO.

What a great post!

Evo, you have to think of it like this. When the a-bomb dropped on Hiroshima there were people that survived only because they had prepared for an unlikely but possible scenario. I remember reading a article somewhere (that I am probably grossly misquoting) about a family that survived the blast and they were only a football field or two from ground zero. The reason they survived was because they had built a bunker and luckily the door faced the opposite direction from the blast wave. The chances were probably slim that the bomb would be dropped but they prepared anyway. Maybe some people (probably dead) thought they were crazy.

You can't just say because the chances of x (tornado) is greater than the chances of y (emp, nuke strike) should mean that people shouldn't prepare for y (I guess you could, but that would only be your opinion). What I keep seeing is you think these folks live in constant fear and that is simply not true. For most their fears are relieved because of prepping (I know mine are).

Again thanks for allowing this thread to continue. :)

 

[Evo]

since I listed mainstream outlets to support my speculation on the doomsday scenario that we are discussing can my position stand then?

I'll leave your post, but this thread is not for discussing economics. As I said, it is ridiculous to predict a doomsday scenario, and we're not going to. There are many forums where you can make up doomsday scenarios all you want, this isn't one of them. Capiche?

 

[Ftheog]

cappuccino? no thanks, to sweet for me

 

[Ftheog]

that was a joke evo, don't ban me

 

[Evo]

that was a joke evo, don't ban me

I actually like all of you people. You are polite, calm, respectful. In other words, better than some of our older members, (which will remain unamed ).

Maybe I will add an item to my tornado pile in honor of each of you.

 

[Ftheog]

so, anywho, seeing as we are on a physics forum


any of you more science people want to draw me up plans for a cheap wood gasifier to run my truck and genny?

 

[Ftheog]

I actually like all of you people. You are polite, calm, respectful. In other words, better than some of our older members, (which will remain unamed ).

Maybe I will add an item to my tornado pile in honor of each of you.

what's in your pile now?

 

[Evo]

so, anywho, seeing as we are on a physics forum


any of you more science people want to draw me up plans for a cheap wood gasifier to run my truck and genny?

You can ask for help in Engineering.

 

[Ftheog]

You can ask for help in Engineering.

will I get banned for that?

 

[Evo]

what's in your pile now?

I have fully cooked non perishable foods in bags that can be easily torn open, water, candles, waterproof flashlight, kitchen matches, a lighter, a knife, an ax, kleenex, one of those annoying air horns so I can call for help if I am too weak to talk, a hammer, a crowbar, my meds, a first aid kit.

 

[Evo]

will I get banned for that?

No, you can ask for help, you won't get in trouble unless you start making claims or being rude, etc... If you have information on what you want to do, you can post a link to it to help explain the project.

 

[Ftheog]

if I get banned, I'm blaming you

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=510711"

 

[Evo]

if I get banned, I'm blaming you

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=510711"

Careful, I've banned the same member 3 times accidently.

Hope you get some help with your project.

 

[Ftheog]

I have fully cooked non perishable foods in bags that can be easily torn open, water, candles, waterproof flashlight, kitchen matches, a lighter, a knife, an ax, kleenex, one of those annoying air horns so I can call for help if I am too weak to talk, a hammer, a crowbar, my meds, a first aid kit.

batteries for flashlight? how are matches stored? keep in a film canister or dip them in wax to waterproof them. A paintball tube also works great for storage. Radio? good to see you have layers with items in case one fails. Get a whistle as well. If the flashlight takes the big dry cell batteries, you can use steel wool across the terminals to create a fire as well. How is the food stored?

 

[DaveC426913]

If the flashlight takes the big dry cell batteries...

Crank-recharging flashlights and crank-recharging radios. Most awseome survival invention since fire.

 

[Evo]

Crank-recharging flashlights and crank-recharging radios. Most awseome survival invention since fire.

And solar chargers for cell phones.

 

[Ftheog]

Crank-recharging flashlights and crank-recharging radios. Most awseome survival invention since fire.

true, I'm a fan of the crank radios, not so much the flashlights, I think the lumen output is lacking, I prefer rechargeable off solar

 

[DaveC426913]

true, I'm a fan of the crank radios, not so much the flashlights, I think the lumen output is lacking, I prefer rechargeable off solar

I'm happy to put up with the low output, knowing that I am dependent on no outside factors for recharging it when I need to (such as whether I remembered to plug it in). For me, there is no more important feature in a flashlight than it being ready to go instantly, despite an arbitrarily long period of neglect. Nothing wrong with having both types. But, short of actually breaking, a crank flashlight will never leave you in the dark.

 

[bill1064]

But extrapolating anything out to the point of a doomsday scenario is too overly speculative for our forum.

I think what Ftheog is trying to do is convince you and others that these doomsday scenarios are not as impossible as some seem to think, and as an extension of that, that the Doomsday Preppers are not insane. That they are preparing their kids, not abusing them.

Hyperinflation has happened many times in the past and is happening in several countries today. Check WIKI.

Coronal ejections have happened many times in the past. The worst on record was in the 1800s. One that bad today would destroy much of the high tech electronics on the planet. Including electronic ignitions in cars and trucks and destroy the electrical grid worldwide.

Korea is known to be researching EMP and missile technology. Iran is Korea's right hand in that research. An EMP would have the same effect as the coronal ejection.

Epidemics have in the past killed large parts of the world population. Modern medicine may or may not be able to react quickly enough to the next one.

And of course there's the MSMs favorite doomsday scenario which they pipe into our living rooms nightly...Global Warming.

I think the people who adamantly deny the possibility of a those doomsday scenarios are the ones who are having mental problems. I'm sure there's a fancy psychiatrist name for it but denial and wishful thinking is what I call it.

I agree that some of the people in the show were either a bit over the edge or, more likely, made to look that way by the editors. But I also commend them for preparing to care for themselves and their children.

And BTW most preppers use the foods in their pantries, they just rotate stock. The food doesn't go to waste. If the world never ends no problem. It's sort of like money in the bank.

If someone can put together a year's worth of food, without it negatively affecting their lives then I think it is a very good thing.

 

[Ftheog]

anyone else think it's a little ironic that evo started this thread, and has a little prepper in her. People ask me about prepping, I tell them to prioritize what their immediate concerns are and go from there, someone prepping for a hurricane is different them someone from a earthquake, blizzard, ice storm, tsunami ect. But who are we to judge what other people prioritize what's important in their circle of influence. That's the great thing about this country, we have the right to chose what we do within the confines of the laws of the land. It's been great talking to you guys today, my time here is done. (but I might pop in time to time to make sure your still prepping evo ;) ) later

 

[Evo]

I'm happy to put up with the low output, knowing that I am dependent on no outside factors for recharging it when I need to (such as whether I remembered to plug it in).

Notihng wrong with having both types. But, short of actually breaking, a crank flashlight will never leave you in the dark.

Yep, a volcano erupts and blots out the sun around the earth... (has happened before). Can't count on solar then.

 

[Ftheog]

one last thing, not everything in the video is as it is portrayed, it's why I declined being in it

 

[Evo]

Before I have to give someone an infraction for repeating unsubstantiated doomsday scenarios, thread closed.

I hope Nat Geo got an earful for airing that show, and they get their act together.