preppers
Doomsday Prepper Peter Larson’s Underground Shelter
Fans of the National Geographic Channel hit TV show Doomsday Preppers- remember Peter Larson? Larson appeared in the series pilot back in the summer of 2011. I blogged back then:
The Larson family- Peter Larson lives with his wife, children, and grandchildren in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. Fearing a nuclear strike (it looks as if Peter is describing an electromagnetic pulse attack in the show), the Larsons have constructed a Rocky Mountain retreat for twelve. For those of you who don’t know what an EMP attack is, it’s when a nuclear device is detonated in the atmosphere, where it’s theorized the resulting electromagnetic pulse generated by the blast will “fry” microchips at the heart of electronic devices, rendering them useless.
Well, Mr. Larson is back in the spotlight again these days. From the CNN website last night:
Inside a Doomsday Prepper bunker
Gary Tuchman talks to a peaceful man in Utah who is proud to call himself a survivalist. He built an elaborate $65,000 bunker stocked with supplies, money and weapons. Watch this up close look at his hideout.
Nice setup. And nicely done by Gary Tuchman and CNN, considering the number of hack-job pieces out there these days on underground shelters and their owners.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
New York Times Article ‘The Preppers Next Door’
Yesterday I read an article that appeared in The New York Times last weekend entitled “The Preppers Next Door.”
I was all prepared to read a hack job about modern survivalism, but came away impressed by Alan Feuer’s effort.
This could have something to do with the fact that Feuer himself is a prepper.
The reporter wrote about modern survivalists in the New York City area, including Jason Charles, the New York City firefighter who appeared in season 1 episode 3 of Doomsday Preppers and who heads up the New York City Preppers Network, and Aton Edwards, founder of the International Preparedness Network and who recently starred in the Doomsday Preppers “Escape From New York” special, to name just two.
Articles by mainstream journalists in which preppers aren’t portrayed as somewhat to full-blown kooky are few-and-far-between, so it was refreshing to come across Feuer’s piece, which you can read here on the Times website.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Project Prepper: Why Wisconsin?
By the time I started this blog back in November 2010, I already had a pretty good idea I’d eventually be leaving the city of Chicago to reside someplace else. And every once in a while, I’d query the “best places” to live in America- should TSHTF or not. While the area of southeastern Wisconsin I’m looking at moving to in a few years is probably not “ideal” (even less so the suburbs of Chicago) from a prepper’s perspective, practitioners of modern survivalism would probably see more positives than negatives with the location. Keeping in mind that not only do I envision a certain lifestyle for myself down the road, but I also think I have a pretty good idea of what will be required to “survive and prosper” in America in the coming years, this part of the Midwest really appears to be a nice fit not only for me but my girlfriend as well. Here’s hoping it is.
Truth be told, while I really should be focusing on finding and eventually nailing down a suburban residence in my remaining four months in the “Windy City,” I can’t help but check out properties north of the Illinois state line every once in a while to see what’s out there. Some nice 5-acre properties are available at what seem to be very reasonable prices.
If only my girlfriend and I could win the lottery. I mean, if only we could win the lottery sooner rather than later.
Check back Friday when I share a nice resource I came across recently while verifying the “Badger State” is the place to be for me.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
On TV: The Simpsons ‘Preppers’ Episode
So I finally got the chance Monday to watch season 24, episode 9 of The Simpsons, “Homer Goes to Prep School.” In this installment of the popular animated sitcom on FOX, Homer prepares for “doomsday.” Originally airing back on January 6, the show portrays preppers as extreme and relentlessly pokes fun of them, but should anyone really be surprised considering this is a cartoon we’re talking about here? Regardless, I was laughing my butt off a couple of times during the episode. The Simpsons creative staff really nailed some of the more humorous elements associated with the movement. For example, the outlandish “why we prep” movies found in droves on YouTube (not all are hogwash, mind you). Most modern survivalists I’ve encountered don’t come off anywhere near as goofy as the ones portrayed on the show. If preppers are willing to remember that The Simpsons is purely entertainment/humor, they might enjoy watching “Home Goes to Prep School,” which can be viewed in it entirety on the FOX website here for a limited time only.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
John Wesley, Rawles On Latest Gun ‘Control’ Push
While I don’t think there is a single “face” to the Prepper Movement, a number of individuals are closely-identified with modern survivalism. One of these is James Wesley, Rawles of SurvivalBlog.com-fame. Rawles, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer and author of a number of survival-related works including Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse and How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times
, had this to say on his blog yesterday regarding the latest push for gun “control” in the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut, shootings:
Now that BHO has trotted out the kiddies to pull America’s heart strings, it is a good time to again contact your elected representatives, and insist that they draw the line in the sand on semi-auto rifles and full capacity magazines. Modern battle rifles are our rightful militia weapons, and without full capacity magazines we’d be at a disadvantage when going up against foreign invaders or domestic despots. The Second Amendment is not negotiable.
“The Second Amendment is not negotiable.”
One word comes to mind here:
Succinct.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Source:
Rawles, James Wesley, “Notes from JWR:” SurvivalBlog.com. 17 Jan. 2013. (http://www.survivalblog.com/2013/01/notes-from-jwr-598.html). 18 Jan. 2013.
Preppers Still Active, And In The News
I happened to stumble on an interesting TV news segment this afternoon on preppers in Oregon. Wesleigh Ogle for CBS affiliate KCBY-TV in North Bend, Oregon, had this to report on December 27:
KCBY-TV Video
I’m really glad that Avery found his “prepper’s paradise.” It looks beautiful- and full of resources- out there in the Northwest.
On Christmas Day, I also came across an article about active military preppers on the UPI website. From the Deep South:
We evidently dodged the Mayan end-of-the-world bullet, but so-called preppers in the United States say they’ll stay prepared nonetheless.
Navy Times reported last week people such as Gunnery Sgt. David Williams of Gulfport, Miss., who are part of the preppers movement — people who say they intend to be prepared for whatever calamities befall us — don’t care if you think they’re crazy. They just take comfort in their stockpiles of food, water, weapons and other vital supplies.
“A lot of the guys in my unit think I’m crazy. I’ll push the zombie apocalypse and the whole 2012 end-of-the-world business. I don’t really believe any of that crap, but it makes it fun,” Williams, a member of a Navy Seabee construction unit who has served in Afghanistan, told the newspaper. “When you’re planning for the zombie apocalypse, you’re still planning.
“Survival really is a community effort. If you’re just one dude or one family living in a bunker, what are you living for? What’s the point? What are [you] trying to stick around for? You might as well go out with everybody else because there isn’t going to be anything when you climb out of your hole.”
Williams — who has served as an instructor at the Marine Corps’ Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif., and has been a survival, evasion, resistance and escape instructor — has written the Survivology 101 blog for the past three years.
“If we all die together, we all die together,” Williams said. “But if we make it through, we become a strong community and we rebuild. It may not be the diehard survival mentality, but there has to be something to live for, too. You have to have something more than yourself; otherwise, you’re a sociopath and probably don’t need to be living anyway.”
Like with a lot of things in life, preppers seem to come in all shapes and sizes.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (http://www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Sources:
Ogle, Wesleigh. “Meet a true Oregon ‘prepper.’” CBS North Bend, OR. 27 Dec. 2012. (http://www.kcby.com/news/local/Meet-a-true-Oregon-prepper-184991621.html). 31 Dec. 2012.
“Preppers’ prepare for the worst.” UPI. 25 Dec. 2012. (http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/12/25/Preppers-prepare-for-the-worst/UPI-73881356422400/). 31 Dec. 2012.
Heading Into Or Already In The Bunker?
Considering we are already at the eve of December 21, 2012, and I’ve heard believers in something cataclysmic taking place Friday and who also own underground shelters are on the verge of heading into them (if they’re not already in the bunkers), does anyone from this group care to share anything with the rest of us who’ve chosen to dismiss the date and remain topside? Mature replies only.
On TV: Doomsday Preppers ‘Escape From New York’ Preview
Season 2 of National Geographic Channel’s Doomsday Preppers TV series continues tonight with episode 6, “Escape from New York,” which airs at 9 PM ET. From the Nat Geo Channel webpage for the TV show:
With recent storms such as Sandy, New Yorkers now more than ever need to have escape plans in case they need to flee. NGC cameras follow three New Yorkers as they plot their routes out of the city, literally escaping the grid to reach safety.
Once again, the National Geographic Channel provided me with an advanced screening opportunity of the episode, and it didn’t disappoint. As a matter of fact, it really hit close to home as I too live in a large U.S. city (Chicago).
There were three preppers featured in “Escape from New York.” First up was Cameron Moore in Brooklyn, a college student studying for medical school. Cameron told viewers:
I’m preparing for a meltdown at the Indian Point Nuclear Facility.
Next up was Margaret Ling in Harlem, who told viewers:
I’m preparing for a catastrophic hurricane.
Finally, there’s Jay, a Wall Street bond trader, who explained:
I’m preparing for another terrorist attack.
All three preppers fear what might happen in New York City should TSHTF. From the show:
That’s why for these three New York preppers, at the first sign of trouble, survival comes down to one objective.
CAMERON: Get out of New York City.
JAY: Leaving Manhattan as soon as possible.
MARGARET: Grab my bag and just jet out.
They’ve also paired with a mentor to help them refine their plan. Krav Maga instructor Matan Gavish, preparedness expert Aton Edwards, and urban survivalist Shane Hobel. Now, over the course of one night, all three preppers will put their bug out plans into action for the first time and attempt to escape New York.
The first prepper introduced in the episode was Margaret Ling. In this segment, Margaret, who wears a backpack full of survival supplies every day, revealed that she was concerned about a major hurricane hitting the “Big Apple.” Ling told viewers:
I know I don’t want to be sent to a shelter. And I plan to get out of the city and make my way up to the mountains in upstate New York close to Canada. The last and worst case scenario is walking the entire distance to safety up in the mountains.
Margaret is paired with Krav Maga Academy founder and chief instructor Matan Gavish to help get her prepared.
“Doomsday Preppers: Lollipop Lolliprep”
Nat Geo Channel Video
The second prepper the show focused on was Cameron Moore. In this segment, Cameron shared his fears about an Indian Point Nuclear Facility meltdown and the potential for radiation escaping the facility. He informed viewers:
When TSHTF, I will bug out.
Cameron worked with International Preparedness Network executive director Aton Edwards to help him with his preps.
Finally, there’s Jay (no surname given). Jay was in Manhattan on September 11, 2001. And the Wall Street bond trader realizes New York City remains an attractive terrorist target. He told viewers:
I don’t think it’s going to end. I don’t think that we’re going to wake up all of a sudden one day and all of a sudden we’re not going to be a target to terrorists around the world. A dirty bomb is, without question, an option for terrorists out there.
From the show:
If terrorists detonate dirty bombs across Manhattan, as Jay fears, he’s instructed his wife Mindy and their 6-year-old daughter to get ready to flee the city.
Should TSHTF, Jay’s goal is to get out of the financial district and get back to his family as soon as possible. Jay paired up with Mountain Scout Survival School founder and instructor Shane Hobel to come up with a plan to make that happen.
With the three preppers coming from the same area of the country and attempting a simultaneous bug out, this particular episode was more like a TV special. A TV special for urban preppers. According to the U.S. Census earlier this year, more Americans are living in cities now than ever before. And perhaps it’s because I live in a major American city that I found “Escape from New York” particularly interesting. Although that bike “borrowing” bit was a little over the top. Still, good stuff overall.
And I applaud National Geographic Channel for not removing Doomsday Preppers from the air due to some in the press possibly trying to link preppers with last week’s school shooting.
Blamethrowers. Precisely what the world needs more of these days.
Enjoy tonight’s episode. For more information, please visit the Doomsday Preppers page on the National Geographic Channel website here.
Preppers Under Attack, Part 2
“All this prepping, it gives people an identity, a group to belong to. But it definitely is emerging as the ‘new kid on the block’ as far as cults go.”
- Dr. Peter Behrens, Penn State-Lehigh Valley professor
Last Friday night, I blogged that it seems to me “preppers” are coming under increasing attack these days.
Funny how things can change so dramatically in just a few days, as “seems” is now a significant understatement in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut, shootings.
But before I talk more about that horrific incident and its possibly-implied “relationship” to prepping, I want to discuss a recent piece I came across on the Nazareth, Pennsylvania Patch website. On December 13, Elizabeth Rich wrote about preppers/survivalists and said:
According to Dr. Peter Behrens, preppers are buying into a cult.
Dr. Behrens, a Penn State-Lehigh Valley professor who specializes in the history of psychology, abnormal psychology and personality psychology, says that the most recent form of Doomsday preparations have all the earmarks of an active, recruiting cult.
“From a psychological perspective [Doomsday prepping] is bizarre. Members spend so much time and energy readying for the end of the world. Prepping is just people trying to control what is beyond their control.”
Dr. Behrens believes that clusters of preppers and the movement as a whole has all the markings of a cult.
“I think this is just a modern iteration of the phenomenon of people believing that the end is coming in their lifetime. That idea is so selfish, so self-centered, so narcissistic. It’s mind control.”
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Unlike Valerie Lucus-McEwen and her concerns about the preppers featured on the National Geographic Channel TV show, according to Rich, Dr. Behrens attacks the prepping movement as a whole. It having all the markings of a cult.
A cult, huh? Would that make Doomsday Preppers evaluators Practical Preppers their Grand Poobahs then? And could National Geographic Channel now claim non-profit status on their taxes for spreading “the word” via the Doomsday Preppers TV show? Of course a uniform will be needed. Try this one on for size.
(Editor’s warning: video could be offensive to some)
Since I completed the first draft of this post, I’ve come across two more web articles that don’t paint the modern survivalist movement in a positive light.
In fact, some might argue they’re attempting to connect prepping with the Sandy Hook school shootings.
From The Telegraph (UK) website yesterday:
Connecticut school shooting: Adam Lanza’s mother was preparing for disaster
The mother of the gunman who killed 20 children and seven adults in America’s worst school massacre, was a gun-proud “survivalist” preparing for economic collapse, it has emerged.
Nancy Lanza, whose gun collection was raided by her son Adam for Friday’s massacre at Sandy Hook school, was part of the “prepper” movement, which urges readiness for social chaos by hoarding supplies and training with weapons.
“She prepared for the worst,” her sister-in-law Marsha Lanza told reporters. “Last time we visited her in person, we talked about prepping – are you ready for what could happen down the line, when the economy collapses?”
And then there’s this from The Independent (UK) site this morning:
Mother of Sandy Hook school gunman Adam Lanza was a ‘prepper’ survivalist preparing for economic and social collapse, say reports
Friends and family have portrayed Mrs Lanza as a paranoid ‘survivalist’ who believed the world was on the brink of violent collapse.
Yep. Undoubtedly, preppers are under attack these days.
Sources:
Rich, Elizabeth. “Are Doomsday Preppers a Cult? A Lehigh Valley Professor Says Yes.” NazarethPatch. 13 Dec. 2012. (http://nazareth.patch.com/articles/are-doomsday-preppers-a-cult-this-professor-says-yes-7da6a028). 17 Dec. 2012.
Foster, Peter and Swaine, John. “Connecticut school shooting: Adam Lanza’s mother was preparing for disaster.” The Telegraph. 16 Dec. 2012. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9749217/Connecticut-school-shooting-Adam-Lanzas-mother-was-preparing-for-disaster.html). 17 Dec. 2012.
Williams, Rob. “Mother of Sandy Hook school gunman Adam Lanza was a ‘prepper’ survivalist preparing for economic and social collapse, say reports.” The Independent. 17 Dec. 2012. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mother-of-sandy-hook-school-gunman-adam-lanza-was-a-prepper-survivalist-preparing-for-economic-and-social-collapse-say-reports-8422298.html). 17 Dec. 2012.
Preppers Under Attack, Part 1
“There are those who think the Doomsday Preppers is an extreme model of self-preparedness; I just see them as an extreme model of selfishness.”
-Valerie Lucus-McEwen, emergency manager/blogger, Emergency Management website, November 29, 2012
I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that “preppers” are coming under increasing attack these days. Maybe this animosity stems from numerous reports of preppers making it through Hurricane Sandy in decent shape while many of their neighbors suffered. Or maybe it’s because modern survivalists and the fruits of their labor are visual reminders to others that they’re lagging behind in providing for their/their family’s safety in a dangerous world (Sandy was yet one more reminder that government can’t always be there for you). There’s probably envy too, where if I don’t have an emergency food supply, then you can’t have one either. Hoarder.
Since the end of November, I’ve been watching a series of posts by Valerie Lucus-McEwen, an experienced emergency manager and blogger on the Emergency Management website. In her Disaster Academia blog on November 29, Lucus-McEwen penned a post entitled, “Doomsday Preppers are Socially Selfish.” You can probably guess by that title that she’s not a big fan of those preppers featured on National Geographic Channel’s hit show. From that piece:
You might wonder why someone like me, who has been in the business of encouraging disaster preparedness for a very long time, is so critical of people who are doing just that. It’s because they are being socially selfish – preparing themselves and the hell with everyone else. Instead of spending time and energy making changes that would benefit the larger community, in their very narrow focus of loyalty they are more concerned about themselves.
Now, to set things straight, Lucus-McEwen’s beef in this post seems to be with the “Doomsday Preppers,” not preppers in general. She said the Doomsday Preppers were “being socially selfish – preparing themselves and the hell with everyone else.” And she does seem to have a point- in a number of cases. Lucus-McEwen falls victim to generalizing here (who hasn’t at one time or another?). Or not watching enough episodes. Because right off the bat I can think of two preppers from season 1- Preston White and Bruce Beach- who were willing to share their seeds with and provide shelter to members of their community in the event of disaster.
As for the “socially-selfish” preppers, one thing to keep in mind here that a lot of people forget (or never realized in the first place) is that Doomsday Preppers is part of National Geographic Channel’s “American Outliers” programming. So it should be of no surprise that the preppers featured in this TV series might be a little bit “different” from other preppers who I’ve heard say time and time again that they’d share their food, water, and other preps with others “until it hurts.” So much so that they’ve gone out and acquired above and beyond what they need should it come to that.
Finally, are any preppers really “socially-selfish?” After all, the preparations they’ve made to take care of themselves/loved ones/neighbors free up government resources to assist others in the community after a disaster. Looking at it this way, the argument could be made that prepping is actually a socially-responsible activity, rather than a socially-selfish one.
Anyway, Lucus-McEwen’s blog post subsequently generated a lot of “attention” from preppers. So much so she’s followed-up “Doomsday Preppers are Socially Selfish” with:
“DOOMSDAY Preppers vs. DISASTER Preppers- What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate”,
“Doomsday Preppers: Mea Culpa”, and
“OK, I Get It. Preppers Aren’t Selfish. I Was Wrong. I Apologize …”
Yikes.
Part 2 will be published after the weekend.
(Editor’s note: Part 2 has been published here.)
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