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Posted: 6/24/2024 11:34:19 PM EDT
US 'prepper' culture diversifies amid fear of disaster and political unrest
Researchers say the number of preppers has doubled in size to about 20 million since 2017. Much of that growth is from minorities and people considered left-of-center politically, whose sense of insecurity was heightened by Donald Trump's 2016 election, the COVID-19 pandemic, more frequent extreme weather and the 2020 racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd. "I'm really surprised by the number of people of color here," Morgan said. "I always went to these shows with my family in Indiana and it was just white people who were my parents' age. There are a lot of younger people here, too. It's a real change." more than 250,000 people in the U.S. living off the Grid I was stunned to see the Tucker Carlson interview with Rep Massie describing his off the grid home. Massie really went all in on it. Independence with modern conveniences. If not mainstream, some level prepping is starting to be more common... which is a good thing. |
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Posted: 6/24/2024 11:47:23 PM EDT
[#1]
I think covid and lock downs brought this out to the public eye in real time...
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IA, USA
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Posted: 6/25/2024 3:33:01 AM EDT
[#2]
………for the last ten million years you only lived long enough to reproduce if you could…..hunt for food, build shelters and fires, and fight off saber tooth tigers etc…
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LA, USA
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Posted: 6/25/2024 6:33:41 AM EDT
[Last Edit: TheLASwamp]
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By rodical: I think covid and lock downs brought this out to the public eye in real time... And now, people realize there are tens of millions of young, military-age men illegally roaming about the country and no one seems to know what they are doing here. Whatever their purpose is, it's probably very bad for we the people. |
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Posted: 6/25/2024 7:18:37 AM EDT
[#4]
FPNI. I've always been a casual prepper, with both of my parents being Depression-era kids. Mom always bought extra food and the times the electricity went out were like holidays at our house.
I've been surprised the past few years at the closet preppers in our neighborhood, many of them pretty liberal. They know I'm a vet and camp with the kids all the time, so assume I'm well-prepared and will spark up conversations with me on this subject out of the blue. Many ask about what kind of firearms they should buy. |
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USA
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Posted: 6/25/2024 7:44:47 AM EDT
[Last Edit: feudist]
[#5]
I don't think that's all that surprising.
The Apocalypse is a recurring theme in movies, TV, gaming and books and has been for a couple of decades now. The exponential increase in gun ownership, especially ARs, isn't at all about formal target shooting or collecting, it's about severe and prolonged civil unrest. Since the Rodney King riots, Y2K(LOL but it got a lot of people thinking) 9/11 and terrorism ; plus the implications of the Covid crisis and how it echoed though the world economy...I'd wager that the percentage increase of folks with at least a weather eye towards the news is probably triple that number.. Nothing that would rise to Prepper standards...they have a gun, a box or two of ammo, batteries, a week's worth of canned food and a camp stove...like that. |
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TN, USA
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Posted: 6/25/2024 8:38:58 AM EDT
[#6]
It’s true. I made some posts about this last year. There are many FB groups about prepping and survival that have 500k members. My guess is more than half are liberal. Almost all seem to be very poor city dwellers. They start posts like “I have $150. What can I buy to start prepping”. Typical fb idiocy.
When I read the story about those two women who took their kid to the Colorado wilderness and died of exposure, I thought, yeah I know at least 100k people on fb that have a similar level of dissonance between their capabilities and reality. I’m tempted to think it’s a good thing that “so many” are prepping. But I think reality is we will always be one snow forecast away from empty shelves at the grocery. I don’t even think there are enough preppers to keep from having a run on TP again. They do seem to be pro gun and anti gov though. Prob not bright enough to stay that way. |
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Posted: 6/25/2024 9:34:58 AM EDT
[Last Edit: ColtRifle]
[#7]
I think it’s likely the real number is higher than that. But, a lot of people don’t call themselves “survivalists” or “preppers”. They think in terms of “I have this in case the power goes out” and/or “I keep extra TP on hand because I dont want to be short at the next shortage” and/or “I keep some extra food on hand just in case the winter storm/hurricane etc keeps me home for a few days” and other thoughts like that. They would never go to designated prepper gatherings but are probably more prepared than most self identified “preppers”.
I think that’s a good thing. I’m pretty prepared but if someone were to ask me in person if I’m a prepper, I’d probably say no….unless I knew them very well. |
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Posted: 6/25/2024 11:32:09 AM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ColtRifle: I think it’s likely the real number is higher than that. But, a lot of people don’t call themselves “survivalists” or “preppers”. They think in terms of “I have this in case the power goes out” and/or “I keep extra TP on hand because I dont want to be short at the next shortage” and/or “I keep some extra food on hand just in case the winter storm/hurricane etc keeps me home for a few days” and other thoughts like that. They would never go to designated prepper gatherings but are probably more prepared than most self identified “preppers”. I think that’s a good thing. I’m pretty prepared but if someone were to ask me in person if I’m a prepper, I’d probably say no….unless I knew them very well. Agree 100%. |
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Posted: 6/25/2024 11:39:14 AM EDT
[Last Edit: lumper]
[#9]
I would not identify as a prepper.
Although I do have some food set back, since we always buy supplies in bulk and on sale, as well as always putting up from the garden and from butchering at home, using canning and freezing to store the food. I have a basic medical training, and a few common medications & supplies in a temperature stable area, after all a doctor or hospital trip is an hour drive and expensive. I have a few firearms, optics and some ammo, but firearms are just another tool that is commonly used on our farm. I have a supply of firewood because I like to season it for a few years before I use it. I have a few chainsaws, a splitter and the supplies to go with them, both for our own use, and because I may send one or two of my boys to help an older neighbor get their winter firewood supply ready. I have a supply of fuel, because I need to make hay when the sun shines, and don't want to wait on a fuel delivery. I would not identify as a prepper, just a rural man who likes to have the necessary things of life to live an efficient life in this modern area. |
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Posted: 6/25/2024 2:04:55 PM EDT
[#10]
As the nation is currently in a financial mess, its amazing to see the disparity in the ability of people to survive without income:
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/visualizing-how-long-each-generation-can-survive-without-income  Like a quarter of the population could make it through job loss, but most people would run out of savings and be in a major crisis in 30 days or less. Financial preps are super important |
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Posted: 6/25/2024 2:19:33 PM EDT
[#11]
I don't really consider myself a prepper, but I do keep some basics.
Full home solar with battery, backup generators, 90 gallons of stabilized fuel, 4wd truck, around six months of food for the family (6), insulin for a year(type 1 son). I'd like to have my own well and a tractor. Maybe someday. Given human history I think it's prudent to keep some supplies around. |
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Posted: 6/25/2024 5:46:41 PM EDT
[#12]
I'm impressed that Reuters crammed Trump, climate change, racism, and Covid into a single sentence as reasons people prep.
After reading the article it doesn't sound like prepping as much as just getting an ounce of common sense and being able to live for a few days with what you have on hand. Be it have a few days of food on hand or learning how to cook with a wood fire or filter water. Good for them for learning some self sufficiency and maybe not relying on the government for help in the first few days of an emergency. Also for realizing the government cannot be relied upon to save you. Unfortunately as a society the majority of people can no longer survive without technology and a just in time supply chain food delivery. Or even without handouts from the government. Also, what's with this moving to Duluth, MN as a climate proof location. Stay away. I hear that Oregon has some nice forests and ocean front property, |
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Posted: 6/25/2024 5:59:27 PM EDT
[Last Edit: R_S]
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Terriblis: I'm impressed that Reuters crammed Trump, climate change, racism, and Covid into a single sentence as reasons people prep. After reading the article it doesn't sound like prepping as much as just getting an ounce of common sense and being able to live for a few days with what you have on hand. Be it have a few days of food on hand or learning how to cook with a wood fire or filter water. Good for them for learning some self sufficiency and maybe not relying on the government for help in the first few days of an emergency. Also for realizing the government cannot be relied upon to save you. Unfortunately as a society the majority of people can no longer survive without technology and a just in time supply chain food delivery. Or even without handouts from the government. Also, what's with this moving to Duluth, MN as a climate proof location. Stay away. I hear that Oregon has some nice forests and ocean front property, True. Most people need to be able to survive at least 72 hours without access to the stores and utility services. A week or more is better. That is a bit of self sufficiency that keeps communities resilient... as opposed to NOLA's chaos after Katrina. During a recent power outage I was talking to a neighbor and asked if there was anything he needed. He said his family was all set and offered to help if there was anything I needed. That's a good start to a resilient community. I've never been to MN but the winter is intense and the summers are known for this:  Doesn't sound climate proof in the slightest. |
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Posted: 6/25/2024 7:01:32 PM EDT
[#14]
Makes sense, even my elderly democrat parents would be considered preppers post-covid. They always thought me stocking food and supplies was crazy, till they were washing mail and doing without. Now they are on board to the extent that they realize the world won’t always be there to support them directly.
I’ve taught coworkers to shoot and helped them build ARs since the world got weird. I’d be a prepper but honestly it’s a kind of insurance. I’ve been through bad storms, power outages, shootings, etc but never once needed to use my car insurance to pay for damages (knock wood). I’ve paid at least $25k on car insurance in the decades I’ve been driving, and only spent 10% of that on NOds. |
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Posted: 6/25/2024 7:26:59 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By R_S: As the nation is currently in a financial mess, its amazing to see the disparity in the ability of people to survive without income: https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/visualizing-how-long-each-generation-can-survive-without-income https://www.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/LRF01-Impact-1-Resilience-202406%20%281%29.jpg?itok=FQauy9UW Like a quarter of the population could make it through job loss, but most people would run out of savings and be in a major crisis in 30 days or less. Financial preps are super important I agree. As frozenny has been pointing out for years, most of us have had a bad situation that was easy to solve with an appropriate application of cash. Very few of us have lived through some real disaster. I posted this in a different thread here but I think it has good info. https://www.cashflowmojosoftware.com/how-depression-era-millionaires-were-made/ |
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LA, USA
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Posted: 6/25/2024 8:08:09 PM EDT
[Last Edit: TheLASwamp]
[#16]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By R_S: True. Most people need to be able to survive at least 72 hours without access to the stores and utility services. A week or more is better. That is a bit of self sufficiency that keeps communities resilient... as opposed to NOLA's chaos after Katrina. But yeah, back for Katrina, most of the people in New Orleans who didn't evacuate were the government entitlement folks. They were not prepared. Things got far worse than anyone could have predicted. The city hadn't seen flooding like that since Betsy in 1965. |
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Posted: 6/25/2024 9:58:30 PM EDT
[#17]
Funny how they blame Trump.
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Posted: 6/26/2024 12:00:01 AM EDT
[#18]
Originally Posted By R_S: US 'prepper' culture diversifies amid fear of disaster and political unrest Researchers say the number of preppers has doubled in size to about 20 million since 2017. Much of that growth is from minorities and people considered left-of-center politically, whose sense of insecurity was heightened by Donald Trump's 2016 election, the COVID-19 pandemic, more frequent extreme weather and the 2020 racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd. "I'm really surprised by the number of people of color here," Morgan said. "I always went to these shows with my family in Indiana and it was just white people who were my parents' age. There are a lot of younger people here, too. It's a real change." more than 250,000 people in the U.S. living off the Grid I was stunned to see the Tucker Carlson interview with Rep Massie describing his off the grid home. Massie really went all in on it. Independence with modern conveniences. If not mainstream, some level prepping is starting to be more common... which is a good thing. I watched the last hour about living off grid and that was the most interesting interview I can remember watching. |
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MN, USA
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Posted: 6/26/2024 8:39:55 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Leo31]
[#19]
Beginning of Covid is when I got started. Bought a ton of freeze dried stuff when it was thankfully cheaper and have been slowly adding to it along with a lot of other things.
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Posted: 6/26/2024 8:50:10 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By sgtlmj: FPNI. I've always been a casual prepper, with both of my parents being Depression-era kids. Mom always bought extra food and the times the electricity went out were like holidays at our house. I've been surprised the past few years at the closet preppers in our neighborhood, many of them pretty liberal. They know I'm a vet and camp with the kids all the time, so assume I'm well-prepared and will spark up conversations with me on this subject out of the blue. Many ask about what kind of firearms they should buy. Hi-Point. The answer for liberal scum is always Hi-Point. My wife is the offspring of some dirt poor depression era Tennessee backwater folks. I brought the guns/ammo/supplies hoarder to the union, she brought everything else. The world could stop tomorrow, and it'll be awhile before we feel it. Like you, we were more casual about it until Covid and the Summer of Love. Now, it's front and center. |
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Posted: 6/26/2024 12:06:21 PM EDT
[#21]
"20 million" Now imagine if 0.1% were serious doing this.
The industry has grown quite a bit since the last really significant rush (Y2K or for a month after 9/11) but even with all the johnny come lately companies, I doubt you could see supplies keep up. Back in 1998, we started a mid size commercial cannery largely because customers didn't want to hear that their LTS food order from the big manufacturers was going to take 4-6 months. We got the lead time down to 2 weeks almost immediately and then just a day or so after a little time. Some things can be expanded fairly quickly, some things cannot. A new order of NV tubes for example, can be 4 to 6 months to receive from the tube manufacturers. So ramping up quickly to meet higher demand isn't always super easy. It was easier with food storage but not a helluva lot. Then add in several times of the industry getting stocked up in expectation of an event which normally increases sales (like for example election years) that don't play out. You really can't cut prices that much and to the average person they think "so what." That is until they realize a lot of places are stocking less due to the slower times. For example- due to high demand, pre-orders that were not charged yet, etc. we purchased 1,000 gas masks when we could find them a few weeks after 9/11. Sales of protective suits, NBC gear and masks were off the charts. People were pleading with us to try to find masks. I usually don't buy a lot during those times because you tend to get screwed on price from the importers and wholesalers then due to demand. I played the dumbarse Boy Scout thinking I would get those in to help all the folks looking for them. I paid about 3X what I normally do and got stuck with them when demand turned on a dime. It took about 9 years to get rid of all of them, selling each at about a $20. loss. These are things that happen in the industry that while the customer thinks "I don't GAF"- it does affect the overall long term planning of businesses, availability of product, etc. that DOES trickle down to the customer when something happens and "suddenly" they realize they need X item. TLDR- if there is truly that many people "prepping" and taking literally just 0.1% of that number as those serious, if (when) there is another rush you are going to see availability problems. |
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Posted: 6/26/2024 2:50:57 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By D_J: I watched the last hour about living off grid and that was the most interesting interview I can remember watching. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By D_J: Originally Posted By R_S: US 'prepper' culture diversifies amid fear of disaster and political unrest Researchers say the number of preppers has doubled in size to about 20 million since 2017. Much of that growth is from minorities and people considered left-of-center politically, whose sense of insecurity was heightened by Donald Trump's 2016 election, the COVID-19 pandemic, more frequent extreme weather and the 2020 racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd. "I'm really surprised by the number of people of color here," Morgan said. "I always went to these shows with my family in Indiana and it was just white people who were my parents' age. There are a lot of younger people here, too. It's a real change." more than 250,000 people in the U.S. living off the Grid I was stunned to see the Tucker Carlson interview with Rep Massie describing his off the grid home. Massie really went all in on it. Independence with modern conveniences. If not mainstream, some level prepping is starting to be more common... which is a good thing. I watched the last hour about living off grid and that was the most interesting interview I can remember watching. Glad you liked it! 
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LA, USA
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Posted: 6/26/2024 6:19:10 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Lowdown3: "20 million" Now imagine if 0.1% were serious doing this. The industry has grown quite a bit since the last really significant rush (Y2K or for a month after 9/11) but even with all the johnny come lately companies, I doubt you could see supplies keep up. Back in 1998, we started a mid size commercial cannery largely because customers didn't want to hear that their LTS food order from the big manufacturers was going to take 4-6 months. We got the lead time down to 2 weeks almost immediately and then just a day or so after a little time. Some things can be expanded fairly quickly, some things cannot. A new order of NV tubes for example, can be 4 to 6 months to receive from the tube manufacturers. So ramping up quickly to meet higher demand isn't always super easy. It was easier with food storage but not a helluva lot. Then add in several times of the industry getting stocked up in expectation of an event which normally increases sales (like for example election years) that don't play out. You really can't cut prices that much and to the average person they think "so what." That is until they realize a lot of places are stocking less due to the slower times. For example- due to high demand, pre-orders that were not charged yet, etc. we purchased 1,000 gas masks when we could find them a few weeks after 9/11. Sales of protective suits, NBC gear and masks were off the charts. People were pleading with us to try to find masks. I usually don't buy a lot during those times because you tend to get screwed on price from the importers and wholesalers then due to demand. I played the dumbarse Boy Scout thinking I would get those in to help all the folks looking for them. I paid about 3X what I normally do and got stuck with them when demand turned on a dime. It took about 9 years to get rid of all of them, selling each at about a $20. loss. These are things that happen in the industry that while the customer thinks "I don't GAF"- it does affect the overall long term planning of businesses, availability of product, etc. that DOES trickle down to the customer when something happens and "suddenly" they realize they need X item. TLDR- if there is truly that many people "prepping" and taking literally just 0.1% of that number as those serious, if (when) there is another rush you are going to see availability problems. I really wish my grandparents were still alive. They lived through the depression and WW2. They had their victory garden and they knew how to jar fruits and vegetables. They kept those gardens going up until the 1980s. They knew how to hunt and fish. Live off the land. They were rugged individualists. There was so much to learn from them that died with them. Americans haven't had to live like that since the end of the war. Few still know how to do it. |
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TN, USA
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Posted: 6/27/2024 6:48:51 AM EDT
[#24]
How many of them are going to keep it up with it or say in a year get comfortable and quiet preparing? I'll say more than half because basically look that so called people waking up and want to vote one way and then got back voting the other way.
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USA
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Posted: 6/27/2024 8:05:00 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Nick_Adams]
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By TheLASwamp: It'd be interesting to know how many more people are at least semi-prepping now compared to, say, a decade ago. I'd bet the comparison is dramatic. I really wish my grandparents were still alive. They lived through the depression and WW2. They had their victory garden and they knew how to jar fruits and vegetables. They kept those gardens going up until the 1980s. They knew how to hunt and fish. Live off the land. They were rugged individualists. There was so much to learn from them that died with them. Americans haven't had to live like that since the end of the war. Few still know how to do it. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By TheLASwamp: Originally Posted By Lowdown3: "20 million" Now imagine if 0.1% were serious doing this. The industry has grown quite a bit since the last really significant rush (Y2K or for a month after 9/11) but even with all the johnny come lately companies, I doubt you could see supplies keep up. Back in 1998, we started a mid size commercial cannery largely because customers didn't want to hear that their LTS food order from the big manufacturers was going to take 4-6 months. We got the lead time down to 2 weeks almost immediately and then just a day or so after a little time. Some things can be expanded fairly quickly, some things cannot. A new order of NV tubes for example, can be 4 to 6 months to receive from the tube manufacturers. So ramping up quickly to meet higher demand isn't always super easy. It was easier with food storage but not a helluva lot. Then add in several times of the industry getting stocked up in expectation of an event which normally increases sales (like for example election years) that don't play out. You really can't cut prices that much and to the average person they think "so what." That is until they realize a lot of places are stocking less due to the slower times. For example- due to high demand, pre-orders that were not charged yet, etc. we purchased 1,000 gas masks when we could find them a few weeks after 9/11. Sales of protective suits, NBC gear and masks were off the charts. People were pleading with us to try to find masks. I usually don't buy a lot during those times because you tend to get screwed on price from the importers and wholesalers then due to demand. I played the dumbarse Boy Scout thinking I would get those in to help all the folks looking for them. I paid about 3X what I normally do and got stuck with them when demand turned on a dime. It took about 9 years to get rid of all of them, selling each at about a $20. loss. These are things that happen in the industry that while the customer thinks "I don't GAF"- it does affect the overall long term planning of businesses, availability of product, etc. that DOES trickle down to the customer when something happens and "suddenly" they realize they need X item. TLDR- if there is truly that many people "prepping" and taking literally just 0.1% of that number as those serious, if (when) there is another rush you are going to see availability problems. I really wish my grandparents were still alive. They lived through the depression and WW2. They had their victory garden and they knew how to jar fruits and vegetables. They kept those gardens going up until the 1980s. They knew how to hunt and fish. Live off the land. They were rugged individualists. There was so much to learn from them that died with them. Americans haven't had to live like that since the end of the war. Few still know how to do it. It’s been said more than once that if there’s a Big Collapse long term (i.e., 6-months+), whether from the power grid going down or otherwise, those with the knowledge and skills of how to live under late 19th Century conditions will survive. Those who don’t - or who are System-dependent - will soon die off and litter the streets …. or will be found dead “sheltering in place”  in their homes and apartments, especially in the urban centers. |
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Posted: 6/27/2024 8:46:17 AM EDT
[#26]
"I'm really surprised by the number of people of color here," Morgan said.
Since it was their neighborhoods being burned down by BLM,not really surprising. |
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Posted: 6/27/2024 9:02:20 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By motoguzzi: "I'm really surprised by the number of people of color here," Morgan said. Since it was their neighborhoods being burned down by BLM,not really surprising. There has always been a fair amount of blacks and hispanics preparing, it's just more BS the media wants you to believe that it's just a white thang... |
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