By Emily.
When you first hear the word ‘prepper’ or ‘prepping’, the first thing that comes to mind is crazy, hoarder, nutjob, or those paranoid people who have a LOT of supplies of just about everything. What is a prepper?
When you google prepper, a box appears defining a person who believes that an emergency is likely to occur in the near future and actively prepares for it by stocking food, ammunition, and other supplies. Accordingly, there has been a continuous rise of preppers over the past few years with 3 million in numbers in the United States alone. Most people see them as insane or attention-getters but while preppers may be tired of hearing the same thing over and over again, some of these things may be hurtful or insulting.
1. We are freaks.
Wake up everyone! Being a prepper means that you are just prepared with enough stuff to help keep you going through a month or a year. Technically, we just don’t want to enter a fight without the necessary ammunition. It does not mean that we are freaks.
2. Preppers have an underground tunnel underneath their homes.
No, preppers may have a basement or a dugout with their stuff, but not everyone has them. Just like prepping for a big event, you have cabinets filled with canned goods and other supplies. Not much is different for preppers; the only difference is that people overstate the term too much, it comes out as exaggerated.
3. We could live off eating bugs.
This is absolutely absurd. Being prepared does not mean being desperate to the point of eating bugs. It just removes the entire point of preparing. The reason why preppers prepare is because they want to have enough food kits, water, and other necessities required for survival as long as it can be. So do not confuse being prepared with total paranoia, this is just absurd.
4. We always wear tactical clothing.
No, being prepared does not necessarily mean being heavily armed and wearing camouflage. When people say prepper, the image that comes to mind is a man armed with a backpack, guns, tactical gear – that sounds reasonable considering that they are preparing for a battle. But, they are not. Preppers simply put the whole plan of surviving and getting ready for catastrophic events into action and that does not necessarily mean tactical clothing is on the list.
Photo by UK Ministry of Defence via Flickr, Creative Commons
5. Our cabinet is filled with guns and crossbows.
If you are part of the military, this is probably true. But if you are part of the bigger group of preppers, their money goes to much of the supplies rather than expensive guns and ammunition.
6. Preppers always have a conspiracy theory about governments.
Have you watched the movie RED (Retired: Extremely Dangerous)? Well, you have probably seen one of his pals as saying the government is trying to kill everyone and that is the system. Yes, it’s crazy but if you come to think of it, everyone is crazy of the government. Preppers may think ill of the government, but they don’t always see the government that way.
7. We hate the government.
Do not generalize. Preppers are normal people and normal people have different views of the government. This thinking is a result of the failed government attempts to make up for the budget supposedly allotted for relief and disaster operations. They give budgets and emergency response in front of the media but when it comes to the real action, the government can’t save every person and ensure each’s safety. Come to think of it, preppers are actually helping the government by being responsible for themselves and not rely too much on the government alone.
8. We think everyone is a threat.
Preparing and paranoia should never be correlated to each other. Preppers are only in it for disaster preparedness among other catastrophes. Don’t be scared of preppers, they don’t kill.
9. Preppers prepare for the Doomsday.
Just because they are preparing for disasters does not mean that it’s the Doomsday that they are preparing for. By the term itself, they are getting ready for any catastrophe or disaster that may come and not just for the Doomsday.
10. Hoarding is our way of life.
Though this is true, preppers don’t just hoard any stuff. They store emergency supplies such as food, first aid, ammunition, and water, among others. This becomes tiring to explain and it may be helpful to use actual words which you really understand.
Photo by Alan Denney via Flickr, Creative Commons
11. Deep inside, preppers are excited for the end of the world!
Definitely not! Who wants to end the world and end their life? Just because they came prepared does not mean that they actually want to use these skills. Again, I repeat, preppers just want to be ready when a disaster strikes.
12. If anything happens, Preppers are always prepared.
No one is a hundred and ten percent prepared for anything. Preppers are prepared for circumstances such as calamities and emergencies, but when it comes to diseases like cancer, I don’t think anyone could prepare for that.
13. We don’t trust anyone.
Just like in no. 8, preppers may seem weird for most people but preppers are also capable of trusting other people. Because when it all boils down to the end of the world, each one of us is an ally.
14. Facebook, Twitter, or any social media is off limits.
They live normal lives, live in normal houses, and social media is part of living nowadays. Besides, they would also like to keep in touch with the ways of the world as much as they are preparing for disasters.
15. We do not talk and just like to whisper.
This one is just pure crazy! Preppers are capable of speaking up as much as they are capable of living a normal life.
16. Our basement is filled with canned foods.
Yes, survival food kits including canned goods, some ammo, and gallons of water! Water is an essential supply for survival. Even without food, you may live long even with water alone.
Photo by Robert Benner via Flickr, Creative Commons
17. We are neat freaks!
If there’s something preppers are prepared for, it would be living dirty for survival or to get out of a dangerous situation.
18. Preppers spend time in the wilderness.
Preppers train and spend time living in the wild. In case their home gets destroyed. Most preppers actually see living in the wild as a minus since no one will be able to help you in case you ran into some danger. So if you see preppers as living in the wilderness, then you are wrong.
19. Preppers don’t have a life!
According to Scott Hunt who is the advisor for the show Doomsday Preppers and also a professional prepper, “The biggest misconception people have about preppers is that they make up scenarios and they’re just crazy people, but I think preppers have normal families, normal jobs.”
20. They are atheists.
Religion is out of the question. Period.
21. Preppers have plenty to share.
Though preppers have a lot to get when the need arises, preppers don’t have plenty to spare. However, they might share or help others in need and share their supplies. But not to the point of emptying out their sacks.
22. Preppers are Vegan.
If preppers are Vegan, then it defeats the point of keeping canned goods.
23. Why do we prepare so much?
This is tiring. Is there such a thing as preparing too much? Preppers prepare for whatever disaster that is to come. As such, they spend their money on various items which could get them warm, hydrated, and safe. But as much as they store items, they also spend their time learning new skills because in the end, skills are what’s needed.
24. We are preppers.
Preppers know who they really are so there’s no point to shove it up on their faces.
Photo by Patrick Bean via Flickr, Creative Commons
Preppers are not twisted nutjobs. They are people, like everyone of us who just chose a life of being prepared for the worst times. Society has tarnished the real meaning of preppers with these stereotypes shown on TV, but maybe we should keep an open mind about accepting preppers and not judging them just because they chose to be prepared. Contrary to what society has showed us, preppers teach us the simple lesson taught to scouts – that is to be prepared at all costs. Get your checklist and preparedness guide ready and learn to survive. Don’t let a bad thing catch you unprepared. Start preparing now.
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29 comments
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What do you mean by religion is out of the question? I’ve been a prepper since Y2K. My wife and I are Christians and seem to balance prepping with our faith quite well. You may not think so, but a large portion of the prep sites out there incorporate faith in their preps. I agree it’s not for everyone, but let’s not say its out of the question. You don’t want to discourage faith based folks from prepping. Thanks for listening.
I think (my 2 cents) what the author is trying to say is that religion is not the reason someone preps. But I could be wrong.
i believe that meaning is probably something along lines of ..it makes absolutely no diff what denomination if any, you are. prepping lifestyle basically has nothing to do with YOUR religion, if any. IF YOU ARE RELIGIOUS and its part of it, so be it. if you arent religious and prep, so be it. AMEN btw, just my take on their comment. i could be totally wrong….
Rick: We and others prepared for y2k, a few bought land out of town. It was a crock of BS nothing happened, preps were donated, tossed and sold. I had sold buckets of wheat and beans, wheat grinder, dehydrator to someone that still believed in prepping long term.. Inlaws had so many canning jars I let them stay with the house when sold. Bug out land was a burden to sell, some passed away later and heirs had to toss or sell stuff to incl me when folks died. I do prep for weather crises only, nothing long term. Money was wasted and ones that did prep then, refuse to prep now except short term for storms/power outage. Many feel an EMP power failure would make life not worth living anyway.
Author
EMP strike would make life incredibly hard, but not worth living? Seems like a case of THS to me…
PJ: I’m talking about people with diabetis, those on dialysis, people needing hip and knee replacements, other long term health issues cannot get what they need who rely on medicines and doctors. Others addicted to hi tech like smart phones and computers will go through withdrawal, to incl social media which I detest along with smart phones. Many vacations will be ruined for those with beach condos, vacation homes, on and on. What is THS?
Author
Laura
I’m with you on those who have severe medical issues and the elderly who rely on assistance/care. Unfortunately for them, and many who will use something like an EMP strike to take advantage of others, life expectancy will not be that long. For everyone else I just can’t see how they could just give up, life isn’t worth living because electronics are down and vacations are ruined. THS refers to Tiny Heart Syndrome, a non-medical term used to describe those whose resolve and determination crumble at the first sign (or even mention of) adversity.
Laura M you did not have to give or throw that stuff away that is so wasteful, you could have just eaten your preps. I try and keep stock on hand but also eat what I store and store what I eat. I do long term but I rotate and check dates etc. I love doing it for my family it brings me great satisfaction. The world will be in dire straits it will happen especially now I hope you will be ok
I took the comment about religion as he wasn’t going to talk about it not that no preppers are religious
LDS is the biggest group of preppers. That would be the Church of the Later Day Saints. I would suggest you check out their prepper web site for some of your longer term preps.
http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category3_715839595_10557_3074457345616706237_-1_N_image_0
The Bible is a reason I prep, but that’s just me. Not everyone believes. If I thought it was not a Biblical concept, I wouldn’t prep. Pretty much though, no matter what you say about religion offends someone. Even people who follow the same scriptures differ in opinion on certain topics and meanings of the words.
For example, there’s Christian’s that would never defend themselves or their families while others read protecting your family as a Biblical concept.
I certainly agree in principle – there are those among my closest Christian friends who think self-defense is not a biblical concept. However, Jesus in Luke 22:35-38 strongly implies the necessity of self-defense – going so far as to tell the disciples to sell their cloak – one of their most valuable possessions in that time/culture – and buy one if they don’t have one.
Also, the founders of our US Constitution, Christian men almost to a man, felt that self-defense and the defense of our neighbor, community, and state to be a fundamental God given right – i.e., the second amendment.
There are others, God bless them, who believe if they are to face TEOTWAWKI – God will provide, so they don’t need to worry about it. Yet they have a regular job to provide for the family, buy health/auto/home/life insurance, purchase burial property and services, and…the list goes on.
Many times people say one thing, but their lives demonstrate they don’t really believe what they are saying. James tells us that he will show us our faith (what we believe) by the way we act and live – our works. Amen to that.
Blessings,
Son of Liberty
I think by “out of the question”, he meant it was irrelevant to whether a person preps. I was a little confused by the statement myself. I am not sure what else it could mean. Or maybe he was just giving his personal opinion on religion, it is “out of the question”. Has he ever talked about religion before?
I think the author should readdress this comment Else this website is not going to be one I visit much anymore. ALL the preppers I know are bible believers.
Author
Maybe Emily will drop back by and clarify her statement. The way I read it, atheism is a false label applied to preppers in some areas (as such we are tired of hearing that we might be). Maybe “religion is out of the question” means that it’s a hands off topic to her.
In any event, I too have many Bible believing preppers who are friends and some who understand the Bible but choose not to believe. It’s sad but I won’t shun them because of it.
I read the comment and to me it meant they weren’t going to talk about religion. But also in my opinion if you are narrow minded enough to think others don’t have a right to any opinion but yours then you have the right to leave the site and not come back.
More comments on here than most any other post. All over the word religion. Pretty silly really.
People never agree on religion. Many people in my own church disagree about many many things in the Bible itself. When you open it up to any religion or lack of, you really get controversy going.
Seems to me the author was trying to avoid the topic altogether and somehow stepped in it anyways.
Yep!
That initial statement barely got my notice when I first read this when it was posted…the one that really cracked me up is the misconception we are supposed to be neat freaks.
Anyone who thinks that has obviously never seen my garage 🙂
Number 20 says Religion is out of the question. I disagree with this one !! I feel God is the one telling me to prepare. :/ no point in anything without God. All the rest is great.
Author
Angela
There are conflicting opinions on what the author meant by that statement, but I agree with you!
Kinda gotta disagree with #11. While I certainly don’t want the world to end, I really enjoy using the skills I’ve learned for prepping. Growing and canning food, firearms maintenance and training, and various wilderness skills are all things I’ve learned for prepping and enjoy practicing.
Prepping for emergencies is IMHO a far better use of one’s time than vegetating in front of a TV (or computer screen). How many non-preppers have actually given more than a moments thought or effort to the reality that their world could go crazy in a instant? The best example (to me anyway) is loss of electrical power, especially long-term! I have to disagree strongly with no. 8; we DO kill, when necessary, to survive, to protect ourselves and others, what would be the point of preparing to survive (even thrive) if we aren’t willing to do what’s needed to survive! For me, family comes first (including my dogs), then if I have any real surplus, local community (my immediate neighbors) may get some help from me, but only if they want it. Too many well-meaning people stick their nose in where it doesn’t belong (religion is sometimes used as a excuse) and cause more problems than they could ever fix! But mostly, I don’t care what other people think (except where it applies to OPSEC), since they don’t really know me and visa versa! (GLAHP!)
Just curious–how does being vegan “defeat” the point of keeping canned goods? I’m a vegan and have stacks of canned vegan foods standing in readiness at all times. Maybe I’m missing your point (?)
Most ppl don’t think vegans eat canned goods cuz they often have non vegan ingredients I suppose. My ex was vegan and she refused to eat anything packaged if the packaging itself was harmful to animals or the environment. The same applied to medications. It was extreme veganism imo. Her diet was so unhealthy at one point that every doctor she went to kept telling her she was killing herself.
I’m not sure why there needs to be a descriptor to which people self-identify with called “prepper” anyway. Sure some preppers are paranoid government conspiracy types or think aliens are going to land but having some food and water in case of a natural disaster is entirely responsible, particularly if you live in a earthquake, tornado, hurricane, flood area. My dad put 30 gallons of water in the basement, we always had at least two weeks of food, some ammo and we never called ourselves “preppers”, but if there was an earthquake, it was probably good to be prepared. It’s just good sense, not a hobby, or a self-identifier. I think what people thing is crazy is that someone would bother self-identifying as being a “prepper”.
I’m a short term peeper. I’m not religious at all. Religion has never made sense to me or for me. In moderation I can see it helping I guess. But taken to an extreme, it actually works against my goal of surviving, ESP since a great many religious ppl believe when doomsday comes, they are supposed to die. LDS and Muslims and Christians and Jews all think Armageddon is coming. That’s crazy to me. And some claim trying to cheat doomsday is going against the will of God. Blah blah blah. If god wanted me dead, I’d be dead. No amount of prepping is gonna help that. But humans were meant to live. We were built to adapt and survive, and eventually die of natural causes.
In short. I don’t believe in god. I hate the government. I do believe in aliens tho. And I do believe a natural disaster will strike us in our lifetime and it’s important to be ready when that day comes. But until that day I will live my life to the fullest and not spend every second of scared and waiting for the ends to come
For preppers that do not believe in God, in our free mason nation (woman of Babylon Rev 17), founded by the tribe of Ephraim, figure out the odds of this happening ….
How come the ONLY time presidents died in office from 1860-1960, is if they were elected in a year ending in zero, from 1840 to 1960? Every twenty years, which is a generation in the Bible …
1860
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
Why did it stop at President Reagan ? Here is a hint :
From wiki:
“Like the presidents who had died in office, Reagan was succeeded in office by his vice president, George H.W. Bush, which was historically unusual given that Bush was the first incumbent vice president in 152 years to
assume the presidency by direct election. The last incumbent vice president to win election had been Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison’s immediate predecessor in office.”
What is the ““Curse of the Zeroes” – the Book of Judgments” about?
President Bush Sr was # 152 = 152 AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE. What does God think, hexadecimal #98 RELIGIOUS LEADER BLIND
It goes even farther then that, his own son Bush #43 could not escape #152. The most ironic one? Bush won by “152 hanging chads”
Google it 😀
LOL-
Regarding #20- Noah was a prepper. It worked well for him and his family. I guess the great flood would be considered a doomsday scenario.