# Americans - how common is this outlook? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599 "2013-08-19T00:00:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/41 "2013-08-19T11:47:11Z")
The only personal encounter I ever had with someone who was sure the end was coming dates back to Y2K. This guy laid in supplies of ammo and jerky :rolleyes: because he was sure on Jan 1, 2000, life as we knew it was going to end. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he was still eating the jerky. Some people find comfort in “stuff” - whatever works. I don’t keep disaster bags packed, but in a pinch, I could pack our car with the necessities and the important paperwork within an hour. Where I’d go at that point is up in the air. Frankly, I’d rather not waste the energy playing “what if” games. If I have to, I’ll deal when/if things happen. If I die, I die. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/42 "2013-08-19T12:18:25Z")
> [@Collaborator](#): > > It’s considerably more prevalent than the above posters seem to think, in some states (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Dakotas, etc) Based on my time in South Dakota, the “doomsday” lifestyle is quite rare. And I suspect “prepper” types are only a tiny minority of the population of all those states (even Idaho, popularly known as a refuge for freaky viewpoints like Aryan supremacy, actually has a sizable liberal population). There is likely overlap between hardcore preppers and a much larger (but still small minority) of people who try to live “off the grid” and grow their own food, have solar power backups etc. On a recent trip I enjoyed reading a magazine catering to this group, which in addition to useful articles on gardening, home greenhouse construction and solar panels, had a piece on burying one’s firearm(s) in a secret location in case of future government suspension of civil rights. They had some good tips - although based on the extreme difficulty their “expert” had in locating weapons he’d buried years before, one wonders how many of these cached guns are lost forever. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/43 "2013-08-19T12:53:33Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > What is really going to help you in a survival situation is all of the supplies you can pack inside your skull. Having a few basic tools such as a field knife, saw, matches, flashlight, and med kit plus the skills to use these to forage, trap, fish, and make shelter will get you through most any natural disaster that cuts you off from civilization. The only flaw I see to that, and which the wilderness-seeking preppers seem to miss, too, is that if civilization _really does_ fall there will be a LOT of people stuck in the cities. In the event of something that decimates the population you might even want to stay in the cities due to the abundance of stuff/resources there. Surviving in a city is very different than surviving in the wilderness, and I’ve seldom seen anything that addresses it. It seems quite a few people are ready to simply write off anyone who hasn’t run for the woods. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/44 "2013-08-19T12:55:33Z")
Dopers interested in the subject should go to [www.zombiesquad.com](http://www.zombiesquad.com). Preparing for TEOTWAWKI is on the extreme end, but it’s more about being prepared for local disasters. For example, would you be prepared if the police came round and told you to evacuate because of a chemical spill? What if your car broke down in the middle of nowhere? What if your boss said, “We need you to go to X and a car will pick you up in 20 minutes”? ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/45 "2013-08-19T13:49:12Z")
I know a lot of crazies but I don’t know any of those. Or maybe I do know some but if I do they aren’t talking about it. In the winter I like to stock up in case we get a big snow, even if I can get out if I’d rather not. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/46 "2013-08-19T13:59:21Z")
I live in Florida and have a generator I test once a month. I can run the whole house on it for about 3 days. That and switching my TV to a over the air antenna is the extent of my prep. However I have a friend that I haven’t seen in over a year because he is on his survival farm and he hasn’t left it in that time. His preparations are as over the top as any I have ever heard of. He sold a security business and is now a full-time survivalist as Obama will blow it all up anytime. I cant visit him anymore since he put in land mines and I don’t know where they are. He has well over a hundred various firearms and over 100,000 rounds of ammo. He also has solar panels and 3 huge propane tanks. I would not be surprised if he has enough food for at least 5 years. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/47 "2013-08-19T14:08:05Z")
There are some things I keep about, but I never forget that the first time I heard of “preppers” it was because Adam Lanza and his Mom were “preppers”. All of the guns used in the Newtown Massacre were stock piled in upper middle class suburban Ct “in case something should go wrong”. Scarier than any Stephen King novel, if only because 1) its 100% true and 2) the irony burns. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/48 "2013-08-19T15:01:27Z")
> [@Collaborator](#): > > It’s considerably more prevalent than the above posters seem to think, in some states (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Dakotas, etc) survivalists make up a rather large amount of the population. Since I currently live in one of the Dakotas and haven’t seen any of this ‘prevalent’ attitude, I’d dearly love to see a cite for this assertion. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/49 "2013-08-19T15:09:09Z")
I think it’s a pretty harmless pursuit, but if you ever need it you’ll be glad you were prepared. You can just collect the basics or get a lot more elaborate. And yes, many people that are prepared won’t talk about it because they don’t want you knocking on your door after disaster strikes. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/50 "2013-08-19T15:58:15Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The fundamental problem with that theory is that the shooter with the longest range wins. So, the guy with the .30-30 Winchester can take out the putz with a .40 S&W pistol, but he is at the mercy of the shooter with a .308 Win. Both are fair game to the elk hunter who has a 7mm Remington Magnum with Leupold optics. And the former Recon sniper who snuck home a Barrett M82 and a few hundred rounds of M1022 ammo is going to clean house and walk away with all the sundries he can carry. If you are going to live by the sword, you’d better have the biggest sword in the kingdom. > > What is really going to help you in a survival situation is all of the supplies you can pack inside your skull. Having a few basic tools such as a field knife, saw, matches, flashlight, and med kit plus the skills to use these to forage, trap, fish, and make shelter will get you through most any natural disaster that cuts you off from civilization. Relying on having access to a big bag of shit means that you have to carry a big bag of shit around with you, which slows you down when you probably want to be as mobile as possible. Having a large storehouse of food, weapons, and tools upon which you are reliant for survival means you are stuck in your location. Now, if you know you are travelling in inclement weather, it is certainly smart to pack some bivvy sacks, sleeping bags, food and water, but when push comes to shove you shouldn’t have to rely on any of this gear to survive. > > Long term “survival” after the collapse of civilization is another bag, but the same principles still apply; stockpiling a bunch of ‘stuff’ (be it food, guns, tools, et cetera) is ultimately less useful than the basic and largely forgotten skills of how to make tools and shelter starting from only primitive elements. All the guns in the world aren’t going to help you when you are freezing to death because you don’t know how to make a stormproof shelter or prepare tinder for a fire. > > Stranger But all that gold Glenn Beck told me to buy is gonna still come in handy, right? ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/51 "2013-08-19T16:03:58Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > I’ve been watching the series _Doomsday Preppers_; which shows Americans preparing to ‘bug out’, or abandon civilisation after some imagined catastrophe brings down society as we know it. People on it must have spent millions on their preparations. The conceit of the show is that their preparations are rated for effectiveness in a doomsday scenario. > > If I ever met anyone like that over here I’d think they’d been watching a few too many Bear Grylls videos yet there’s no shortage of applicants and the activities are treated as perfectly normal, even admirable. > > How many Americans have this apocalyptic outlook and survivalist mentality? What do people think of those who spent their time, money and effort preparing for the rather unlikely total collapse of the United States? How common is it? If it’s on American TV and geared towards entertainment, it’s usually for the shock factor, which means it’s typically not representative of our greater population. That said, I don’t have an opinion of them. To each their own, really. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/52 "2013-08-19T16:08:38Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > But all that gold Glenn Beck told me to buy is gonna still come in handy, right? I have a basement full of gold and guns. I don’t care what Stranger says; I’m ready. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/53 "2013-08-19T16:12:36Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Based on my time in South Dakota, the “doomsday” lifestyle is quite rare. And I suspect “prepper” types are only a tiny minority of the population of all those states (even Idaho, popularly known as a refuge for freaky viewpoints like Aryan supremacy, actually has a sizable liberal population). > > There is likely overlap between hardcore preppers and a much larger (but still small minority) of people who try to live “off the grid” and grow their own food, have solar power backups etc. On a recent trip I enjoyed reading a magazine catering to this group, which in addition to useful articles on gardening, home greenhouse construction and solar panels, had a piece on burying one’s firearm(s) in a secret location in case of future government suspension of civil rights. They had some good tips - although based on the extreme difficulty their “expert” had in locating weapons he’d buried years before, one wonders how many of these cached guns are lost forever. And would the guns work after they were retrieved? I used to post on a website that initially interested me because I thought their emphasis was on self-sufficient living, but there’s a small (and extremely vocal) contingent that are exactly as you describe. The ones who homeschool their children because they don’t want outsiders finding out about their huge unregistered arsenals are the scariest of all, and really, if you’re doing this, authorities can find out who you are easier than you think they can. :rolleyes: Some of them also automatically believe every anti-Obama thing they hear, no matter how outrageous it is. He’s had numerous gay lovers murdered to keep them quiet? Get out of here. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/54 "2013-08-19T16:15:37Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Dopers interested in the subject should go to [www.zombiesquad.com](http://www.zombiesquad.com). Preparing for TEOTWAWKI is on the extreme end, but it’s more about being prepared for local disasters. For example, would you be prepared if the police came round and told you to evacuate because of a chemical spill? What if your car broke down in the middle of nowhere? What if your boss said, “We need you to go to X and a car will pick you up in 20 minutes”? Let’s see… I have cash, so in the unlikely event that a chemical spill would force us from our home, we could just go shack up with any number of friends for a few days, and just pick up a new set of clothes for wearing while we washed the originals. I’d tell my boss to go to hell if he pulled something like that; fair warning is reasonable and customary. Shoot, I told my boss that no, I couldn’t be in New Orleans the next day at 9 am because it was my wife’s 30th birthday and ultimately I feared her wrath more than anything he could possibly do. (he just looked at me sort of nonplussed, and then croaked out “Ok… Thursday at 9 am then.” The natural disasters around here (Dallas) that I’m worried about are either so short-term (tornadoes) or long-term (drought/water shortages) that a bug-out bag doesn’t really make sense. In the first situation, it’s something that might take up critical time to grab, and in the second, it’s not like it’s going to sneak up on us. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/55 "2013-08-19T17:54:59Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The only flaw I see to that, and which the wilderness-seeking preppers seem to miss, too, is that if civilization _really does_ fall there will be a LOT of people stuck in the cities. In the event of something that decimates the population you might even want to stay in the cities due to the abundance of stuff/resources there. Surviving in a city is very different than surviving in the wilderness, and I’ve seldom seen anything that addresses it. It seems quite a few people are ready to simply write off anyone who hasn’t run for the woods. In the case of a true natural disaster where the flow of electricity, potable water, food, and fuel into an urban area is cut off, a city is pretty much the absolute worst place to be. Between the high likelihood of fire and structural damage to buildings, blockages of thoroughfares, hygiene failures, looters, and other desperate people, a city is bascially a deathtrap. The “stuff/resources there” consists of less than a weeks’ worth of supplies (by some estimations, the islands of Manhattan is perpetually less than 48 hours from starvation, though I imagine that survivors of some calamity could probably eke out an existance for a few more days before things really go to shit). Basically, in any situation in which there is a total collapse of logistics and authority, there is no urban survival except in the sense of climbing on top of the water tower and shooting at the zombie hordes. > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I have a basement full of gold and guns. I don’t care what Stranger says; I’m ready. To be a Bond villain? Remember, you also need a company of faceless henchmen and a sidekick with a special talent for killing people in a bizzare and unlikely fashion. Keep working on that and get back to me when you have a concept. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/56 "2013-08-19T18:07:32Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > there is a massive cheese cave in missori. i’ll make my way there. No shit? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/57 "2013-08-19T18:15:23Z")
If one were truly preparing to protect and provide for themselves and their family in the event of some unspeakable catastophe, wouldn’t the last thing you would want to do be to tell anyone? Do you really want everyone with whom you shared that delightful information to be knocking on the door of your bunker on Judgement Day + 1? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/58 "2013-08-19T18:27:00Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > In the case of a true natural disaster where the flow of electricity, potable water, food, and fuel into an urban area is cut off, a city is pretty much the absolute worst place to be. Yes, if a lot of people survive. If you get a disease disaster with a 99% fatality rate, though, the prospects aren’t nearly so dire. There is still the problem of power, but if the survivors can get into grocery stores there is food and beverage, and you can siphon gas out of cars. I agree, there are some serious issues with urban survival, but there are still going to be a lot of people in the cities. If groups of them band together to pool knowledge and resources it might not be too bad, and could be preferable to trying to live in the wilderness with zero wilderness skills. In any case, MOST people live in cities and would need to know how to survive in them long enough to leave town if civilization falls. That’s a different skill set than catching rabbits in the woods. > [@](#): > > The “stuff/resources there” consists of less than a weeks’ worth of supplies (by some estimations, the islands of Manhattan is perpetually less than 48 hours from starvation, though I imagine that survivors of some calamity could probably eke out an existance for a few more days before things really go to shit). A week’s worth _at current population levels_ you mean. If a disaster wipes out 90-99% of the population that “week’s worth” is considerably more. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/59 "2013-08-19T20:02:15Z")
I have no idea how common it is. I can only tell you I’ve never actually encountered anyone with a survivalist bent. I concede, I live in Austin, which is a more educated and liberal town than many in Texas… but still, if survivalists and people awaiting the imminent apocalypse were real all over, shouldn’t I have bumped into one or two by accident? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599/60 "2013-08-19T21:08:34Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I have no idea how common it is. I can only tell you I’ve never actually encountered anyone with a survivalist bent. > > I concede, I live in Austin, which is a more educated and liberal town than many in Texas… but still, if survivalists and people awaiting the imminent apocalypse were real all over, shouldn’t I have bumped into one or two by accident? I live in Dallas, and the tally is 1.5 for me. The one is my wife’s former masseuse, who married some nut-case and moved to a bunker in southern Missouri, and subsequently was actually filmed on “Doomsday Preppers” and then divorced said nut-case and moved out of the bunker and (presumably) back into civilized life, but I don’t know what eventually happened to her. The 1/2 is a former co-worker of mine who believes in all sorts of woo and is really right-wing, loves his guns, and while not really a “prepper”, he does buy into a lot of garbage like the Amero and other garbage like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-common-is-this-outlook/666599.md?page=4)