# any survivalist/preppers here? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 1, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401 "2015-06-01T23:53:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/21 "2015-06-02T16:58:33Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Some people here are old enough to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis. I’m not, but my parents are. My mother has told me about the run on grocery and other stores, and the shortage for days or weeks afterwards. I was eight years old at the time. I don’t remember any problems getting groceries afterwards. Our pantry is a cupboard maybe 18" on a side, and 6 feet high. The canned food, rice, pasta, peanut butter, etc. in there would feed us for a month if the power went out - and that’s without any particular efforts to prep for a disaster. Preparing for an interruption to everyday civilization that lasts longer than a month? Not going there. Hurricanes happen: Isabel in 2003 knocked out our power for four and a half days. I was in South Carolina for Hugo in 1989; in Alexandria, VA for Agnes in 1972. None of these remotely resembled the end of civilization as we know it. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/22 "2015-06-02T17:22:13Z")
My idea of being prepared is making sure I have at least two rolls of TP in the bathroom at all times. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/23 "2015-06-02T17:24:47Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > 1. if you think you’ve got a chance after a nuclear incident, you’re insane. even if you survive you’re not going to have much future hunting or farming on contaminated land, > 2. This bit isn’t true. _If_ you already live out somewhere in the middle of nowhere, miles away from other people, none of the nuclear powers currently have enough warheads to waste one on you. If the Russians fired everything they have, you’d probably still be standing after the flashes in the sky die down. It turns out, the fallout isn’t as bad as they make it out to be, either. It depends on wind patterns and where you happen to be located, but you wouldn’t need a hermetically sealed shelter 100 meters down. Hiding under a few meters of earth is apparently enough in most cases. Farming or hunting after the event? Yeah, waste of time. You’d join the hordes of starving gringos trying to cross the Mexican border, seeking shelter… So, I guess a few hundred bucks worth of dry food and water and enough fuel on your farm to reach Mexico, and living in a rural area away from any targets, would be how to maximize your chances of survival. Of course, there are very few job prospects out there, or anything to do, and you’ll more likely than not die of a heart attack or something miles from the nearest hospital. But if the nuclear holocaust comes, you’ll probably survive. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/24 "2015-06-02T19:21:40Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > this is the key mindset of preppers. it’s some sort of perverse fantasy that the world as we know it is about to end, and these people are going to just pick up from their suburban homes and go out into the forests and fend for themselves while everyone else starves to death or is killed by roving gangs of thugs. > > 1. just because you can buy guns and ammo doesn’t mean you know how to hunt, > 2. gold is going to be worthless if society collapses, because apart from some industrial applications gold is pretty much useless, > 3. if you think you’ve got a chance after a nuclear incident, you’re insane. even if you survive you’re not going to have much future hunting or farming on contaminated land, > 4. Yep, gold is pretty useless in that case. And survive long term in the forest? Not gonna happen. Four levels 1. not having anything at all= idiot. 2. 72 hours= reasonable 3. Katrina level- say two weeks, maybe a month, including firearms. Over the top but not crazy. 4. Thinking that a disaster that will kill 99% of the people will spare _you_ and you can live off the land for decades: crazy town. Myself, I am a 2.5, more than the “minimum” 72 hours, not quite Katrina ready. Working on that, but that’s a LOT of water. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/25 "2015-06-02T20:31:07Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > No. We’re sane. > [@Colibri](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > **silenus** , insults are not permitted in General Questions. No warning issued, but don’t do this again. Yeah! Damn you for calling me sane! 😛 ---
**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:** [June 2, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/26 "2015-06-02T20:33:23Z")
You’ll do better to ask over at the [Zombie Squad](https://www.zombiehunters.org/) forums. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/27 "2015-06-02T20:48:39Z")
One interesting thing about preppers with “bug out bags” is that a number of them, similar to the US population at large, are often overweight, older, out of shape, and have chronic medical issues (usually related to their diet and being out of shape). Some are even smokers. The number of preppers who are young and in shape is seemingly fairly low. When the apocalypse comes and society collapses because of gay marriage, black presidents and the Tri-Lateral commission summoning the Anti-Christ to earth I’ve always wondered where these intrepid souls are going to go overland hiking to with their bug out bags on their back. I’m guessing most would not make it to the end of their street lugging these bags. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/28 "2015-06-02T21:26:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yep, gold is pretty useless in that case. > > And survive long term in the forest? Not gonna happen. > > Four levels > > 1. not having anything at all= idiot. > > 2. 72 hours= reasonable > > 3. Katrina level- say two weeks, maybe a month, including firearms. Over the top but not crazy. > > 4. Thinking that a disaster that will kill 99% of the people will spare _you_ and you can live off the land for decades: crazy town. > > Myself, I am a 2.5, more than the “minimum” 72 hours, not quite Katrina ready. Working on that, but that’s a LOT of water. Those of you who have read Stephen King’s “The Stand” will understand this. I’ve been asked more than once, “If anything like that ever happened, where would you rather go, Vegas or Boulder?” My response has always been, “Neither. I would want to die so early in the epidemic, my name would be in the book.” Even an epidemic that killed 0.6% of the population and left 99.4% alive would cause major disruptions in the social order. Look at what happened in 1918, or more recently in some of the “Ebola zones” in west Africa. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/29 "2015-06-02T22:36:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > … Four levels > > 1. not having anything at all= idiot. > > 2. 72 hours= reasonable > > 3. Katrina level- say two weeks, maybe a month, including firearms. Over the top but not crazy. > > 4. Thinking that a disaster that will kill 99% of the people will spare _you_ and you can live off the land for decades: crazy town. > … Well parsed. I’d add that another flavor of 4 is the widespread technological disaster, e.g. the ultimate solar flare, that kills the modern economy but not the populace. Although I suppose a good argument can be made that such a tech/economy disaster would still cause widespread death within a couple weeks due to widespread starvation. I’m a 2.5 working up to 3 as well. Living a couple hundred yards from the Atlantic ocean in the center of Hurricanesville means a widespread multi-week power & water outage is a very plausible risk every year. In fact hurricane season started yesterday. My challenge is more in the decision tree for whether we evacuate when and what we take where versus my preferred response of hunker in place. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/30 "2015-06-02T22:41:26Z")
> [@astro](#): > > One interesting thing about preppers with “bug out bags” is that a number of them, similar to the US population at large, are often overweight, older, out of shape, and have chronic medical issues (usually related to their diet and being out of shape). Some are even smokers. The number of preppers who are young and in shape is seemingly fairly low. > . Absent some manner of cite, you seemingly made this up. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Joker_and_the_Thief)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/31 "2015-06-02T22:42:03Z")
> [@astro](#): > > One interesting thing about preppers with “bug out bags” is that a number of them, similar to the US population at large, are often overweight, older, out of shape, and have chronic medical issues (usually related to their diet and being out of shape). Some are even smokers. The number of preppers who are young and in shape is seemingly fairly low. > > When the apocalypse comes and society collapses because of gay marriage, black presidents and the Tri-Lateral commission summoning the Anti-Christ to earth I’ve always wondered where these intrepid souls are going to go overland hiking to with their bug out bags on their back. I’m guessing most would not make it to the end of their street lugging these bags. This seems like a rational decision on both parts. If you are old and out of shape, the best way to increase your likelihood to survive an exigent scenario is to purchase gear and equipment. But if you are young and healthy, you have much less income, so purchasing survival gear is more difficult. Conversely, getting in shape is much easier, and has other rewards as well (e.g. sex). Seems to me that there’s no hypocrisy or irrational behavior here. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/32 "2015-06-03T01:00:41Z")
On the other hand I think there is a reasonable chance a lot of people could suffer from a personal economic catastrophe. For example you lose your job, the prices of food and energy explode. So there is a lot to be said for frugalizing your life, building up savings, doing energy efficiency things. [It seems I was just reading that 40% of the population couldn’t handle a $400 emergency expense without borrowing or selling something] [http://www.nationaljournal.com/economy/here-s-how-many-americans-would-struggle-to-pay-a-400-emergency-expense-20150528](http://www.nationaljournal.com/economy/here-s-how-many-americans-would-struggle-to-pay-a-400-emergency-expense-20150528) ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/33 "2015-06-03T01:10:22Z")
> [@astro](#): > > One interesting thing about preppers with “bug out bags” is that a number of them, similar to the US population at large, are often overweight, older, out of shape, and have chronic medical issues (usually related to their diet and being out of shape). Some are even smokers. The number of preppers who are young and in shape is seemingly fairly low. > > When the apocalypse comes and society collapses because of gay marriage, black presidents and the Tri-Lateral commission summoning the Anti-Christ to earth I’ve always wondered where these intrepid souls are going to go overland hiking to with their bug out bags on their back. I’m guessing most would not make it to the end of their street lugging these bags. That’s _my_ whole plan. I don’t need my own survival bag. I’m just going to take on of theirs when they collapse. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/34 "2015-06-03T01:13:40Z")
Our “plan” is living beside a nuclear submarine base. Should nuclear armageddon happen, either the Navy will save our lives, or we’ll be the first ones dead 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/35 "2015-06-03T01:30:02Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > People can and do panic. Some people here are old enough to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis. I’m not, but my parents are. My mother has told me about the run on grocery and other stores, and the shortage for days or weeks afterwards. “We don’t have it because everyone bought it in October.” Sure, it came to nothing, but no one knew that at the time. I don’t want to get caught up in that. I also don’t want to have to loot/“find food” if a crisis really does happen. I was 11 (5th grade) at the time, living in Los Angeles. One day during the Cuban Missile Crisis, my mother came home from the supermarket and said “The shelves are empty!” Sales were brisk for fallout shelters. We had a neighbor down the block who got one installed under his backyard. And this was California! Far beyond the reach of Russian missiles in Cuba. I saw maps of the eastern part of the United States, with concentric rings centered on Cuba, indicating how far the missiles could get in 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours. IIRC, Washington DC was in the 3 or 4 hour zone. No way those rockets were going to get to California. The crisis was over in just a few days. I _don’t_ recall any prolonged panic extending beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/36 "2015-06-03T01:50:30Z")
I have a friend who’s very involved as a volunteer with her local community response organization. Her point about “Go Bags” is that you’ll probably never need to/be forced to evacuate–you’re much more likely to “shelter in place,” as they say. But you still have a few days of necessities in one place, and if you DO have to go, they’re already packed. I live in Southern California. I can easily imagine an earthquake damaging my home such that I wouldn’t be able to stay–maybe no gas or water or electricity, and I’d prefer to take my family somewhere else for at least a few days. That said, while I do have emergency supplies at home and in the cars, I don’t have Go Bags. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/37 "2015-06-03T02:05:42Z")
I live in Philly. In the twenty or so years I’ve lived in my current apartment, the neighborhood drugstores, grocery stores and convenience store have never closed due to weather. In the unlikely event of the end of the world as we know it, I would be unable to get my medications and would likely not want to live. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/38 "2015-06-03T02:08:39Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > I have a friend who’s very involved as a volunteer with her local community response organization. Her point about “Go Bags” is that you’ll probably never need to/be forced to evacuate–you’re much more likely to “shelter in place,” as they say. But you still have a few days of necessities in one place, and if you DO have to go, they’re already packed. > > I live in Southern California. I can easily imagine an earthquake damaging my home such that I wouldn’t be able to stay–maybe no gas or water or electricity, and I’d prefer to take my family somewhere else for at least a few days. > > That said, while I do have emergency supplies at home and in the cars, I don’t have Go Bags. :rolleyes: My bug-out bag comes from being in an apartment fire once in the carefree days of college life. Standing on the street I wasn’t sure just what was lost but one thing for sure was I wasn’t getting access back for a day or so until official stuff got done. Now, in old age and living in a frame house, I figure some clothes and meds and a few other small things to fly out the door with can’t hurt. Yeah - the Sallies or someone could probably help and would. But I’m not much for counting on things like that. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/39 "2015-06-03T02:25:05Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Our “plan” is living beside a nuclear submarine base. Should nuclear armageddon happen, either the Navy will save our lives, or we’ll be the first ones dead 😃 It would be the latter. The Russians must have it on their list of places to blow up. And, any subs leaving in the event of possible nuclear war : 1. Would be in a big hurry. Minutes matter. 2. There’s only enough room on them for the crew and maybe 10 additional people, tops. Those things are so crowded they don’t really have room for their own crew, people have to share bunks, sleep on top of torpedoes, and are generally cramped all of the time. If such an event happened, you’d want to get in your car and try to get as far away from the base as possible. In a rural direction. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401/40 "2015-06-03T02:28:43Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > And this was California! Far beyond the reach of Russian missiles in Cuba. I saw maps of the eastern part of the United States, with concentric rings centered on Cuba, indicating how far the missiles could get in 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours. IIRC, Washington DC was in the 3 or 4 hour zone. No way those rockets were going to get to California. The russkies had long range ICBMs at that time. And, Los Angeles is a pretty juicy target. Just saying. It wasn’t as expensive a city during the missile crisis, but there was a major military training facility there and a propaganda production center. You know, Hollywood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-survivalist-preppers-here/721401.md?page=3)