# It is wise to scoff at preppers? Are their fears really so outlandish? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-wise-to-scoff-at-preppers-are-their-fears-really-so-outlandish/710769 "2015-01-24T17:24:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 14
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-wise-to-scoff-at-preppers-are-their-fears-really-so-outlandish/710769/14 "2015-01-25T00:32:55Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > The problem is that most preppers prepare rather erratically rather than systematically–they prepare in one area but not another. > > For example I remember reading about one prepper who had guns, gold, etc but lost his job. Even though he had unemployment insurance his gold and guns were soon sold to pay his monthly expenses. Obviously a better preparation would have been to frugalize his life–to cut his usual monthly costs to the bone–and to develop additional skills so he could easily get a new job–rather than the guns, gold… Some of the people on the “Doomsday Preppers” show had gotten to a point where they weren’t able to take proper care of themselves and their families in the present day, and I wondered if some of them would try to precipitate a crisis so they could say “I told you so”. I post on a board that has a few really hardcore people, and the creepiest are the ones who, among other things, homeschool their children because they don’t want outsiders finding out about their huge gun arsenals. Um, hello, if you HAVE one of these, you shouldn’t be talking about it online! :smack: --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-wise-to-scoff-at-preppers-are-their-fears-really-so-outlandish/710769)._