Why Are You Prepping?

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by TXKajun, Feb 26, 2012.


  1. Beano

    Beano Monkey

    I was off in Iraq when it happened, so, without doing research and just talking out my fifth point of contact: I believe that the gubbermint really DOESN'T have a grand plan (who can, really?)....the real issue is one that will be prevalent in any problematic scenario: people in general are poorly equipped and unwilling to take care of themselves.

    Poor location for such a large urban center had a lot to do with it, as well (that's my engineering $0.02)

    As for what I would have done? Heck, I'm a noob,but I have the experience of ages 1-18 living in Florida. I would have boarded up early, tossed my bug out stuff in my Jeep and blown that taco stand a day ahead of everyone else.
     
    Moatengator likes this.
  2. NotSoSneaky

    NotSoSneaky former supporter

    I prep because I cannot predict the future.

    I'm really an optimist but from what I've seen on the web and the news there ain't much good news for the future. NO!!
     
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  3. KAS

    KAS Monkey+++

    Yes your rite things do suck rite now . but ive been working with alota guys from other countries and it could be alot worse...
    So im realizing all I can do Is be thankfull for what i have .prepair for the worst and pray for the best!!!
     
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  4. Moatengator

    Moatengator Monkey

    JMS21,,,,i think you mean your 4th point of contact!!!! The 5th is your shoulder blades;) !!! I suspect that it has just been awhile since you have been able to "pop some silk" It has been a long time for me, I know
     
  5. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I prep because Ive been to the school of hard knocks and dont care for a refresher coarse. Have lived out of my car and have been hungry to the point my beloved dog was in peril when out of work, havebeen without a lot of what most consider necessities and at times without even the basics. Ive spent time cold and wet because I didnt have the right clothes or shelter and Ive been hunted by unfriendly folks. So I try to keep the bills down and the pantry stocked against hard times, have the ability to produce what I have to have on my own, learn to make and do things others will pay or trade for and stay ready and equiped to protect me and mine.

    I dont really prep toward any specific terror, I figure theres a new boogie man on the horizon every week so I tend to not loose sleep over what may cause me to need to be prepped but instead just be able to do as much for myself and family as I can in the way of feeding, sheltering, protecting and comforting us as possible. I figure If I can have us a place and be able to make our own food there and meet our other basic needs and protect it then it really dont matter what comes along the desasters just kind of turn into bumps in the road and inconveniences. Failure to do so makes minor hickups into life altering disasters.
     
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  6. Beano

    Beano Monkey

    I have always been confused about that! I was a mech guy (Armor), and we were always told when we were on top of the turret to have "three points of contact" (two feet and a hand)....I assumed the other hand was #4 and your bum was numero five-o......
     
  7. Elessar

    Elessar Monkey+++

    I think, therefore, I prep.

    I wasn't always of this mindset because we lived hand to mouth, very literally, and were unable to put anything aside because every dime went to immediate care and feeding. Now, things have improved dramatically and I can be more planful. I am aware of the economic and social degradation of our national, as well as local situation.

    It is my intention to be as prepared as possible. So, that's why I'm here. I need all the advice I can find because I don't believe that I will be able to figure every aspect of prepping out, on my own, before The Event.
     
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  8. TheBreeze

    TheBreeze Monkey+

    I can relate what is happening right now with the ammunition shortage to what will happen when our food/fuel/etc is disrupted for whatever reason. Right now it is extremely hard to get the holy grail of bullets - 22lr. Just think of how FEW people around you are trying to get bullets and compare that to how MANY will be scrounging for beans. I take comfort in knowing I'm taking a proactive approach instead of thinking someone else will save us. I'm nowhere near prepped enough, but a short term disruption will be managed. Long term shtf will involve more of mental and tool usage to manage - which shorter term preps will ease the transition. I vividly remember my grandparent canning cases of food in the 1970's and understand they where "prepping" in good times because they remembered to bad ones. It use to bother me when some of my family didn't prepare for an upcoming hurricane/tornado/storm that we KNEW would cause disruption - now I just take care of things that I control.
     
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  9. VHestin

    VHestin Farm Chick

    I don't think of it as 'prepping' per-se, I think it's being self-sufficient/reliant, and I do it because it means that when the worst happens globally, it will not be as bad for my household as it could be. And some things I don't even bother worrying about, especially if it's one of those 'doomsday' scenarios where no one survives, like a big enough asteroid hitting Earth or something like that. I am on guard against political/economic issues, not so much natural ones. I do try and make sure our place is fire-safe as much as possible, and keep the roof/walkways cleared of snow.
     
  10. I prep to be ready for anything but I think the economy is on a one way train ride straight to the toilet...
     
  11. Gunny Highway

    Gunny Highway Hard Work and Sacrifice blessed by God's Grace

    Quite literally my mind set. I was always a "safe" guy - walkways cleared of things you can trip over, clean up spills immediately but I was always raised to be self-sufficient and to " stock up " when times were good. My Dad always said you need canned foods, toilet paper and soap. It certainly came in handy for a family with 5 kids when both my parents were out of work suddenly in the early 80's and we lived in a tent out of our truck and trailer by the Allegheny River for an entire Summer. I remember going to the church food closet and getting stuff and then biting into our stockpile of stuff each week and watching it dwindle thru that Summer, Fall and Winter till my Mom got part time work at the Courthouse in Oil City.

    My Dad never found steady work for over 3 years. Made me learn the value of a shotgun shell and every round of .22LR I used as well as working very very hard to retrieve my snagged Mepps lures while fishing since there weren't going to be any new ones if I lost it as well as hooks. Thank God for nightcrawlers ( gathering them up at night after a rain ) and the fish that love to eat em.

    I have my stock of supplies that will get me thru interruption of services due to flood or earthquake what-have-you but I fear hyperinflation and the subsequent collapse of the economy more than those things and finally most importantly there is my well known and very public stand on our Civil Liberties and the encroachment of Tyranny...
     
    NotSoSneaky, KAS and chelloveck like this.
  12. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    I too, was raised to be self reliant, I grew up as a hunter, from a family where all the men folk hunt, and several of the women. My dad used to hunt before school with just two shotgun shells, and the two rabbits he got would be traded in town for more shells, with which he would hunt after school for the family pot. he learned never to miss, or he ate less. To this day, I don't waste ammo.
    @Gunny Highway, if you don't know it, Mepps pays for squirrel tails. They are used to make lures, and they pay in a small amount of cash, or a better value, they pay in fishing lures. Check their web site for details, and preparations for shipping. Smallest useful amount is about 50 tails.
     
  13. Gunny Highway

    Gunny Highway Hard Work and Sacrifice blessed by God's Grace

    Thx Kellory - currently working as an indentured servant in Urban California but the tree rat population needs to be culled.....hmmmm
     
  14. Cowgirl

    Cowgirl Monkey

    I prep because life is predictably unpredictable. :)

    I prep for major destructive storms, such as winter storms that leave me stranded on the road, or that make me snow bound at home without electricity. Or tornadoes.

    I prep for major upheaval in my life such as a job loss or serious illness. I strive for greater self-sufficiency.

    When I feel prepared, I feel more secure.

    I prep for the same reasons I buy insurance.
     
  15. smilebrains

    smilebrains Monkey

    hmmmm...well, my wife is a prepper. I got the bug from her and it does make sense since we got robbed a few weeks back and it left us kind "naked". I'm a locksmith so I know the feeling :)
     
  16. DMGoddess

    DMGoddess Monkey+++

    I live in Los Angeles, otherwise known as Earthquake Central for the continental U.S. I grew up within spitting distance (literally) of the San Andreas fault. For my family, and then my husband and I, it wasn't a matter of IF, it was a matter of WHEN. I was prepping back when it was called 'survivalism', and I haven't been caught with my pants down yet.
    When the Northridge Earthquake hit, I lost a gallon jar of honey (sob!) that my mother had brought to me the day before, but that was the worst I suffered. I had a neighbor with no food in the house (silly bint didn't cook), two small children, and no idea of what to do (she was from Chicago, I think).
    When the Rodney King riots happened, I was living in a Buddhist community (I know, I know, but everyone was ready for a disaster). We patrolled the front and back yards, cooked on a barbecue in the back, and hardly noticed the problems except for the lack of electricity.
    As far as long range disasters, I think we need to worry about an economic collapse and riots afterwards. I don't need to start about what can happen, everyone here knows it.
    That's why I prep.
     
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