There has been a lot of derogatory talk lately about “preppers” and “gun nuts” and I’d like to take a minute to point out 10 reasons why preppers and gun nuts have always been vital to the United States and why it is essential that we have as many as possible to survive future disasters.
1. FEMA–The cost for local, state, and federal agencies to plan, equip, and staff for EVERY disaster that might happen is cost prohibitive. When disasters strike, government is quick to talk, quick to “ramp up”, but government help is slow to come and inefficient when it arrives.
Preppers and gun nuts, on the other hand, are able to act quickly and efficiently to take care of their own house and provide stability, structure, and assistance for their streets, neighborhoods, and beyond.
2. Stable Base–An organization (or nation) of people with specialized skills may accomplish great things when everything is going smoothly, but it quickly fall apart when trouble comes. The prepper mindset of “Jack of all trades, master of ONE” makes for a stable organization (or nation).
3. Joseph in the Bible–Preppers/survivalists have been around saving the day since the beginning of time. In Genesis 37-50, Joseph sees trouble coming and prepares for seven years. At the end of seven years, a severe drought/famine hits that lasts for the next seven years. Because of Joseph’s preparations, Egypt survived the drought/famine and was able to help the surrounding nations.
4. Founding Fathers–With the Constitution and Bill of Rights, our founding fathers pushed responsibility from the federal government down to the individual citizen and promoted a prepper attitude. They did it with the 2nd and 4th amendments, they did it by example (Washington leading a mostly barefoot army across the Delaware,) and they did it throughout their writing, “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.” –Ben Franklin
5. Siege warfare–Many of the things that happened after Katrina are textbook examples of why siege warfare is so effective. The normal city has a 3 day supply of food. The normal prepper has a 6-24 MONTH supply of food.
Which do you think is more stable in the event of a siege that is due to disasters or war? If you ONLY focus on food and water supplies, a city/county/region/country with many preppers will be much more resilient to being cut off from outside help than one with few preppers.
6. Independent from the government–How much leverage does an energy tax (or most other taxes) have on a family who’s living off the grid? The more self-reliant you are, the less control the government can exert over your life through taxes.
7. Criminals fear the aware and prepared–This is fairly straight forward. Preppers & gun nuts gradually become more aware and prepared than the average person. This will show itself in your walk, in your eyes, and how you carry yourself. In short, you stop looking like a wounded gazelle and more like a badger…cute & cuddly, but ready to do anything necessary to stop a threat to him/herself or loved ones.
8. Tyrants fear preppers and gun nuts–In addition to living a lifestyle that insulates them from siege, some taxes, and being nannied, preppers are usually well armed & seek advanced training. Good men have nothing to fear from an armed populace, but tyrants who seek to control the lives of others will always try to disarm them first through confiscation, taxation, or pressure through media and the educational system.
It worked for Hitler, Mao, and many more narcissistic, mass murders suffering from Munchausen by proxy throughout the ages. So far back, in fact, that Aristotle spoke extensively about how, in any society, those who control the arms control the state.
9. More preppers = fewer refugees & faster recovery from disasters—After a local, regional, or national disaster, the number of refugees will be inversely proportional to the number of preppers in the area. In other words, the more preppers you have in an area, the less strain the hospitals, volunteer organizations, and government run refugee centers will have.
10. More able to help their fellow man—After a disaster, you’re not going to see very many refugees donating their food/supplies/time. It’s not that they don’t want to, but rather it’s because they are in a fight for their lives and may be dehydrated, hungry, and tired.
Preppers who have food storage, water or water treatment tools, and who have prepared themselves psychologically for disasters will be able to help in several ways. First, they’re less likely to become refugees or use the time/resources of first responders. Second, since they ARE prepared for disasters, they can help the people in their immediate area which will lessen the load on first responders and reduce the number of refugees. Third, by helping themselves and their neighbors, preppers will increase the quality of care for people who DO end up still needing first responder care or to relocate to a refugee center.
In short, the more preparedness minded people that we have, the more stable our families, cities, and the country as a whole are. If you believe in this message, please forward it to your friends and family, tweet it, and link to it from your website or Facebook page.
And, if you have any interest at all in preparing so that you can survive disasters in urban environments, you really need to check out the SurviveInPlace Urban Survival Guide…which is 41% off for Thanksgiving!
Other people like you who’ve taken the course agree that it is the best book or course on surviving disaster in an urban environment that they’ve ever read. Here’s what Doug in California had to say:
“In 23 years service in the Air Force, I completed both arctic and jungle survival training, many combat/battlefield skills courses, and I served under daily fire in Vietnam. I think I’m fairly well prepared to survive the environmental hazards.
However, your course has significantly broadened my perspective when it comes to urban survival and surviving both the good and malicious intent of my fellow citizens. Thank you so much for digging out the information and for shortening the learning process.”
-Doug (Retired Air Force) in California
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