In "my
day" (meaning, before I turned into an old fogey), we
called them survivalists. Nowadays, the more common term is,
"prepper".
The thing
they have in common though, is that, for many people, the words bring
to mind a rather specific sort of image - paranoid, grizzly, scary
looking mountain men packing lots of automatic weapons and hiding out
in underground bunkers or high security compounds, cults, crazy cult
leaders and mass suicides/homicides, meekly cowering multiple wives,
children, and child brides, all waiting expectantly for society
to collapse.
Recently,
there has been a renewed interest in what is now known as "prepping",
and I think this is mostly a good thing (with a few caveats).
More and
more websites are popping up, catering more to the everyday citizen
interested in being prepared for ... well, whatever. Again, a VERY
good thing, IMO.
I never
thought of myself as a survivalist, and I don't think of myself as a
prepper now. I was just raised to always be prepared for anything.
I've had a go bag and emergency supplies as long as I can remember.
My parents taught me how to survive in the wilderness as well as at
home without power, plumbing, transportation, etc. I learned a huge
amount of what I know as a child, in Girl Scouts, Young Marines, and
military school. I've been going out into the woods with only what I
could carry on my person for a couple weeks at a time since I was 12.
It was just normal.
I always
thought the "survivalists" were just as crazy as most other
people did, and was VERY clear all my life that I was NOT
one of "those crazies", despite the
fact that I had a lot in common with "them".
The fact of the matter is, I was then, and still am a
"survivalist/prepper/whatever we're calling it this decade",
and so are LOTS of perfectly sane, level headed, everyday people!
It's all
about mindset...
There are
all sorts of things that can and do go awry in day to day life. Those
things run the gamut from mildly inconveniencing to big time
catastrophic, but even just a few actions, taken now, can turn many
catastrophes into inconveniences, or at the very least, survivable
situations. You don't have to buy property in the boonies or
stock up on all the latest survival gear to be prepared for life's
curve balls. Now, I will admit that once you start, it's very common
to get more serious about it, and you'll likely find yourself taking
more steps to ensure your and your family's survival, and even
comfort during a crisis of any sort, but even small steps will give
you an edge and make your life easier when things go wrong!
You're
probably already doing several things all the time for emergency
preparedness that you haven't even thought about whilst reading this
post.
Do you wear a
seatbelt? Do you wear or have a PFD on hand when boating? Do you have
smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in your home? Do you carry a
jacket, sweater, or umbrella when the forecast calls for the
possibility of rain or cold? Do you have jumper cables in your car?
All of
these things are "just in case" measures. We aren't
expecting a car crash or fire every second of the day, but we prepare
for them anyway. "Prepping" is no different!
If you read
this entire post, rather than simply blowing it off as more paranoid
rantings, you're already ahead of more than half of the population.
Now, why not do some searches on emergency preparedness and see what
you find? Focus on the realistic stuff. Don't worry about the stuff
that doesn't apply, because, well, it doesn't apply!
