This movie shows why preppers...

Wow, you guys have got some distorted views of the majority of Preppers. I'm not a prepper exactly, but I love the idea of being self-sustaining with the use of modern technology to help.

The good/normal preppers will often form tight communities in more rural areas and they take care of one another while at the same time stocking food like you'd see in a Hobbit's pantry. It's something they enjoy doing while at the same time being prepared for a disaster that may cut their electricity, food or water for a short time or long.

When hurricane Katrina flooded New York, the majority of people were unprepared for the disaster, there was no electricity, so stores were shut down, the ones that were open could only accept physical currency, which a lot of people don't carry much of.

One prepper in a small community was giving his food out to neighbours, running his generator and offering free electricity, for people to charge their phones etc. And was one of few that kept his old style copper telephone line which still worked, while everyone in his area were on fibre optics that were out because there was no power to run them.. He also had silver coins saved and he used them to barter for gas for his generators.

Frankly I would rather be that guy who has prepared, than the one starving when a disaster hits.

It's possible their may be some weird/crazy preppers out their who want a nuclear holocaust, but I don't think that sums up the majority.. And you're just spreading stereotype nonsense if you believe in that crap.

ilykyu,

I'm sure it comforts you to think so. Some other posters here seem to feel the same. And that's part of what it is to be human as well: the notion that nothing can kill us off. In spite of the dismal record of all the other species (except maybe cockroaches). Humans are good at ignoring reality if it conflicts with our survival drives or even our daily living (put down that cigarette!).

But I rather like the story here, which says something has killed us, and it's the way we die that matters at that point.

Well, mister, people differ on whether the survival instinct can be overcome for any reason other than cowardice. People commit suicide all the time -- a member of my family did so -- for quite different reasons that had nothing to do with being afraid of living.

One can say -- and people have been saying it ever since the Stoic philosophers -- that a death chosen for many reasons other than fear is not only possible but even desirable in some situations.

The Woman in THE ROAD was not only afraid of the kind of death she and her child might experience; she did not want to live in the kind of world that was all she had to look forward to. That does not mean she was necessarily afraid of that kind of life. She didn't want to live it. She would have preferred that her child not have to live it, either. You could argue that fear lies at the base of all choices, but that would really be reaching. You could also argue that the self-preservation instinct is a matter of fear. After all, the Catholic church uses that kind of argument, and has for many centuries, in its dire warnings of what awaits suicides.

You should not be so absolute about something of which you clearly know nothing.

I've never seen the film version of The Postman, I heard it wasn't all that good. A big group of preppers might be unstoppable if they're arming themselves against other people, but could they protect themselves from epidemics? It's all very well to have lots of bullets, but could they withstand plague?

In Australia people are prepping for the end of the world too. They stock up on tinned food, but weapons are a bit more tricky, because Australia has much tighter gun laws than the United States. There is a group that predicted a planetary collision in 2013... in April. They base their predictions on interpretations of the Thesaurus. I saw this on TV late last year, when everyone was talking about the Mayan prophecy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYb-KFXiMkA

"Preppers" could absolutely survive and dominate after an apocalyptic event, but here's the key - they couldn't do it individually, and definitely not without communication.

It is amazing that people are choosing to critique right-wing post-apocalyptic fantasies with... left wing post apocalyptic fantasies.

Really, you can't use fiction to prove anything. We have no real data for such severe circumstances. What we do have data for is low to mid range catastrophes and the evidence is that those who make some preparations tend to do better.

The idea of preppers being isolationist is also something that people are making up in their own heads. Well, OK, I'm sure there are some like that but there are also many who are making preparations in concert with friends, family and neighbors (even some who were on that Doomsday Preppers show). I don't have figures on the ratios but unless others do, they should think twice before holding forth with their opinions.

I have an issue with the concept of preppers being "selfish". If you choose to prepare for an event like this, and I don't, are you selfish for using your supplies to survive? You put in the effort to acquire the supplies, aren't you entitled to use them for yourself? Similiarly, in the real world, if you choose to go to school to acquire skills that enable you to be gainfully employed, and I choose not to acquire an education, are you selfish for using your earnings to improve your standard of living?






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