coming out....

So its been two days since I wrote the post about being a prepper, and I've had some strange (to my mind at least) reactions.  To give a bit of back story, I've actually been a closet/armchair prepper for some time.  To me it just makes common sense. History shows that when times get rough for society in general, times get really rough for minorities.  Being as I'm a double minority, I figure I'm pretty high up on the scapegoat list.  Also, history shows that natural disasters can and do happen.  History also shows that if you are relying on FEMA and insurance do not have the capabilities of helping you rebuild your life after a natural disaster.  ironically FEMA recognizes this and even suggests limited prepping.  Don't believe me?  check out www.fema.gov and see for yourself.  Given my strong libertarian leanings, I don't want to rely upon FEMA or any other government safety net if I can at all avoid it.  Only you can decide if prepping is right for you, so do the research and think about it.  only you can empower you. 

so on to a breakdown of the reactions, and my reactions to them.  I've actually gotten several supportive comments and constructive criticism.  Its been a real joy learning from other preppers out there, and finally discovering that I am in fact not the only Jewish prepper. 

I've also received some negative comments, and I'd like to respond to them.  Actually they all revolve around one issue--and I'd like to make a clarification.  Prepping is not about living in fear of the future.  Prepping is about being ready, resilient, and willing to take hold of your own destiny.  prepping is about relying upon yourself, knowing you have the skills you need, the resources you need, and mindset you need to survive just about anything.  prepping is not, for most of us, about some primitive tribalism--but about maintaining our current living standard for as long as possible irregardless of the circumstances. 

I've also received some shocked reactions.  These tend to principally rely upon the premise that by being a prepper I have somehow left the sustainable lifestyle.  So lets spend a bit of time briefly going over that ( I will do a fuller post later on the subject of compatibility between the prepper and sustainable lifestyles).  One of the most common preps made is to lay in a store of heirloom non-gmo seeds, and organic gardening.  Creative reuse of discarded materials is a part of almost any preppers practice and is considered a valuable skill set in the community.  home food preservation, another mainstay of the sustainable living community, is another prepper must in terms of skill sets.  Would it surprise you to know that the Dervais family of urban homestead fame are actually preppers?  would it surprise you to know that most of the modern homestead movement is made up of--you guessed it, preppers?  so no, I have not foresworn all things green simply because I am a prepper.  hell, camo is green! ;)


Finally, I've also received a number of questions, all asking the same thing. What is it I'm preparing for. To that, I have a short answer. Unlike the show Doomsday Preppers, I'm not really prepping for one incident. I'm prepping for everything. But, this is the situation that I find most likely. I personally think we are seeing a gradual (as evidenced by higher gas prices) decrease in the purchasing power of the US dollar in regards to crude oil. I don't think any oil producing country (including the US) is going to cut off oil supplies, but they will do what any business person with a product to sell does--sell to the highest bidder. India and China have been seeing dramatic increases in their collective purchasing power, but that purchasing power has significantly lagged behind actual purchases. With rapidly increasing demand, I think it is likely that we will see China start to seriously outbid the US when it comes to crude. Most chinese citizens to don own automobiles. However, the average chinese citizen is trying to increase their standard of living (as is just about everyone else on the globe) to match the American middle class--and that includes vehicles. If china does start outbidding the US on crude supplies, we are going to see massive changes in our society. Few realize how essential petroleum is to keep our society running. As just one example, did you know that any city only contains 3 days worth of food in terms of what's on the supermarket shelves? Did you know that many of the powerplants in this country actually run on petroleum byproducts? did you know that our entire agricultural system is completely dependent on oil? So, with this oil crisis--you see our cities run out of food, the grid go down (as remaining plants will then be overtaxed), our transportation industry stalled (and lets face it--how many americans live within walkable distance to essential life resources? seriously, engineering and development plans in this country have never taken into account a lack of automobiles), and the complete shutdown of our resupply plan in terms of food. something to think about. so what are your thoughts? please feel free to let me know in the comments section below. Seriously, I really welcome all feedback.