Is the new interest in survival preparation due to a new awakening to the actual reality of the world's overall situation

OR

Is the new interest in survival preparation merely the latest new fashion?


I think that after the news articles that have covered the subject of food shortages and of the new revival of "survival" interests, many people have panicked. The panickers are trying to make sure that they have more of everything than anybody else and like many other oddities that have become status symbols, being ready to survive has, or is becoming, "Fashionable".

What's your opinions on this set of possibilities???

I'd say a bit of both. But I really don't think the majority of people are much more prepared than they were before, even if they do go out and buy all the "survival supplies" the media tells them they need. Buying 50lbs. of rice is good and fine, but if you don't normally eat rice, don't have any way to cook it off the grid, don't store it properly, or mistakenly think that its all you need to survive for a few weeks or so, you could be in for a rude awakening. Same thing with someone who buys a generator for emergencies but has rarely/never used it and just assumes things will work like the guy at home depot said it would when the need arises. If its not a habit, its just a fad.

I think that any time food shortage is mentioned any reasonable person is going to take notice and shore up their own supplies.

Panic? I have not seen any panic. When panic sets in the grocery store shelves will be bare.

Survival prep fashionable? No. Never.

The biggest thing to boost awareness in survival preparation lately is C.E.R.T., Katrina and 9/11.

Furthermore, survival preparation can be buying a box of MRE's, a generator, First aid kit or anything else to help that person get through a disaster. How many people here have fire extinguisher's and can locate and turn off the water and gas main to their house/duplex/apt?

There's nothing wrong with someone preparing the way they see fit even if you might find it ridiculous.


-JRJ

I don’t think the interest in survival is as strong as it use to be. It was not uncommon to have a fallout shelter that was stocked with food and supplies in the 1950s and 1960s. I don’t here anything about that now.


All of us here think about it all the time, but Joe six-pack doesn’t give it a thought other then for a day or so when there is a snow storm coming. He fully expects the store down the street to always have everything he wants and that help for any problem is a cell phone call away.


I wonder if any of those shelters are still around in people’s backyard?

Yes they are, but folks are now buying lots near their towns and having new shelters buried there.

They are also having to put transponders on the hatch so that they can find the entrance when they go to check on their shelters.

Seems that every hurricane season we see folks fighting at the last minute for plywood to board up their windows, water, batteries, etc. Not much preparedness there...

That's a very good point, OBG.

I always wonder, as I watch the rush for plywood, what happened to the plywood they had bought, cut to size, & installed for the previous hurricane???

Blackouts, 9/11, Katrina, and some apparent "food shortages" are getting people to be more aware of their need to prepare. I think most just follow some list of essentials they pulled from their favorite entertainment media. Isn't that enough?

Shows on TV and recent movies have been increasingly focused on survival. I'm thinking of Survivorman, Man vs. Wild, I Shouldn't Be Alive, Survivor, Lost, and Into the Wild.

I've noticed that my local Walmart has signficantly more survival gear inventory, and it has increased slightly in actual usefulness and quality. I even purchased a few items there myself.



ROFL

Consumers are just following their instincts. When threatened, their innate reaction is to consume. Who needs planning and preparation? That would require thought.

I think that it's mostly the latter, due to Katrina/Rita and TV shows such as Man vs. Wild, Survivorman, It Could Happen Tomorrow, MegaDisasters, et al.

I started to get interested in in survival when I was in the Boy Scouts, and from a little board game called "Wilderness Survival by Avalon Hill. I'm not afraid to admit that Katrina/Rita woke me up and refocused my attention on survival requirements. I find that being survival oriented helped my self-confidence and interest in self-sufficiency. Plus, discovering this website was a godsend because of the information, great people and fascinating topics on the boards.

Perhaps it's also important to consider not just who is interested in survival prep, but rather who is planning to stick with it.

I'd guess that a good portion of people 'preparing' for survival events are really not doing much more than giving themselves a false sense of security.