I'm surprised the poor fellow wasn't sued for disturbing the peace...

The dialogue between myself and whoever comes into contact with the "just in case" part of my life can be summarized as such:

Them: You're wasting money.

Me: You waste more on smoking and alcohol.

Them: You can't be prepared for everything.

Me: You're prepared for nothing.

Them: You're a jerk for surviving when the rest of us croak.

Me: You're a jerk for making me save you.

Them: You should be studying.

Me: Yes.


Aside from that...

I'm not kidding. People have actually told me that being prepared is somehow unfair to everyone else. As if I'm some Wall Street big shot building a nuclear vault under Mount Rushmore. For Jews' sake, when lights went out at the bar I work in, I was the only one with a flashlight. How they intended to operate the electrical board in total darkness is a mystery* to me, considering it's conveniently located above a working grill.

Whenever someone asks me to open a can (in a working kitchen, mind you), my SAK is the only tool available for the job. I am also more often than not the only one with a lighter.

My neighbor called me "Rambo" upon discovering I have two flashlights in my posession. What people would do if they saw a FAK in my class bag, I'm afraid to imagine.

I believe the reason for such mentality is, paradoxically, Darwinian: people who focus on "making it" in the current state of affairs have an advantage over survivalists (and this is the gentler of the two terms I could have used) when it comes to investing time and effort into their career and what-not. Unless of course one could make a career out of survivalism. But that's not realistic, is it?

*I suspect use of the kitchen blowtorch is routine.