Yeah, prepping hits a certain point of diminishing returns. An extra sleeping bag and lantern is only going to last so long in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, if you even survive it.
Because I not only write post-apocalyptic fiction but enjoy the genre as a reader, I can attest to some really wild ideas being out there. A lot of it seems to be predicated on, "I got my stockpile, screw you losers." And some of those guys, man, every world event is "the big one". Until it isn't, and then they have a theory as to why. Or they "know someone" who is feeding them intel about coming events that never happen. I've known some people who really stockpiled, but I've never been a fan of it. Because one good fire and you're screwed. I think knowledge and the ability to handle adversity is key. That said, we do keep a good supply of things we regularly eat and use around here. And it's come in mighty handy now and then. During the beginning of the pandemic we didn't have to go for groceries for a long time. And during something like a bad snowstorm, if we're suddenly out of ketchup, coffee, or whatever, well there's some downstairs. And I just replace as we use it and rotate to ensure freshness. So to me there's prepping and then there's PREPPING. One makes sense, the other seems to be a form of masturbation for some folks.
Hardcore preppers are on the spectrum. In general the whole “society/democracy/culture is collapsing “ sentiment, like Tuckers 900 billion word essay, is a super poisonous train of thought. Don’t know how we shift the country’s psyche away from it. We need a war with China or something.
BIL is the guy who peaked as an e4 during his one enlistment back 20 years ago. So he’s keeping the vibe alive without dealing with the army bullshit. His stories sound so cool, but he tends to shut the fuck up when around more experienced veterans.
It’s a super poisonous train of thought, but also it’s just an easy ego stroke. Tucker might be thinking he’s awakening the sheeple, but really he’s getting a dopamine rush from a long-winded “I know something you don’t know.”
Yeah. It's a real issue with these kind of guys. There is a weird progression (or regression) of thought that unfolds that makes its way from prepper (or similar) -> "Fuck the government" -> "Hey, lets steal Nancy Pelosi's podium". Similar concepts can be applied to most fringe movements. That's how you end up with neo-Nazi militia-types, Weather Underground, etc. The circular confirmation bias becomes toxic and spirals into being outright dangerous very quickly.
What I find amusing is that for the majority of these collapse scenarios (basically all of the ones other than total global breakdown) the easiest solution is to just leave the United States before the "collapse" happens. But that would involve moving to a "socialist hellhole" like Europe, which is tacitly admitting a foundational flaw in their entire worldview, so they'll never do it, instead choosing to spend untold money on preparing for an absolutely miserable existence "post-collapse".
Well, as I said in another thread, there wouldn't be a wholesale collapse of the US without a collapse everywhere else. They would just need to sit their cuck-shed and slowly starve to death or hiding from cannibals like Vigo Mortensen did in that movie.
I posted on here a couple of years ago about my foray into long term food supplies. I’ve got a month or three of freeze dried food, MREs and canned goods. More if we stretch it. I’ve also laid in some water filters, camping gear (which I use regularly anyway) etc. Basically things we could take with us if we had to leave in a hurry or to support us if we were stuck here for awhile. But if really bad shit goes down, like others have noted, it’s going to be knowledge and wits that keep us going. And considerable stores of body fat I’ve accumulated. I haven’t even looked at any of my supplies in almost two years. Time to go rotate some beans.
Out of morbid curiosity I went back to see what he wrote: Solid analysis. Also his political analysis is at a toddler level. California is apparently a failed state, but Texas could be its own country because it has ports.
Winter is here. Isn’t it time for Texas’ poorly constructed and maintained energy grid to freeze solid again?
The weather data service was named after the terrorist group, because like many things that came out of the early internet, it was named by college students. The Weather Channel didn't rename it when they eventually bought the service.
And its own power grid. So, you know, he's been keeping up on the news. There are two things I think I really enjoy about doomsday preppers 1) They think that when the Mad Max Leather Clad Rape Gangs come around that they will attack one at a time like henchmen in a James Bond movie. And that no one else could possibly have the same, if not greater, survival/military/whatever skills that they have. 2) That their skills will be highly valued in the new, post apocalyptic world. Survivor 1 - "I'm a doctor!" Survivor 2 - "I'm an engineer!" Tucker - "I can put together a team to help develop the novel you've always wanted to write and create a distribution platform to help give you access to as many post apocalyptic survivors as possible. And I have a podcast about being the best alpha male that ever alpha'd an alpha."
now that tucker and rogan both live in the austin area, you know it's only a matter of time until they team up on some truly cringe shit
Preppers that take a semi useful hobby a step too far. The cultural psyche around ‘cultural decline/ruin’ because of trans or climate deniers or whatever issue is the lowest I’ve ever seen. I kind of pine for the late 90s. Politics was toxic but avoidable. Third Eye Blind had finger popping hits about suicide and cocaine use. The internet actually connected people and MTVs Spring Break was the height of youthful exuberance.