First of all, England is a nation of cucks who have gone from ruling an empire that was 1/4 of the planet to ruling an island the size of Michigan. Their opinions on anything ‘Murican really don’t matter. But….
I am flummoxed when some self-righteous moron, when told of someone stockpiling food or somesuch, loudly proclaims “I won’t live my life in fear!” Clearly, they don’t realize how stupid that sentence is. Let’s examine it:
- They have homeowners insurance because they are scared of their house burning down
- They have auto insurance because they are scared of being in an accident
- They have health insurance because they are scared of getting sick
- They have life insurance because they are scared of dying
- They have retirement plans because they are scared of being old and poor
- They have pepper spray on their keychain because they are scared of being mugged
So, really, they are already living a life of fear. However, if you point that out to them they will declare “That’s not living in fear! Thats taking reasonable precautions! Thats just commonsense!”
And they will never realize the irony of that statement.
So, you and I, in our food-laden, heavily-armed, well-fueled, economically-prepared homes are always going to be seen as the wierdos…right up until the quake happens, the riots start, the tornadoes hit, or the economy splatters…..then we’re going to be everyone’s brand-new best friend. (And, holy crap, are the unprepared in for a surprise when it turns out that the people they pointed at and made fun of turn out to not be terribly enthused about sharing their food and have the resources to make that “No” stick.)
Preparedness is not a uniquely American thing…to Europeans I’m sure it looks that way because preparedness is about the individual taking responsibility for themselves. And in pretty much every country that sort of individualistic character trait has been stamped out in favor of various forms of IngSoc-style thinking. But the desire to trake care of ones self and ones own is a rather universal trait, it’s just that we Americans aren’t terribly embarrassed about it and don’t really feel the need to apologize for it. At least, I don’t.
Hi Speaking as an Englishman we do not all think like that. Some of us do take responsibility for our selves and make sure we can manage. We cant arm ourselves with guns the government got control of that a long time ago but crossbows ect we can have, Don’t let that happen in America, O by the way, Even pepper spray is illegal over here.
I just came across your blog yesterday. thank god I’m not the only one who thinks the way you do. I very much like your posts. they are very intelligently written and to the point. thank you again and keep up the good work, I look forward to seeing more
Man, it sure is a good thing liberals aren’t telling us every 3 minutes the world is going to end. Because then, you know, this would all make sense, or something
I would like to laugh in “his”(man card probably never issued or quickly revoked) face when shown video of stores on his island being looted during a winter “storm” that wouldn’t slow down anyone north of the Mason-Dixon line. Mostly cucks but some soccer hooligans might have a pair just outnumbered and ostricized.
The author really missed the mark in this article. Had John Anderer taken a look at the sources sited in the study, including the political bias of these organizations, he would have seen the left leaning bias. In background checking the sources sited, it becomes obvious that the researchers cherry picked the data for their desired outcome.
Then there is the language in which the article was written. John Anderer utilized language which appears to be moderately to strongly biased through the use of loaded words.
For and organization that claims in their mission statement:
“StudyFinds sets out to find new research that speaks to mass audiences — without all the scientific jargon. The stories we publish are digestible, summarized versions of research that are intended to stir debate: We do not agree nor disagree with any of the studies we post, rather, we encourage our readers to debate the veracity of the findings themselves.”
It looks like there is a seriously left leaning liberal bias at work here.
O, FFS….will these damned Swampy’s just SOD OFF?
why you silly American Twit. the government will take care of you in the vent of an emergency. just put your faith there, like we do.
now excuse me while I go do my local bobby station and turn in my butter knife.
.
It’s interesting that our collective memory has faded so quickly in regard to stocking up and being prepared to ride out tough times… One only has to go back a couple of generations of their family at the most (in both Britain and the U.S.) to to a time when pretty much everyone maintained long term stocks of food and necessities at home – often including multiple weapons. The Great Depression generation (those who are left) STILL practices this.
I’m not talking about maintaining bunkers full of years worth of food and supplies – just prudent stocks that will help see you through when times are tough and or when that unexpected Noreaster, hurricane, or power failure means you can’t get to the store. My American grandparents had a cellar full of food (much of it home produced) that they regularly used and restocked till they were too old to do so using generations old implements and storage means (really wish I knew what my father did with my great great grandmother’s salt pork box). I won’t even talk about the lengths my Japanese grandparents went to to keep stocked up after their experience during WWII…
I absolutely know people who wouldn’t last a week in terms of stored food if there were even a hiccup in the delivery system let alone a month (most don’t even cook – they eat out every meal) I will have NO sympathy for them but I would for their kids. Back when, if you DIDN’T stock and prepare then you’d be considered a fringe loony to be ridiculed (remember the parable of the grasshopper and the ants?). Times certainly have changed…
Regards
Maybe England should be more thankful that us Yanks have plenty of guns and other equipment never know when their “un-prepared” “peace in our time” BS will require the re-activation of the “American Committee for the defense of British Homes.” Look it up.
‘“Fear is now deeply entrenched in modern American culture and is the principal reason that so many citizens are engaging in ‘prepping’,” explains lead author Dr. Michael Mills in a release.”
Comment: If I have food, cash, weapons and stuff to tide me over any societal speed bump, what do I have to be fearful of, Einstein?
“According to Mills, these preppers believe that if the worse were to happen, the government’s response simply wouldn’t be adequate and many people would be left to fend for themselves.”
Why might folks (those who are paying attention) think such a thing? Ask anybody from New Orleans (Katrina), or Texas (Rita) about how that entire “Fema will save us” thing worked out. And, by “many people would be left to fend for themselves”, you wouldn’t mean “all the deplorables”, would you? Because, that’s how WE read it.
Thank you CZ!
I am British and I can assure you there are more preppers here than the snowflakes and lefties realse…
We tend to keep our heads down about it – or “Gray Man” it – but we are here to stay!
I suspect many of us will still be going strong while the PC heroes become compost…
@ceejay, can you share a bit? My impression of the UK is of much smaller living accommodations, a severe lack of 2 car garages, smaller garden to grow a food garden in (what we call a ‘yard’), smaller refrigerators and no chest freezers, etc.
All the places I’ve stashed food and supplies seem to be smaller or not common.
have you got some specific techniques or advice about challenges like that? Or are my impressions completely off base?
nick
Hi Nick!
I suspect that you have been spending far too much time listening to left-wing press –
Brit and Yank!
The conditions you have heard of might have been true shortly after the war, but have not been true for quite a while.
While Britain may be a small and crowded island, the quality of British homes are now likely to be somewhat better than American ones (far fewer wood-frame firetraps).
Stashes tend to be fewer in number and somewhat larger due to the average plot being smaller, but I expect that the Average British prepper (if there IS such a thing) will have suppliers similar to American –
With a major difference.
The British lefties have managed to enhance the meme that “If someone WANTS a firearm, they have proved they shouldn’t be let near one”
Each British prepper has to calculate their own “Risk to Reward” ratio.
As I said to a similar-minded colleague…
What is worse than a swift economic collapse?
One that happens while you are in a cell on weapons charges!.
Risk and Reward…
There is no doubt that things are tougher here for preppers, which leads us to try harder!
This is a drastic over-simplification, but I hope it gives you a slight insight to our problems.
God bless
Thanks!
I used to watch all the fixer upper/property ladder/cash in the attic shows that were in actual people’s homes, and they looked SMALL to me.
Small refrigerators too, and proud of daily shopping for staples. I’m all for fresh, but not having to go to the store is nice too.
In contrast to that, there seems to be a lot of countryside! More than one would expect from a tiny isle…
Glad to hear that prepping is going strong.
nick
I’m reminded of the old story where the little old lady was pulled over by the police officer for speeding. When he approached her door, she rolled down the window and said, “I have to inform you, Officer, that I have a 9mm Glock on my right hip, a .38 snubnose on my left ankle, a Mossberg 590 on the passenger side floorboard, and an AR-15 under the blanket on the rear seat.
The officer looked at her and asked, “What in the world are you afraid of, Ma’am?”
She looked up at him and, smiling sweetly, responded, “Absolutely nothing!”
People laughed at Noah, too… until it started raining… and didn’t stop…
Less than 100 years ago you’d have been taken as a MORON if you DIDN’T prepare for what might happen! And this was BEFORE our society was dependent on such SPOF’s (Single Points Of Failure) as electricity, the web, and municipal water!
I live in earthquake country. Very few prepare for the inevitability of a major quake. You can’t fix stupid!
‘Wanna round up the weak-kneed? Fence in a huge area. Have one guarded entrance. Put up signs around the perimeter saying “FREE WI-FI.” The rest will take care of itself. …There’s always free cheese… in a mousetrap…
Let us not forget Superstorm Sandy and the havoc she wrought on New Jersey and New York. And how long it took to bring some level of support to those people. Trust FEMA, not me. I realize that there are a lot of good people in FEMA, some of them are my friends, but they tell me that the real effort is to be done by the states who have to request federal aid. Not to mention that the government cannot afford to stockpile that much food and equipment around the country and deliver it in 72 hours. To maintain that capability is pretty much impossible.
I will add this – I was traveling through Madrid, Spain just after Katrina hit. While standing in line for something, I was talking to a Brit. He said that they were amazed that the US had requested assistance, something that had apparently never happened before. I explained to him using a statistic I had heard – that the entire are covered by several feet of water was equivalent in size to Great Britain, including Scotland and Northern Ireland. When I put it that way, he was shocked.