Doomsday Preppers, are they nuts or wise?

saiint · 05-11-2012 01:24PM

CruelCoin wrote: »

Not much, but i do keep a "go-bag" prepped behind the couch.

Money, water, food, clothes, sleeping bag, knife, basic tool set, flashlight + batteries, spare shoes, rope and plastic sheeting.

Never had to use it and i hope i never have to. Though i do sleep better at night knowing should the world go to hell properly, i'll be fine and you lot will be ****ed.

what good is money when their will b no economy

monkeysnapper · 05-11-2012 01:31PM

ha ha i saw a ep where this guy was teaching his kids to shoot a gun and the gun he was using back fired and i think he did or nearly lost his thumb, he prety much blacked out.

He'd want to toughen up in my opinion.

Tabnabs · 05-11-2012 01:35PM

They're all a mad bunch and shouldn't be listened to, totally nuts. Everything is fine and it's all a rich white American fad. Religious, gun nuts, the lot of them.

baaaa

Irish Guitarist · 05-11-2012 01:39PM

I think they're wise. You never know what's going to happen.

I saw a documentary a few years ago about a man that was living in a hatch on an island. He had to keep entering these numbers into a computer to stop the island blowing up or something. One day he forgot to enter the numbers and a plane crashed. The survivors of the plane crash were lucky to have a hatch filled with food.

Drumpot · 05-11-2012 02:01PM

A neighbour of mine bought a firetruck (hes a fireman and bought an antique one just as an odd hobby). . He got some slagging from his mates . . Our estate flooded recently and the fire engine did great work clearing a load of the water . .

I think human beings are so mindnumbingly smug, arrogant and ignorant to their existance its simply hilarious. . My story wasnt to suggest that every estate should have their own resident fire engine, its that no matter how much technology or new crap thats invented or new ways of doing business, things that arent in our plans can happen. Having a fire engine in every estate is impracticle, but that day I was rather we had one that we needed, then needed one (took ages for fire brigade to come) and not had one.

We have grown up in a world that has convinced us that buying crap (consumerism) is the only way that everybody can have fruitful, successful lives (we all spend to keep the house of cards going for as long as possible).

Im not a Doomsday prepper or anything like that, I am simply very much conscious of the fact that history has thought us that as a species we have a fantastic ability to self destruct. If western civilisation did start to break down (run out of oil with no alternative fuel), some sort of virus on all financial institutions pcs wiping clear everybodys money (or debts!), I would have little doubt that it would be survival of the fittest and everyperson for themselves.

Right now, I dont see that happening anytime soon because I have grown up in a world that has some sort of order to it. The people preparing for what they see to be the inevitable doom of the species are no less misguided then those who think its impossible.

If Greece does default there is no guarantee that our politicians (in ireland and europe) will come up with a plan that garners the confidence of the financial markets that we continue to hail. In truth there is no guarantee or clear consensus of what would happen. If for any reason the ATMs and banking systems werent working for a prolonged period of time how would people be paid (and get paid)? We are so heavily reliant on technology that we havent considered what we would do if it crashed for a couple of months. Then I imagine the people slagging the doomsday preppers would be trying to find their houses on maps!

ProudDUB · 05-11-2012 02:43PM

I used to live in a part of the US that regularly got tornadoes and hurricanes. I know a lot of people who have emergency kits all ready to go in the event of their having to evacuate their homes, or stashes of stuff in their basements or attics in the event of their being without power. Some of them go quite far out as to have cash horded away in case ATMs aren't working and banks are closed, loads of kerosense (for the their generators) and petrol for their cars stashed in their garages or sheds at the bottom of the garden. A few of them with coastal property (in the Carolinas mostly) have stashes of spare clothes, credit cards, photo copies of important documents, spare medications etc etc stored at the houses of friends and families who live inland so when the $hit hits the fan, they can just get the heck out of dodge without worrying about what to bring with them.

Pre Hurricane Katrina, they used to get slagged off for their levels of preparedness. They don't any more, even when to comes to stock piling guns and bullets. During Katrina, the gangs of looters targeted homes that they could hear the sound of generators operating in. Mr Smith and Mr Weston came in real handy there. So yeah, prepping for something that could possibly happen to you is not silly. Prepping for The Rapture, or the Apocalypse or whatever the heck those Doomsday idiots call it, that's just dumb !

geeky · 05-11-2012 03:29PM

If we think doomsday preppers are bonkers, imagine what they make of people going about their humdrum lives without any conception of the pending apocalypse.

I keep waiting for one of those 'end is night' people to throw down their sign and ask "seriously, why are you all so bloody calm about this?!"

GavRedKing · 05-11-2012 03:40PM

Its different in America though, I mean whats the population, nearly 300 million, its impossible to judge a situation when a family live on a ranch or house miles from anywhere and have the ability to hold up for a few weeks, in Ireland we're never further then a few miles from another living person in reality.

If the world those go tits up you can nearly bank on America being in the thick of it and as a result alot of Americans have taken to prepping for various reasons.

I think it makles for interesting viewing, some of the people on it are geniune, good preppers and have good knowledge of what they do then theres a few that were just a bit looney, like the Dad who blew his thumb off, the Asian guy who wanted to live in a cave even though his family hated the idea.

Cargin · 11-11-2012 03:56AM

I think it all depends on the degree of thought and preparedness....and the specific doomsday scenario they are preparing for.

af_thefragile · 11-11-2012 04:04AM

Some people have too much time and money on their hands...

I've sorta become used to living on the edge lately. I just say no worries, I'll figure something out and I always do figure something out evident by the fact I'm still here and in one piece...

Conmaicne Mara · 11-11-2012 05:44AM

GavRedKing wrote: »

Its different in America though, I mean whats the population, nearly 300 million, its impossible to judge a situation when a family live on a ranch or house miles from anywhere and have the ability to hold up for a few weeks, in Ireland we're never further then a few miles from another living person in reality.

If the world those go tits up you can nearly bank on America being in the thick of it and as a result alot of Americans have taken to prepping for various reasons.

I think it makles for interesting viewing, some of the people on it are geniune, good preppers and have good knowledge of what they do then theres a few that were just a bit looney, like the Dad who blew his thumb off, the Asian guy who wanted to live in a cave even though his family hated the idea.

Breakdown of society can happen anywhere. It's not so long since those riots in London, remember the TV scenes of the looting and arson?

Then head on over to Google and search for blogs, articles, or books on Argentina during their economic collapse, or Kosovo etc.

When the sh1t hits the fan people get nasty and look out for no.1.

I've always said the one good thing about the apocalypse is how many people and their opinions will be taken out, the world will be a much nicer place to live in afterwards!

Run_to_da_hills · 11-11-2012 08:27AM

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

I've always said the one good thing about the apocalypse is how many people and their opinions will be taken out, the world will be a much nicer place to live in afterwards!

Only for those that survive it.

dj jarvis · 11-11-2012 10:12AM

lukesmom wrote: »

Yeah I reckon they are nuts. Extreme to say the least. What's even worse is thst they involve their poor kids in it. Kids shouldn't have to worry about that bullish*t. That's Americans for you

yea , they really should not be involving the kids in their nutty fantasies,
christ on a bike - its your job as a parent to shield your kids from all kids of nutty and nasty

the film " La vita è bella " springs to mind - you would do all you could to make the kids lives normal even in a extreme situation
no give a 6 year old hand gun training

in saying that - no harm having a couple slabs of bottled water and a few other bits and bobs in the attic - in case of a water supply problem or heavy snow/hurricane

but yes - these people on the tv shows are gob****es , and some are boarding on if not child abuse then child endangerment

EoghanIRL · 11-11-2012 10:13AM

The people on the show are way ott in all fairness

mikemac1 · 11-11-2012 10:20AM

Maybe 10 years ago RTÉ did a fake documentary show about an accident in Sellafield and the east coast of Ireland was destroyed.

I think there was rioting and looting too

There were army checkpoints in certain areas of Dublin, I think it was the rich areas
This place
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Ailesbury_Road%2C_Dublin%2C_Ireland.jpg

Though a few skangers took up residence in an abandoned mansion in Dublin nearby

West coast of Ireland was fine and people got on with life.

Those who owned holiday homes out whest and could relocate were considered lucky

RTÉ got flooded calls demanding to know if this was real :rolleyes:

I'm sure some of you saw it, maybe RTÉ might show it again some day

dj jarvis · 11-11-2012 10:23AM

mikemac1 wrote: »

Maybe 10 years ago RTÉ did a fake documentary show about an accident in Sellafield and the east coast of Ireland was destroyed.

I think there was rioting and looting too

There were army checkpoints in certain areas of Dublin, I think it was the rich areas
This place
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Ailesbury_Road%2C_Dublin%2C_Ireland.jpg

Though a few skangers took up residence in an abandoned mansion in Dublin nearby

West coast of Ireland was fine and people got on with life.

Those who owned holiday homes out whest and could relocate were considered lucky

RTÉ got flooded calls demanding to know if this was real :rolleyes:

I'm sure some of you saw it, maybe RTÉ might show it again some day

any idea what it was called ?
i have a vague memory of it
and people rang RTE asking was it real ???? i cant get over how thick some people are

Markcheese · 11-11-2012 10:28AM

Has Anyone read the road, by Cormac mcCarthy , if that's what yr prepping for , why bother ( I know it's fiction)
In saying that, no harm having a few cases of canned food and stuff in .. In case of a storm or dissaster... If there was a fuel crisis we'd see a complete break down in food distribution in days.,,

Benny_Cake · 11-11-2012 10:31AM

dj jarvis wrote: »

any idea what it was called ?
i have a vague memory of it
and people rang RTE asking was it real ???? i cant get over how thick some people are

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNtKAnW68Yc

mikemac1 · 11-11-2012 10:32AM

Ah, it was easier to find then I thought

Fallout
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_(RTÉ_drama)

An RTE spokesperson said they received 30 calls following Sunday night's episode.

Most of them were "confused" - with callers believing that the programme was factual.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/rte-hit-by-nuclear-disaster-film-fallout-104448.html

I guess I'll have to take back RTÉ being flooded with calls

30 calls over a 90 minute show is still a lot

dj jarvis · 11-11-2012 10:45AM

it beggars belief that anyone rang , let alone 30

in fairness, did the fact that it had cameras , and actors not give it away :eek:

some people lead a very sheltered lives

must look the program up , would like to watch it

Thespoofer · 11-11-2012 10:49AM

martomcg wrote: »

Ya dont see Bear Grylls filling his shed up with jars of food!!

How do you know ?

Conmaicne Mara · 11-11-2012 11:05AM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Only for those that survive it.

That's rather obvious I would have thought

11-11-2012 11:40AM

Personally, I don't believe that there will be a doomsday scenario, but having said that, it's a good idea to have some preparation in place for any possible disruption to BAU.
It's important to know what situations are possible and whether they're likely to happen and is it worth doing anything about it.

Invasion from Mars, probability = 0, preparation = none!

If you live in an area that is susceptible to flooding for example, you should always have valuables stored above the "high tide mark".

Where I live in a rural area, the greatest risk is a prolonged power cut due to storm damage to overhead cables, so having lamps/batteries and a portable generator is useful. Being stranded at home due to snow blocked roads or without fuel for the car is another realistic risk, just be sure that you have up to one weeks supply of non-perishable food in store.

As for a breakdown in social order caused by any financial crisis, we had a trial run in the Autumn of 2008 which didn't cause total anarchy on the streets, it won't happen next time either, unless the banks render people’s savings worthless!

The most likely "doomsday" scenario I see happening, is the end to growth causing deflation (it's already happening) and the best defence against that is to get out of debt and stay out.

Capt'n Midnight · 11-11-2012 03:22PM

martomcg wrote: »

Ya dont see Bear Grylls filling his shed up with jars of food!!

Bear Grylls' show is about putting yourself in unnecessary danger.

If you stuck with Ray Mears you'd be having a decent bit of grub in comfort near a good fire and still have dry socks.

Capt'n Midnight · 11-11-2012 03:26PM

ProudDUB wrote: »

Some of them go quite far out as to have cash horded away in case ATMs aren't working and banks are closed,
...
During Katrina, the gangs of looters targeted homes that they could hear the sound of generators operating in. Mr Smith and Mr Weston came in real handy there.

Meanwhile in Japan after the tsunami people were handing in large sums of money they found in the wreckage to the police.

And in this and especially the Kobe earthquake most/all of the looting was done by foreigners.

Problem in the US is the dog eat dog, get ahead at any cost, need for money society is scary.

BrokenArrows · 11-11-2012 03:45PM

They are nuts, unless the world ends, then they are visionaries.

Cargin · 11-11-2012 05:51PM

To be fair, I don't think I know anyone my age who does not have even a vague idea of a plan for the zombie apocalypse...

...I wonder what that says about me, and by extension, my friends...

Conmaicne Mara · 11-11-2012 05:54PM

Cargin wrote: »

To be fair, I don't think I know anyone my age who does not have even a vague idea of a plan for the zombie apocalypse...

...I wonder what that says about me, and by extension, my friends...

First world problems, eh?

Cargin · 11-11-2012 05:57PM

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

First world problems, eh?

well played sir, well played...

Madam_X · 11-11-2012 06:05PM

GrahamThomas wrote: »

Thought the thread title was "Doomsday Peppers".
Mmm, sounds spicy.

Same here. Thought of the Guatemalan Insanity Peppers Homer ate, which caused hallucinations.

On topic: I've never understood the point of a fall-out shelter. It's not like you can go outside safely after a reasonable amount of time... unless you considered a few centuries to be same.

Doomsday Preppers, are they nuts or wise?

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