US survivalists stock up as disasters roil planet; nuclear war threat looms

NST ^ | September 23, 2017

[familyop]

Most preppers have not built fallout shelters and are not concerned about a possibility of nuclear war. A few have done so, but most of the few have located them in very remote, unpopulated areas with cold climates.

Most of them prepare for an “economic collapse” instead, by saving extra personal supplies. Many of them emphasize saving large quantities of ammunition for firearms. There are many American YouTube videos on the topic. Many of the videos are rather unrealistic and sometimes unintentionally funny. Others are more practical and ingenuous.

[familyop]

I’m not a prepper, by the way, but I do keep a few extra necessities and learn and experiment with low technologies (like car repair, building construction and others). Fallout shelter design and building are also interesting.

[Stormy_2021]

Thanks Obama...

[metmom]

Sales of freeze-dried food, gas masks and other survival equipment have spiked in recent weeks as so-called "preppers" get ready to ride out any disaster, whether natural or man-made.

'so-called "preppers"'?

How condescending.

[metmom]

A shame how some want to live another day at all costs and in a destroyed world because their faith is so weak and they dont know what awaits us afterwords.

Nope. it's about surviving long enough that the "destroyed" world isn't destroyed any more.

Nor is it about *weak* faith. It's about survival instinct kicking.

Besides, what we now call preppers was the lifestyle of the human race for it's entire history until recently. In the past, if you did not prepare for at least the oncoming winter, you would starve to death. There were no stores getting daily truck shipments of commodities that you could run to in your car on a moment's notice.

You HAD to grow a years worth of food and store it until the next harvest. Anyone who DIDN'T do that was considered a fool.

Too many people are too dependent on others to take care of them and have abdicated personal responsibility for their own welfare and that of their family.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Oh, they will be condescending till the end. Part of appeal for being a liberal is to feel superior and intelligent by endlessly condescending and belittling "inferior ones."

When the real trouble comes, they will complain that you won't "share" what you have prepared, accusing you of being a "heartless" conservative.

[metmom]

Yeah. Some people will never admit that they were wrong.

They always have to make the other guy the bad guy no matter how good the other person is and how wrong they are.

They mock us and then expect us to help them when they appeal to us?

And yet, many of those will prove them right by helping them, thus validating them. *We* bring it on ourselves when we prove them right. They need ot learn the hard way, IMO.

So no, I am not going to help you. You were warned. You should have been an adult and taken care of yourself instead of expecting others to enable your bad behavior.

[RegulatorCountry]

Fallout shelter design and building are also interesting.

People think radioactive fallout is this glowing, penetrating, x-ray like thing that's going to get them no matter what, and that belief came from old Cold War era books and movies with half the country physically destroyed due to MAD, mutually assured destruction.

But, with a limited exchange, fallout is going to be dust particles for any downwind who weren't in the blast zone. Ad hoc preparation for that could be as simple as sealing windows and doors with tape and cutting off any exterior ventilation for a week. Even putting damp cloth over openings in walls would be fairly effective.

People forget just how many survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that were fairly thoroughly exposed to radioactive fallout with no clue how to protect themselves from it, really no understanding that the threat even existed. Increased birth defects and cancers were the price paid, but life went on.

Making it sound so utterly catastrophic that no one would even consider the possibility was part of an overall strategy to prevent a nuclear exchange from ever happening. It worked when major parties to any possible exchange were largely rational.

They're not rational any longer.

[Arthur McGowan]

I have never had the slightest desire to survive a nuclear war. If missiles are on their way, I will be standing in the nearest open field.

[Caipirabob]

Well, either way, if you are shopping for a new gun or rifle, buy now because the Christmas prices are going to be implemented in October and outside of Black Friday all of the deals are going to dry up.

Got notice of a brick of .22 ammo for $24.95. Not shabby but hoping that now since "the great persecutor" is out of office it will keep going down.

[bgill]

so-called "preppers"

Yeah, Reuters laughs and can't print that without making it a derogatory phrase.

[bgill]

Here used to be a nice quiet peaceful out of the way place to live. It’s been found and isn’t the boonies anymore. This morning and every morning I wake up to constant lawn mowers. Every night I can’t sleep for all they partying so I try to make up for it with a nap and can’t for the constant noise, noise, noise.

[bgill]

A simple cardboard and foil solar oven is good have around.

[bgill]

When the real trouble comes, they will complain that you won't "share" what you have prepared, accusing you of being a "heartless" conservative.

That game play is how they got the black muslim elected as POTUS so soon after 9/11.

[Texas Fossil]

I don’t look for Zombies where I live. But I get it.

[familyop]

Well written!

"But, with a limited exchange, fallout is going to be dust particles for any downwind who weren't in the blast zone. Ad hoc preparation for that could be as simple as sealing windows and doors with tape and cutting off any exterior ventilation for a week. Even putting damp cloth over openings in walls would be fairly effective."

And yes, people should avoid inhaling or eating fallout for sure, even light fallout from air bursts upwind. In heavy fallout zones downwind from ground bursts (hits on missile fields, on airports with very long runways, etc.), fallout will be much more dangerous. People in such areas should either evacuate to areas with less fallout or at least dig in or get in basements to get some earth between themselves and the fallout.

The same should be done after a heavy exchange. A heavy exchange would be survivable for most people in the U.S.A., but only if enough people are well educated and make preparations in advance. Sadly, most are mis-educated, while many who misled them are now trying to cover themselves.