One of the things I like to do is chat about prepping. Bouncing ideas off like minded people who are interested in the same sort of things we all all. It is always good to get a different opinion of what you are doing and a few pointers for you to consider.
This is why I encourage the prepper RVs so much. I’ve attended as many as I can, made some good friends and had some interesting discussions. The last RV in Cheshire was pretty much like that and I was given quite a few items to consider around areas of my preps I had finished with. It just goes to show how easy it is to believe you know every aspect of something and along comes someone else to make you reconsider.
Our main issue however is chatting to people who don’t know we prep. Either family members or neighbours, friends, etc. We really should at least try to get them on board.
Personally, most of my friends know I hunt and am into self reliance. They know I am a Libertarian at heart and that I hate the welfare state. Not all agree of course and it leads to some interesting discussions which although I won’t get anywhere I love insulting their gods. I rarely talk about prepping though and very few know the dark secrets in the stores I have put away.
It does however make testing my assumptions very difficult and means I can’t always get differing viewpoints. It is a known weakness and I would say that almost all of us are in this situation.
So how do we get our friends and families on board? Well, I don’t have a magic wand or technique that is gauranteed to work. Sorry.
What I do is to broach the subject, it sounds like you are starting up an criminal gang, and in many ways it is similar, where I put a topic down on the table. Usually about the price of food or the latest social engineering of the poorest among us. See how they respond. Many people will start about the way things are going and their concerns. Then I usually mention I have chickens, explain how that enables fresh eggs and no need to buy them at whatever they are at now. I then ask if they grow anything in their gardens as I am thinking of growing some of my own food. Becoming self reliant. You can talk about this for some time. Chickens, food and less reliance on the rest of society. At some stage however you want to move on to the next stage. Prepping. Don’t rush it, it may take several chats about things to sell them self reliance but at one stage it usually gets around to prepping. This is the make or break point. The word Prepping has reactions attached.
If they mention it you can ask them what they mean and see the response. Depending on that you may not want to continue and you have someone to share gardening tips with. On the other hand you can say ‘I understand that preppers are not End of the World supporters but just seem to do what we do, note the we, and are just more self sufficient by having prepared for certain events’. Point out how your grandparents were preppers and how they did things after the war and how modern society has made people soft so that they only have enough food for a few days. Remind them of the fuel strike and how quickly fuel ran out. Depending on how they respond then decide if you want to persue it or not.
Now if it isn’t mentioned you should mention it at one point and see what the response is. Leave it until you are discussing something like seeds, steer it there if you must, then mention the EU dictate on seeds and how they must be licensed. Point out what that means to us, we won’t be able to grow our own food and then say you read on a prepper forum that people were storing seeds for this eventuality and other issues like food shortages etc. Preppers are like us except they are a lot more self reliant and don’t want to be caught out by events such as fuel, power or food shortages. See how that goes and move on from there.
The big issue with this is it takes forever. I just don’t have the time. So although I have done that with friends I’m more into just jumping in nowadays. Talk about power shortages coming up and how the power bosses are going renewable. I talk about how people are moving from the city to the country to get awy from when it all collapses. The issues with our social system then I say it looks like these preppers may be on to something and explain what preppers are, just people who don’t want to be without chairs when the music stops. If that goes OK, and 9 out of 10 times it doesn’t, I’ll go on. Otherwise I just say, You are probably right nothing has happened so far and then forget it. I did have someone come back to me once when a disaster happened somewhere abroad and asked ‘Did you see that makes you think about getting ready for something like that’. Once. It shows that people remember certain things so remember that and don’t push too far.
I still believe it is worth the effort. Even at such a poor response rate. Just make sure you don’t compromise OPSEC.
tried it with family, their just not interested. people these days have busy,busy lives and they seem to just not have the time for anything outside that.
I keep plugging away subtly as i can muster,the responses vary from intrigued and curious through befuddled via riddicule finally stopping at shock horror and disgust…my partner puts up with it but absolutely flatly refuses to talk about it and accusses me of putting her on a downer(in Denial)
BP,
At least you have tried.
MM,
Maybe a different tact is required with the missus. Running out of things at critical times and recovery via the cache is a good way.
A similar reaction to what BP got, we talked at length to our kids and partners about prepping, we didn’t have to pussy foot around, they except that we are a bit `strange` and hardly battered an eye lid when we told them the extent of what we do.
The problem is that although they are bright enough to see what could happen, all we seem to get is the line,.. `its ok for you to do it up here, but we couldn’t do it`,…and so come forth the vast number of excuses as to why they couldn’t do it.
I guess its a start, simply having them know what we do, maybe as things get worse and worse there may come a time when they see the light, and start to do some of the things that we have suggested,.. the problem then is will that realisation come too late.
My two sons are on board, wife so so.
Everybody else can go screw themselves. I dont are if my staff or managers are preppers. The less people know the less threat there is. Mark my words mentioning prepping to all and sundry will end in tears before bedtime. They may think your kooky and weird but when the chips are down theyll remember you.
I have discussed prepping with a few people and posed the question “What would you do in a zombie apocolypse” most people laugh but soon get thinking, I know it sounds daft but if there were riots it would pretty much be the same, having to avoid people who will happily kill/rob you if it means being able to provide for their families when all the comfort of supermarkets and running water are stripped away, im not a prepper or anything yet, im 21 and live with parents still but im planning on buying an air rifle and learning to hunt, I’ve always loved the idea of hunting for meat and growing veg and fishing, my girlfriend seems to like the idea too and has put a bit of thought into where she would go if the stuff hits the fan.
if you still live at home, you could ask your parents how many days worth of food they keep at any one time….the answer could be interesting!
I must admit my charm offensive is not opperated on anybody who lives nearby or knows where i live.