Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The myth of suddenness

The blogerati out there in tin foil hat land (the subkingdon of blogdom where I am a proud and contributing citizen/member), seems to be having a little bit of trouble with the idea that the world just is not going to hell in a handbasket as quickly as they thought it would.

Now, sometimes I get caught up in this idée fixe and I wish that the damn apocalypse would just get here so that we can move on. But here is the rub folks. Whether you like it or not, you have to strangle this obsession whenever it shows up. The reasons are simple, the longer that the show stays on stage, the better prepped you are and the better chance that the folks around you will get started on their preps.

A slow decline would allow even the most dense SUV-drivin', triple-yamaha-boating, mcmansion-owning doofus to figure out that things maybe aren't as good as the government says they are. Let's say that things managed to string out for four more years. If we could get another couple million people prepping, figuring out how to garden, learning to walk to work and help their neighbors, we might be able to weather the storm.

I do really try to convince folks that having some preps put aside isn't a bad thing. I try to do it as low-key as possible. You can point out that when inflation is hitting like it is now, it is better to buy now when it is cheap than later when it is expensive. You can chat about how screwed up the government response to Katrina was and how those folks might have had it a little easier if they had something put aside. You can casually mention how the grocery store only has a three day supply on hand at any time.

I really think that the better prepped everyone is, the better we can get through this

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree completely. Watch for shortages of certain products, like Mountain House #10 cans. The mindless mass will buy the easy products when panicked and it could drive up the cost for everyone.

Patricia said...

I usually tell people in a subtle way about storing some food and water for bad times. I used to live in upstate NY and I say that when a winter storm comes, it is far easier to have stuff at home than it is to try to run to a store in a blizzard. And I tell 'em the Red Cross recommends it--for some reason, folks buy that one. So, I've always had stuff put by--food and water and blankets and first aid--since the 90s anyway. I tell 'em it is better to be prepared, simple as that. They can always learn more if they want to...
HM

Anonymous said...

Problem with the slow slide is that your not likely to be able to stash away more stuff as the price goes up and the availability goes down.

Every day that goes by it becomes more difficult to actually achieve any real prep progress unless your just rich. Of course if your rich that will likely change soon..

Anonymous said...

One way is to convince people that storing up food and other supplies makes economic sense. In light of the ever increasing prices consider extra stocks as an investment.

riverwalker said...

I've been trying to buy "Wheat Chex" but can't seem to find any.

RW

Degringolade said...

My Gosh Riverwalker:

If you want, I have half a bale of straw out back....I sure can't tell the difference between that and Wheat Chex.

Just my opinion :)

John