Jan 03 2009
Survivalist 2009
2009 has started off with a few articles on the rising popularity of survialism, one from main stream Financial Times and another from the relatively popular Alternet (500k plus visitors per month).
The article “How to survive the world’s end” in the Financial Times talks about how survivalist websites have become much more popular in the last year. There is a quote from James Rawles of survivalblog.com saying that his visitor base has broadened considerably in the last year to include a wider swath of society and traffic has tripled.
The Alternet article “Business Is Booming for Industry Catering to Survivalists” talks about the businesses that are benefiting from the increased popularity of survivalist lifestyle goods and services. From realtors selling survival retreats, to homesteading and self-sufficiency equipment, and of course survival food.
One quote that stuck out in the article was by Richard Mitchell Jr., professor emeritus at Oregon State University and author of “Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times.”
He stated;
‘The narrative is that “there are troubles ahead, but ‘just right’ troubles, the kind survivalists have the means to confront … imagined troubles always match the means at hand — or what is for sale to solve the problem.” ‘ (bold is mine)
So if there are disaster scenarios that are not the ‘just right troubles’ that the survivalists predict, then how can you get prepared for them?
The survivalist emphasis may be a popular theme at this time with people worried about an economic depression and even the possibility of a collapse.
I am concerned though that the emphasis on preparedness has been lost.
Preparedness for disasters and difficult times is something all should engage in. If disproportionate resources are spent on living a ‘survivalist lifestyle’ and preparing for a total collapse (one scenario) then you may not be prepared as well as you think for any other disaster scenarios, many of which are far more likely.
Published under Depression food preparedness,Economic food preparedness,Emergency Preparedness Advice,preparedness,Survival Food
