Money makers and morons

One of the things I hate about the present survivalist environment is the huge number of unscrupulous assholes trying to make a buck off of the worried folk out there trying to do their level best for their families. These folk are scum.

Almost as bad are the morons that see a conspiracy behind every tree. It drives me nuts when I see blog after blog posting about vast government conspiracies to cull the population, or herd them into camps, or confiscate their guns, or make the UN world government overlords or…. well, you get the idea.

Normally, I wouldn’t give a shit what the crazies yapped about. As long as they stay holed up in their remote Idaho retreats fathering more inbred kids on their sisters and jerking off as they imagine themselves as some sort of neo-feudal baron after TEOTWAWKI.

Oh, and did I mention that they like to talk in acronyms and say things like: “ When the Schumer hits the fan”. Gosh golly, I bet they’ve got secret handshakes and Captain Billy Whizz-Bang secret decoder rings as well.

So what is the harm in some extremist ass detailing his fantasies on the Internet? The problem is that these people marginalize what is a serious topic. They make it either laughable or pathetic. Survivalists (or Preppers if you must use the term now that the other word has so much baggage attached.) are regarded as alarmist at best and dangerous loonies at worst.

Again, why care? People like me have put up with the flack for years and years, and prepare anyway, regardless of public opinion. It’s not going to change my mind.

I care because I think we’re in a bad place as a civilization. I think we are seeing the results of some of our choices as a society come home to roost, such as global warming, and peak oil. I think we’re more vulnerable as individuals than ever before, because we are more global than ever before and rely on far away people and places for many of our daily needs.

In short, I think that the likelihood of a serious shift in society, and all the hardship that entails, are closer and more possible than at any time since the end of the Second World War. And I believe more people need to prepare for it than ever before. \\

The morons make this a lot harder to get across. And we need to get it across to people. Anyone thinking they’ll survive in splendid isolation is wrong. You might live a long time, but nothing will survive you. No legacy, no great works, no better community.

We’ve come a long way in the last 2000 years. Let’s not lose it all.