Are Preppers A Dying Generation

I do not have the records of our members but it seems the vast majority are between the ages of sixty and eighty . The generation that grew up under the threat of nuclear war with the communist . The younger generation seems content to believe the lies they have been told by their schools and live in a fantasy world of video games . I just read on another thread where IBME at seventy two years old is going into the wilderness to start gathering up the caches he has hidden over the last forty nine years . I suspect many including me are at this point in life are prepping more for their descendants than themselves . I could go on with this topic but want to here other's input .

 

I never considered Prepping to be generational, but the Baby Boomers were the last generation to grow up with the Cold War. The Wall came down in '91. We were probably also the last generation to grow up being self sufficient. At least we weren't looking for Government handouts.

Since Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" in the 60's we have raised generations that look for a Government handout. They look for somebody to take care of them. It has evolved to the point that now they don't even look for it. They expect it.

I am still only prepping for my immediate family. I don't even think about anyone else.

 

Good morning Poltiregist and all,

Preppers are not a dying generation but the progress and time line has slowed by the schools that you mention.

I was introduced to all this even prior to pre-Cub Scouts. I didn't know the formal name but it was "home economics". That empty jar has additional uses besides ballast for the garbage can.

The Boy Scouts have / had (?) a merit badge called "Emergency Preparedness". I was to be a guest speaker at a troop re this subject. Got told of delay to my visit because BSA is being closed down for new organizational arrangements.

Why should someone spend $ on a sleeping bag or recommended blanket substitute ? Many of our rural counties have an emergency POD - Point Of Distribution program initiated by FEMA. A "POD" is like a drive-thru restaurant for citizenry to receive important stuff, like 1 blanket per passenger in car, one sanitary kit per, one or more MRE (Meals-Rejected By Everyone) pouches per.

Yes, all my efforts, from evaluating to obtaining hand held flood light to special field clothes, are also in support of my descendants.

It's the schools that must be addressed.

 

I think that enough of the younger generation is interested enough that high dollar magazines touting "survival skills" and doomer porn are flying off the shelves, and TV shows with those topics have paid off very well for their producers. I also noticed how all of them seem to target a younger audience. And, Facebook is full of groups catering to those interests as well.

As a group, the younger set is not hanging around forums much...too bad! They are missing out on a goldmine of information and boots in the field experience.


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I dug my first and last family size fallout shelter with a shovel and bucket when I was about forty years old . I just am not aware of any young folks these days with that serious an attitude toward prepping .
No doubt there are some but I don't sense their presence .

 

Check out the (many!) young Facebookers who are posting photos of their step-by-step progress towards being off-grid, and serious attempts to circumvent various SHTF scenarios.

We are not hearing much about it inside the forums, but much is being done Out There.


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I will take your word for it . I don't do face book . Where I originally came from , seemed everybody in the county knowed me . I moved to my survival retreat and have tried to fade into obscurity .

 

Grizz: I hope you are right. I have talked to my daughter until I am blue in the face. I even sent her a completely stocked BOB. They just sort of roll their eyes, and think of it as " Dad's Hobby ".

 

First of the GenX'ers, served one year while Reagan was president and during the fall of the USSR. Cold War Latchkey kid, which no doubt played a large part in being a survivalist/prepper later.

As a side note, there is a lot of anger from some in the younger generations against the Boomers/X'ers, particularly in regards to social security and the national debt. Some of their criticisms of us are understandable if not justified, others a result of their own failures and lack of initiative (as I see it). Either way, I can envision a generational war of sorts in the coming years. Whether we're getting "screwed" or "what we deserve" then will depend on which generation you ask I suspect, but I'm not counting on getting much from social security to fund my retirement even though I've been paying near the maximum taxable earnings for it for the last 15 years.

 

Same here...but there's hope. Since my daughter and grandson were children, I have instilled in them a solid foundation for a resilient "survivor" personality that is paying off. I have watched them go through hard times and bounce back, without material help from me or anyone else. They learned to be creative and stand on their own two feet.

This foundation, along with good spiritual health, will enhance their chances of survival.

Morg, my daughter is a lot like yours which disturbs me, but I know that when the chips are down, she will have a good chance of rising out of the ashes. She is smart, resilient, and creative as heck when it comes to thinking outside the box.


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https://www.govtech.com/em/prepared...Aims-to-Prepare-Youngsters-for-Disaster-.html

I just rant into above link in re Girl Scouts and FEMA.

It's definitely a step in the right direction on the correct path.

Still, the schools have got to be doing this training. The schools are already funded and staffed.

 

Probably the question should be ...."Are Survivors a dying generation."

Not an Ishmaelite .

Watcherchris.

 

So the ex's daughter didn't believe in preparedness. Her husband and herself sort of laughed it off. They live down in SE Texas. When they visited a few years ago I put two cases of MREs into their pickup. We don't have room they said. I'll make room was my answer. I went out and rearranged their load. The two case fit just fine. Two months later they were hit by a hurricane. They didn't even have a BBQ grill. They never cooked at home. They ate out daily. They called and said all neighborhoods around them were flooded. They were high and dry but could not get out. They said "THANK YOU FOR THE MREs. WE ARE EATING THEM".

I used to sell Military surplus at gun shows during the Obama administration. Lots of conservative preppers bought gear. After Trump was elected business slowed down a bit but then I noticed a difference. More and more liberals were coming through the shows.

Times change but there are always reasons to prepare. The Cuban missile crisis was over then there was the cold war, that was over then there was Y2K, that passed and there was Obama, next it will be socialism or some other reason. The pendulum swings in politics and people get scared. Hurricanes, Tornado alley.

Always some reason or another to prepare. Maybe the new socialists will realize that they have been scammed and have nothing that they really need and begin at some point to prepare.

 

Well I'm 50, I'm reasonably healthy and far from being dead. I've probably been prepping since my mid-late 30's.
There are plenty of young people with the skills to survive, what a lot of them lack is the disposable income to invest in survival preps on top of getting by in everyday life.
The main reason that we don't get them on this forum is that trends in social media have led them down other avenues, either that or a bunch of argumentative old farts have scared them into lurking silently in the background.

 

well they need to get over their touchy feely selves and suck it up and start posting.
I know A LOT of people younger than I am who are not preppers but they have food storage and money. They have camping supplies. They have gardens.

 

The idea behind prepping is to be a "Surviving Generation."

When SHTF happens you don t worry about anything or everything else but surviving. You don't worry about what everyone else thinks or wants.

I ride a scooter to and fro work and often. I have a truck ..two cars and a van....and I often ride one of my three scooters. I don't worry what others think want or need...I'm laughing all the way to the bank as the saying goes.

I can take the money I don't spend on bling and gas...and save it or spend it on other things....all the way to the bank. I don't worry what others think or want...I am driving this bus. Everyone else can hit the bricks.

I learned years ago with offering a neighbor a line off my generator...when they plugged in their heavy duty 110 volt air conditioner his wife wanted rather than worry about their refrigerated stores. She worried about her immediate comfort after Hurricane Isabelle. I won't be doing that again.

My friend who moved to Tennessee last year...when he lived across the river from me....and ran his generator after Hurricane Isabelle....had someone plug into his generator from about four houses down..and never asked...overloading his generator. No telling what the line losses are on that many extension cords. He unplugged the freeloader and tossed his line over the fence.

You don't worry if you are a dying generation.....when SHTF ...happens watch who does the whining and blame game...

You worry about being a surviving generation....and don't worry what others think.


My Salty non Ishmaelite .02,

Watcherchris

 

Prior to me, my entire family was a survivalist crew. Why? It's called poverty.

Were it not for an aunt's death due to a drunk driver slamming into her car just before WWII, I would have been the first member of my family to have a high school diploma, the first to have been raised with running water and an indoor bathroom.

I did not became a survivalist. I was raised one.

I shoveled coal and started fires inside my home (coal furnace and fire places) to stay warm when in grammar school. I have no memories of their being no gardens / fields of crops. Before I was a teenager I had begun to fish and hunt. My grandmother repaired my clothes. Our canned goods were canned by us -- mainly my grandmother.

Where I'm from, I am unique in no way, shape, form, or fashion. Our lot has always been the backbone of the U.S. Army -- 1700s on ==>

 

I've seen reports of Brexit inspiring more prepping. Have you seen any evidence of that?

 

Neither of my two kids are 'preppers', although they think Dawn and I are doing the right thing. When I think back to when I was in high school (I graduated in '63) our idea of "survivalism" was surviving the military and, later, surviving Vietnam. Nowadays, though, you're right; there is a generation gap, probably exacerbated by the fact that us old pharts did the 'duck and cover' thing, etc.

On the other hand, Kimberly (where I live) as well as the rest of eastern Idaho, is at least 50-60 percent Mormon. Prepping is a tenet of their faith (see here); almost every boy gets his Eagle Badge before he gets his driver's license; a good portion of kids are in 4-H clubs; and a good percentage of the kids (including some girls) hunt and fish.

Not only that, but they keep in constant touch with each other. If a disaster strikes and a Ward Bishop, Stake President, or even some the the high-up leaders sends out a message, just about everyone will know exactly what TV channel to turn to, as well as whom that person is responsible for contacting -- probably within an hour.

I have a feeling that, when-and-if TSHTF, things are going to be quite a bit better in the Wards and Stakes of Zion than just about any place else. It's too bad the rest of us haven't managed to inculcate that into our kids!

CTR,
Duncan

 

Just read an article that says that the Baby Boomers are more willing to do basic chores than Millenials. Something like 34% don't have hammers, even more don't have a cordless drill. Millenials will more likely call a professional to change a tire, unplug a drain, or even flip a breaker and many other basic chores.

 

People under the age of 40 or so have lived in a world where they could believe that they were immortal. The young men didn't have to wonder if they were going to be forced to go to foreign lands and die for other peoples freedom that wouldn't fight for their own. They never looked at the sky and wondered if there were missiles on the way to blow them up. Their world is a gentle makebelieve place where they don't have to do much of anything that they want to do. Lots of the "kids" are still depending on their parents for suport. My Dad showed me the door before I was 20. That's OK, he left home when he was 15 to go fight in a war. He told me that I would never grow up living in his house with my Mama waiting on me. He was right. I grew up.

Now all too often parents, in my humble opinion, protect and coddle their kids to DEATH. When I was a kid I got 50 cents a week allowance that went up to $1.50 a week until I was 12. I asked for a raise after that and he found me a job. Prepping starts with a kid being forced to learn and use foresight. Most kids have credit long before they actually have any real way to pay those debts. they make their financial decisions based on immediate gratification and end up in debt far past their ability to pay. In the end, we pay for this with 24% interest rates on credit cards. I remember when they weren't even called credit cards. They were courtesy cards issued to good customers to encourage them to spend more at their places.

So many kids now lack any tiny bit of self-discipline. That is because they were raised without discipline. Discipline needs to be immediate and memorable so that the next time the child is tempted to do it again they think about what happened last time weigh the rewards versus the risk and decides it isn't worth it. If the choice in between a cookie right now and a possible talking to later guess what kids are going to choose. Change that to a cookie now and a red sore butt later and hopefully they will learn to make better decisions.

Unfortunately, the decision not to be prepared is going to result in a lot more than a stern talking to or even a tender butt. It is so sad. I hope that if the world we live in turns on us and slaps us down for our stupidity that we do better in the next cycle.

 

Haha! I think I read the very same article, and I was scratching my head thinking, what kind of sorry helplessness is THIS ?!?

Those of us who taught our kids real-life skills did them a huge favor. They will not only be valuable now but also during SHTF-time. The DIY crowd has an altogether different mindset than those who have not struggled with problem-solving and making something work in the real world outside of their phones and electronics.


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I worked for many years fixing appliances ACs and such in a University Town. I have seen endless stupidity from kids that are going to colledgeand are our future leaders. we are in DEEP poop!!! Landlords spend a fortune paying me to teach these kids how to run their stoves, washers, dryers, and refrigerators after they mess them up and call the landlord saying that they aren't working. Some never learn. Do you know what happens if you use dishwashing soap in a dishwasher???? Have you ever seen an entire house waist deep in soap bubbles? I went to this one frat house three times for this. I have had to explain the difference between bake and broil more times than I can count. How can you send kids out into the world that can't even feed and clothe themselves??? What is most frightening to me is that these kids are stupid and PROUD of it. Most of them looked down their noses at me for being a working type of person. Hell, I made anywhere from 75 to 100 dollars an hour. Most of them were getting in debt to get a middle management job that will never offer them that kind of money.

 

There is strength in number but and this is the BIG BUT, not if 99% of the numbers are unprepared. Do you really want to be the only family within a 10 mile square that has power? OR the only family in that same distance that has food and water? For the tribe or clan to band together, they first have to survive when it hits the fan. Once the phase has turned from survival to rebuild, then the tribes and clans will band together.

We are not a dying breed but we could be a target for the 99% that did not prepare and have not acquired any valuable skill sets. Those that do live in a strong Mormon or rural area may do much better, as they will be surrounded by a much higher percentage of people that can fend for themselves.

 

Where I live basically everyone hunts, fishes and gardens. we are nearly all well armed and well there just isn't a lot ours here for welfare beggers. When it is 20 to 25 miles to town you have to have a car. Gangs are a joke. Our Black folks are cowboys and little different from the White folks here. We also have a lot of Hispanics here. They are all hard working family people that have livestock and are good people. I guess people in other places are different. To me, it is sad that you feel that most of the people around you are helpless, useless, and worthless. I can easily put together 50 men and women that I can trust and that would have my back. All would come well armed and well able to carry their load.

 

@TexDanm

It is good to live in a real community but for the majority of folks that is not the case. I would bet that many of the Arizona rural communities would be much like your area. From my experience, all the big city, high population areas are not going to band together. In the dense population areas, there will looting, rioting, ciaos and every darn thing imaginable, once it really hits the fan. I certainly wish most of America would be like your community but sadly were the population is the greatest, that is where the highest casualty rates are going to be.