October 13, 2024

Are Preppers Really Hoping for SHTF?

A
surprising
question
you
may
hear
is

“Do
preppers
wish
for
SHTF?”
.
Wait?
Do
people
really
ask
this
question?

Yes
some
people
do
ask
this
question
because
myths
have
been
created
by
TV
and
society
about
preppers
and
survivalists
over
the
years,
so
this
is
a
very
good
question
to
ask
and
I
will
answer
it.

Humans
survived
so
long
because
our
ancestors
were
creative
and
formed
groups
that
looked
after
one
another.
Even
now
we
can
not
survive
in
a
civilisation
without
cooperation,
and
even
when
this
civilisation
falls
people
will
go
back
to
creating
groups
to
survive.

A
mammoth
was
not
killed
by
one
person,
it
took
a
group.
A
company
doesn’t
function
with
just
one
person,
it
needs
employees
that
work
within
a
group
to
run
a
fraction
of
said
company,
to
win
the
bread
for
everyone’s
table.

We
survived
because
we
learned
to
farm
and
cultivate,
but
also

how
to
preserve
food
,
and

stockpile
it
for
emergencies
,
which
makes
our
ancestors
preppers
and
some
of
us
have
taken
that
torch
and
added
to
it
in
order
to
pass
the
torch
along
to
the
next
generation.


No,
the
vast
majority
of
preppers
do

not

hope
for
SHTF.
Most
preppers
are
just
ordinary
folks
worried
about
their
future
and
their
families,
and
what
to
have
a
safety
net
should
anything
bad
happen
to
them.

What
is
SHTF?


SHTF
is
an
acronym

(best
left
for
a
search
engine).
A
SHTF
situation
means
it’s
bad
and
it
spreads
everywhere,
which
can
be
anything
from
a
biological
agent,
like
a
virus,
to
an
invasion
from
a
hostile
threat,
to
an
EMP
of
some
kind.
There
are
more
reasons
people
prep
beyond
this,
including
global
financial
collapse.

Events
in
history
tend
to
repeat
themselves,
and
every
civilization
that
became
an
empire
crumbled
in
the
blink
of
an
eye.

Humans
learn
and
try
again,
each
time
they
rise
and
each
time
the
sun
sets
on
that
empire.
“Those
who
do
not
learn
from
history
are
doomed
to
repeat
it”
or
the
original
quote
“Those
who
can
not
remember
the
past
are
condemned
to
repeat
it”
quotes
associated
with
the
writer
and
philosopher
George
Santayana.

However,
if
our
modern
civilization
crashes
the
fallout
is
greatly
increased
than
with
past
empires
as
modern
people
rely
on
shops
to
supply
them
with
their
needs
as
they
are
not
self
reliant.

Speaking
of
modern
civilization,
most
people
have
and
still
will
mock
preppers.
Then
the
pandemic
hit
and
those
same
people
who
mocked
us
complained
of
not
being
able
to
get
supplies,
while
preppers
were
able
to
survive
better
because
they
were
prepared
with
all
they
needed
when
shops
could
not
deliver
supplies.

The
Myth
of
Prepping
and
Prepper
Statistics

The
myth
of
all
preppers
hoping
for
a
SHTF
situation
every
day
when
they
wake
up
most
likely
comes
from
reality
TV
shows
where
the
prepping
stories
needed
to
be
pushed
down
a
dark
road
for
some
good
television
viewing,
as
you
read
on
you
should
learn
why
this
is
a
myth
and
not
all
preppers
want
to
live
in
a
post
SHTF
scenario.

I
prepare
for
a
lot
of
situations,
but
that
does
not
mean
I
want
a
zombie
plague
to
happen,
nor
would
I
want
a
total
collapse
of
the
global
financial
markets
to
happen.

That’s
not
what
I
want,
as
modern
life
is
much
easier
to
live
than
having
to
survive
when
in
a
SHTF
situation.

Let’s
look
at
some
FEMA
and
Cornell
University
stats:

  • In
    the
    US
    alone
    there
    were
    previously
    about
    7
    million
    households
    before
    2020,
    and
    that
    number
    is
    set
    to
    rise
    in
    the
    coming
    years,
    the
    rise
    being
    projected
    at
    about
    10%
    after
    2020.
  • A
    survey
    held
    by
    FEMA
    stated
    that
    31%
    of
    preppers
    are
    women,
    and
    that
    number
    will
    most
    likely
    rise.
  • There
    are
    two
    groups
    that
    do
    not
    report
    prepping
    in
    the
    US:
    the
    Disabled,
    and
    Pacific
    peoples.
  • Self-reliant
    folks
    can
    make
    around
    10%
    more
    income
    per
    year,
    and
    that
    is
    why
    many
    leave
    the
    city
    and
    head
    into
    the
    countryside,
    the
    rural
    areas,
    and
    start
    living
    off
    the
    grid.

Quo
desiderat
pacem
praepret
bellum
or
“Let
him
who
desires
peace
prepare
for
war.”

Publius
Flavius
Vegetius
Renatus,
a
roman
military
writer

The
words
“war”
and
“peace”
can
mean
different
things
to
different
areas
of
life.
From
work
to
leisure,
as
long
as
you’re
strong
physically
and
mentally
you
will
survive
what
is
thrown
at
you,
as
you
are
prepared
for
anything.

Each
country
has
a
military,
but
we
do
not
seek
to
use
them
as
the
aggressor,
but
rather
in
defence
of
ourselves
and
our
allies,
and
they
stockpile
everything
and
have
bunker
complexes,
they
keep
strong
to
maintain
peace.

They
say
a
civilization
is
only
three
meals
away
from
chaos
and
eventual
collapse,
this
is
why
preppers
stockpile
food
and
water
for
in
some
form,
the
need
to
provide
takes
many
forms
and
for
many,
especially
those
with
a
family
will
turn
to
stockpiling
in
some
form.

We
prepare
to
survive
as
best
we
can,
as
when
a
SHTF
situation
arises.

Infrastructure
is
one
of
the
first
things
to
go,
nothing
gets
produced
and
nothing
is
on
the
shelves
of
any
shop
or
supermarket
after
they
are
cleared
by
hordes
of
people
desperate
to
get
as
much
as
they
can,
preppers
do
not
want
to
be
left
behind,
or
wanting
and
having
to
fight
the
unprepared
for
remaining
shop
supplies.

We
preppers
stockpile
everything
we
think
we
need
in
order
to
survive
at
least
the
initial
chaos,
while
we
create
and
keep
adding
to
our
survival
toolbox
by
learning
skills
that
will
be
needed
to
survive
any
situation
or
close
to
it.

Who
Can
Be
A
Prepper?

Preppers
live
a
modern
life,
and
they
can
be
anyone
and
work
any
job,
hold
any
career,
like
writer
or
CEO
of
a
company,
they
may
run
a
YouTube
channel
or
run
their
own
prepper
supply
shop/website.
They
have
families
of
their
own,
and
need
money
to
provide.

Just
because
we
learn
to
shoot,
learn
to
fight
close-quarters
or
have
a
penchant
for
being
able
to
design
a
weapon
from
plumbing
pipes
and
related
parts
or
from
a
filing
cabinet
drawer
slide,
door
hinge
and
paracord


does
not
mean
we
want
to
leave
society.

In
fact,
that’s
quite
the
opposite:
those
skills
can
be
translated
to
daily
living
like
exercise,
or
a
passion
for
the
outdoors.

Many
preppers
are
working
to
keep
civilization
going
and
contribute
to
its
upkeep
so
it
survives
as
long
as
possible.
For
many
being
a
prepper
is
a
backup
plan
to
keep
the
modern
economy
going,
thus
keeping
civilization
going
for
as
long
as
possible.

They
might
even
be
doctors
that
have
come
into
contact
with
a
civilisation
ending
virus
and
are
working
around
the
clock
to
find
a
way
to
beat
it
before
time
runs
out.

They
might
be
connected
to
the
law,
military
or
emergency
services
and
will
try
to
do
what
they
can
within
their
careers
to
stop
whatever
is
trying
to
become
a
SHTF
situation
rather
than
run
and
bug
out.

Not
all
preppers
want
a
SHTF
situation
to
come
to
pass,
we
might
prepare
for
such
an
event,
however,
we
do
not
want
to
see
a
SHTF
situation
arise.
f
we
can
stop
it
we
will.

Final
Thoughts

There
are
some
people
that
want
a
SHTF
situation
to
pass,
but
some
of
them
do
not
know
what
they
are
asking
for
and
would
probably
freak
out
at
their
first
contact.

Some
have
become
so
sick
of
what’s
happening
in
society
for
one
reason
or
another
and
desire
a
SHTF
situation.
Others
feel
they
would
prosper
more
in
a
SHTF
situation.

The
current
worldview
held
by
many
might
look
bad,
however,
at
least
you
can
charge
your
phone
and
access
a
streaming
app
for
entertainment
to
remove
yourself
from
the
bleak
worldview.

Original Source