The Prepper lifestyle and why it is growing in popularity!

Hello my friend and welcome to today’s Post.  I recently attended a meeting where there were many young people 18-30 years old. (Yes I know I am old.) What made this meeting so special is the number of young coming up to me because the recognized the 3% patch on my jacket and knew what it stood for.  They had tons of questions and many of them came right out and said that they were Preppers.  I was stunned and it got me to thinking about why so many young and old alike are not only becoming Preppers, but are serious about it.  This is the subject of today’s post so grab a cup of coffee and have a seat so we can visit. 

I really don’t think I need to explain what I mean by Prepper, so instead, let’s look at a little of the history of Prepping.  Well, I guess you could say that there have always been Preppers in the world all the way back to the cave man.  They were the original Preppers, as they were always gathering and storing up food and weapons.  For most of history, prepping was just called surviving and in some parts of the world it still is, I guess.  However, in some parts of the world, like here in America, life somehow changed.  With the popularity of the corner food store and man becoming so “Civilized”, many people no longer felt the need to store up food or other supplies that their parents might have.  It finally reached the point that anyone that did was considered to be weird and forced many to hide their Prepper activities.   It’s amazing to think that something as basic preparing for the unknown could become so Taboo.

Many people still prepared, but simply kept it to themselves.  When one of them would be confronted with what they were doing, they would simply call themselves a “Survivalist” and say it was a hobby that gave them a reason to get out doors and into nature.  Most people still considered them to be weird and shunned them.  It wasn’t until the TV series “Doomsday Preppers” came on that the term “Preppers” reached main stream society.  I personally thought the show was both a curse and a blessing in many ways.  Because the show concentrated on only the most extreme Preppers and failed to explain that they were the far edges of prepping, many people associated the term “Preppers” with people who are insane or crazy.  This forced many people who were Preppers to quickly hide the fact that they were prepping for disasters that may occur.  On the up side, it let other Preppers know that there are a lot more of them in the world and that was a good thing.  

For many, it also rekindled the memory of their parents and grandparents doing the same and got them thinking that maybe it wasn’t such a crazy idea after all.   Soon, Prepper websites began to show up and people began to talk in quiet little groups and suddenly found that they were no longer alone and there were actually quite a few of them.  Neighbors found out that other neighbors were Preppers as well and they had never even known it.  Today there are millions of Preppers here in the US and there are new Prepper web sites showing up every day, along with entire industries devoted to Preppers and their needs.  I keep expecting to see “Preppers Only” dating site show up on the web.

So why the sudden growth in young Preppers?  While I’m sure that many people have their own ideas as to why It’s happening, I think that it is due in a large part to the lack of confidence in our government and a loss of confidence that it can or will protect its people.  For years we had worked on creating racial harmony here in the US and then Obama was sworn in to office as the President of the United States and in a few years, race relations have been set back 100 years.  He has divided the people of America more than every other President in history.  Then you throw ISIS into the mix and suddenly you have a nation of frightened people who no longer trust their government and are very unsure about their future.  They are young and bright and can see what is happening and they want to prepare for what is coming just like you and I.  They are asking questions and wanting to learn things to help them survive the coming darkness that they see as well.  In other words, they are waking up to the world around them and what could be coming down the road.  They are looking for groups to join and even forming their own.  If you should run across some of them, please take the time to take them under your wing and help them get started, because you never know when you just might need their help.  Well that is it for today and I hope you have enjoyed our little talk, so until next time, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared!

-the Sargent-