Crisis spurs spike in 'suburban survivalists'

[alienlovechild 75]

Anyone out there really stockpiling stuff? Where's all the hope now?

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Six months ago, Jim Wiseman didn't even have a spare nutrition bar in his kitchen cabinet.

Now, the 54-year-old businessman and father of five has a backup generator, a water filter, a grain mill and a 4-foot-tall pile of emergency food tucked in his home in the expensive San Diego suburb of La Jolla.

Wiseman isn't alone. Emergency supply retailers and military surplus stores nationwide have seen business boom in the past few months as an increasing number of Americans spooked by the economy rush to stock up on gear that was once the domain of hardcore survivalists.

These people snapping up everything from water purification tablets to thermal blankets shatter the survivalist stereotype: they are mostly urban professionals with mortgages, SUVs, solid jobs and a twinge of embarrassment about their newfound hobby.

From teachers to real estate agents, these budding emergency gurus say the dismal economy has made them prepare for financial collapse as if it were an oncoming Category 5 hurricane. They worry about rampant inflation, runs on banks, bare grocery shelves and widespread power failures that could make taps run dry.

The surge in interest in emergency stockpiling has been a bonanza for camping supply companies and military surplus vendors, some of whom report sales spikes of up to 50 percent. These companies usually cater to people preparing for earthquakes or hurricanes, but informal customer surveys now indicate the bump is from first-time shoppers who cite financial, not natural, disaster as their primary concern, they say.

Top sellers include 55-gallon water jugs, waterproof containers, freeze-dried foods, water filters, water purification tablets, glow sticks, lamp oil, thermal blankets, dust masks, first-aid kits and inexpensive tents.

Joe Branin, owner of the online emergency supply store Living Fresh, said he's seen a 700 percent increase in orders for water purification tablets in the past month and a similar increase in orders for sterile water pouches.

Online interest in survivalism has increased too. The niche Web site SurvivalBlog.com has seen its page views triple in the past 14 months to nearly 137,000 unique visitors a week. Jim Rawles, a self-described survivalist who runs the site, calls the newcomers "11th hour believers." He charges $100 an hour for phone consulting on emergency preparedness and says that business also has tripled.

"There's so many people who are concerned about the economy that there's a huge interest in preparedness, and it pretty much crosses all lines, social, economic, political and religious," he said. "There's a steep learning curve going on right now."

Art Markman, a cognitive psychologist, said he's not surprised by the reaction to the nation's financial woes—even though it may seem irrational. In an increasingly global and automated society, most people are dependent on strangers and systems they don't understand—and the human brain isn't programmed to work that way.

"We have no real causal understanding of the way our world works at all," said Markman, a professor at the University of Texas, Austin. "When times are good, you trust that things are working, but when times are bad you realize you don't have a clue what you would do if the supermarket didn't have goods on the shelves and that if the banks disappear, you have no idea where your money is."

That's a philosophy shared by Vincent Springer, a newcomer to emergency preparedness from the Chicago area.

Springer, a high school social studies teacher, says he's most worried about energy shortages and an economic breakdown that could paralyze the just-in-time supply chain that grocery stores rely on.

In the past few months, Springer has stockpiled enough freeze-dried food for three months and bought 72-hour emergency supply kits for himself, his wife and two young children. The 39-year-old is also teaching himself to can food.

"I'm not looking for a retreat in northern Idaho or any of that stuff, but I think there's more people like me out there and I think those numbers are growing," he said.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9...;show_article=1

[sara..... 371]

i think its a great idea, because we hunt and camp we have two generators but we also have our home wired so that we can plug our home into a generator to allow things like the fridge and freezer to work.

we also have a three months of food at all time and rotate it as we purchase more........

sara

[Danno 1,228]

I know of several people who have given greater interest to being prepared should things go bad, I am one of them.

It's not so much related to Obama as the possibility that things could take an unexpected turn.

I have not started building a bunker yet But I have put some Food in my garage, things I will eat sooner or later anyway.

Youtube is full of posters who deal in this very theme ... some way out there and some very reasoned.

This guy seems reasonable to me.

name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>">

name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350">

But there are a huge amount of "new world Order" foes and a wide network of Survivalist/ Patriot folks.

Sure Obama seems to have thrown gas on this fire but he didn't start it and it's not all based around him.

Most people think nothing of paying for fire insurance though the possibility of loosing your house in a fire is very slim.

Taking reasonable steps to prepare ones home and family for an economic, natural or any other type event might be a good idea. I know I stocked up on beens and bullets.

For all you VJers who fail to do so..... you are welcome at my place should the SHTF.

[Reba 2]

Hubby has been stocking up for a few years now, all thru the Bush years. We too have a generator, and had the house wired so we could hook it up to make sure the frige will work when all else fails.

I saw that article yesterday and wondered "hmmm...what the hell will I do when it all goes to ###### now that I can't eat gluten or starches?" Most packaged shelf stable foods are full of wheat gluten and starches that I can't eat due to food allergies and other health problems. Not much good to be a survivalist if the MREs will kill me

Of course if we ever get our veggie garden planted we'll have food, but it'll have to quit raining for another day or two so we can get out there dangit!

[Danno 1,228]

Hubby has been stocking up for a few years now, all thru the Bush years. We too have a generator, and had the house wired so we could hook it up to make sure the frige will work when all else fails.

I saw that article yesterday and wondered "hmmm...what the hell will I do when it all goes to ###### now that I can't eat gluten or starches?" Most packaged shelf stable foods are full of wheat gluten and starches that I can't eat due to food allergies and other health problems. Not much good to be a survivalist if the MREs will kill me

Of course if we ever get our veggie garden planted we'll have food, but it'll have to quit raining for another day or two so we can get out there dangit!

I started my Garden a while back but I used seeds (cheapskate).

Think I am going to have more Cucumbers than I can eat.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Nothing wrong with being prepared. I won't be one of those losers with my hand out blaming the government in a natural disaster.