[lolc]

Prepping is an individual solution to the threat of societal collapse. In the grander scheme of things, it can be seen as an anti-solution. It gives some people the idea that they've got an escape hatch. If you think you can run away, you'll be less inclined to fight for a solution that avoids collapse.

Luckily, the article differentiates here and doesn't feature hardcore fatalists only. And in my view, just thinking about what living outside modern society encompasses will actually help people understand what they got. And why they should fight for it.

Personally, I need insulin. So I'm committed anyway. I can't just go hide in a bush for years on-end.

[XorNot]

Anyone prepping who hasn't paid to have their appendix taken out isn't really prepping.

You can't be sent to the antarctic if you have one, because the risk of suddenly dying is small but very real and the extraction times impossible.

[RhodesianHunter]

I'm am not a prepper, but if approached logically I assume you would tackle each risk to yourself in descending order of likelihood.

Given that, having your appendix out would probably be pretty far down the list.

[rpeden]

I thought the no appendix requirement was only for doctors going to Antarctica?

There was a Soviet doctor there in the 60's who successfully removed his own appendix, but I think in general that's a situation that you want to avoid.

[jemfinch]

> In the grander scheme of things, it can be seen as an anti-solution.

Every person who has adequate preparations for themselves and their family is a person who who's allowing societal resources to go to someone else in greater need. It's one less person standing in line for water and food after a disaster.

Far from an anti-solution, it provides distributed herd immunity.

[lolc]

Not disagreeing with that. I'm just worried that the people who build their shelter might do so at the cost of not averting the disaster in the first place.

The people hiding in their shelters will live just a bit longer. If that means they survive: great. But they could also die alone instead of having defeated the danger together.

[dsfyu404ed]

>In the grander scheme of things, it can be seen as an anti-solution. It gives some people the idea that they've got an escape hatch. If you think you can run away, you'll be less inclined to fight for a solution that avoids collapse.

It comes off like you're saying "well if shit really goes south I'm screwed so these people should be too". A few thousand preppers who are too busy prepping to "fight for a solution" isn't gonna make the difference between shit going south or not.

Not to be an ass but the kind of people I picture saying something like that are stuffy politicians who likes to use phrases like "antisocial behavior", "community norms" and "if you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem" and who is completely out of touch with what shapes the decisions of everyday people.

If someone wants to prep for something that's highly unlikely to happen then I see no problem with that. If anything their prepping stands to be useful in a hurricane Katrina type situation. What's the problem with that?

[s_kilk]

> It comes off like you're saying "well if shit really goes south I'm screwed so these people should be too"

I think it's more a recognition that we are social creatures, and that the minimum-viable unit of social reproduction is the village cluster, not the lone-wolf individual.

The notion that these folk are going to "survive" in any meaningful sense is a fantasy.

[lolc]

I have no problem with people prepping. I understand and accept the reasons for it. I have a problem with people thinking they can just disengage from society and survive. As a hobby, prepping is fine.

If we all disagree what the solution to societal problems is, it is tempting to think I can have my solution independently of others. With this convenient illusion, it is easier to walk into societal collapse. Just live the sweet life now, and when it hits, I run off.

And hurricane Katrina? You realize that many deaths would have been prevented if the levees had been constructed properly? Sure, in hindsight that is easy to say. But that's exactly the issue here: The prepper mindset does not include collective protection. It doesn't scale.

[wishinghand]

I would think a few thousand peoples efforts could be better used to help keep society together than to stock food, water, seeds, and tools. Or if they really want to be a net gain for some FEMA scaled disaster, help everyone in their community have food, water, and sanitary supplies stored away.

[Sir_Substance]

Wrong forum for that kind of sentiment dude. Hacker news is not overflowing with people who value individual autonomy. Most people here see themselves as Correct, and so would much rather you do as they do than make your own decisions.