A while ago somebody posted a thread on the television show "Doomsday Preppers." Now that I'm at my mommy and daddy's house and have access to decent cable, I watched an episode.

And then I watched another.

And then another.

Ostensibly this is a documentary on people who post on LDS Freedom Forum. Just awful logic, terrible outlook on humanity (even worse than mine and that's horrifying), and no skills dealing with probabilities. Give them all a stockpile of guns to put David Koresh to shame, and now I'm seriously tempted to become a "Prepper" myself.

Not for one of their ridiculous scenarios mind you. My doomsday scenario involves these level two hoarders getting antsy and deciding to stop waiting for god to send them the catastrophe they've been praying for and make one themselves.

So I guess I'm off to the Armagedon store to ask the clerk, "What do you have in stock for me to guard against people like you?"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/2012 12:33AM by Raptor Jesus.

If you are new to the gun world, or don't see yourself religiously cleaning a firearm, start with a revolver, preferably a .357 magnum, which can also fire .38 special rounds.

Guns, especially autos take a lot of care and upkeep, even if they are just sitting in the back of the closet, something a lot of gun nuts who have large collections seem to forget.

I'm such a renaissance man that I have buried both ammo and my favorite John Coltrane CD's in a hill outside of Coalville. Lock and load, let's groove...

600 years from now, an angel will lead a 14 year-old farm boy to your CD hoard, and the cycle will begin again.

How in the world did we go from John Coltrane to Barry Manilow? Miles Davis is rolling in his grave...blasphemy!!!!

Raptor - rofl. Seriously, you are so funny. Let me know if you figure out what there is to guard against the doomsday crowd. Personally, I like my husband's idea of preparing for a catastrophe...live as close to the epicenter as possible so you get blown to smithereens. Then you don't have to worry about supplies or stockpiling weapons or roving herds of gangsters. As he says, "Why are these people trying so hard to survive in a world they admit will be hell?"

Doomsday preppers is a lot like QVC or 19 Kids and Counting or My Strange Addiction. Fun to watch at first but when they start making sense, you have to run for your life.

But if you get blown away, you miss the opportunity to be awesome on a whole other level.

I actually think the compulsion behind all of this preparation, is a secret desire to see the catastrophe happen, under the errant belief your life afterwards will be more significant then it is now. It's ran by the belief that one has it to be a big shot, but that the whole world is leveled against them, and if only that big scary modern world could be taken down a notch, their true greatness will shine forth.

Brilliant. Love this...

Plus people like having super-secret information that makes them feel special. These preppers know something others don't know - are smarter than the average person they would have been without this knowledge. Smarter than the smart, in fact. And when people play into that mindset with TV shows or even just neighbors asking for expert advice on how to prepare, the preppers just love it. People acknowledging their specialness.

That being said, a good 72 hour kit, as recommended by the Red Cross and some basic pre-earthquake prep (for those of us in quake land) or tornado prep or whatever, is always a good idea. It's when people get carried away it's a problem.

insightful!

Extra food, First Aid kit, flashlights, firearms would be wise. Natural disasters do happen.

I like guns, but I would advise one only arm themselves if they are prepared both to pull the trigger in the moment it is needed to do so, and forever to live with the consequences of that decision.

I saw this show the other day, and they had this lady on and she made her family do a drill with the protective equipment for disease and I looked around her house and said this has to be utah, her stupid voice gave it away, and then I noticed some mormon art in the room. Then one daughter and law showed up and was wearing capris and her toddler was named colton and her voice was too TBM for me.
I kept watching and yes it was in utah. why I'm so smart. they showed her food storage and all of the containers I recoginzed that other TBMs had the same thing

I remember that episode, where the neighbor had a WTF look when the family was outside during their drill in surgical scrubs. I figured she was Mormon, and I felt sorry for those on her VT route since she probably pushes her paranoia on them.

One thing is that I think a 72 hour kit is essential, and since I do live in earthquake country, it's a good idea to have some extra food and water on hand, but these people take it to extremes.

I have a 38 smith and wesson that I keep loaded. I hope I never have to use it, but I will if I have to. I have had extensive training on how and when to use it.

It would piss me off if I had to shoot someone that was intruding in my home. What a mess! Not to mention having a dead body in the living room.

...I knew right away that I didn't want to survive The Bomb or whatever else threatened the near extinction of humanity if it meant being with those people. Maybe a subconscious reason for not wanting children was so I wouldn't need to consider them in a doomsday scenario. I could just step out into the blast with both middle fingers raised.

When I was a little kid growing up in mormonism I told my parents I'd rather get taken out in the first round that have to live on food storage. I loved Forsted Flakes and my parents refused to buy a year's supply for me. And besides, Frosted Flakes taste nasty with powdered milk!

The psychology behind their behavior is what fascinates me. Typically they live in rural areas and not very high IQ. Seems to me their survival instinct has overwhelmed their ability to reason. They have allowed fear of the unknown to drive their behavior, they have chosen to believe that the most extreme worst-case scenario is very likely to happen, if not inevitable.

I understand the survival instinct, and wanting to be prepared, but the probability of society collapsing isn't so high to warrant their actions IMO.

See my post above. The irony is, these people live on the margins, and under any doomsday scenario they can dream up, they will likely continue to live on the margins, as the rest of us rebuild.

If the central government ever collapses, we in America will still not be left without laws. Instead, the local authorities will step up, and take over. It would suck to live in Utah in that scenario though.

You're welcome RJ. :)

While I don't make any doomsday preparations, and hope to never be in that situation, I personally hope I will survive the apocalypse so that I can fulfill my life long ambition of being a mercenary warlord. The difference between me and survivalist, is that I admit it.

Because I would definitely catch that episode.

Bahahaha! Yes! Isn't that show great? You folks have obviously nailed down the psychology for it; since my brothers and dad are all fascinated with these survivalist scenarios (they don't get very far beyond the imagination and weapon stockpile phase, however.) I can tell you how disturbed the personalities resulting from this psychology really are.

I'm pretty sure one brother has a full-blown, bona fide case of Messiah complex. When they all get together and foretell of the devastation they will survive, this one particular brother is always portrayed as the leader who will show everyone else the way. He even gets out his Doctrine & Covenants and makes scripture fit in with his little scenarios. And they all buy it!

And OF COURSE the show is full of Mormons! OF COURSE IT IS.