Emergency Preparedness (preppers) in Transition
I began my preparedness journey about 1978 (+/-) starting with food storage. I backed off about the mid-1990’s. Then started it back up in earnest just after 9/11.
Post-9/11, and by 2008 for sure, prepping came back in style big time. Everything from food storage to hardcore self-defense capabilities. Prepping gathered a virtual cult following if truth be told. Not in a bad or evil way…just some super-dedicated and really committed believers in prepping. And that includes myself.
What struck me as odd…prepping started to change about 5 years ago…it became increasingly political and in some case a religious thing. Yeah, that sounds strange to me too…but think about it for a minute or two and see if it starts making sense to you.
In the last year and a half there has been a notable downturn in prepping indicators. The preparedness market no longer appears to be expanding the way the way it was before COVID. And there is some evidence that prepping is contracting. Some of the reasons I am seeing are:
- Rising debt
- Falling “real” wages and savings
- Declining consumer sentiment
- Housing affordability problems
- A fair amount of anecdotal evidence from preparedness businesses struggling or going out of business
Let’s look at some solid observations being made:
- LDS Home Storage Centers reportedly closing
- Reduced food-storage demand
- Signs of weakness among some preparedness-related businesses
- American Canner closing
- More focus on politics than preparedness
- Consumer sentiment collapsing
- Families having less disposable money.
None of these observations prove my conclusion by themselves, but taken together they suggest something may be changing…a pattern forms.
Many families still believe in preparedness…they simply no longer have the money, time, energy, or focus they once had. And some people no longer think about preparedness because they are trying to simply economically survive in this day and age.
At the same time I’ve seen a majority of the prepper community become massively divided politically. And that division has caused a shift in focus of prepping to current events and political issues. And I am in that same boat. To put it into other words…the prepper community has transitioned into tribes and has become less concerned about preparedness and more into promoting one political agenda or another in many ways.
I am thinking preparedness has shifted from; skills, food, water, gardening, and self-reliance towards; current events, political agenda, tribal identity. But…I will give ground…it may be just my perception this morning…and a clear trend not cast in stone.
Actually, using the term “political agenda” may be entirely inaccurate. It is more of a “world view” or “societal view” than simply a political agenda difference. Whatever the correct term is…the prepper world is transitioning. That is the second level transition that I am speaking of…earlier I spoke about the “national transition” taking place < click here to read that articles >
I don’t know where prepping is headed. Will there even be a “prepper” community or will it transition into something else.
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