The biggest list of prepping fear is the collapse of the global, or national, economy, polar shift, super-volcano eruption, effects from global warming, nuclear exchange, pandemic, etc.... Eh, I'm just trying to prep for the next tornado outbreak, or brown-outs from the next moderate heat wave.
It would never work as a TV show, but I would be interested in seeing people who, as you say, prepare for regionally probable/possible disasters rather than preparing for a specific and statistically unlikely end of the world scenario. Doesn't it make sense to prepare for things that have or may happen where you live?
The topic of survivalism always fascinated me. When I was a kid in the 80s, there were all these Soldier of Fortune and survivalist/paramilitary magazines on the market. I loved them all. Were they appropriate for an elementary school student? I don't know. I turned out normal (ha!). But one mag, I think it may have been Eagle, had a comic strip called, I think, The Survivalist. I really dug it.
As an adult, I still find it an interesting topic, and here are my armchair survivalist thoughts on it:
Regarding militia groups and such, that sounds like a dismal prospect. I suspect that, should a disaster strike, the people who will be helping you survive will be the same people who help you move. The last time I moved, there were a few people who said they wouldn't help move stuff, but they could help us organize. They are the administrators of life. They are dead weight. The people who carry boxes or at least pick up beer and pizza? These are your mates. They will help you survive.
That brings me to my next point. The odds of a lone survivor or small group making it alone seem pretty low, the worse things get. You can have the best bunker or fortified abandoned missile silo in the world, but if you're the only one in it, you have to sleep some time. You can be burnt out or smoked out of the best fortress. Having friends, family, and community would be crucial in a long-term emergency.
I should probably emphasize
stable and sane family and friends. While I don't have any experience with prepper groups, I do have experience with a number of other subcultures. All of them tend to have a certain number of people who have basically failed in the real world, and so they try to carve a new identity for themselves in a microcosm. Will these people actually become more socially adaptable in a crisis? I doubt it. You don't need people who are burying school buses to use as shelters. You need people who can
drive buses or better yet,
repair and maintain them.
That is to say, I would emphasize the value of skill sets. I'm probably pretty screwed in a long-term social meltdown, but the further back I go in my family tree, the more I see people with skill sets. There were liverymen, butchers, and farmers. Most of them had skills which would have improved their survival odds. They could take care of horses, properly prepare meat, take care of livestock, and farm crops. They brewed beer. Or they were physically hardened from mining. My office job, and many other modern jobs, does precious little to provide a useful skill in a crisis. Maybe instead of dumping money into highly improbable shelters, some of these preppers should take automotive repair classes, or learn some other skill that may be of value to others. In a long-term crapstorm, one will need to be part of a community, and it would probably be good to be of some benefit to that community. Charity only lasts for so long.
But what sort of crisis situations might occur? While I don't know what say, a polar shift or 2012 will bring (oh, wait), we can certainly look at what happens in other parts of the world. What happened during Hurricane Katrina? What's going on in Central America or sub-Saharan Africa? These probably provide some clues for what a realistic survival situation might be.
The topic of hunting often comes up in regard to survivalism. I have limited experience with hunting, and I was only successful when hunting with a group of experienced people. Even then, it was a lot of work and you burn a lot of calories. And that's the issue. If you're spending more calories than you are consuming, you have a problem. Even if you're in a tree stand, if you wound the animal, you now have to track it. And if you're spending the day in a tree stand or blind, you're not spending the day raising livestock or growing crops or doing services for people in exchange for supplies. There's a reason we moved away from being hunter-gatherers. It's really hard, and if you screw up, you die. I'm sure people can and do survive off hunting, but I suspect they mostly do it in groups and have fairly advanced skill sets. While I cannot speak from experience, I imagine trapping to be a much more energy efficient process, and raising livestock or crops to be even more efficient. Or really, if you can have enough poultry eggs, I think eggs are the most efficiently used protein source.
But when it comes down to it, I think that most of the prepping stuff is more of a hobby or game for people. And why not? Target shooting with gun or bow is fun for many people. Many people find hunting, fishing, gathering, farming or gardening to be fun, and at worst you've learned a skill, had a nice day outdoors, and hopefully have a more natural and healthy source of food. Much of the equipment can be used for camping. I'm a big fan of homebrewing cider. It's way cheaper than buying beer and I like it much more (which might not be a good thing). I look forward to gardening in the spring and want to start canning some stuff. Life doesn't have to be about fear and paranoia. We can also prep for good things.
Sorry for being long-winded.
By the way, it's also good to get a hockey mask and dune-buggy PA system:
.
