Why do many people not have basic emergency supplies?

[druiseeker]

I was talking with a woman here in Salem the other day about prepping. I was buying several large cases of bottled water and she was asking if I was having an event. When I told her I was replacing some emergency supplies I'd gotten into, she made some snide comments ridiculing "preppers". I didn't (and still don't) understand where she was coming from.

I asked her if she had ANY supplies saved up. She said no, she didn't need any as she would be taken care of by the government. I asked her if they took care of people during Katrina very well. She admitted that they didn't but that it was an "oversight that has since been corrected. It wouldn't happen in the future." I was/am astonished. I've heard similar rhetoric, but this was insanely stupid. I recommended she at least look at the FEMA or Ready.gov websites. I walked away. I couldn't think of anything else to say to her.

I started prepping when I was young. We didn't call it prepping then. It was being minimally prepared. We kept a stocked pantry with 1-2 months food, camping/hiking equipment staged for travel, paperwork in order, etc. Common sense lessons learned by my grandparents. They insisted their children continue passing the lessons on. They were depression era folks and really didn't have a good time growing up.

I want to understand why so many people don't have even the basics. When did it become popular to be unprepared? To me, survival basics are: air to breathe, shelter/warmth, water, food. I can understand someone sticking to a minimal emergency kit. Especially if they're living on a tight budget. There are a lot of other things that would be nice to have. Weapons, first aid kit, tents, sleeping bags, packs, etc. Most could survive without them, but would you want to be in the situation of needing and being without? These types of things are the basics of staying alive. Are they suicidal? Do they need to see a psychologist?

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[ATCclears]

"The government will provide for me..."

It's the same story. Over and over again.

Be prepared. Be quiet about your preparations. Be prepared to defend your preparations.

 

[Caveman Jim]

They will become one of two things in an emergency;
1) dead within days
2) invaders seeking anyone else's stuff & will eventually wind up as #1.....
Katrina brought the nastiest in the Big Nasty and any other place will be the same.....

 

[Sgt Nambu]

She's counting on a government that I wouldn't trust with a spent match!

 

[Stomper]

1. Normalcy bias

2. Arrogance

3. Laziness

4. Weakness

5. Apathy

6. Stupidity

 

[mrblond]

I just got done watching a docudrama on nexflix on Yellowstone. It seemed like the numbers they used were based on facts and what could happen if it blows.
Those around the blast area were dead. those in the second ring were dead. 3rd and 4th ring would be dead before rescue could occur. I believe that you can up any kind of disaster in place of Yellowstone, if your not preped for it, you should prep for your death.

 

[Camelfilter]

1. Normalcy bias

2. Arrogance

3. Laziness

4. Weakness

5. Apathy

6. Stupidity

Can't really say ignorant, as in the OP's example that particular sheepel recognized something could happen & has happened, but someone else will magically take care of everything. Even when they agreed that prior event failed taking care of...its fixed. Like magic...

 

[Camelfilter]

They will become one of two things in an emergency;
1) dead within days
2) invaders seeking anyone else's stuff & will eventually wind up as #1.....
Katrina brought the nastiest in the Big Nasty and any other place will be the same.....

Most other places would be worse, given there warm climate & most other places not so much.

 

[jordanka16]

Like she said herself, she assumes someone else will take care of it, either that or they refuse to believe the worst will happen, and if they ignore it it will just go away.

These days it is easy to prepare for a disaster lasting several weeks even. Freeze dried food lasts years, and bottled water or 5 gallon jugs are cheap and also last years. With a propane stove you would be set.

It's not so much prepping as common sense ( which I realize is not so common).

 

[EPS]

I was talking with a woman here in Salem the other day about prepping. I was buying several large cases of bottled water and she was asking if I was having an event. When I told her I was replacing some emergency supplies I'd gotten into, she made some snide comments ridiculing "preppers". I didn't (and still don't) understand where she was coming from.

I asked her if she had ANY supplies saved up. She said no, she didn't need any as she would be taken care of by the government. I asked her if they took care of people during Katrina very well. She admitted that they didn't but that it was an "oversight that has since been corrected. It wouldn't happen in the future." I was/am astonished. I've heard similar rhetoric, but this was insanely stupid. I recommend she at least look at the FEMA or Ready.gov websites. I walked away. I couldn't think of anything else to say to her.

I started prepping when I was young. We didn't call it prepping then. It was being minimally prepared. We kept a stocked pantry with 1-2 months food, camping/hiking equipment staged for travel, paperwork in order, etc. Common sense lessons learned my grandparents insisted their children continue passing on.

I want to understand why so many people don't have even the basics. When did it become popular to be unprepared? To me, survival basics are: air to breathe, shelter/warmth, water, food. I can understand someone sticking to a minimal emergency kit. Especially if they're living on a tight budget. There are a lot of other things that would be nice to have. Weapons, first aid kit, tents, sleeping bags, packs, etc. Most could survive without them, but would you want to be in the situation of needing and being without? These types of things are the basics of staying alive. Are they suicidal? Do they need to see a psychologist?

They have the crazy idea that there will always be someone there to help them lol even when I go on a duck hunt 15 miles from my house I take medical supplies for a gun shot wound basic stuff cat tourniquet chest seal bandages bla bla bla got water and mres frezz dried food at my house water purification tablet 's so on and so on can goods small stove to cook or boil water and don't for get the most important stuff LOTS OF GUNS AND AMMO GAS MASK PLATE CARRIERS EMERGENCY RADIO EXTRA BATTERY 'S I can go on all night to answer your question PEOPLE ARE STUPID

 

[etrain16]

The same reason people don't have retirement accounts set up. The same reason they don't have money in the bank. The same reason they live on extensive debt, leasing cars, always with the latest tech in hand. Their thinking doesn't extend beyond the here and now. The future is nothing more than something to think about later. And this is easily evidenced every time we have a big snow storm, or the threat of one - look at the tens of thousands of people that flood the stores to buy food to 'survive'. I am never in the midst of those crowds - we have enough on hand at all times to make it through any ridiculous little event, and up to some larger events. It's a good feeling, but I've got more work to do.

 

[EPS]

I know lots of people can't afford to really prep but even buying a case or two of bottle water at Walmart only cost $6 dollars and you can go to the dollar store and buy a week 's Worth of canned goods for $20 bucks it's just ignorant stupid or just plain don't really care think it will never happen to them

 

[EPS]

There are a few of my neighbors I would be willing to help out in a SHTF case but there are some others around me that had Bernie and Hilary sign 's in there yard and guess what I'm going to there house with my guns to redistribute there wealth lol

 

[Tony617]

Minimal would be buy an earthquake kit and go from there. I bought one from Costco and it not too bad but you have to repackage some of the contents. Definitely I had to replace the back pack since it was sewn together very poorly. You can do it yourself as well but I am busy so I started with a pre-built one. I do check it once or twice a year to see if anything has expired I know the water and coconut food bars go bad. I have also added some white light sticks, a weather radio is powered by AA batteries but it also includes a hand crank as well. Also added a swiss fire starter, some spare batteries for the LED flashlights. All of the weight in the backpack is water packets and coconut food bars. I have added a ceramic water filter and have a replacement water filter as well in a separate backpack. I have food rations as well but it a disaster happens we won't starve until 4 or 5 months later but they are in 5 gallon white buckets so we need to set up camp somewhere. That is assuming that we don't get killed or get into a firefight over our food rations and other supplies

I am sure a huge number people are not prepared at all. .

 

[Pops1911]

#1 Normalcy bias. Everything will always be just the same as it is today.
#2 Magical thinking. The Goobmint will take care of me and mine.
#3 Only the Undertaker will never run out of customers!

 

[Pops1911]

Why do I now have an advertisement covering my last post? OK . These new center of the page ads are bubblegum! I cannot read anyone's post that is infected with these things. Who thought these were a good idea?

 

[Tony617]

I already report this problem a few days ago.

Did someone modify the display of ads?

 

[jbett98]

A couple of years ago, I paid $250 cash to a guy who had bought over $4,500 worth of dried canned emergency food 4 years earlier.
He was moving his family into an apartment and didn't want to store it all.
It completely filled my 3/4 ton Chevy cargo van.
Just yesterday at an estate sale, I picked up a case (6 large cans) of dried milk, cheese and eggs for only $2.00 cash.
Onto the pile it went. I may never need it, but for a small cash investment it makes me feel that I have some back up food to last me and wife for a long while.

 

[EPS]

Lol I had bought a box of freeze dried stuff and some mre at a sale one day my mom ask why I said it was a deal for later lol that night we had a emergency food dinner lol she took pictures and put it on her face book telling everyone how good it was she had never had a MRE before I had to tell her they where not always this way lol but some of the Freezer dried stuff is good

 

[Joe13]

I was talking with a woman here in Salem the other day about prepping. I was buying several large cases of bottled water and she was asking if I was having an event. When I told her I was replacing some emergency supplies I'd gotten into, she made some snide comments ridiculing "preppers". I didn't (and still don't) understand where she was coming from.

I asked her if she had ANY supplies saved up. She said no, she didn't need any as she would be taken care of by the government. I asked her if they took care of people during Katrina very well. She admitted that they didn't but that it was an "oversight that has since been corrected. It wouldn't happen in the future." I was/am astonished. I've heard similar rhetoric, but this was insanely stupid. I recommend she at least look at the FEMA or Ready.gov websites. I walked away. I couldn't think of anything else to say to her.

I started prepping when I was young. We didn't call it prepping then. It was being minimally prepared. We kept a stocked pantry with 1-2 months food, camping/hiking equipment staged for travel, paperwork in order, etc. Common sense lessons learned by my grandparents. They insisted their children continue passing the lessons on. They were depression era folks and really didn't have a good time growing up.

I want to understand why so many people don't have even the basics. When did it become popular to be unprepared? To me, survival basics are: air to breathe, shelter/warmth, water, food. I can understand someone sticking to a minimal emergency kit. Especially if they're living on a tight budget. There are a lot of other things that would be nice to have. Weapons, first aid kit, tents, sleeping bags, packs, etc. Most could survive without them, but would you want to be in the situation of needing and being without? These types of things are the basics of staying alive. Are they suicidal? Do they need to see a psychologist?

Had the kids BF over after he cut a finger because he couldn't find a single bandaid in the house.

Medal supplies are something I kept stocked even before I had the awareness that I should have a bare minimum of supplies to live on.

I think we are spoiled up here because we deal with so few natural disasters and the weather is rarely harsh.