Prepping v's paranoia

[Houlahound]

How do you tell someone they are prepping a little too much and it is coming at the expense of other things in their family's life that is falling apart. The response is always the same, eg: if the sh!t hits the fan then they will be right and their family will be in a better position therefore the hard decisions are justified and anything less is irresponsible.

That's a hard argument to counter, all i can say is - dude your family is starting to fall apart because all your income and time is going into a theoretical.

How do you get thru?

Disclaimer this is not code for myself, I don't have a family to prep for and all my spare income goes into BS toys like another dang new knife.

 

[donn]

Looking at the drain the West, or certainly the UK and the EU are circling at the moment, I think anyone could justify any amount of prepping they wanted to do. Regardless of the consequences to their family life.
I am not a prepper, but nor am I someone whose going to be fighting people in Costco car park for the last two toilet after the lights have gone out.
I've kept a slight eye on what's happened in the US over the past 12 months but won't comment on that as I'm not from the U.S. But here in the UK, the ineptitude, corruption and vindictiveness of our leadership only has one, very bad outcome.
So I'd say prep away, as I can't see the "theoretical" anymore. Only the inevitable reality.

 

[Houlahound]

Looking at the drain the West, or certainly the UK and the EU are circling at the moment, I think anyone could justify any amount of prepping they wanted to do. Regardless of the consequences to their family life.
I am not a prepper, but nor am I someone whose going to be fighting people in Costco car park for the last two toilet after the lights have gone out.
I've kept a slight eye on what's happened in the US over the past 12 months but won't comment on that as I'm not from the U.S. But here in the UK, the ineptitude, corruption and vindictiveness of our leadership only has one, very bad outcome.
So I'd say prep away, as I can't see the "theoretical" anymore. Only the inevitable reality.

Not the answer I was looking for lol.

People have been predicting the end of civilization forever, many have taken these predictions seriously and have ruined or ended their lives over it.

The climate apocalypse is the latest hysteria traumatizing people along with the Covid scamdemic.

I guess you can laugh at me but I just can't take any of it seriously enough to get in a panick and let it dominate my life.

I always keep about 2 week's worth of food, water....supplies etc because it is not uncommon where I live to get cut off due to fire, floods etc. Maybe those real and local threats have de-sensitised me to the vague, big, spooky global threats.

We will see I guess, I will worry about sh!t when sh!t happens.

 

[donn]

Not the answer I was looking for lol.

People have been predicting the end of civilization forever, many have taken these predictions seriously and have ruined or ended their lives over it.

The climate apocalypse is the latest hysteria traumatizing people along with the Covid scamdemic.

I guess you can laugh at me but I just can't take any of it seriously enough to get in a panick and let it dominate my life.

I always keep about 2 week's worth of food, water....supplies etc because it is not uncommon where I live to get cut off due to fire, floods etc. Maybe those real and local threats have de-sensitised me to the vague, big, spooky global threats.

We will see I guess, I will worry about sh!t when sh!t happens.

Not laughing at you at all sir. Prepping can be a serious commitment taking a lot of money and resources. (We do have preppers here in the UK).
I guess there's different tiers of prepping; to some it's just keeping a couple of weeks worth away like yourself, to others it's a complete lifestyle change. People can spend as much as they feel necessary, it all depends on their perception of the possible danger.

What I should of said better maybe is that if you, hypothetically had concerns about a relative and friend, then it's maybe a little late to intervene. I won't speak for the U.S, but here in the UK (and the EU) economic collapse isn't a "prediction" or a "hysteria", it's rapidly becoming an inevitability.
If that occurs it will, to some degree, impact on the economy of the U.S.
But the UK's economic commitments differ vastly from those of the U.S, or indeed many other western nations, which would require an explanation of our economy.

 

[The Amazing Virginian]

Wish I knew. Not even sure it's possible to get through when someone has become that obsessed. I think at that point it's almost like a drug addiction, where (sadly) they might have to hit rock bottom and lose it all before they wake up. You sound like a good friend. Good luck!

 

[Houlahound]

but here in the UK (and the EU) economic collapse isn't a "prediction" or a "hysteria", it's rapidly becoming an inevitability.

Why do you think this is true?

I have plenty of friends & family that follow finance and they invest quiet heavily in UK shares and other investments. None of them mentioned this collapse, and believe they are totally into finance, shares and watch these things literally constantly.

 

[neo71665]

If somebody is destroying their life by trying to be prepared to save it they have other issues that needs to be looked at. Kinda like throwing the baby out with the bath water deal.

I keep a stockpile and often hang out on the prepper and homesteading forums but don't really call myself a prepper. I was raised to be prepared and not to depend on outside support. When I got sick, had 4 surgeries over 4 years, and had to wait almost a year to get on disability I never had to change my lifestyle due to being prepared.

 

[The Amazing Virginian]

If somebody is destroying their life by trying to be prepared to save it they have other issues that needs to be looked at. Kinda like throwing the baby out with the bath water deal.

I keep a stockpile and often hang out on the prepper and homesteading forums but don't really call myself a prepper. I was raised to be prepared and not to depend on outside support. When I got sick, had 4 surgeries over 4 years, and had to wait almost a year to get on disability I never had to change my lifestyle due to being prepared.

"If somebody is destroying their life by trying to be prepared to save it they have other issues that needs to be looked at."

So well said! Exactly this.

 

[AntDog]

“Scamdemic”? For real?

171,916 American corpses don’t think it’s much of a scam, bub.

 

[Danke42]

How do you tell someone they are prepping a little too much and it is coming at the expense of other things in their family's life that is falling apart. The response is always the same, eg: if the sh!t hits the fan then they will be right and their family will be in a better position therefore the hard decisions are justified and anything less is irresponsible.

That's a hard argument to counter, all i can say is - dude your family is starting to fall apart because all your income and time is going into a theoretical.

How do you get thru?

Disclaimer this is not code for myself, I don't have a family to prep for and all my spare income goes into BS toys like another dang new knife.

Not the answer I was looking for lol.

People have been predicting the end of civilization forever, many have taken these predictions seriously and have ruined or ended their lives over it.

The climate apocalypse is the latest hysteria traumatizing people along with the Covid scamdemic.

I guess you can laugh at me but I just can't take any of it seriously enough to get in a panick and let it dominate my life.

I always keep about 2 week's worth of food, water....supplies etc because it is not uncommon where I live to get cut off due to fire, floods etc. Maybe those real and local threats have de-sensitised me to the vague, big, spooky global threats.

We will see I guess, I will worry about sh!t when sh!t happens.

Don't say unhinged stuff to him like "Scamdemic" as soon as you come off as that sort of tinfoil hat person everything statement you make is called into question.

Honestly no wonder he won't listen to you. Maybe just hoe your own garden in this case.

 

[Houlahound]

“Scamdemic”? For real?

171,916 American corpses don’t think it’s much of a scam, bub.

Factor for comorbitity bud and the fact if you are not already in a high risk group you have an almost 100% chance of survival and furthermore a good chance of being symptom free even with confirmed infection....but please stay on topic.

 

[donn]

Why do you think this is true?

I have plenty of friends & family that follow finance and they invest quiet heavily in UK shares and other investments. None of them mentioned this collapse, and believe they are totally into finance, shares and watch these things literally constantly.

I wouldn't use the stock market as an indicator of what's going on with the financial and job security of the working people.
Please do a search for "Eurpoean Debt Crisis". Here's just one article, that is quite frankly a bit lightweight as most NY Times articles are these days:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/business/coronavirus-europe-reopening-recession.html

This will be exacerbated by the fact that the UK, the EU's second largest contributor, leaves the EU on January 1st. I read one article, which concerned the Irish Republic, that stated the Irish taxpayer was looking at an average annual tax increase of 3000 Euros.

The UK government has legacy financial commitments that have always placed a huge demand on taxation. For examples; in proportion to it's population it has the world's largest public sector (government employed) work force in the world, the world's largest social welfare state and the NHS is the world's fourth largest employer.
Between April and June, our economy contracted 20.4%. To put that in perspective, during the 2008/2009 crash it only contracted 8%. It supposedly recovered by 15.6% this June to September but some are questioning how that was the case when unemployment has doubled (now exceeds 3 million-and rising), bankruptcies for the past 6 months have exceeded 100,000 businesses (and rising) and the government continues to pursue Covid-19 lockdown policies that continue to shut down our entire retail, hospitality and tourism industries (one of our biggest employers).
UK government debt in 2019 already exceeded £1.82 trillion, (84.2% of our GDP) and many people are asking, with the effective collapse of corporate taxation and business rates where is all the money coming from?
To put it simply, the UK government has effectively killed the goose that laid the golden eggs.

Such financial stupidity is being repeated throughout the Western world (I notice Canada is looking at a $172.52 billion budget deficit) and is going to make 2021 a very interesting year, but not in a good way.

The UK and EU, which combined are one of (if not the largest of) America's trading partners, are teetering on the edge of a financial cliff. Were already in recession and if our governments continue to pursue lockdown policies with total disregard for the severe economic consequences then the U.S will inevitably feel the impact of that.

So if you want to persuade a person that they should not be expending so much money and resources on prepping, regardless of their personal consequences, all they have to do to justify their belief is fire up the internet and show you how the Western world is going to financial hell in a hand cart.
It would be hard to argue with them.

 

[Houlahound]

I wouldn't use the stock market as an indicator of what's going on with the financial and job security of the working people.
Please do a search for "Eurpoean Debt Crisis". Here's just one article, that is quite frankly a bit lightweight as most NY Times articles are these days:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/business/coronavirus-europe-reopening-recession.html

This will be exacerbated by the fact that the UK, the EU's second largest contributor, leaves the EU on January 1st. I read one article, which concerned the Irish Republic, that stated the Irish taxpayer was looking at an average annual tax increase of 3000 Euros.

The UK government has legacy financial commitments that have always placed a huge demand on taxation. For examples; in proportion to it's population it has the world's largest public sector (government employed) work force in the world, the world's largest social welfare state and the NHS is the world's fourth largest employer.
Between April and June, our economy contracted 20.4%. To put that in perspective, during the 2008/2009 crash it only contracted 8%. It supposedly recovered by 15.6% this June to September but some are questioning how that was the case when unemployment has doubled (now exceeds 3 million-and rising), bankruptcies for the past 6 months have exceeded 100,000 businesses (and rising) and the government continues to pursue Covid-19 lockdown policies that continue to shut down our entire retail, hospitality and tourism industries (one of our biggest employers).
UK government debt in 2019 already exceeded £1.82 trillion, (84.2% of our GDP) and many people are asking, with the effective collapse of corporate taxation and business rates where is all the money coming from?
To put it simply, the UK government has effectively killed the goose that laid the golden eggs.

Such financial stupidity is being repeated throughout the Western world (I notice Canada is looking at a $172.52 billion budget deficit) and is going to make 2021 a very interesting year, but not in a good way.

The UK and EU, which combined are one of (if not the largest of) America's trading partners, are teetering on the edge of a financial cliff. Were already in recession and if our governments continue to pursue lockdown policies with total disregard for the severe economic consequences then the U.S will inevitably feel the impact of that.

So if you want to persuade a person that they should not be expending so much money and resources on prepping, regardless of their personal consequences, all they have to do to justify their belief is fire up the internet and show you how the Western world is going to financial hell in a hand cart.
It would be hard to argue with them.

Ok so your saying lockdowns are destroying the economy, I would have to agree, the more we learn the more inappropriate total lockdowns are proving.

The UK may get some relief when they get free of the EU and can start trade agreements with a wider market.

The size of the UK government and welfare bill is clearly unsustainable, if you insist on such high migration of low skilled people obviously your welfare system will colllapse your economy completely.

The UK has many of the world's greatest finance brains, let's hope they can stimulate something. Either way when things seem at their worst it's always the time of greatest opportunity.

Best of luck, stay safe.

 

[E.D.C.]

Let people live as they wish.



You don't sound like as great of friend as you probably think you are.

 

[not2sharp]

Life is too short to spend it meddling in other people's affairs. Deal with your own problems and help if you can, but let the other guy do what he will. It may just turn out that he is right and you are wrong.

n2s

 

[Mistwalker]

Everybody has their own view of this. I would say if guy's relationship with his wife is falling apart over this then it's probably actually falling apart over too large of differences in their fundamental and core beliefs, and this situation is just the catalyst exposing them. I know with all the insanity that has gone on this year, I'm certainly glad to be out of my last marriage, and not having to include her in my contingency plans. We had the same problem, too different on fundamental and core issues, just not on this particular subject...or it never came up anyway.

Personally I've always thought if planning for a bad situation to last longer than a few weeks, where displacement could be a real thing, it was better to invest time into learning information and skills that would come in handy for surviving or trading. I try to gather things I can store in my mind, maybe in small drives and a solar device charger(s) that's highly portable, rather than bulky things I'll have to guard or carry. But given the nature of our current political and geopolitical situation and the events of this year so far, I'm not sure one could even be paranoid anymore.

 

[stabman]

Factor for comorbitity bud and the fact if you are not already in a high risk group you have an almost 100% chance of survival and furthermore a good chance of being symptom free even with confirmed infection....but please stay on topic.

The topic is you need to be living in reality to be prepared for reality.
Clearly you ain't living in it.

 

[unwisefool]

Factor for comorbitity bud and the fact if you are not already in a high risk group you have an almost 100% chance of survival and furthermore a good chance of being symptom free even with confirmed infection....but please stay on topic.

Tell that to the two people I know who were in good health and still died from it. Oh you can't, because they're dead. Whoopty do, co-morbidity. Most of those people would still be alive if the virus was not around. In addition, there seem to be long term affects of the disease that are still being diagnosed even after people recover. Scamdemic? You think the whole world got together and said ok, let's figure out how to play a prank on everyone??

 

[skyhorse]

As a Grandfather I plan for the worst , pray for the best and stay out of peoples personal business.

 

[22-rimfire]

Everybody has their own view of this. I would say if guy's relationship with his wife is falling apart over this then it's probably actually falling apart over too large of differences in their fundamental and core beliefs, and this situation is just the catalyst exposing them. I know with all the insanity that has gone on this year, I'm certainly glad to be out of my last marriage, and not having to include her in my contingency plans. We had the same problem, too different on fundamental and core issues, just not on this particular subject...or it never came up anyway.

Personally I've always thought if planning for a bad situation to last longer than a few weeks, where displacement could be a real thing, it was better to invest time into learning information and skills that would come in handy for surviving or trading. I try to gather things I can store in my mind, maybe in small drives and a solar device charger(s) that's highly portable, rather than bulky things I'll have to guard or carry. But given the nature of our current political and geopolitical situation and the events of this year so far, I'm not sure one could even be paranoid anymore.

It was mentioned that prepping can take many forms and some sort of tiered ranking might be relevant. I pretty much always prepare for something bad happening but my preparations on basic supplies is generally about a month, possibly two months.

I think you have the correct answer to the H Houlahound prepping question where it likely takes away from a family's ability to live day to day as they normally would. In essence, it is a family decision on prepping and if you are living alone, you can do pretty much anything you want to or can afford.

I was re-organizing my canned goods the other day. I noticed a large can of pears that were about 5 years past the "use by" date. The can looked fine. So, I opened it and had some. I honestly was a little concerned about eating the pears even though they looked fine and tasted fine. I felt a little odd afterwards but it may have been psychosomatic. I tossed the unused portion just out of caution, but in a survival situation, I would have thrown nothing away unless I got sick.