Prepping is NOT pointless, although many people argue that it is. If you buy food for several days that is prepping if you buy car insurance that is prepping if you have a savings account that is prepping if you bring sunscreen to the beach that is prepping. Even if somebody is preparing for an unlikely SHTF situation like a UFO invasion they will still be better prepared for a local or personal disaster then the unprepared.

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Throughout history, people who have not conformed to the current social status were considered weird or in some cases even crazy. For hundreds of years, humanity has been burning witches and finding them guilty was easy, throw the witch in the water and if she floats she is a witch, if she sinks and dies she was not a witch. This way even if you were not guilty you still died, basically a loose loose situation.

What does this to do with preppers? Thankfully we have shed most of our moronic ideas of the past, and now if you mention to somebody that you are a prepper you might get an odd look but nothing much. Although my recommendation if you are a prepper is to follow OPSEC and only let just a limited number of people who you trust to know that you are a prepper. While most people do think prepping is pointless if they know that you have supplies of food and water you will be the first person they “visit” once the SHTF situation comes.

There are several ideas why some people might think that prepping is pointless, but the truth is that we all are preppers but most people don’t even realize it because almost all of us are prepping for different scenarios. As I mentioned in some of my other articles an SHTF situation doesn’t have to be a global or even a local event, it can be just a simple personal SHTF scenario. As for what an SHTF scenario means it is different for everybody.

Preppers die first

During numerous wars throughout history, there have been a lot of stories of people who have been prepared ended up dead. In most cases, people knew they had supplies and once their family was going hungry no law or no man would stop them from getting those supplies. We as humans have a primal instinct to protect our family no matter the cost and trust me if your family is starving and you knew somebody who has prepared for this situation you will pay them a visit.

During major SHTF events, only preppers who lay low and do not disclose any information about their preps will survive. Generous preppers will end up sacrificing their own family for the benefit of others and once they realize that all the supplies are gone and nobody else is as generous as them it will be too late. Once a major SHTF comes your friends and neighbors will be your competition for the limited local resources, do not let them know that you have any supplies, blend in and follow OPSEC.

Low odds of it happening

Some preppers prep because they think it is smart to do so, while others prepare form anything like a UFO invasion to Nuclear war. Altho some of these are very unlikely that they will ever happen during our lifetime it doesn’t really matter. The goal of being a prepper is to be as self-sufficient as possible and the only difference between prepping for a tornado and prepping for a UFO invasion is probably just a couple of items like a tin foil hat.

In my article Pole shift effects on humans, you will find that the odds of a pole shift are against us as it has already started and we are soon headed to the point of no return. While the odds are small for a UFO invasion, the odds are getting higher the closer you get to a specific location. Local disasters like floods, earthquakes, tornadoes might be a once in a lifetime SHTF scenario but the likelihood of a personal SHTF event to happen is guaranteed. At some point in life everybody will have to overcome difficulties, the difference between people is how they overcome it, they either prepare in advance or adapt to the situation.

Political uncertainty

The ruling class of a nation can be changed in a matter of months, in some cases this happens democratically and in others violently. What is legal today might be illegal tomorrow, as in the case of the South African landowners which are facing an impending doom of the newly elected government to take their lands without any pay. The same thing happened in Zimbabwe a couple of years back which ended up collapsing the entire economy of Zimbabwe.

In the case of the USA what would happen if a new law comes out banning all guns and ammo, making you a criminal overnight. Highly unlikely but still there is a possibility, what people need to understand that this major shift in the political climate can happen anywhere in the world.

For some people, this might be an actual SHTF event, while others will simply adapt to the current political climate. While I can understand that people might think prepping in this situation is pointless but in this case, it is actually the time to prepare.

As the current political climate is mostly democratic around the world, this is only democratic till you vote for who you are supposed to vote, if not you can find your country having their right to vote denied.

Lack of skills

We as humans learn during our entire lifetime, even with this fact some people still argue that you can no do this or that. Nobody was born with survival skills, altho we do have some primitive fight or flight responses, the ability to make a fire or a shelter takes skill especially if you do not have a specialized tool. You might not be the best survivalist or prepper in the world but the simple act of practicing these skills will make you better over time.

Trought life, negative people will always find a way to put you down because they do not have the self-confidence so instead of practicing they will try and convince you that you can not do it. This is true for prepping or any other skill that you need to learn throughout life.

Work and reward

We have progressed so much in technology in the past 10 years although this is a good thing it is also a two-edged sword. Most people have forgotten the rewarding feeling after completing a well-done job, instead, they are relying on social networks for their dopamine which makes them happy for a split second, and then wonder why simple tasks which should make you happy don’t anymore. Prepping is hard work, no matter if you are just doing as a hobby, you will still have to work for it and the rewards are not instant.

Most preppers who are asked why put in so much work for an SHTF situation which is very unlikely to happen. Even if you are prepping for something like a UFO invasion you will still have the basic tools, items, and knowledge to face almost any SHTF situation.

Let’s face it most people do not want to put in the work for almost anything which doesn’t bring them instant gratification, even if they do they tend to quit as soon as they get bored.

Financial burden

Another reason why people think prepping is pointless is due to the financial burden, why waste money on something you might never use. Altho this is true in some cases where prepping actually does become a financial burden for your family, my recommendation is to start small and always consider the value for money. If you are the kind of prepper that got into debt for prepping that is your on personally created SHTF situation and you need to get out of debt as soon as possible.

If you visit prepping related websites you will see that sooner or later you will get bombarded with ads related to prepping. It seems that nowadays you can slap the name Tactical on anything from flashlights to pens, these generally cost a lot of money and most of them do not add any actual value in comparison to a normal flashlight or a steel pen. I have recently written an article on Tips for economic collapse preparation, check it out if you want to prepare for the worst times that have yet to arrive.

Prep wisely, buy in bulk, do not go for the big brands as they tend to cost a lot more, go with the smaller brands which in some cases actually make a better product as their only advertisement will come from making an actually good product rather than blasting adds all over the internet selling a sub-par product.

Population density

If you have read any doomsday related books you probably know that the first thing to do is to get away from the major cities and as far away from populated areas as possible. You never know how people will react to a no rule of law scenario and as we tend to have a heard mentality some bad apples can ruin everybody. Once people realize there is no rule of law some of them start looting expensive electronics as they see the SHTF even as a possibility to get free stuff.

The people who realize that the SHTF is worse than previously expected will probably also loot but not for high-end electronics but for food, water, and medicine. Some people will look for financial gain, some for fear that they are losing out if they do not loot and some out of sheer necessity to keep them selfs and their families fed and hydrated. There will be some people who will barricade themselves in their house, as for how viable that is, check out my article Staying home during SHTF.

As the SHTF is getting longer and longer the more dangerous it will be, as there will be a lot of people competing for a limited amount of resources and conflicts will occur.

Fear of living after SHTF

Some people do not want to survive an apocalyptic scenario, these people can not imagine a world without electricity, vehicles and they would rather die than to actually try and survive. This post-apocalypse world would be their worst nightmare, but what if they would be lucky enough to have survived. In this case, they would probably have a better chance if they would have had some basic items of preppers like some food and water.

Even if these people do not believe in themselves of being able to manage after a global SHTF scenario, but they should as many common people have risen to an occasion and they just need to find the strength in themselves.

If you believed in Santa Clause for 10 years you can believe in yourself for 10 seconds

Self-sufficient

There are a lot of people that do not believe that you can be truly self-sufficient, what they really mean that they can not imagine a world without modern technology. Living off the grid is not only possible but there are even several off-grid communities which are self-sufficient. We as humans have 4 basic needs, air, water, food, and shelter all others are just improvements to the quality of our life and we can not only live without them but even thrive.

The average person is spending several hours on the internet daily, in an off-grid scenario they will not have this luxury or even the time for it as living off the grid is hard work.

Social stigma

Preppers in the media are often portrayed as paranoid and crazy. Some people have an urge to feel that they belong and they do everything not to stick out like a sore thumb from the crowd in order not to be judged. While these people might think that prepping is a good idea they do not do it because they worry about what people are talking about them. Although prepping is not about advertising yourself about how good you are or to get fake internet points it is about keeping quiet and working while nobody else is seeing you.

Basically, people think that prepping is pointless due to their perceived shame. Honestly, if you go through life trying to appeal to everybody and that everybody likes you, then you will find yourself doing everything to make everybody happy and actually neglecting yourself. Might be an unpopular opinion but people do not like a “yes man” as they are considered pushovers or fake in some cases.

If you want to become a prepper or anything else in the world go out and do it, do not ever wait for someone’s approval.

Fear of the government

There is a common misconception that the government is out to get preppers, there have been several news articles of peppers being arrested. The thing is that these news sites need to make something common into a sensation and the best way to do this is by pointing out something uncommon in the person who has been arrested in this case being a prepper. In most cases, the arrests were made on charges not related to prepping and even when they were they probably didn’t have a licensed firearm or illegally built an off-grid cabin or in some states something extremely dangerous like illegally collecting rainwater…

There are some laws that make prepping or living off the grid harder but the government is not actively pursuing preppers. You have to look at the perspective, in your eyes, it is prepping while when someone else sees your stockpile of food, water and ammo might think otherwise, and you can not blame them.

Fear of loss

In the event of a major SHTF situation, not everybody will survive, you will probably have close friends and loved ones die. For some people even the thought of losing a loved one in incomprehensible especially in a major SHTF scenario. There is no guarantee of who will or who will not survive, but if you have prepared to any SHTF scenario you will be in a much better situation to tend for your loved ones that everybody else who didn’t prepare.

Death is part of life, while some people sadly dwell too long on losing a loved one, the ability on how to overcome this hardship is imperative for your and other surviving family members.

Fear of being alone

Any SHTF situation will affect you psychologically no matter how tough you might think you are, and you will only see how hard it is affecting you once the situation arises. We are always connected in our modern world, just a phone call or a text away from anybody but what happens if you find yourself alone in an SHTF scenario. We are social creatures and most people actively avoid being alone even for a minute.

These people need to realize that you need to have some time alone, this way you can know yourself better and once hardship arises your first reaction will not be to rely on others but on yourself. Most people have seen the movie I am Legend and could not imagine living in a world where the only company is your dog.

If you are facing serious jail time

This is the only case when prepping is pointless, as do not have to ability to prepare for any kind of SHTF scenario behind bars. The only thing that you can do in this situation is to accumulate as much knowledge as possible if an actual SHTF scenario happens.

In the case of a major SHTF situation, there are a lot of conspiracy theories of what will happen with the inmates, one more horrible than the other and none of them good for any inmate. Inmates are considered a liability by most countries and an actual threat if they are left unsupervised. During WW2 some prisoner of war camps were abandoned by the staff while others were not so lucky.

Even in the best case situation of the prison being abandoned who will free these people?

In Conclusion

Prepping is considered pointless by people who can not face their own fears and they project their own insecurities onto you as a prepper. Altho prepping is a smart idea there is one situation in which is pointless such as facing long term jail time.