By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)
I came across a very fascinating rebuttal by SHTF plan to an article written by an emergency manager, Valerie Lucus-McEwen. She wrote an article entitled "Doomsday Preppers are Socially Selfish" that was not only critical of the silly reality TV series "Doomsday Prepper", but used it as a means to attack all preppers.
"You might wonder why someone like me, who has been in the business of encouraging disaster preparedness for a very long time, is so critical of people who are doing just that. It’s because they are being socially selfish – preparing themselves and the hell with everyone else. Instead of spending time and energy making changes that would benefit the larger community, in their very narrow focus of loyalty they are more concerned about themselves," Lucus-McEwen explained.
What is the first rule when an airplane is going down and the oxygen mask drop down?
Grab your oxygen mask first and then help the people next to you.
Why?
Because if you pass out, you won't be able to help your kids. I think that people need to help themselves before they can help others. With that said, I most definitely don't approve of the show "Doomsday Preppers." For the most part, it showcases the most extreme and ridiculous personalities in the emergency preparation community.
Here's another interesting part.
"Emergency Managers can’t afford that kind of attitude. It is diametrically opposed to everything we do. Our job is to prepare individuals and communities and jurisdictions and regions and – ultimately – the globe for disasters, knowing we won’t always succeed."
Let's get real. The more people prepare, the less they will need people like her. Emergency managers can help people during a crisis, but are always very limited. And usually end up spending most of their time helping idiots who never kept every food and water in their homes. The only real solution is for more people to become personally responsible for their own water, food, safety and shelter after a crisis. Simply put, we can't help others until we help ourselves. Is storing food and water for emergencies selfish?
Of course not.
Some preppers are selfish, but the choice to prepare is not what makes them selfish. We should not associate preparing for a rainy day to selfishness. It's called self-preservation and it's why humans have made it this far.
Hey Reggie,
ReplyDeleteHaving been a fire fighter\medic since 1980 I can say with authority that she is wrong. Anyones who business it is to respond to emergencies knows that responder safety is first. For the same reason you described. If you cannot take care of yourself you cannot help others. I can only speak for myself, but when I prepare I prepare for my entire family. As a matter of fact I have 4 households that I have taken responsibility for preparing for disaster. I live in south Louisiana and this is a very serious subject. A subject everyone here takes very seriously. If you are flying solo I would have doubts if you would last very long in a true WROL\SHTF event. It an event, such as Katrina my group could survive for 365 days without resupply. We have 3 of our 4 locations with wells, and yes they are in the city and the purity is tested semi-annually.
Compassion and unselfish planning is a must. While it is not often discussed I believe it is often taken in to account, at least in my experience.
Be safe.
Exactly, it's emergency safety 101. You help yourself before you can help others. If you don't, you just become another casualty making the problem worse.
ReplyDeleteI think "Doomsday Preppers" is just a way of media exposing preppers as paranoid. Theres nothing paranoid about preparing for an economic collapse or a disaster none the less.
ReplyDelete