Are Preppers Selfish?

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.

Another "Doomsday Prepper" in Trouble!

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)
 
Another "Doomsday Prepper" is in legal trouble. This time, a prepper (someone who stores food, water, medical supplies and guns for an emergency situation) by the name of Alfred C. Dutton was arrested for illegally possessing explosives. He was a producer of fireworks. And at some point, this guy thought it would be a good idea to discuss his storing of illegal explosive material on his property with his ex-wife’s boyfriend (Joe Scott). Dutton appeared on the National Geography reality series called "Doomsday Preppers." In my opinion, the show was made to make preppers like like nutjobs.

Scott was the only witness to testify against Dutton, but that was more than enough to get the 65-year-old Army and Marine veteran sentenced to 21 months in prison. And when he gets out, he will be a felon and unable to legally own firearms. Why in the hell would you appear on a national TV show and store illegal explosives on your property? Dutton was convinced of possessing incendiary bombs found in rented storage unit last August.
 
Here are the specifics from the Justice Department.

Joe Scott came to the Greenwood county Sheriff’s Office to report that Alfred Dutton Jr. possibly had explosives. Scott said that on or about August 9th of 2011 he had gone to Dutton’s apartment to pick up a minor child per court visitation. While standing and talking with Dutton he produced a small cylindrical device about the size, Scott thought, of a triple A battery. Dutton asked if he knew what it was and when Joe said he didn’t Dutton told him it was a fuse for a hand grenade.

During their talk Dutton had said he ordered fuses from the internet and when they arrived  and found they were what he wanted he was then going to order Grenade hulls and claymore mine hulls because the fuse worked in either one. When Scott went to pick up the child on August 16th Dutton told him that he could not find the black powder he needed that [sic] to complete the devices and had to order it from Cabela’s website on the internet. Scott said when Dutton told him that he ordered the black powder he became concerned for safety reasons of the minor child and public safety of the residents around him in the apartment complex.

Scott gave me a package of 20foot safety fuse and told me that Dutton had given it to him just after July 4th of 2010 to “blow stuff up” if he ever needed to, Scott has become concerned because Dutton told him when the government starts to round up citizens he will be one of the first because of his military background. While Scott was in the office I had him fill out a statement form. While still at the office I asked Scott if he would recognize the grenade fuse if he saw it. Scott said that he could, we searched the internet files and was unable to locate any fuse like the one that Dutton showed him. Source: Dept of Justice

A hand grenade? WTF?

Lesson #1: Don't do crazy stuff!

Lesson #2: Be careful what you say! Be careful who you say it to?

Lesson #3: Hand grenades and claymore mines! WTF?!

Let's see. Youtuber Dsarti appeared on the show and was later declared mentally deficient. Subsequently, he lost his legal right to carry a firearm. Another prepper shot his thumb off on the show. Dsarti got into trouble by joking with a doctor about death and Dutton gave too much info to a guy he should have been suspicious of.

Maybe Dsarti was unfairly targeted and accidents do happen, but we have to ask ourselves if this show is the best thing for the community. I'm sure that there are some intelligent preppers on the show, but it's the negativity that most people will remember. And I suspect that the producers will use more credible preppers early and move on to the crazier ones as the show progressives. I hope I'm proven wrong, but at this point I think this show is clearly making the prepping community look bad. Does anyone else see it any other way?

Veteran gets prison for possessing explosives

Case Info Dept. of Justice