Paranoid?

[heavyhitter1k]

Wife seems to think I have "prepper" tendencies. I just like to think I will be prepared if anything were to ever happen.

I carry everywhere I go, hence I am prepared for any situation and would be able to protect myself and my family. I do tend to think about the "what ifs" and mentally prepare for them ie home invasion, public encounters, etc. I also have multiple firearms in the house ready to go in the case of unwanted entry by a 3rd party. I also have debated setting up a security camera system in my home also.

Please tell me I am normal LOL. Wife seems to think that just because I am armed and have a few plans in my head, that I am somehow a borderline "prepper" and that she thinks I will go full blown sometime in the future.

 

[glockednlocked]

Preppers are the new preppys welcome to the dark side my brother

 

[shibumiseeker]

Ummm, that sorta is the definition of a prepper. And there's nothing wrong with it. Yeah, maybe you haven't stocked up on consumables, but that just means you have your priorities backwards. You are far more likely to need stored supplies than weapons.

 

[heavyhitter1k]

Ummm, that sorta is the definition of a prepper. And there's nothing wrong with it.

A "prepper" to me is someone who has "X" amount of food and water supply, has a BIG collection of weapons and ammo, has fortified or done some securing of home, and has drills etc with family on a more often than not basis.

Doomsday prepper tv show is what I typically think when I hear the word "prepper"

 

[shibumiseeker]

And most preppers would take exception at that description. Sure there are some that take it to that level, but most don't. Most preppers don't have a huge cache of weapons (though some do), but live the philosophy of being prepared for what life throws at you.

I'm old school though, I was a survivalist long before that term became un-PC.

 

[Classic]

So, what's wrong with being prepared? Is that bad?

 

[eldirector]

It used to be "normal". My grandparents would have been "preppers" by today's standards. Back in the day, they were just living life. They hunted, had a garden, preserved their own food, made or mended cloths, and granny kept a revolver in her purse.

I have a long way to go to get BACK to how they lived.

But, yeah, anyone who plans ahead (even a little) is abnormal in today's standards. I like being a bit weird, though.

 

[shibumiseeker]

"Burt: You know, Grady, some people think I’m over prepared. Paranoid. Maybe even a little crazy. But they never met any Precambrian lifeforms, did they?"
Tremors II, Aftershocks

 

[esrice]

I carry everywhere I go, hence I am prepared for any situation and would be able to protect myself and my family. I do tend to think about the "what ifs" and mentally prepare for them ie home invasion, public encounters, etc. I also have multiple firearms in the house ready to go in the case of unwanted entry by a 3rd party. I also have debated setting up a security camera system in my home also.

Do you currently supplement your firearms ownership with firearms training?

 

[Bennettjh]

You sound normal to me. Not a thing wrong with being prepared.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

What's she scared of? You buying 1,000 lbs of hard red wheat?

My grand parents did not let my family starve during the 30's. I'm not going to let them down the next time things get tough.

 

[cedartop]

.
I carry everywhere I go, hence I am prepared for any situation and would be able to protect myself and my family..

..

Paranoid, no. Slightly optimistic, maybe.

 

[heavyhitter1k]

Do you currently supplement your firearms ownership with firearms training?

Yes. as much as I can afford to go and spend time / money at the range etc.

 

[Slawburger]

A friend once said "If people really are out to get you then paranoia is just good thinking." That was years (decades) ago and I still don't know if he was kidding or being serious. Nothing wrong with being prepared though.

 

[IndyDave1776]

A friend once said "If people really are out to get you then paranoia is just good thinking." That was years (decades) ago and I still don't know if he was kidding or being serious. Nothing wrong with being prepared though.

I once received similar guidance in form of 'just because you're paranoid, that doesn't mean they aren't out to get you!'

Seriously, I have found a common thread among those who have a problem with prepping. They are either hopelessly optimistic, or more probably have a (false) sense of security which rests on the notion that things will always continue to be more or less as they have been, or in other words, they have a birthright as Americans to always have money in their pockets and food at the grocery store, and electricity flowing from their outlets. When you broach the subject of preparedness, you are directly assaulting the foundation under their personal sense of security, and they are not psychologically prepared to deal with this assault.

Specifically, your are forcing them to deal with the notion that none of the things upon which their sense of security rests are guaranteed to remain as they are, or to remain at all, whether we are talking going a week or so without electricity, or an extreme case end of the world as we know it. By introducing such a discussion through words or actions, you have just screamed at the children that the bogeyman exists and is hiding under their beds.

 

[Kraz]

the word prepper can mean whatever you want it to mean, and there is nothing bad about planning ahead and looking out for your self, and family. better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. seems normal to me.

 

[theblackknight]

I certainly do think the gun/prepper community is filled with some paranoid folks.

 

[Mark 1911]

Most INGOers are "preppers". Being prepared is a virtue.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I certainly do think the gun/prepper community is filled with some paranoid folks.

How does recognizing the fact that any society regardless of a period of world domination can fall into chaos make a person paranoid? After all, it has happened numerous times throughout history. Why would any sane person believe that we are exempted from the same consequences of the same circumstances and behaviors, and the same chorus screeching 'that can't happen here!'?

So, again, how does seeing the plain truth that the same behaviors in which we now engage as a nation have brought nations and empires past to ruin will also bring the United States to ruin make us paranoid? It seem to me that it makes us nothing but passable students of history.

 

[the1kidd03]

I certainly do think the gun/prepper community is filled with some paranoid folks.

"Paranoid" is a subjective word. It's relative to one's own level of acceptable behavior on a given topic. As long as there have been humans, there has been fear. Fear is a LEARNED emotion. Everyone experiences it, but what you do with it is a choice. You have essentially two choices when it comes to fear, which can be described as the foundational premise for the "fight or flight" response. One is to choose to ignore that which you fear. Disregard its possibility in hopes that what you fear will not turn face and force you confront it. Hence, the "flight" response where you attempt to "run and hide" to some degree. The other choice is a matter of recognizing that which you fear. In essence, "facing it head on" by recognizing it and preparing to deal with it in an attempt to increase your chances of survival.

This is the underlying belief of the "prepper" and gun owner mentality. They recognize their fear and in preparation to increase their odds of survival have gone to reasonable lengths to do so. One who prefers the "flight" response to their fears is not likely to understand the premise of the opposite spectrum. Instead, they typically resort to naïve personal attacks using words with negative connotations such as "paranoid" while refusing to accept that they have the same fears. Truth be told, they have the same fears and simply won't admit to it OR don't recognize it because fear can indeed be subconscious.



One of the many ways people develop a fear is through what's referred to as "historical experiences." This is demonstrated well in the following post which identifies how we as humans have experienced things in our past which we try to actively avoid in our future. Hence, a fear learned through historical experience.

How does recognizing the fact that any society regardless of a period of world domination can fall into chaos make a person paranoid? After all, it has happened numerous times throughout history. Why would any sane person believe that we are exempted from the same consequences of the same circumstances and behaviors, and the same chorus screeching 'that can't happen here!'?

So, again, how does seeing the plain truth that the same behaviors in which we now engage as a nation have brought nations and empires past to ruin will also bring the United States to ruin make us paranoid? It seem to me that it makes us nothing but passable students of history.

One could argue that calling someone paranoid is a sort of "passive" version of projection because the "caller" has the same fear, but doesn't recognize it or chooses not to.

That's not to put down someone who does this necessarily, but rather to further demonstrate their choice of "flight" by choosing to ignore their fears as well as POSSIBLY choosing to ignore a negative attribute of themselves (lack of willingness to face fear.) Also, because with any precautionary measure comes a certain level of calculated risk vs reward. This will be shaped by many things within a person's psychological makeup, but the point is that it's an individual choice.