Survivalists or preppers are the people involved in the movement of Survivalism, who actively prepare for many different emergencies on large and small scales. These can include full on economic collapses and global pandemics, planetary crises, natural or anthropogenic disasters, or even a zombie apocalypse, in the case of a few. Building underground shelters or other defensible retreats, undergoing rigorous self-defense training, stockpiling excessive amounts of water and food, and acquiring plenty of emergency medical supplies all help survivalists believe that they will better edure any such catastrophe.
This movement, brought much heavier into the public eye as of 2012 when National Geographic Channel began airing a show entitled "Doomsday Preppers," has actually been around since the 1960s. The origins of modern Survivalism in the United States has roots in religion, governmental policies and threats of nuclear warfare, all propagated by the literature of the time, such as apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction and non-fiction.
The increased inflation rate, devaluation of the US dollar, and continued threat over possible nuclear warfare between the United States and the Soviet Union is what largely propelled forward the rate of Survivalism in the 1960s. All of these factors led to a highly increased number of crimes, and certain other failures in the system caused a number of (primarily libertarian and conservative) thinkers to publicly suggest that extra preparation on an individual level would be wise. The 1970s and 1980s continued to see more publications come out that warned of similar threats. A down surge in interest happened, however in 1999 the Y2K bug was responsible for creating a secondary wave of fear that brought this movement back to the forefront of consciousness, and this was only increased further by the September 11th attacks on the twin towers.
There are some general common preparations of survivalists, including having a defensible retreat or safe haven, stockpiles of non-perishable foods, water, water-purification equipment, defense weaponry and ammunition, clothing, seed and other agricultural equipment, firewood, and medical supplies. There are also "bug out bags" (BOB) and "get out of dodge" (G.O.O.D) kits that are prepared, containing basic necessities and other useful items, typically of a size and weight that is manageable by one person.
Survivalist tend to use particular terminology and some of these words include: alpha strategy (which is the general practice of storing extra consumables), BOL (bug-out location), EDU (everyday carry, or what is carried at all times every single day), EOTW (end of the world), crunch (a general term for a major, long-term disaster), and WROL (without rule of law, which describes a potential lawless state).
This movement, brought much heavier into the public eye as of 2012 when National Geographic Channel began airing a show entitled "Doomsday Preppers," has actually been around since the 1960s. The origins of modern Survivalism in the United States has roots in religion, governmental policies and threats of nuclear warfare, all propagated by the literature of the time, such as apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction and non-fiction.
The increased inflation rate, devaluation of the US dollar, and continued threat over possible nuclear warfare between the United States and the Soviet Union is what largely propelled forward the rate of Survivalism in the 1960s. All of these factors led to a highly increased number of crimes, and certain other failures in the system caused a number of (primarily libertarian and conservative) thinkers to publicly suggest that extra preparation on an individual level would be wise. The 1970s and 1980s continued to see more publications come out that warned of similar threats. A down surge in interest happened, however in 1999 the Y2K bug was responsible for creating a secondary wave of fear that brought this movement back to the forefront of consciousness, and this was only increased further by the September 11th attacks on the twin towers.
There are some general common preparations of survivalists, including having a defensible retreat or safe haven, stockpiles of non-perishable foods, water, water-purification equipment, defense weaponry and ammunition, clothing, seed and other agricultural equipment, firewood, and medical supplies. There are also "bug out bags" (BOB) and "get out of dodge" (G.O.O.D) kits that are prepared, containing basic necessities and other useful items, typically of a size and weight that is manageable by one person.
Survivalist tend to use particular terminology and some of these words include: alpha strategy (which is the general practice of storing extra consumables), BOL (bug-out location), EDU (everyday carry, or what is carried at all times every single day), EOTW (end of the world), crunch (a general term for a major, long-term disaster), and WROL (without rule of law, which describes a potential lawless state).
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