Doomsday Preppers

So… we at Equip2Survive are lovin’ this new show Doomsday Preppers on National Geographic Channel. Sure, it is a bit over the top on some levels, but it definitely has its merits too.

Doomsday Preppers features what NatGeo characterizes as “normal everyday” men, women, husbands, wives, parents and grandparents of all different walks of life. Only these Americans are different from most in a particular way: They are preparing for the end of the world as we know it.

Each episode features several different preppers and/or prepper families and their “SHTF” plan. At the end of each show segment, experts from Practical Preppers evaluate the prepper’s plan and give them constructive feedback. Then a second set of “experts” (no idea who these people are or what their qualifications are) evaluate the likeliness of that type of disaster the occurring.

Doomsday Preppers covers many types of scenarios from rural bug out plans to urban bug in plans, and scenarios ranging from EMP bursts (natural or man made) to massive earthquakes or volcanoes.

Outliers ?? Marginalize.

NatGeo attempts to distance themselves from the  I would venture to say that a good portion of their audience for Doomsday Preppers is… actual preppers.

My only real complaint about the show is that at the end of each segment, “experts” get to chime in on the likelihood of said scenario occurring… and of course these “experts” always say that the doomsday scenario that the feature prepper is preparing for is approximately one in 3 million. Perhaps NatGeo decided include this in their program to distance themselves from the “fringe element” they are exploiting for retain credibility .

Arguably the best thing about Doomsday Preppers is that it is a catalyst for thinking and discussion about preparedness.

Regardless of what NatGeo or anyone else thinks, many of us understand that preparedness is not exclusive to the paranoid or crazy. We all have car insurance and wear seatbelts. Most of us would agree that locking our doors at night, putting jumper cables in your car, locating fire extinguishers in your home, investing in life insurance, and carrying pepper spray in our purses is prudent, wearing a helmet when riding a bike, and putting your critical documents in a fire-proof safe… these are reasonable acts taken by responsible people. So… where does “vigilent” end and “crazy” begin? And… who decides this?

Preparedness does not have to be about hyper-inflation, volcanic eruptions or EMP bursts. It can be about car trouble, job loss, losing power for several days or even weeks, getting lost in the woods,

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