User Panel
Posted: 9/21/2022 6:42:06 PM EDT
Inspired by the "loot drop" thread
I was really lucky through COVID 19, without doxxing myself we had just made several life changes, including moving back to a more rural area from the city and converting one of our two incomes to a more secure source. We had a kid on the way and had had issues previously, so we were worried about complications and our budget, as a result in the winter of 2019 we stocked up heavily on everything nonperishable, just in case. Stacked canned food, tp, toiletries, ect deep Not a brag, honestly I was just panicking about affording a kid and turned a end of year bonus into a hell of a costco run. It really played out for us, especially compared to friends we had in nearby major cities. We were able to stay at home and sit out most of the craziness. Meanwhile friends were asking for Toilet paper and home defense guns I was amazed at how many were completely unprepared. Since then we have continued a similar strategy, trying to be as self sustainable and prepared as possible. Meanwhile talking to some of my city friends its like talking to a goldfish. The guy who wanted to borrow a pistol has yet to buy a gun and has a PS5 Folks who were terrified by rioting took the promotion and stayed where they are You would think more people would wake up |
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Prepping isn’t just for the end of the world. It’s taking a serious look at your life and seeing what your using , will use thru power outages or shortages.
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Beat you by about 10 years OP. I fled/scorned big city living for the country. Also was ready when I learned of WuFlu.
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I don't give a fuck about WuHan flu now and I didn't give a fuck 2 years ago. As for "prepping"….well…..a man should be prepared to take care of himself and his family. that certainly didn't start with this last round of bullshit.
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I've never lived in a city long term, but even the suburbs suck in my opinion. I can't wait to retire and move to a more rural area.
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When they instituted the lockdown here in Florida the wife and I were on our back porch eating steak and snow crab while a lot of people scrambled to fill their pantry. It was nice to be prepared.
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I didn't get frustrated with people that weren't prepared.... but I did say no to a lot of people wanting guns and ammo.
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Other than less travel and visiting others, my family didn’t notice a difference.
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In before the chest thumpers that swear you will die if your body fat ratio is over 3% and you can't ruck 60# for 20 miles non stop.
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I didn’t do anything to prepare. Everything was fine. Never even ran out of TP. I think my wife couldn’t find her preferred dishwasher detergent. Oh the horror.
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The biggest frustration about COVID is that the vast majority of people learned nothing.
It has really caused me to question human intelligence. Even my dog learns from her experiences. |
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I didn't do anything and I am not a "prepper". Got low on toilet paper for a few days. I have other paper products if needed. Junk mail kept coming in the mail box for example but never actually needed it.
Not being able to buy a video card I wanted sucked a little and the mask thing was dumb. About it really. Being prepared is good, not saying it isn't. Preppers acted like it was going to be a much bigger deal than it really was though. I don't think anyone actually missed a meal. |
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I am not sure what exactly I needed to prep for covid, my tolerance for retardation?
The only real change for me was a few people told me to put a mask on and a handful of items were either less available or went up in price. |
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huh?
but nothing really happened other than some people getting sick and everyone had to where masks for awhile. Even the big TP shortage never seemed that real. There was no point where I wasn't able to buy TP |
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Quoted: I am not sure what exactly I needed to prep for covid, my tolerance for retardation? The only real change for me was a few people told me to put a mask on and a handful of items were either less available or went up in price. View Quote We got lucky. Covid was a freebie, a practice round. You use practice rounds to prepare for the real thing. It’s silly to waste a practice round. |
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Quoted: I didn’t do anything to prepare. Everything was fine. Never even ran out of TP. I think my wife couldn’t find her preferred dishwasher detergent. Oh the horror. View Quote right, i think maybe I had to make a stop at the carniceria to load up the freezer a little more because walmart was about out for a day and we found a new pizza dough recipe without yeast. Pretty delicious flatbread with greek yogurt |
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Friends who still don't own guns?
Sounds like a liability. Keep your mouth shut about preps around those types especially. |
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Quoted: We got lucky. Covid was a freebie, a practice round. You use practice rounds to prepare for the real thing. It’s silly to waste a practice round. View Quote if there is really something much more substantial nationwide or globally your preps probably won't matter a whole hell of a lot. |
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Quoted: huh? but nothing really happened other than some people getting sick and everyone had to where masks for awhile. Even the big TP shortage never seemed that real. There was no point where I wasn't able to buy TP View Quote Yep. Nothing happened. I don’t understand all of the people referencing “lock down”, or “quarantine”. We traveled all over the west in ‘20, and ‘21. |
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We were fairly prepared before the China virus hit.
A few weeks or a month or so before the lockdowns and all the craziness started I could see it coming. Just watching what was happening overseas clued me in big time. I was out shopping during those times stocking up on perishables and last minute items and getting ready, and in all the stores, it was just business as usual. I was shocked so few could see it coming. Once it hit in earnest the stores were bare. I had already done all I needed to do. I’m sure there were a ton of people living in apartments that didn’t have so much as a can of beans. I bet most of those people didn’t learn a damn thing. That was just a practice run for what could really go down in the future. ETA - I have my own pictures of the local stores completely stripped bare. I keep them as a reminder not to ever take it for granted the shelves will be full. I think it depends on locality. Where I’m at, every store was stripped clean for miles around and they didn’t restock in any real way for a very long time. |
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Quoted: Yep. Nothing happened. I don’t understand all of the people referencing “lock down”, or “quarantine”. We traveled all over the west in ‘20, and ‘21. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: huh? but nothing really happened other than some people getting sick and everyone had to where masks for awhile. Even the big TP shortage never seemed that real. There was no point where I wasn't able to buy TP Yep. Nothing happened. I don’t understand all of the people referencing “lock down”, or “quarantine”. We traveled all over the west in ‘20, and ‘21. We opened the pool early. Friends were over all the time. It was good times. |
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The two year scamdemic was probably the best time of my life.
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Quoted: if there is really something much more substantial nationwide or globally your preps probably won't matter a whole hell of a lot. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: We got lucky. Covid was a freebie, a practice round. You use practice rounds to prepare for the real thing. It’s silly to waste a practice round. if there is really something much more substantial nationwide or globally your preps probably won't matter a whole hell of a lot. That’s what is so disappointing about it. If more people used it as a learning opportunity, we’d be in an improved position. But they didn’t. It doesn’t do much good if you are the only one who prepares for the next one, unless you are willing to completely live off grid. For the most part, a virus must be fought together as a community. As much as we like to ridicule “we are all in this together”. When it comes to managing a deadly virus (not a practice round like Covid), it is actually true. Because the only way to defeat it is not to spread it. Viruses die when they are not passed on to other hosts. The other lesson (that I’m sure we’ll ignore) is that you can’t force people to do this. They just do the opposite out of spite. So it can’t be mandated. That just backfires. But I would bet my last dollar the government didn’t learn this. Which puts us back to square one. The people didn’t learn anything. The government didn’t learn anything. We are fucked it the real thing happens because we wasted this great opportunity to learn. |
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Quoted: I don't give a fuck about WuHan flu now and I didn't give a fuck 2 years ago. As for "prepping"….well…..a man should be prepared to take care of himself and his family. that certainly didn't start with this last round of bullshit. View Quote This, exactly. For as far back as I can recall I've had a pantry full of canned goods, a couple extra cases of TP and paper towels, several cases of bottled water and stuff like that. My grandparents all lived through the Great Depression and lived very much the same way. |
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They didn't need it last time, they won't need it next time... at least that's their train of thought.
I know lots of people who are both much better and much worse prepared than I am. |
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I was lucky in that I was doing a detail for work. I'd just bought one of those huge multi-packs of TP before the big "two week" hiatus. It was months before TP was available again in any quantity down here. Which is stupid because we make all that stuff here in the US. As some folks say, sheep/cattle/people have two speeds, grazing and stampede.
There were a bunch of folks at work that were asking me if I had any spare ammo I could sell them. I don't understand a "gun person" not having a stockpile of ammo. Almost the same as people who don't have more than a day or two of food at home. Just don't understand that mindset. |
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not a prepper, made a grocery store run to pick up a little shit when idiots started panicking. I think the most major thing I did was install a bidet in the master bath. It was all a big circle jerk and just meh.
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Quoted: ETA - I have my own pictures of the local stores completely stripped bare. I keep them as a reminder not to ever take it for granted the shelves will be full. I think it depends on locality. Where I'm at, every store was stripped clean for miles around and they didn't restock in any real way for a very long time. View Quote "Stripped clean", I don't believe you. Stores actually having no food to sell, at all, would have meant people were actually going hungry. That would have been all over the national news/internet. It never shut up at the time, it was shortage news 24/7/365. Nothing on the news/internet said people actually had zero food. It never showed a "stripped clean" grocery store. The rest of the country's stores looked like mine. Picked over, some products not available, some products rationed at times, long lines at times, but they were not stripped clean. They had food to sell and their doors were open. |
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Quoted: I am not sure what exactly I needed to prep for covid, my tolerance for retardation? The only real change for me was a few people told me to put a mask on and a handful of items were either less available or went up in price. View Quote Was unprepared for the retardation over the sniffles. |
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2019 was a really good year for business and I worked a lot taking care of my customers from NC to AK.
I was about to turn 40 and my gut feeling kept saying something was over the horizon. What was it? I had no idea. All I knew was work work work work work work work and it paid off. My wife and I made a few changes last year and this year in how we purchase food, etc. Our grocery bills now are VERY reasonable because of those changes and when we see shortages at the store, there's usually a reserve of 2-3 weeks behind it. Some former coworkers mentioned the idea of buying a cow, so we all bought a 1/4, and I'd already purchased a chest freezer. Next year I'll probably buy another 200lbs of beef, lamb, and poultry to keep the chest freezer stocked. |
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Quoted: Some shelves empty? Yes. Couldn't get the brands you wanted? Yep. "Stripped clean", I don't believe you. Stores actually having no food to sell, at all, would have meant people were actually going hungry. That would have been all over the national news. It never shut up at the time, it was shortage news 24/7/365. Nothing on the news said people actually had zero food. It never showed a "stripped clean" grocery store. The news showed me that the rest of the country's stores looked like mine. Picked over, some products not available, long lines at times, but they were not stripped clean. They had food to sell and their doors were open. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: ETA - I have my own pictures of the local stores completely stripped bare. I keep them as a reminder not to ever take it for granted the shelves will be full. I think it depends on locality. Where I'm at, every store was stripped clean for miles around and they didn't restock in any real way for a very long time. "Stripped clean", I don't believe you. Stores actually having no food to sell, at all, would have meant people were actually going hungry. That would have been all over the national news. It never shut up at the time, it was shortage news 24/7/365. Nothing on the news said people actually had zero food. It never showed a "stripped clean" grocery store. The news showed me that the rest of the country's stores looked like mine. Picked over, some products not available, long lines at times, but they were not stripped clean. They had food to sell and their doors were open. That’s because it was a practice round. Consider what did happen, and then extrapolate it for the real thing. |
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Quoted: That's because it was a practice round. Consider what did happen, and then extrapolate it for the real thing. View Quote I am not saying prepping is bad. Prepping can most certainly be good. I am saying that I didn't and there was plenty of food to buy. If I had prepped, I might have been able to eat my favorite brands instead of what was available, but nobody went to bed hungry with money in their pocket. |
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Quoted: I don't give a fuck about WuHan flu now and I didn't give a fuck 2 years ago. As for "prepping"….well…..a man should be prepared to take care of himself and his family. that certainly didn't start with this last round of bullshit. View Quote covid was a scam / power grab, i agree complete bullshit. but it did shake things up a bit. I guess what I am trying to say is it was a hell of a wake up call that a lot of people ignored. |
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I was never a "prepper" but always an Outdoor gun guy. In Dec 2019 when I heard the covid chatter and then started seeing people/govt reaction that all changed.
We bought a house in the burbs but my backyard is 25 acres of conservation land with creeks and a river. Furthest house back in the neighborhood. Deer literally nap next to my porch should I ever need a meal. Unlimited supply of river water with a Berkey to filter as needed. Bought a freeze dryer that has run virtually non-stop since Feb. Stacked hundreds of meals deep. Improved all storage capabilities and researched all scholary articles I could find on food storage and processing. Had a baby, wife is producing milk like it's her job. Will freeze dry excess. Stacked deep with goodwill clothes and other finds to last him till 2 with no issues. Also an insane amount of diapers and wipes lol Dog food went up $30 per month over this year, stacked a year supply but am moving to freeze drying because I can make actual food for the same price as brown kibble now. Paid off my car, upped our savings and investments by 10s of thousands by cutting back on everything and getting a better job. Now we're on autopilot continuing to save as much as possible (while looking for good investment opportunities). All and all, I learned my lesson in about March 2020. |
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To this day, I still place all parcels and inbound mail into a ozone generator enclosure for 3 hours. I then let the mail sit for 7 days before handling them with gloves and a mask on.
Can’t be too careful. |
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Quoted: To this day, I still place all parcels and inbound mail into a ozone generator enclosure for 3 hours. I then let the mail sit for 7 days before handling them with gloves and a mask on. Can’t be too careful. View Quote Bleach in a makeshift kiddie pool decon shower in the garage? I really wish I could remember who all posted stuff like that. It was hilarious. |
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I wasn't as prepared as I should have been. But when everyone began to go crazy and buy up all the hand sanitizer I told my wife shit was going to get weird and other things will be next. We went on one of the most epic grocery/supply runs I've ever done. A week later the toilet paper thing was just beginning in my area and I made one last trip for supplies and food.
Got one of the last 18ft pools at Walmart and tbh it was one of the best summers I've had. Got close with the family and really enjoyed it. Was definitely an eye opener once most all the meat was gone and shelves were bare. |
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Quoted: covid was a scam / power grab, i agree complete bullshit. but it did shake things up a bit. I guess what I am trying to say is it was a hell of a wake up call that a lot of people ignored. View Quote I understand your point and don't disagree to an extent. My point is that 99% of those folks that got a "wake up call" are either back to business as usual or will be in the near future but they'll have a few extra rolls of toilet paper and may some canned beans on hand. Will they actually be somewhat prepared for a calamity that knocks their world to its knees? Most likely not. This dependance on the GOV has been grown and nurtured for decades and during the COVID fiasco we simply got a taste as to how effective that conditioning is. We've seen the GOV warning against people that are ID'd as "preppers". During COVID we also saw weaponization of assistance by the GOV as punishment to Red states and population centers, e.g Monoclonal antibodies being withheld to FL. We've seen 1st hand the weaponization of US code and laws against political opponents…..and so on. So the dilemma isn't just about COVID or a disruption of the supply chain. It's also about a steady-state LIC (Low intensity conflict) campaign being conducted by the Democrat party against their political opponents. Make no mistake here…the Communists want you voting for their agenda or they want you dead….and they're willing to act to make either happen. That's not hyperbole, that's a historical fact. As for prepping the single most important thing that ANYONE can do is get their minds right and in the good physical condition, and if needed lose weight. How many of these born-again preppers are obese or morbidly obese? Do you need 6-12 months of chow, the ability to get water and some guns/ammo? Sure you do but unless you can withstand significant stress, both mentally and physically, you're fucked. As for toilet paper it's a silly, stupid pseudo-panacea for fat fuckers that are most likely going die anyways. They'll just do so with a clean ass. Attached File |
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Quoted: For the most part , they had access to the same info as the rest of us, but chose to remain willfully ignorant. oh well, too bad, so sad. Me and mine : https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fg6ijom6c5vu31.jpg&f=1&nofb=1 View Quote You really felt the need to post “me and mine” with a shitty pic from a shitty move twice? Lol |
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Nothing really changed in my house. We lived life as we always have, save for a few places where we were forced to mask up in order to go. We didn't get the jab, we didn't test for it, we didn't miss work, we didn't hide from the world, we just lived as we always have.
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There really wasn't much more craziness than normal, other than TP shortages. So my friends who aren't in any way prepped were not really impacted much. I did use it as an excuse to stock up on some emergency rations and water, but its sitting down in the basement. I will keep more emergency food and water on hand going forward but nothing happened that I can crow to my non prepared friends about.
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Quoted: I didn’t do anything to prepare. Everything was fine. Never even ran out of TP. I think my wife couldn’t find her preferred dishwasher detergent. Oh the horror. View Quote This.... The stores were still open. We got take out from local restaurants instead of going out to eat, etc. Wasn't much of a big deal. It sucked that the schools closed, and my kids are still paying for that debacle. |
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