Time for a little gatekeeping

Posted by chargoggagog@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 21 comments

I see a few commenters here suggesting that buying up goods now is just good prepping and that anyone else who misses out is just an idiot. This is wrong. Preppers procured their goods months if not years ago. People buying up all the TP and hand sanitizer now are just reactionary assholes, not preppers. Prepping is a choice that occurs before a panic, not during. If you didn’t stock up over time, you are a hoarder or perhaps worse, an opportunist. In times like these we need to come together and support one another. That doesn’t mean giving away your supplies, but it does mean living in a society. Rant over.

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21 Comments

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AntiquesWhisperer@reddit

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TehHamburgler@reddit

I still wonder how this is going to effect me when I shop if/when things return to normal. Like people that went through the great depression were very reluctant to throw anything away as they aged. Watched my grandpa gladly take home a coffee can of free rusty nails from a garage sale, makes me think I am going to be old and buying a case of TP every time I go to the store because I remember. I was there.

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chargoggagog@reddit (OP)

Oh yes, I think many of us will take our preps far more seriously in the future. Those of us who do prep will likely broaden the scope of what we think we need to include... toilet paper... I wouldn’t have guessed! But that among other things for sure.

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Unlucky-External5648@reddit

Just testing to see if I’m banned from posting.

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Fun-Brilliant2909@reddit

That's right.

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ArmyVet_RN@reddit

What if you are new to preparedness (< 5 years)?

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Ant_head_squirrel@reddit

Real prepping is years in the making. Older generations almost always stocked up on sale items to take advantage of opportunities to buy a little extra. When I was growing up it wasn’t unusual for my parents to have about two months of food in chest freezer and one month in the pantry. They still shopped weekly for produce.

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Me4nowSEUSA@reddit

It’s a 3yo conversation, so why not join in. I get people being upset by hoarding and panic buying and we should all be preppers, but man, as a community we’ll cut off our nose to spite are face, just because we want to be seen as being “right” and not “crazy.” I’ll tell you right now, I have TP. Should the world go to hell again, I promise you I’m going to be buying more TP. Just human nature. The difference is, I’ll be okay if they run out. But I still want more. I don’t have enough for infinity. IBS. So while I like to think I’ve made good decisions, I still want more. Also, I don’t cast a huge net on everyone who “wasn’t prepared.” Not everyone has been in a position to stock up on supplies. People are turning 18 and going out on their own for the first time ever, but we’re only 14 or 15 when COVID happened. They don’t have a huge stockpile. Guys and girls maybe ending their 4 year stints from the Army or Navy and never had anything but a barracks room or rack on board a ship. What were they supposed to be doing?? I just wish more people would enjoy the smugness internally and still be willing to help new people instead of, “you’ve had 10 years to prepare!”

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Imaginary_Report_618@reddit

I agree I’m on my 7th year of collecting and gathering medical supplies seed banks and been slowly growing my greenhouse and farm more animals but it’s not hoarding when we can help others when the time comes, it’s our responsibility to teach them too. That’s why I think it’s important to have this community so we can learn more and in Fl we have good practice when hurricane season hits… I couldn’t imagine turning someone away if they needed help during a storm. I think being prepared and hoarding are two very different things!

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Alert-Star5596@reddit

don’t even get mad at being called a hoarder if you know what you’re doing. /endrant or whatever. let them suffer when they have nothing to trade for your hoarding jk don’t do that either

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brandybear89@reddit

Yeah all these comments “all those damn preppers are hoarding “ No wrong! Preppers don’t hoard, we prepared and had no reason to panic buy. The only ones panic buying are the unprepared. Side note: not at one point ever in my years of prepping have we ever taken more toiletries then needed.

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therealharambe420@reddit

Yeah I bought an extra bag of tp every time I went to costco last year. My stockpile has not contributed to the current lack of supply.

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chargoggagog@reddit (OP)

This is how I do it too, buy an extra bag every time you go and you can build up a stockpile in no time without stressing the system.

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ThisJokeMadeMeSad@reddit

Tbh, I do the same, but not out of a sense of civic duty. If my whole pantry magically spoiled at the same time, I'd hoard and bulk buy. Don't get me wrong, the pressure on supply isn't meaningless to me, just lower on my priorities than things like food and water security. I don't rush out to hoard bulk because buying in bulk makes cycling, budgeting, and organizing harder. So, to me, bulk buys are for those rare deals and discounts that justify the extra work.

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therealharambe420@reddit

That's the best way to compile all preps slow and steady over a few years.

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hello_josh@reddit

It's also the best way to cycle through your perishable preps so you always have fresh stuff going on and oldest going out.

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Timely_Peanut_6618@reddit

Excellent point

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Timely_Peanut_6618@reddit

It's sad our species needs shit paper. Animals don't. We're domesticated. You can thank out alien parents for that.

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BadSubject3507@reddit

It depends, there is some reason to buy the things you need before you can't get it anymore, but also I'd say don't be a dick you should have stuff put up already by now unless you are new to prepping. The point of stockpiling is so you don't have to fight for the stuff when everyone else is panic buying.

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ThisJokeMadeMeSad@reddit

I bought as much milk as I could before covid, instead of wasting money on boring fridge repairs. I'll get the last laugh when cheese prices go up.

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KING_zAnGzA@reddit

I can make do with the skills and things I have. At least for a bit before I need to re supply.