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Preppers vs Survivalists

6K views 30 replies 30 participants last post by  Naya 
#1 ·
#9 ·
That's what I was thinking too. People Prep in order to survive (or be more comfortable or whatever) when times get tough. So a prepper is kind of a survivalist when you look at it that way. Maybe the label just depends on what extent you prep. Heck, even the government tells us to prepare with one of their 3 day survival kits. I guess that doesn't fall under their label of "survivalist". But when does it? A week? A month? A year?
 
#5 ·
As far back as I can remember we were always stocked up on canned goods, water, emer supplies, etc for hurricane season. Not on some doomsday preppers level, but we could survive in the house for a week or two without leaving and be fine.

Now-a-days I just buy a couple extra cans of food, or a case of water when I go shopping just in case. Adds up pretty fast too.

I'm prepared to sit on my a$$ for a couple weeks and do nothing if need be.

SHTF and I have to evade a evil government, go out and hunt food, try not to catch bird flu, and defend against raiders...Yeah I most likely wont survive.
 
#10 ·
I agree... I would not call myself a survivalist. Not by a long shot. In fact not at all.

I dont have a clue how to survive in the woods. :xeye: Only camping I have done is a campfire in the ashtray in a hotel room.

I consider a survivalist the mac daddy of preppers.

I have only stored food... I wouldn't even consider myself worthy of being called a prepper yet.. but it has made me learn more and more each day.

Those guys that can head off into the woods with only a knife. Wow.
Not me.. I wouldnt be worthy enough to clean their boots.
 
#11 ·
If you ask 10 different people, I'm sure you'll get 10 different answers.

Anyway, I would consider myself a prepper, stockpiling what I need to survive a shorter term SHTF event, hoping that life as we know it, will return to some sort of "normalcy" in a short period of time.

Survivalists are, in my opinion, preparing for a life changing teotwawki event, where there will be no return to normalcy.

I am here to learn how to become better prepared for the short term and, eventually, how to be totally self-sufficient, or a full-fledged survivalist.
 
#14 ·
Is survival something evil that needs to be avoided? Why should anyone care if others consider them a survivalist? Should survival be considered a crime? The only way to be innocent of the crime of survival, is to die.

We all prep for anything because nobody can predict the future, other than to say for a fact that bad things happen. Everyone has certian fears that they worry about more than others. My biggest fear is economic collapse followed by oppressive Orwellian government.

When the evil Marxists took over Czarist Russia, they murdered 20,000,000 people. The fact that the term "survivalist" is now becoming something ugly has me wondering how many people the Marxists want to kill when they take over America.

I honestly hope & pray that I'm just being a silly tin foil hatter but, it does seem like our leaders are doing everything in their power to weaken & destroy this country. I'm actually not surprised that survival is now considered a bad thing, when everything else is so completely upsidedown. :upsidedown:

Just remember that if/when they come for your guns, they will be takeing them in order to prevent you from commiting the "crime" of survival.
 
#18 ·
Good article. Thanks.

I think survivalists and preppers can be different or one in the same. You have your extremists on both sides of the fence. :rolleyes:

I agree with Jerry. We prepare for natural disasters mostly, but the concept also applies to all the extremist scenarios to a certain degree. That degree is determined by the individual. :)
 
#19 ·
From a "prepper" perspective, I think that someone who gets their ducks in order, saves something (preferably in food, tools or precious metals) for the future, and stores food as a hedge against future inflation and/or availability is a prepper, but not necessrily a survivalist. Learning basic homesteading skills, having the ability to hunt, etc., all lend to your future ability to survive in an uncertain world, but again don't necessarily earn you the title of survivalist. In mainstream media's eyes, it seems they have made the two words synonymous, and as the media and our country's leaders continue to vilify the word "prepper" as being anti-social, anti-government, even potentially a terrorist threat, then I see alot of preppers quietly step back and while they continue to prepare they do so in a quiet, non-attention-grabbing manner. Purchasing food and supplies with cash, for example, avoiding using your grocery store loyalty card when buying food, etc., are all ways to stay under the radar so that when the government want to target people for hoarding food and supplies, you won't be on their list.

I would consider myself to be a prepper but not a survivalist. This is not to say that I'm not hoping to survive whatever comes my way, but realistically when the hordes of heavily armed gangsters come roaming the countryside to rape and pillage, I'm going to either hide out or hightail it over to a survivalist friend's place. I'll bring the food.
 
#20 ·
I thought this was gonna be a WWF match....:)
 
#22 ·
When I started doing this preppers didn't exist. Now we come in all sorts of weird flavors. I guess I am a homesteader with violent tendencies :eek:: but we are really all the same. Actions must suit the needs of the moment. What works for one is disaster for another and if we try to exceed our comfort zone we can create our own personal SHTF. Be what fits for you and do the best you can with what you have. No fancy definitions or rules. Generally rules just box you in and prevent you from finding workable solutions.
 
#23 ·
I am definitly in the survivalist corner, one who is learning every skill and technique possible to survive where ever I find myself. No one knows whats coming. If a person is stockpiling goods and it gets swept away in a flood or overtaken in an invasion, could I relocate and survive? This is my personal question.

I strongly feel that many humans have lost the ability to find water, let alone make it drinkable, we won't even touch on "purified".

The human race is losing the ability to raise food, or improvise with what they find. I've met many "cooks" who couldn't figure out to do with a five pound sack of flour if it was dropped on their doorstep, let alone acorns or wild onions.

Many people couldn't find shelter, or build something to protect themselves against the elements in an emergency.
Old fashioned, homesteading, survival skills are an art. They are the foundation of American expansion and I fear they are being lost.

I've read one of the down falls of the Native American culture is when they started trading white folks for stuff they used to make. They stopped tanning hides, quit making arrows, depended on the steel of the white man. Long held survival skills were lost because a couple beaver skins bought what it took hours to make.

Thanks for starting this thread. Survivalists are a good thing, who cares what the media makes us out to be. I don't think we should ever be ashamed to admit we're one of them.
 
#25 ·
I put myself in the prepper category! I'm excellent at adapting and figure things out very fast. I have a skill set that lends to my living environment I'm currently in. Survivalist have gotten a bad tag as of late, yet do nothing to shed that image. Not that Natgeo has made preppers look any better.

I'm also less paranoid than most around here that consider themselves, either or. I don't think we are headed towards doomsday. I prep and stock up because I worry about the worst and pray fro the best. I'm looking for ideals to make my life less dependent on the grid and God forbid something happens where I need to use my supplies, skills or preps I'm ready and not caught with my pants down. In other words I don't think we are going into a new world order or long term 'civil war' I just want to be ready.
 
#26 ·
This is how I view the two. If it was just me I would consider myself a survivalist. I hunt, fish, and have worked on primitive skills for years. Men have survived on their own with nothing but their own skills for centuries. Look at the mountainmen. However, I have a family and I can't see them living like that. That has me combining prepper and survivalist. I'll store, hunt, grow what I can to make their lives easier.
 
#27 · (Edited)
People have been preparing and surviving for thousands of years only they did not put a NAME on it like you see in the mass media now.

They did this in this country and worldwide.

Like one man (?) says on here, "Labels are for cans."

He was right.

Why some people think this is some NEW IDEA because it is in pop culture is beyond me?! Geez Louise. :confused:

Geesh - like it is some NEW thing to be prepared in their life? Yes, some people are 'dense' and do not THINK or plan ahead but I do not think that ALL people are like that. Many people plan ahead and they come in all classes financially.

People who use their brains and common sense have prepared for all kinds of things in peace and in war time. In all kinds of weather and financial circumstances. They come from ALL parts of the country too. North, south, east and west. They come in fly over country too! They come in all flavors! They are city folks, country folks, suburban folks, small towns, you name it. They come in all ages too. Some were taught by their parents/mentors and some were self taught.

A lot of these 'prepared people' who used their brains, common sense, hard work and money are not posting on forums or shouting from their rooftops, "Look at me and look what I did to prepare!"

Some people have survived situations and they LOST it all due to a world war, a civil war, a depression, becoming a refugee, an orphan and/or whatever... sigh. Sometimes those people managed to survive better using their skills, brain power and common sense than what some guy/gal could do with a basement full of supplies and tons more!

Your mileage may vary.

You prepare as best as you can and you survive. However, S!!! can still happen in life and no matter how well you prepare for horrific situations... bad stuff can still happen to good people. So you DEAL with that too. You survive or you do not!

When my late husband was dying of cancer... he used to say a few lines in various ways. S_t happens in war and S-t happens in life - DEAL WITH IT!

Your mileage may vary.

Peace.

Catherine
 
#30 ·
Survivalist / prepper

Most country folk fall into one category or the other, I a poor country boy raised on a dirt farm, taught to hunt, fish, trap starting at the age of 5. never had store bread or goods until I went into the Army did a tour in France, then trained in Ft Bragg,,,off to Vietnam for a tour,this led to another tour in Nam. I guess what I'm getting to is Have you ever been shot, Have you ever had to shoot someone,,,,Did you hesitate? What is all the prepping worth if you can't honestly answer this?
 
#31 ·
I curious what defines a survivalist? Is it how many guns and how much ammo they have? Then I'm a survivalist. Is it that they can hunt, butcher game? Good there. Is it that they can "live off the land?" Yeah try that sometime. Living off the land completely is a fantasy. Even mountain men in the old west couldn't do it. They got supplies from towns by selling furs, etc.
And on the prepper side. Do they only prepare for natural disasters? Or shorter term stuff? I'm a prepper and I prep for survival. So labels get me confused a lot!
 
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