Wednesday, October 31, 2012

"And they say preppers are crazy..."

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. A reader just sent me a link to the photo below.


This photo is worth at least two thousand words...

36 comments:

  1. Now that picture is crazy. People wait for the last minute to pick up items for emergencies and there's nothing available but junk food. As yo can see, all the snack food is gone.

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    1. Several years ago, during an ice storm, one of my neighbors made a two-truck beer run as "preparation"-if ya gots plenty o' beer, I guess, you can get through any disaster..

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  2. What a mess, the poor folks that work at that store I am sure had to clean up before they could return home to their own families at a time of great stress

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  3. Sandy barely touched my area-- some rain, some wind, the rivers are full and only the low areas flooded, but no one lives there. We ventured out Tuesday, some errands to run, and stopped at the local food store to pick up a few items and while not exactly like the above picture, it was pretty close! No bread, no meat, no milk, all the pre-made bagged salad was gone, but plain heads of lettuce were still there! Go figure! We're in the mountains, with plenty of farms, orchards and garden-growing, canning, and hunting people, so it surprised me to see the store like that. Guess it's the younger ones that don't do any of that prepping stuff clearing out the shelves.

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  4. Ummmm, someone missed a bottle of mayo!
    Nice photo!
    Melissa

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  5. this photo is sadly a reflection of what passes as getting ready for bad stuff fixing to happen. pure stupidity at its best. today i am seeing lines at gas stations (on tv news) where people are burning five gallons of gas in order to fill a five gallon can with gas-duh?

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  6. Well it is the snack center after all - people do desperate things when faced with a sugar crash.

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  7. Look out! I'm diving for that jar of Miracle Whip! So strange how this photo affects you psychologically. Puts me instantly in panic mode.

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    1. Most of my relatives would see that pic and be in instant panic mode. I saw it and just started laughing. Not because I don't have sympathy for people, but just at the utter and sheer stupidity required to have been warned about something a week in advance and absolutely REFUSE to do ANYTHING about it. The mental disconnect required is literally mind-boggling.

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  8. Some gummint departments tell everyone to be prepared. Other gummint departments tell everyone they'll be there to help. None of the gummint departments can actually get any meaningful get help to anyone in a timely fashion. At the same time other gummint departments investigate, harass, threaten and prosecute folks for being prepared. My response to the entire gummint mess is unprintable.

    Jeff - Tucson

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    1. I would say loss life is now at approximately 60. This was because FEMA was already there before"Sandy" hit.

      Pretty impressive when you are talking about millions in harms way of the worst storm in decades (or ever) putting the most populated part of our country under siege.

      It kind of puts the previous administration to shame after how Katrina was handled....but hey....they were just poor black people....The system can work when we have the right people in charge with the right reverence for life. BJ

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    2. Give it time. As the next few days unfold, we will start to hear the non-prepared whining about not getting any assistance.

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    3. So a big storm now requires a big government???

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    4. What the govt does is tell you to prepare for two weeks of outages and have food and water and supplies ready.

      Then they label anyone who does so as a 'Prepper' and profile them as possible 'Domestic Terrorist'.

      Gotta love it.

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  9. I believe in prepping to a point.....but all the prepping in the world isn't going to help you if your whole house is washed away or you can't get to work do to washed out bridges and roads......

    This is why government and FEMA are so necessary for major catastrophies like "Sandy". (That's why Obama is now Christie's best friend).

    Not even the states by themselves could deal with something this catastrophic.....and to privatize it like Romney wants??? Those billions could easily turn into trillions if they are coming from the bottom line. BJ

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    1. But if your extended family and good friends prep, at least there will be someone to help you out until the government shows up.

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  10. That's an old picture of a store that was going out of business--not from the hurricane--but it still makes a good point.

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  11. That's an old picture of a store that was going out of business that I've seen before--not from Sandy--but it still makes a good point.

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  12. Keep drinking the cool aid BJ.

    But stay out of my neighborhood where the neighbors all will come to help one another. To a man/woman.

    Personal responsibility in this country is not dead. YET!

    Winston

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    1. I have never suggested that we not come together with neighbors and community.....in fact that's a "no brainer". I'm waiting for you to see the bigger picture...

      Or just maybe.....you are already versed in fixing the grid, welding bridges, laying asphault, repairing cell phone towers or moving beaches??...who knows!? BJ














      /

      Last time I checked, there is more to this country than just your immediate neighborhood for you to survive. BJ

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  13. BJ, I respectfully disagree with you on privatizing the relief help. Which would you rather have, a waiting line for a government "help" check with all the strings attached, or a local patriot group, boots, chainsaws, hammers, along with food and water for assistance? I don't think our Founding Fathers ever intended for this country to become so reliant on government as we are today. We need to become more self-reliant and depend on ourselves, and our fellow man than on the government.
    Just my 2 cents. PK

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    1. Have you been listening to the news?

      Obama has stated that everything be taken care of ASAP and to cut through all the red tape.

      He set up the 15 minute rule which allows no more than 15 minutes to receive a return phone call from anyone at FEMA or any other needed goverment agency handling this crisis.

      You see.....leaders are important and CAN make a difference in government. BJ

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    2. What one persons ASAP is, apparently is different than others. Have a conversation with someone in the storm zone, and see who is helping. FEMA? Red Cross? or is it neighbor helping neighbor? There are STILL whole neighborhoods that can not be accessed.

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  14. BJ, the layers of red tape can't be removed that easily. Stretched, yes, but not removed. Yes, leaders are important, but Obama could have done this ahead of time, the knowledge that the storm was going to be severe was well known.

    I'd rather rely on PK, or someone like him/her, than the fed.gov if I had to live through something like this again, the bigger picture you referenced leads to bigger strings attached to the assistance.

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    1. Evidently they CAN and maybe this WAS done ahead of time....so what?...The object is to DO SOMETHING and that’s what’s being done now as I write this.

      Just ask Chris Christie how important government is now as he looks around at the immeasurable devastation of Jersey. Neighbors helping neighbors isn’t a big enough band aid for this disaster.

      (If Bush was leading the charge......I could almost concur with what you just wrote.)

      Once we stop the hemorrhaging of massive amounts of tax monies that flow freely from loop holes, tax free billionaire corporations, off shore tax shelters and ridiculous oil subsidies…we may find a huge recovery of well deserved monies that could be used for the benefit of the people of this country……especially in situations like “Sandy”. BJ

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  15. Phyllis (N/W Jersey)November 1, 2012 at 5:09 PM

    When are people going to learn??? We knew a week before the storm was going to hit it would be a bad one. We got the extra gas for the genny to power our well and our vehicles were full. Laundry was done. Food was cooked and in the fridge ready just to be heated up on a camp stove and our grill. Plenty of wood was stored in the garage to heat our home. Milk jugs were filled with water to flush the toilets and to wash. On the night of the storm the power went out. We were ready. We had several trees down but none hit the house. If they did we had tarps. My son's house had a big pine tree fall on it. We all helped getting it taken down. I would NEVER rely on the government to take care of me...I would die waiting and waiting for them. Good luck to the people wanting to call FEMA - the lines were down. Neighbors helped each other. That's the way it should be. People here in Jersey can't get gas. Police are armed at any station that is open. I hope people are shocked enough to see what is happening and will be prepared for the next emergency.

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  16. folks had a really hard time getting hooked up with fema in mississippi during and after katrina..mississippians took care of their own...

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    1. Thats because FEMA during Katrina was a joke....and because of that...the death rate and suffering lasted much longer due to lackadasical leadership.

      With regard to the 15 min. calls, they were referring to communication with organizers and rescue efforts...not personal calls. Those communications have obviously have been temporarily severed.

      Some people prepare....some people don't...but all life is important to a government that cares for it's people in desperate, emergency situations like this one. BJ

      Lets face it...recovery is going to take awhile under the best of conditions...whether government or just neighborly help and self survival.

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    2. Hmmm, no judgement,but sounds like another "plant."

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    3. Not sure what you mean by another "plant"....I guess I can't stand by and witness the daily hypocrcy of the right. These are my own personal opinions.

      It's kind of like when Paul Ryan berated Obama's job stimulous......but wanted to keep it hushed about accepting stimulous in his own state...In fact when first approached he had a sudden attack of memory loss.

      People in "Sandy" will be more than happy to accept help from this government while there will always be those on the sidelines claiming "they can do it by themselves". Rubbish!

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    4. You must mean that "help" that the folks from Staten Island still haven't seen from the government.

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  17. I just find the comment hilarious. People kept asking me what we were doing to prepare. REALLY?! Prepare? Well, we move the animals out of the electric fence to something really fenced. We put the chickens in. I made sure all the cloth diapers were washed in case the power went out. We put all the toys away in the yard. Um...? We try to be prepared ALL the time, not just when suddenly a storm is on the radar. We aren't the biggest "preppers" in the world, but boy you wanna see me get irritated with those comments from people "Oh I know where to go, you're WAAAY more prepared that me!". JUST IRKS ME! And Im not even talking about what we actually prepare for. I've got real photos from a store near here the day that sandy was coming in.... The water aisle is EMPTY.

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  18. Apparently the anonymous person above thinks that FEMA is a first responder. It isn't. It is a last responder. City, county, and state government are the first responders, depending on whether or not your elected officials are actually competent. Choose wisely.

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  19. Yep, that pic about sums it up. Reposted to FB. :)

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  20. I think I have to be my own first responder. That's what Sandy and some of these other disasters have taught me. I can't possibly wait on the government. We live in a hurricane area so we have been raised to be prepared. We didn't have FEMA in 1985 when Kate rendered us without electricity for nearly a month, but we were prepared and made it through quite nicely. We didn't starve nor have to go to the store the day of the storm. It's all about being prepared.

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  21. With Katrina, there were so many problems. I was a Game Warden from Texas sent in to evacuate people that were trapped in the aftermath. When people rushed in to help after Sandy, some relief (powerlines workers) were turned away, because they weren't Union workers. Once again, the Union is looking for our best interest.

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