If you live in New England (as I do), or frankly anywhere in the Northeast, today is our last day on earth. You see, a snowstorm is going to wipe us all out. It’s Snowmageddon! At least, that has been the buildup on any and every broadcast and cable outlet.
Mayors and Governors have taken to the airwaves to warn of the impending doom. In Rhode Island, Governor Gina Raimondo urged residents to prepare their families, homes and elderly neighbors ahead of the storm.
Meanwhile, Boston Mayor Marty Welsh canceled school in the city on Tuesday and Wednesday. In Boston, crews stockpiled plows with salt and sand for clearing snowy and icy roads. Officials warned that heavy and wet snow could trigger power outages. Of course, every forecaster has predicted very cold temperatures and extremely high winds, so salt and sand will do absolutely no good against light, fluffy, blowing/drifting snow. Therefore, their efforts may just waste time, manpower, and money on preparation that will not help.
Walsh said “Take this very seriously. Don’t wait to the last-minute because the storm is giving us a 24-hour head start to get ready for it.” Over the weekend and into Monday, grocery stores were packed and many shoppers found empty shelves, as people prepared for the worst from the expected snow accumulation.
New York City Mayor Bill “The Commie” de Blasio said “I want everyone to understand that we are facing – most likely – one of the largest snowstorms in the history of the city [dun – dun – dun]. My message to all New Yorkers is prepare for something worse than we have seen before. Prepare to be safe. Take every precaution. Now is the time to get ready for this extreme weather. Don’t underestimate the storm.”
Is the buildup to this storm supposed to drive people into panic mode? Because that is what it’s doing.
Yet this is what always happens to the ill-prepared. Just live our lives until such time when the government tells us we have to stock up for a disaster – and then panic and run around in circles. Rush out to the store, only to find everyone else is doing the same thing, and it’s too late for you.
However, some of us don’t fear these events. We are “Preppers.”
Over the years the name “Prepper” has become synonymous with paranoid delusionals who believe the world will end, any day now, due to some natural or man-made disaster.
Well, some are to be sure, but the vast majority of us common sense Preppers simply put a little aside on a regular basis and over time build up a substantial stockpile of items to weather any event.
We don’t do this just for ourselves. Given enough time, we accumulate enough to help not only ourselves, but our families and friends.
Some simply don’t get it though. In 2012 Valerie Lucas-McEwen wrote a piece entitled “Doomsday Preppers are Socially Selfish.”
Although she admits to later gaining a better understanding of being prepared, which is the definition of prepping, it’s an interesting study of the way a lot of ignorant people view prepping.
She writes: “it’s because they are being socially selfish – preparing themselves and the hell with everyone else. Instead of spending time and energy making changes that would benefit the larger community, in their very narrow focus of loyalty they are more concerned about themselves.”
Yes Ms. McEwen, I guess were not supposed to provide for our own families. We’re supposed to concentrate on the grand collective – the larger community. And last I checked, that’s where my loyalty and responsibility should lie – with family, as you with yours.
She continues: “Emergency Managers can’t afford that kind of attitude. It is diametrically opposed to everything we do. Our job is to prepare individuals and communities and jurisdictions and regions and – ultimately – the globe for disasters, knowing we won’t always succeed.”
While that diatribe was a bit hyperbolic, I agree that the job of “Emergency Managers” is to macro-manage, not micro-manage.
McEwen ends with this parting shot: “There are those who think the Doomsday Preppers is an extreme model of self-preparedness; I just see them as an extreme model of selfishness.”
While I agree that some of these “Doomsday Preppers” can be a bit on the wacky side, it seems Ms. McEwen and other lefties think all of us who choose to prepare are wacky and selfish.
So let me ask this? If everyone put just a little aside, regularly – preparing for a rainy day, would it not make the job of Emergency Managers a lot easier, knowing that the people could take care of themselves?
Or is that not what you folks really want – communities of people who are independent, self-sufficient and self-reliant.
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