The new survivalists: Oregon “preppers” stockpile guns and food. . .
An article in the Oregonian by Richard Cooke (The New Survivalists: Oregon “preppers” stockpile guns and food in fear of calamity) discusses the survivalist movement in Oregon, which, according to the article, is mostly comprised in:
As in earlier movements, survivalists are centered in conservative, rural areas such as eastern Oregon
People who are putting aside emergency rations, equipment and even guns, are considred “fearful” and that fear is stoked by many things, including Obama!:
driven by fears, stoked by Barack Obama’s presidency, that economic catastrophe, sweeping technological failure and societal upheaval are just around the corner.
And though the movement intersects with a wave of weapon and ammunition hoarding among some who fear that Obama will clamp down on gun rights, there’s little talk of forming militias as in past survivalist movements.
Oh, there’s no arguing the fact there are a plethora of good old boys in this state; paranoid, bigoted, trophy hunting, right wing, bible thumping men and women who don’t trust anyone.
The article takes a bit of a smug tone, referring to these survivalists as “scared” and why are they “scared?” Because they don’t “understand.”
“People fear change; people get angry when they don’t understand something,” said La Grande City Councilman Steve Clements, 52, who teaches finance and information systems at Eastern Oregon University. “I think there is a lot of fear associated with having the first black president.”
There’s always been fear, and mistrust, and I agree that there are many — like the gun toting crazy ass anti-health care morons — who are, simply, bigots. They’re not afraid, they’re mightily pissed that we have president who is part African American. That aside, anyone who thinks things aren’t very damn shaky right now, regardless of who is president, isn’t paying attention.
The article highlights a lot of gun loving, stock piling dudes with generators hidden away in remote locations, that kind of thing. Okay. And maybe these types are reading too much of the Rense.com variety type stuff. But the following is the other side of the gun gripping survialist fear:
All the fuss perplexes Eastern Oregon University math professor John Knudson-Martin, who said the world is probably safer than ever. He suspects people are watching too much TV news.
“If a bomb goes off in Malaysia or halfway around the world, we hear about it, and it makes us think bombs are going off all the time,” he said.
“The world is probably safer than ever???!!!”
A presentation of the strongest of contrasts: the fundamentalist bible rancher with guns, ammo and food stored away, with the naive academic who thinks the world is “safer than ever.” Bringing out the most extreme of the “preppies” makes it all seem to damn kooky. Just nut jobs in the country chewing tobacco while gripping their guns.
Oh, those types exist all right. I’ve met plenty of them. Still, things are shaky and you don’t have to be a religious right wing gun loving bigot to see the signs. Being prepared isn’t about that. But as long as the idea of “being prepared” is presented as More From Kookville in Farmland, the mainstream remains satisfied all is well, when it isn’t of course, after all, no one wants to be considered a nut.
What point are you trying to make here? True, saying that the world is “safer than ever” is inaccurate at best; however, there is always going to be people who perceive the world through their own eyes. Perception is everything, and can vastly affect how we live our lives in the world we inhabit. Sure, our society isn’t perfect, and in most cases needs a drastic overhaul.
If I understand you correctly, you are trying to say that there is such a thing as being too prepared. Your ad hominem argument aside, I must disagree. There is really no absolute measure of “too prepared”; it is purely subjective. Also, I must speak up against your claim that Oregon is a conservative redneck state. While the majority of the Central-Eastern state is, arguably, conservative in politics, the majority of the more populous areas like the Willamette Valley are “lefties”.