NYT: They Prepared for the Worst. Now Everyone's a Prepper.

[Mike 03]

As cases of the coronavirus rise in the United States, preppers have watched with a mix of concern, weariness and even some hope that Americans will learn from their example.

March 17, 2020, 12:32 p.m. ET

“I sympathize with the average person,” he added. “It’s just my goal to prioritize this thing a little more.”

From California to Texas to New Jersey, preppers who have been planning for years, if not decades, are urging other Americans to take a more methodical approach to their preparations.

As the coronavirus spread across the globe, the New York City Preppers Network met this month to discuss the outbreak. The group’s leader, Jason Charles, has posted regularly about basic precautions on social media. “I tell people all the time, ‘Don’t be nervous; this is not the time to panic,’” he said in an interview. “This is why we get ready. This is our wheelhouse.”

Preppers also say that the panic buying around the country that has drawn headlines in recent days — toilet paper shortages in Pittsburgh, hordes of shoppers at California Costcos and elsewhere — has very little in common with what they do.

“I call this the nonsensical hoarding phase,” said Ben Hansen, the chief of media for PrepperCon, a semiregular assembly outside Salt Lake City. “It’s when people say, ‘We’ve got a hurricane coming and the power might be out,’ so they start stocking up the essentials.”

The essentials can make sense, depending on the perceived threat — it’s better to buy water and fill up the gas tank in the last days before a hurricane than not to do it at all.

And the current run on medical supplies has a basis in expert advice: Most health officials and disease specialists say frequently washing your hands for at least 20 seconds is one of the best preventive measures against the coronavirus (and many other more common diseases and viruses, including the flu). They also recommend hand sanitizer of at least 60 percent alcohol if soap is not available.

But echoing some other preppers, Mr. Hansen, whose home in Southern California has food for about four months, suggested that shoppers should do careful research before racing out to stores.

“The supply chain simply cannot support what we’re seeing right now,” he added. “When things are going well, people don’t really think about preparing. But then they see other people doing it and they say, ‘Well we should be doing it, too.’”

Good article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/us/coronavirus-preppers.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

Because I grew up in California we were always prepared for earthquakes. The way I learned to "prep" is to collect the things you actually need in an emergency (flash light, batteries, first aid) first and put them aside, changing out things that go bad (like batteries). When it comes to things like food, bottled water, paper towels and toilet paper, the key is that every time you go to the store you get a little bit more than you use of the things you use all the time. If you eat three cans of tuna a week, buy six cans and put three aside. If you use two gallons of distilled water, buy four and stick two in the garage. Every week. Then after six months or a year, you actually have a surplus of exactly what you use if you can't get to the store, from shaving cream and toothpaste to soap and almost anything that you use frequently. It's a fairly painless way of stocking up for prolonged emergencies.

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Just got home from the

Grocery Store,needed two items Milk and Pancake Syrup. The shelves were stripped clean for the most part. Got lucky on the Milk,the Dairy truck was at the dock and he was pushing stock on the racks. Syrup,got lucky again,got the last bottle of our fav.

Joking with the Store Manager,great time to take that annual Inventory and when the Freight comes in tonight,won't have to rotate.

[gibraltar72]

2. People panic when they have no leadership.

If they get no clear message or worse it doesn't make sense they assume the worst. I can't blame people for hoarding, not my first instinct but I understand it.