A new group of Americans are stockpiling food and other products fearing the end of the world.
These people call themselves, “preppers”. They are a new subculture to recently emerge, following in the footsteps of the hippies in the 1960s and the survivalists in the 1990s. Preppers are not as worried about government as they are about imminent societal collapse, terrorism, or natural disasters leading to some form of environmental cataclysm.
Patty Tegeler, 57 of Virginia, has made her home in rural Virginia into a “survival center”. It has a large generator, portable heaters, water tanks, and a two-year supply of freeze-dried food. She hopes that if there is ever an emergency she can survive indefinitely in her home. She foresees that emergency happening soon.
“I think this economy is about to fall apart,” Tegler said.
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The internet has only fueled talks of the world ending. Online vendors sell a variety of products ranging from water tanks to guns. Attorney Michael T. Snider, of northern Idaho, posts information about the world ending on his blog, The Economic Collapse.
“You could be living next door to a prepper and never even know it. Many suburbanites are turning spare rooms into food pantries and are going for survival training on the weekends,“ says Snider.
Snider is worried about the end of a functioning U.S. economy. He states that tens of millions of Americans, including children, are living on food stamps and in poverty.
Even conservative talk show radio host Glenn Beck is preaching preppers’ messages. “It’s never too late to prepare for the end of the world as we know,” states Beck.
The difference between these preppers and other groups believing the world is ending is these preppers don’t have an exact date for the end.
Cathy Gutierrez, end-times belief expert at Sweet Briar College in Virginia states, “The minute you set a date, you are courting disconfirmation.”
In the eyes of many preppers, it is not too early to prepare.
“After all, anything can happen,” states Tegler.
By: South Carolina Criminal Defense Lawyer Pete Strom
