Full economic collapse. Zombie apocalypse. Natural disasters and planetary crises. Global pandemic. Anthropogenic disasters. These are but a few of the things that survivalists are worried about. Survivalism is a movement of individuals or groups (those called survivalists, or preppers) who are actively preparing for such emergencies, on any scale, large or small. Survivalists tend to acquire emergency medical supplies, endure rigorous self-defense training, stockpile excessive amounts of food and water, and build shelters (such as underground retreats) to help them survive in such catastrophes.
The survivalist movement has been around since the 1960s and has roots in religion, threats of nuclear warfare, and governmental policies. This was propagated by the literature of that era, including apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction and non-fiction. However the survivalist movement has been brought much heavier into the public eye as of 2012, when the National Geographic Channel aired a show entitled "Doomsday Preppers."
The rate of survivalists massively increased in the 1960s due to a continued threat over potential nuclear warfare between the United States and the Soviet Union, the US dollar devaluation, and increased inflation. Leading to a high number of urban crimes, plus other certain systems failures, a large number of mainly conservative and libertarian thinkers began to suggest that it would be wise to begin making individual efforts at extra preparations. The 1970s and 1980s continued to see an upsurge of increased literary publications that warned of similar threats and continued to urge people to take measures into their hands and start to prepare for such measures accordingly. Despite a small downturn in the survivalist trend, 1999 saw another upsurge with the Y2K bug. This created a secondary wave of fear and brought the survivalist movement back to the forefront, and this was only propelled further by the September 11 attacks on the twin towers.
Certain common preparations of survivalists and preppers exist, include stockpiling agricultural equipment and seed, emergency medical supplies, firewood, excessive weaponry and ammunition, water purification equipment, as well as tons of non-perishable foods and water. Kitss are prepared which contain basic necessities and other useful items, and these are called bug out bags (BOB) and Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.) kits. These are of a typical size and weight that is manageable by only one person.
Survivalist tend to use particular terminology and some of these words include: alpha strategy (which is the general practice of storing extra consumables), BOL (bug-out location), EDU (everyday carry, or what is carried at all times every single day), EOTW (end of the world), crunch (a general term for a major, long-term disaster), and WROL (without rule of law, which describes a potential lawless state).
The survivalist movement has been around since the 1960s and has roots in religion, threats of nuclear warfare, and governmental policies. This was propagated by the literature of that era, including apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction and non-fiction. However the survivalist movement has been brought much heavier into the public eye as of 2012, when the National Geographic Channel aired a show entitled "Doomsday Preppers."
The rate of survivalists massively increased in the 1960s due to a continued threat over potential nuclear warfare between the United States and the Soviet Union, the US dollar devaluation, and increased inflation. Leading to a high number of urban crimes, plus other certain systems failures, a large number of mainly conservative and libertarian thinkers began to suggest that it would be wise to begin making individual efforts at extra preparations. The 1970s and 1980s continued to see an upsurge of increased literary publications that warned of similar threats and continued to urge people to take measures into their hands and start to prepare for such measures accordingly. Despite a small downturn in the survivalist trend, 1999 saw another upsurge with the Y2K bug. This created a secondary wave of fear and brought the survivalist movement back to the forefront, and this was only propelled further by the September 11 attacks on the twin towers.
Certain common preparations of survivalists and preppers exist, include stockpiling agricultural equipment and seed, emergency medical supplies, firewood, excessive weaponry and ammunition, water purification equipment, as well as tons of non-perishable foods and water. Kitss are prepared which contain basic necessities and other useful items, and these are called bug out bags (BOB) and Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.) kits. These are of a typical size and weight that is manageable by only one person.
Survivalist tend to use particular terminology and some of these words include: alpha strategy (which is the general practice of storing extra consumables), BOL (bug-out location), EDU (everyday carry, or what is carried at all times every single day), EOTW (end of the world), crunch (a general term for a major, long-term disaster), and WROL (without rule of law, which describes a potential lawless state).