Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:13 am
Crisis Spurs Spike in 'Suburban Survivalists'
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer ? Mon May 25, 1:37 pm ET
SAN DIEGO ? Six months ago, Jim Wiseman didn't even have a spare
nutrition bar in his kitchen cabinet.
Now, the 54-year-old businessman and father of five has a backup
generator, a water filter, a grain mill and a 4-foot-tall pile of emergency
food tucked in his home in the expensive San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
Wiseman isn't alone. Emergency supply retailers and military surplus
stores nationwide have seen business boom in the past few months as an
increasing number of Americans spooked by the economy rush to stock
up on gear that was once the domain of hardcore survivalists.
These people snapping up everything from water purification tablets to
thermal blankets shatter the survivalist stereotype: they are mostly
urban professionals with mortgages, SUVs, solid jobs and a twinge of
embarrassment about their newfound hobby.
From teachers to real estate agents, these budding emergency gurus say
the dismal economy has made them prepare for financial collapse as if it
were an oncoming Category 5 hurricane. They worry about rampant
inflation, runs on banks, bare grocery shelves and widespread power
failures that could make taps run dry.
For Wiseman, a fire protection contractor, that's meant spending roughly
$20,000 since September on survival gear ? and trying to persuade
others to do the same.
"The UPS guy drops things off and he sees my 4-by-8-by-6-foot pile of
food and I say 'What are you doing to prepare, buddy? There won't be a
thing left on any shelf of any supermarket in the country if people's
confidence wavers."
The surge in interest in emergency stockpiling has been a bonanza for
camping supply companies and military surplus vendors, some of whom
report sales spikes of up to 50 percent. These companies usually cater to
people preparing for earthquakes or hurricanes, but informal customer
surveys now indicate the bump is from first-time shoppers who cite
financial, not natural, disaster as their primary concern, they say.
Top sellers include 55-gallon water jugs, waterproof containers, freeze-
dried foods, water filters, water purification tablets, glow sticks, lamp oil,
thermal blankets, dust masks, first-aid kits and inexpensive tents.
Joe Branin, owner of the online emergency supply store Living Fresh, said
he's seen a 700 percent increase in orders for water purification tablets
in the past month and a similar increase in orders for sterile water
pouches.
He is shipping meals-ready-to-eat (MRE's) and food bars by the case to
residential addresses nationwide.
"You're hearing from the people you will always hear from, who will build
their own bunkers and stuff," he said. "But then you're hearing from
people who usually wouldn't think about this, but now it's in their
heads: 'What if something comes to the worst?'"
Online interest in survivalism has increased too. The niche Web site
SurvivalBlog.com has seen its page views triple in the past 14 months to
nearly 137,000 unique visitors a week. Jim Rawles, a self-described
survivalist who runs the site, calls the newcomers "11th hour believers."
He charges $100 an hour for phone consulting on emergency
preparedness and says that business also has tripled.
"There's so many people who are concerned about the economy that
there's a huge interest in preparedness, and it pretty much crosses all
lines, social, economic, political and religious," he said. "There's a steep
learning curve going on right now."
Art Markman, a cognitive psychologist, said he's not surprised by the
reaction to the nation's financial woes ? even though it may seem
irrational. In an increasingly global and automated society, most people
are dependent on strangers and systems they don't understand ? and
the human brain isn't programmed to work that way.
"We have no real causal understanding of the way our world works at all,"
said Markman, a professor at the University of Texas, Austin. "When
times are good, you trust that things are working, but when times are
bad you realize you don't have a clue what you would do if the
supermarket didn't have goods on the shelves and that if the banks
disappear, you have no idea where your money is."
Those preparing for the worst echo those thoughts and say learning to be
self sufficient makes them feel more in control amid mounting
uncertainty ? even if it seems crazy to their friends and families.
Chris Macera, a 29-year-old IT Systems Administrator, said he started
buying extra food to take advantage of sales after he lost his job and he
was rehired elsewhere for $30,000 less.
But Macera, who works in suburban Orange County, said that over
several months his mentality began to shift from saving money to
preparing for possible financial mayhem. He is motivated, too, by
memories of the government paralysis that followed Hurricane Katrina.
He now buys 15 pounds of meat at a time and freezes it, and buys wheat
in 50-pound bags, mills it into flour and uses it to bake bread. He checks
survivalist Web sites for advice at least once a day and listens to survival
podcasts.
"You kind of have to sift through the people with their hats on a little bit
too tight," said Macera, who said his colleagues tease him about the grain
mill. "But I see a lot of things (on the Web) and they're real common
sense-type things."
"I don't want to be a slave to anybody," he said. "The more systems
you're dependent on, the more likely things are going to go bad for you."
That's a philosophy shared by Vincent Springer, a newcomer to
emergency preparedness from the Chicago area.
Springer, a high school social studies teacher, says he's most worried
about energy shortages and an economic breakdown that could paralyze
the just-in-time supply chain that grocery stores rely on.
In the past few months, Springer has stockpiled enough freeze-dried food
for three months and bought 72-hour emergency supply kits for himself,
his wife and two young children. The 39-year-old is also teaching himself
to can food.
"I'm not looking for a retreat in northern Idaho or any of that stuff, but I
think there's more people like me out there and I think those numbers
are growing," he said.
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer ? Mon May 25, 1:37 pm ET
SAN DIEGO ? Six months ago, Jim Wiseman didn't even have a spare
nutrition bar in his kitchen cabinet.
Now, the 54-year-old businessman and father of five has a backup
generator, a water filter, a grain mill and a 4-foot-tall pile of emergency
food tucked in his home in the expensive San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
Wiseman isn't alone. Emergency supply retailers and military surplus
stores nationwide have seen business boom in the past few months as an
increasing number of Americans spooked by the economy rush to stock
up on gear that was once the domain of hardcore survivalists.
These people snapping up everything from water purification tablets to
thermal blankets shatter the survivalist stereotype: they are mostly
urban professionals with mortgages, SUVs, solid jobs and a twinge of
embarrassment about their newfound hobby.
From teachers to real estate agents, these budding emergency gurus say
the dismal economy has made them prepare for financial collapse as if it
were an oncoming Category 5 hurricane. They worry about rampant
inflation, runs on banks, bare grocery shelves and widespread power
failures that could make taps run dry.
For Wiseman, a fire protection contractor, that's meant spending roughly
$20,000 since September on survival gear ? and trying to persuade
others to do the same.
"The UPS guy drops things off and he sees my 4-by-8-by-6-foot pile of
food and I say 'What are you doing to prepare, buddy? There won't be a
thing left on any shelf of any supermarket in the country if people's
confidence wavers."
The surge in interest in emergency stockpiling has been a bonanza for
camping supply companies and military surplus vendors, some of whom
report sales spikes of up to 50 percent. These companies usually cater to
people preparing for earthquakes or hurricanes, but informal customer
surveys now indicate the bump is from first-time shoppers who cite
financial, not natural, disaster as their primary concern, they say.
Top sellers include 55-gallon water jugs, waterproof containers, freeze-
dried foods, water filters, water purification tablets, glow sticks, lamp oil,
thermal blankets, dust masks, first-aid kits and inexpensive tents.
Joe Branin, owner of the online emergency supply store Living Fresh, said
he's seen a 700 percent increase in orders for water purification tablets
in the past month and a similar increase in orders for sterile water
pouches.
He is shipping meals-ready-to-eat (MRE's) and food bars by the case to
residential addresses nationwide.
"You're hearing from the people you will always hear from, who will build
their own bunkers and stuff," he said. "But then you're hearing from
people who usually wouldn't think about this, but now it's in their
heads: 'What if something comes to the worst?'"
Online interest in survivalism has increased too. The niche Web site
SurvivalBlog.com has seen its page views triple in the past 14 months to
nearly 137,000 unique visitors a week. Jim Rawles, a self-described
survivalist who runs the site, calls the newcomers "11th hour believers."
He charges $100 an hour for phone consulting on emergency
preparedness and says that business also has tripled.
"There's so many people who are concerned about the economy that
there's a huge interest in preparedness, and it pretty much crosses all
lines, social, economic, political and religious," he said. "There's a steep
learning curve going on right now."
Art Markman, a cognitive psychologist, said he's not surprised by the
reaction to the nation's financial woes ? even though it may seem
irrational. In an increasingly global and automated society, most people
are dependent on strangers and systems they don't understand ? and
the human brain isn't programmed to work that way.
"We have no real causal understanding of the way our world works at all,"
said Markman, a professor at the University of Texas, Austin. "When
times are good, you trust that things are working, but when times are
bad you realize you don't have a clue what you would do if the
supermarket didn't have goods on the shelves and that if the banks
disappear, you have no idea where your money is."
Those preparing for the worst echo those thoughts and say learning to be
self sufficient makes them feel more in control amid mounting
uncertainty ? even if it seems crazy to their friends and families.
Chris Macera, a 29-year-old IT Systems Administrator, said he started
buying extra food to take advantage of sales after he lost his job and he
was rehired elsewhere for $30,000 less.
But Macera, who works in suburban Orange County, said that over
several months his mentality began to shift from saving money to
preparing for possible financial mayhem. He is motivated, too, by
memories of the government paralysis that followed Hurricane Katrina.
He now buys 15 pounds of meat at a time and freezes it, and buys wheat
in 50-pound bags, mills it into flour and uses it to bake bread. He checks
survivalist Web sites for advice at least once a day and listens to survival
podcasts.
"You kind of have to sift through the people with their hats on a little bit
too tight," said Macera, who said his colleagues tease him about the grain
mill. "But I see a lot of things (on the Web) and they're real common
sense-type things."
"I don't want to be a slave to anybody," he said. "The more systems
you're dependent on, the more likely things are going to go bad for you."
That's a philosophy shared by Vincent Springer, a newcomer to
emergency preparedness from the Chicago area.
Springer, a high school social studies teacher, says he's most worried
about energy shortages and an economic breakdown that could paralyze
the just-in-time supply chain that grocery stores rely on.
In the past few months, Springer has stockpiled enough freeze-dried food
for three months and bought 72-hour emergency supply kits for himself,
his wife and two young children. The 39-year-old is also teaching himself
to can food.
"I'm not looking for a retreat in northern Idaho or any of that stuff, but I
think there's more people like me out there and I think those numbers
are growing," he said.
