Observations of family members that won't prep

[Carrot]

I know that a lot of people have issues with family members that won't prep and who think it's a silly thing to do. You try your best to convince them that it's a sound idea, but they can't fathom a time when help won't be on the way. This is a common problem in the community and a frequent topic on prepping blogs.

Have you thought about what those family members do when they go back to their homes in the cities and suburbs? There is a chance that they chat and joke about your preps with their friends and coworkers. I say this because I've heard such conversations and I have been able to get a good idea of the types of supplies that people have access to. All it would take is a conversation about traffic (to get the neighborhood) and a google search to figure out where these people live.

So I have a question for you, while you have tried to get family members to prep, have you considered asking them not to talk about it in public? As preppers, we're quick to talk about food storage and security, but OPSEC is considered to be a more advanced topic. Think about this the next time there is a family get together. You may want to say something similar to "I know that you disagree with me about prepping, but would you mind keeping this between us? Prepping has a bad reputation and I don't want the family to be seen in that light."

[Starlady]

I try a time or 2 each year to get them to see the value in prepping but they really don't know what I have.  When they visit they see that when the pantry runs out of something I have another already and think that is cool.

They also know that nobody is to know where I live or what is going on here - garden, animals, etc., other than what I put on FB, which I treat more like hobby stuff than prepping.    None of their friends know my last name so it would be hard for them to find me and I plan to confiscate the cellphones of the kids if there's a need for them to escape to here from where they are.  I'm quite sure in a panic, they'd want to bring their BFFs.

[ChristianJ]

I film most things and put it on YouTube

[Fixit]

Because I teach prepping to others I have no OPSEC . The only thing that works for me is that most do not get invited to the house. Living off grid 5 miles down a logging road means most can't find me .

[tlwagg]

When I talk about prepping I always mention it as being born in Florida and watching my dad put away a little extra for hurricane season. I never talk about long term prepping outside of family.

[Farside]

I changed my outlook on prepping when I messed up my knee.  I couldn't walk out of here on a bet. I'm looking at setting my kids and grand kids up. Making sure they have what is needed. My problem is every time I get the plan set up they move again.  Their all moving at the end of this month. Oh well, back to the drawing board.         

[Carrot]

I hear hipsters chat about their "loony" prepper family members and I'm not sure how to feel. I've accepted the dichotomy that prepping has introduced to my life, but it is really shoved in my face when my peers nonchalantly make jokes about preppers. It's an alienating feeling. Perhaps this is just the snowflake in me leaking out.

[Searchboss]

It is interesting that this subject came up. I was just talking to my wife yesterday about prepping. In my opinion we have barely scratched the surface. She seemed to think that we were doing quite well. I pointed out that for the short term, say 3-6 months, we are making good progress prepping for the two of us. Then I reminded her that we have relatives, kids, and grandkids, totaling eleven people that might suddenly show up at our door during a crisis. At this point none of these families has the finances to prep like they should be doing. When you add in that possibility, our preps would not last long.

Because of this conversation we have agreed to talk to the kids again about prepping. I don’t think the subject will be a hard sell, but getting them to find the money and storage space will. In addition, I asked her to give some serious thought as to what she would do if it happened, and to consider what to do if friends or coworkers started asking for help. I don’t think that scenario ever occurred to her. I’m sure that this will lead to additional dialogues, but I don’t think she is comfortable discussing this possibility or what would need to be done to respond to it.

[Starlady]

I understand.  One family member made a joke over the Holidays about those Doomsday Preppers.....hahahaha, everyone laughs.  I'm not & he knows it.   I just looked at him calmly said "Well, if they're ready for doomsday then they're ready for any other natural or man made disaster, right?"  (Notice I didn't say I or we.)

The lightbulb went off in a few pairs of eyes, you could SEE it.  And then I added "Besides, I'm not the one who froze my ass off when the power went out during that snowstorm last week or went hungry because my microwave & electric stove didn't work."    Because THEY did.  Then I reminded them that I went 3 weeks without power.....in August........in Florida.......after a hurricane and that snowstorms or our spring storms have the potential for the same disaster, so yeah, I keep several weeks of food around.

Baby steps.  Those 'hipsters' aren't your people anyway, so don't worry about what they think.  Remind yourself that you are only taking sensible precautions.

The hardest thing for me is knowing I can't save them all. 

[ProGeek]

Carrot, don't feel bad. None of my extended family preps. My bother-in-laws think I'm a joke. Most of my family lives in Florida and the power was out for a week after the last hurricane. They all later made comment to me, "boy I wish I had a generator and some gas." My reply was, "Who's fault was that?" As for my 20+ year old kids, they asked for and took butane stoves and food back to their apartments. One already keeps Mountain house packs in her car. The other keeps extra supplies too. They like having a pantry and hate running out of stuff. I've had a profound impact on them, I hope it sticks. I just laugh when my relatives make jokes about me and I remind them that if they listened to me, they wouldn't have lost everything in the fridge and baked in the 90+ heat after the storm. I don't think it sinks in much, but at least I have a reply.

[tlwagg]

Searchboss when you talk to your kids about prepping remind them that when they shop instead of only getting the two cans they normally get when there is a BOGO to buy the two they need and put the free two in storage. It's a good way to start,

[Fixit]

I had a sister that was in denial that anything bad could really happen . We could talk and talk she would say we might be right but she wasn't willing to deal  with it. Her job changed that outlook. When she got a job that put her daily in contact with missionaries , many of whom are 3rd world countries it finally became real.

[upacreek]

I'm the black sheep of the family.  They've made it very clear how stupid I am to think storing more than a day or 2 of food is huge overkill; anyone owning guns wants to mass murder people; our government's sole purpose is to give each and every person access to everything they need immediately, despite any calamity.  I share very little with them.  When I finally move to my ideal place and they happen to come my way on vacation, I will not be taking them to it.
 They know some of the stuff I have, but I have shared keys and instructions with trusted friends to clear my place out if anything should happen to me.

My family are the kind you read about that calls the bomb squad for a small box of ammo.

[revckd]

When I talk about prepping I always mention it as being born in Florida and watching my dad put away a little extra for hurricane season. I never talk about long term prepping outside of family.

yea mine lends itself to being raised poor and on a farm where we grew a garden and canned.

[revckd]

The hardest thing for me is knowing I can't save them all.

i can relate