Insta-Preppers by Bravo Echo
I have recently heard the question “what are you waiting for” in regards to getting prepared for the Novid 19 – Coronavirus. Folks are flying off the radar to buy the last this and that. Shelves are becoming empty and there is little to no resupply to replace the purchased items. Remember in my book, articles, and classes when I talked about the 18-wheelers and “just in time” supply system? Guess what, you are witnessing it now. The digital resupply system cannot keep up with the current demand of consumers raiding the resources.
Costco website advertising “Emergency Food Kits and Supplies” is sold out.
Mountain House, which is one of the leading vendors of freeze dried food, currently has a message saying “Due to increased demand, shipments are delayed and we’re unable to answer individual questions over the phone. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Another person contacted Mountain House dealer and received this message, “Thank you for visiting Mountain House! We are currently not accepting orders online or over the phone while we check our inventory levels. Please do not call. We are working very hard to resolve the issue and hope to have the site up soon.”
Mountain House No #10 cans sold on Amazon now carry this notice. “Usually ships within 1 to 4 weeks”, or “Usually ships within 1 to 2 months”. There’s nothing usual about it. It’s just a weasel word for “we have no clue”.
Another name brand food is Emergency Essentials. Their site says “Update: On Sunday evening Emergency Essentials added this notice: "Due to increased demand, we are experiencing 4-8 week shipping and production delays for new orders".
Augason Farms says about the same. "Emergency food supplies are selling out fast. So, we are only making our most-requested products. Shop in-stock products here. Please allow 1 to 2 months for processing".
Ready Made Resources out of Eastern TN, which is normally a good place to check the pulse of things, has this message; “Due to the world situation expect 3-4 week waiting time, possibly longer. There will be a 5% cancellation fee.”
The list goes on and on. Panic buying by the unprepared. I am sure some purchases are also folks adding to their already stocked shelves.
The panic and disorder you are witnessing is mostly the 95% group I talk about often. They are the unprepared who become insta-preppers. The unprepared who react by panic to go buy anything and everything. They empty the shelves and now feel prepared. Psychologically…maybe, but in reality it is a security blanket. They are reacting and responding to meet Maslow’s immediate needs…food, water, and a few other supplies. Ask yourself, are they really prepared? I say no.
I ask the question, “why did you wait?” Really, why did you wait? This global issue started on 1 Dec 2019. We are now over 90 days in to it and folks are losing their mind. Just like in the past, wait till the last minute. The unprepared will remain the unprepared for the most part. We, who are prepared, attempt to convert this mindset one person at a time in order to help. Family members, friends, coworkers, and strangers alike, the unprepared are the 95% group we preparers desire to keep our distance from when the panic ensues. They are not bad people for the most part. They have simply decided to remain unprepared until the end and this is what we get as the result. No matter how much we try to encourage and set the example, they fail to catch on for many reasons. It is a personal choice. It amazes me at this point the number of folks I encounter who still are unaware there is a global virus spreading around the world. They can tell you anything and everything about what is going on with their neighbor and Facebook. Yet they have no clue where they parked the car, left the keys, who has the kids, and that the dog got a part time job. We can blame it on many things. The bottom line is our culture does not prepare in any fashion.
It would not be right for me to say “I told you so,” but I told you so. No matter what the disaster may be, natural or manmade, folks simply live with the mindset of “it will never happen to me.” Through the past disaster’s I have lived or witnessed around the globe, it never changes. There is plenty of opportunity for most Americans to fix this problem and they refuse to do it. Then the disaster strikes and guess what? The unprepared put the lives of the first responders and emergency crews in harm’s way often to come rescue them. They are the first to run to the media, grab the microphone and complain that something did not go to please them.
While the insta-preppers are going crazy and hoarding the supplies, we, the prepared, are distancing ourselves from the hysteria, reviewing our plans, and adjusting where needed. We come in all forms and levels, but we are ahead of the game and prepared to separate ourselves from the unprepared masses. Think about this. Under the current hysteria, folks are in panic mode over a virus that has sickened and killed less than the Influenza that has killed over 10,000 this season. Think about that mindset. You can take out coronavirus and plug in about any type of potential disaster and the results will be the same. I ask again, “why aren’t you prepared?”
Let’s go to a bigger scale. Is it possible the citizens of a nation reflect the mindset of their nation and government? If a government fails to prepare is it the same for the people? We also have to take into consideration a risked base analysis to rack and stack possible vulnerabilities to threats. The higher the threat, the more likely a government spends the money and time to prepare. Sure, in a perfect world we would expect our government to be prepared for everything. It just does not work that way. Think about it. A government plans for tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, ice and snow storms, terrorism, economic issues, immigration, flu seasons, wars, …….and somewhere near the bottom we would include a pandemic. Take this list, then rack and stack them in priority of likelihood and that is where the money goes and attention.
Now, consider that all disasters get managed at the local level. In between the top and local level’s we have layers of policy, regulations, bureaucracy and politics. My friends, the easiest solution is to be responsible prepare yourself and family.
What we are witnessing now is why I am of the mindset to focus on how the event will affect you and then monitor the events around you. Focus on your basic plans with food, water, shelter and security and then adjust to the specific type of event.
In addition to the spiritual, physical, and mental preparations you must always have in place, any event will require you to have food, water, shelter, and security to some level. You do not want to wait and be amongst the 95% group rushing, fighting, and spreading germs while they are pushing and shoving one another. Think of all the things you could do at home implementing your plan while this group fights the crowd and parking lot, stands in line to check out and then load a vehicle. Time is essential and it could be the difference of life and death in many cases.
The hardest part about this is trying to understand why folks just do not get it. Need I say more.
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out,
