Despite prepping’s reputation as a form of doomerism, many left-wing preppers say they are not devoid of hope.
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Shonkwiler believes there will be an opportunity to create something new in the aftermath of a crisis. “It begins with preparedness and it ends with a better world,” he said.
Some also say there’s less tension between left- and right-wing preppers than people might expect. Bounds, the sociology professor, said very conservative preppers she met during her research contacted her during the Covid-19 pandemic to offer help.
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There is a natural human solidarity that emerges amid disaster, Killjoy said. She recalls a cashier giving her a deep discount on supplies she was buying to take to Asheville post-Helene. “I have every reason to believe that that man is right-wing, and I do think that there is a transcending of political differences that happens in times of crisis,” she said.
As terrifying events pile up, from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to deadly extreme weather, it’s hard to escape the sense we live in a time of rolling existential crises — often a hair’s breadth from global disaster.
People are increasingly beginning to wonder whether their views on preppers have been misconceived, Mills said. “There is a bigger question floating in the air, which is: Are preppers crazy, or is everyone else?”
Killjoy has seen a huge change over the last five years in people’s openness to prepping. Those who used to make fun of her for her “go bag” are now asking for advice.
It’s not necessarily the start of a prepping boom, she said. “I think it is about more and more people adopting preparedness and prepper things into a normal life.”
Evidence already points this way. Americans stockpiled goods in advance of Trump’s tariffs and online sales of contraceptives skyrocketed in the wake of his election, amid concerns he would reduce access. Shows like “The Walking Dead,” meanwhile, have thrust the idea of prepping into popular culture and big box stores now sell prepping equipment and meal kits.
People are hungry to learn about preparedness, said Shonkwiler. “They have the understanding that the world as we knew it, and counted on it, is beginning to cease to be. … What we need to be doing now is figuring out how we can survive in the world that we’ve created.”
