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I'm a paranoid narcissist.

I know people are out to get me, but not nearly as many as there should be.

 Frazzled wrote:

 azazel the cat wrote:
I consider preppers to be moderately-to-high-functioning paranoid schizophrenics.

1. Please review your mental accusations. Please cite where schizophrenic activity has been exhibited.
2. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you...

Hardly anybody that can really pull of a prepper plan has full blown schizophrenia, as they stil have intact thought processes.

More generally though, I think there's evdience of mild delusions at work.

Exactly.

EDIT: it also depends on the level of "prepping." Having supplies for a period of time is one thing. We are very electronic dependant at this point and there are a variety of things that could knock out the grid for a period of time.

Living in a renovated minuteman silo is something altogether different (and cooler).

I just want a hacienda with walls.

and chupacabras.

in the trees...

 Polonius wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:

 azazel the cat wrote:
I consider preppers to be moderately-to-high-functioning paranoid schizophrenics.

1. Please review your mental accusations. Please cite where schizophrenic activity has been exhibited.
2. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you...

Hardly anybody that can really pull of a prepper plan has full blown schizophrenia, as they stil have intact thought processes.

More generally though, I think there's evdience of mild delusions at work.

Possibly right about that, But did people think Noah was nuts? Probably

 Frazzled wrote:
Exactly.

EDIT: it also depends on the level of "prepping." Having supplies for a period of time is one thing. We are very electronic dependant at this point and there are a variety of things that could knock out the grid for a period of time.

Living in a renovated minuteman silo is something altogether different (and cooler).

I just want a hacienda with walls.

and chupacabras.

in the trees...

I've learned from the local Amish: we have a manual well water pump -just in case. We are also friends with our neighbors, as well as members of several clubs/groups/departments (safety in numbers). The prepper show is just more Hollyweird reality show BS.

 azazel the cat wrote:
I consider preppers to be moderately-to-high-functioning paranoid schizophrenics.

some would say the same about all pot heads like yourself.

such wonderfull liberal tolerance and open mindedness you are showing

 easysauce wrote:

 azazel the cat wrote:
I consider preppers to be moderately-to-high-functioning paranoid schizophrenics.

some would say the same about all pot heads like yourself.

such wonderfull liberal tolerance and open mindedness you are showing

And that's typical ignorant right wing stupidity, because what he said wasn't intolerant. It's judgmental, but not in terms of what should be allowed. He made a clinical judgment. It's likely incorrect, but it's still a judgment of classification, not of acceptability.

Which, alas, is pretty typical of conservatives: they assume that everybody shares their prejudices. Lots of people are likely high functioning schizophrenics, they just don't share it.

who says im conservative?

I have only voted liberal,

id hardly say that calling out a group of people as paranoid schitzo's "tolerant", it makes light of a real disorder as well.

calling people stupid for expressing, even if it is incorrect (its not) opinions, isnt very tolerant either, nor acceptable practice on this site.

FYI, im not voting liberal or conservative,

I hate some from both, and like some from both.

and call out both on their hyppocrasies ect,

so dont worry ill bash the conserves when they bash gays, and the liberals when they think sunshine, pot, and lollipops will fix everything

Getting a bit shrill in here. Please recall that Rule Number One is Be Polite. Thanks!

 Spacemanvic wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Exactly.

EDIT: it also depends on the level of "prepping." Having supplies for a period of time is one thing. We are very electronic dependant at this point and there are a variety of things that could knock out the grid for a period of time.

Living in a renovated minuteman silo is something altogether different (and cooler).

I just want a hacienda with walls.

and chupacabras.

in the trees...

I've learned from the local Amish: we have a manual well water pump -just in case. We are also friends with our neighbors, as well as members of several clubs/groups/departments (safety in numbers). The prepper show is just more Hollyweird reality show BS.

A manual water pump would be a good idea. Of course you have to have water. I rermember when we had water in Texas.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Polonius wrote:

 easysauce wrote:

 azazel the cat wrote:
I consider preppers to be moderately-to-high-functioning paranoid schizophrenics.

some would say the same about all pot heads like yourself.

such wonderfull liberal tolerance and open mindedness you are showing

And that's typical ignorant right wing stupidity, because what he said wasn't intolerant. It's judgmental, but not in terms of what should be allowed. He made a clinical judgment. It's likely incorrect, but it's still a judgment of classification, not of acceptability.

Which, alas, is pretty typical of conservatives: they assume that everybody shares their prejudices. Lots of people are likely high functioning schizophrenics, they just don't share it.

I find your closed mindedness intolerable.

 Polonius wrote:
Lots of people are likely high functioning schizophrenics, they just don't share it.

This seems a bit far-fetched. Is that just something you pulled out or is their some backing to that claim?

I agree with the above comments on the amish, and to an extent the mormons.

both groups practice prepared ness, and have very usefull skills for sustainable, comfortable (relatively) lifestyles with minimal tech.

the mormons handbook is actually pretty decent in its instructions on how much food ect to store, and its preaching of being self sustained instead of being a burden.

hand pumped wells are awesome, and fairly easy to make, esp if you can rent the digger cheap now.

much harder to actually dig the hole with a shovel, not something Id want to do after the fact lol.

IM lucky in that I have lots of above ground water/springs ect here so I wont have to dig.

still a bugger to clean the water, i highly reccomend the lifesaver water bottles/jerry cans, they take 0 energy, are quick, and portable, and last a long time

Disaster prep isn't crazy as has been suggested. Having one of those pumps that turns pee into "drinking" water is.

There's a line people.

In a major civilization ending event, I would pull a Charlize Theron and not a Viggio Mortensen.

in any situation I would pull Charlize Theron.

I'm just that handsome.

 azazel the cat wrote:
I consider preppers to be moderately-to-high-functioning paranoid schizophrenics.

Well, how are you defining prepper? How much extra food/water/ammo/supplies does someone need to have to qualify as a prepper in your book?

 Spacemanvic wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Exactly.

EDIT: it also depends on the level of "prepping." Having supplies for a period of time is one thing. We are very electronic dependant at this point and there are a variety of things that could knock out the grid for a period of time.

Living in a renovated minuteman silo is something altogether different (and cooler).

I just want a hacienda with walls.

and chupacabras.

in the trees...

I've learned from the local Amish: we have a manual well water pump -just in case. We are also friends with our neighbors, as well as members of several clubs/groups/departments (safety in numbers). The prepper show is just more Hollyweird reality show BS.

That's really it, isn't it? If society ends, it's going to be the people that put together a group/team/NEW SOCIETY that survive. As someone said earlier in the thread, if you think you're going to live long term on your own in some bunker off in the woods or desert...well, good luck with that. I'll put my money on the people with diverse skill sets who work together. And quite frankly, I think there'd be plenty of that going on in the event some calamity ends modern society. The entire point of human civilization is that our species figured out they'd benefit more by working together than independently.

One could probably question whether the preppers who build bunkers in some remote location are actually exhibiting some kind of desire to withdraw from society moreso than preparing for some imminent disaster. But psychology really isn't my field, and not something I should dabble it either.

 Hordini wrote:

 azazel the cat wrote:
I consider preppers to be moderately-to-high-functioning paranoid schizophrenics.

Well, how are you defining prepper? How much extra food/water/ammo/supplies does someone need to have to qualify as a prepper in your book?

But Canada having a strategic reserve of maple syrup is just fine right?

 Frazzled wrote:

 Hordini wrote:

 azazel the cat wrote:
I consider preppers to be moderately-to-high-functioning paranoid schizophrenics.

Well, how are you defining prepper? How much extra food/water/ammo/supplies does someone need to have to qualify as a prepper in your book?

But Canada having a strategic reserve of maple syrup is just fine right?

When money is useless, we will revert to a barter system. maple syrup will be a very valuable asset. Its raw energy, something that will be in short supply.

Thus, we will enter Canada and take their syrup at gunpoint

Now THAT's executive thinking!

 gorgon wrote:

 Spacemanvic wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Exactly.

EDIT: it also depends on the level of "prepping." Having supplies for a period of time is one thing. We are very electronic dependant at this point and there are a variety of things that could knock out the grid for a period of time.

Living in a renovated minuteman silo is something altogether different (and cooler).

I just want a hacienda with walls.

and chupacabras.

in the trees...

I've learned from the local Amish: we have a manual well water pump -just in case. We are also friends with our neighbors, as well as members of several clubs/groups/departments (safety in numbers). The prepper show is just more Hollyweird reality show BS.

That's really it, isn't it? If society ends, it's going to be the people that put together a group/team/NEW SOCIETY that survive. As someone said earlier in the thread, if you think you're going to live long term on your own in some bunker off in the woods or desert...well, good luck with that. I'll put my money on the people with diverse skill sets who work together. And quite frankly, I think there'd be plenty of that going on in the event some calamity ends modern society. The entire point of human civilization is that our species figured out they'd benefit more by working together than independently.

One could probably question whether the preppers who build bunkers in some remote location are actually exhibiting some kind of desire to withdraw from society moreso than preparing for some imminent disaster. But psychology really isn't my field, and not something I should dabble it either.

Not to quote Battlestar Galactica, but Im gonna:
"All this has happened before and will happen again."

Rome was actually a very advanced society, and it's influence is still felt to this day. But it did collapse, for a number of reasons that came together at the "right" time. The same is happening to the United States, with some variation but almost on the same path. Both began as Republics, one became an empire (which some argue the US is already). Rome fell to inward corruption, an unsustainable socialist-like system, stagnant behemoth bureaucracy, and towars the end, a massive influx of xenos (not the sci-fi type) that ultimately diluted what it was to be "Roman" as Rome could no longer absorb the flood of cultures. Rome adopted many cultures and assimilated them on their terms. But as Rome grew weak, it forgot itself and began to reflect the cultures moving into the core of the empire.

The point is, nothing is forever, and transition usually involves birth pains. The US one day will fall, it's just the natural order of things. What evolves from that, or when the fall will happen, no one can say. But, I think that preparing for every day disasters (flooding, storms, outtages etc), as well thinking about the future, is a prudent thing.

 Gentleman_Jellyfish wrote:

 Polonius wrote:
Lots of people are likely high functioning schizophrenics, they just don't share it.

This seems a bit far-fetched. Is that just something you pulled out or is their some backing to that claim?

well, it's a bit of a non-sense statement from a technical standpoint, because "schizophrenia" as a diagnosis requires functional limitations, not just a certain number or severity of symptoms.

So, from a technical standpoint, by the time a person could be diagnosed as genuinely psychophenic, they're probably not high functioning anything. Although there are a significant number of people that can treat the symptoms with medication and therapy and are not fully disabled.

More generally, the prevelance of pyschotic symptoms (hallucinations, paranoia, delusions) is supposedly a lot higher than we know. I heard a talk by a psychiatrist who commented that lots of people hear voices or have irrational, bizarre beliefs, but don't mention them because they can work around them. I mean, if you occasionally heard voices, would you see a doctor? What if they didn't really get in the way? Hell, I've read case studies in which a patient complained that after anti-psychotic medication got rid of her voices, she was lonely!

 Grey Templar wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:

 Hordini wrote:

 azazel the cat wrote:
I consider preppers to be moderately-to-high-functioning paranoid schizophrenics.

Well, how are you defining prepper? How much extra food/water/ammo/supplies does someone need to have to qualify as a prepper in your book?

But Canada having a strategic reserve of maple syrup is just fine right?

When money is useless, we will revert to a barter system. maple syrup will be a very valuable asset. Its raw energy, something that will be in short supply.

Thus, we will enter Canada and take their syrup at gunpoint

I highly doubt it, you wont make it through the winter, think of a land war in canada as a land war in russia.

except instead of bears riding unicycles, you would have rabid beavers on dogsleds.

canadians have a pretty high per capita rate of gun ownership too, so i think you will have to trade queso for maple syrup if you want to avoid the rabid beaver dogsled army (which will be well equipped with all the norinco stuff you yanks cant buy down there)

its really odd actually, having cheaper ammo up here then in the states (23c/shot of 223 right now!)

 easysauce wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:

 Hordini wrote:

 azazel the cat wrote:
I consider preppers to be moderately-to-high-functioning paranoid schizophrenics.

Well, how are you defining prepper? How much extra food/water/ammo/supplies does someone need to have to qualify as a prepper in your book?

But Canada having a strategic reserve of maple syrup is just fine right?

When money is useless, we will revert to a barter system. maple syrup will be a very valuable asset. Its raw energy, something that will be in short supply.

Thus, we will enter Canada and take their syrup at gunpoint

I highly doubt it, you wont make it through the winter, think of a land war in canada as a land war in russia.

except instead of bears riding unicycles, you would have rabid beavers on dogsleds.

canadians have a pretty high per capita rate of gun ownership too, so i think you will have to trade queso for maple syrup if you want to avoid the rabid beaver dogsled army (which will be well equipped with all the norinco stuff you yanks cant buy down there)

its really odd actually, having cheaper ammo up here then in the states (23c/shot of 223 right now!)

I have tamed my share of beavers. They do not intimidate me......Ammo prices will go down, trust me. Gun prices have stabilized and will come to realistic levels.

But you forgot, we have Frazzled, which means we have Badger Dogs. And Beavers are like Badgers.

Ergo: Quae omnia nobis est syrupus

 Spacemanvic wrote:

Not to quote Battlestar Galactica, but Im gonna:
"All this has happened before and will happen again."

Rome was actually a very advanced society, and it's influence is still felt to this day. But it did collapse, for a number of reasons that came together at the "right" time.

I agree with you up to this point.

The same is happening to the United States, with some variation but almost on the same path.

The point is, nothing is forever, and transition usually involves birth pains.

There's surprisingly little to connect the US to the classical roman empire, aside from both being powerful nations.

Rome was a highly centralized dictatorship with a low level of economic freedom and who had pinned economic growth primarily on miltary expansion. It was also an empire, with much of it's territory and peopel held more or less against their will. The US is far more culturually and politically integrated, with universal citizenship and suffrage. The US also has a capitist economy that grows on it's own.

It's easy to look at the US today, and see Rome in 400 AD. It's just not a very accurate view. The US has a growing economy, a vibrant culture, and still makes advances in science and technology. More and more people are engaging in the politcal sphere, and long term demographic shifts (namely the rising latino population) are softened by a high degree of assimilation among children and grandchildren of immigrants.

the most worrying trend in the US, from a long term health perspective, is probably the quickly growing income gap between the rich and non-rich. And even then, you don't need to go back to 400AD to find a predecessor. We had the same thing in the 1890s, and while it took a while, we figured it out. And actually, life for the poor is better now than at any time in human history. It's the middle class that's really taking it hard now.

 Grey Templar wrote:
But you forgot, we have Frazzled, which means we have Badger Dogs. And Beavers are like Badgers.

Ergo: Quae omnia nobis est syrupus

Just say Quebec wants more money and don't want English permitted anywhere. While Western Canada is collectively face palming, WE STRIKE!

 Polonius wrote:

 Spacemanvic wrote:

Not to quote Battlestar Galactica, but Im gonna:
"All this has happened before and will happen again."

Rome was actually a very advanced society, and it's influence is still felt to this day. But it did collapse, for a number of reasons that came together at the "right" time.

I agree with you up to this point.

The same is happening to the United States, with some variation but almost on the same path.

The point is, nothing is forever, and transition usually involves birth pains.

There's surprisingly little to connect the US to the classical roman empire, aside from both being powerful nations.

Rome was a highly centralized dictatorship with a low level of economic freedom and who had pinned economic growth primarily on miltary expansion. It was also an empire, with much of it's territory and peopel held more or less against their will. The US is far more culturually and politically integrated, with universal citizenship and suffrage. The US also has a capitist economy that grows on it's own.

It's easy to look at the US today, and see Rome in 400 AD. It's just not a very accurate view. The US has a growing economy, a vibrant culture, and still makes advances in science and technology. More and more people are engaging in the politcal sphere, and long term demographic shifts (namely the rising latino population) are softened by a high degree of assimilation among children and grandchildren of immigrants.

the most worrying trend in the US, from a long term health perspective, is probably the quickly growing income gap between the rich and non-rich. And even then, you don't need to go back to 400AD to find a predecessor. We had the same thing in the 1890s, and while it took a while, we figured it out. And actually, life for the poor is better now than at any time in human history. It's the middle class that's really taking it hard now.

I had amended that post, did you read the amended version?
You are taking it too literally. But at the same time, the US is right now going through a transition period. We are not a true capitalist system, and lately we are developing a growing class dependent on government help which do NOT contribute to maintaining "the system". Add to this an influx of illegal aliens who do NOT want to assimilate and in some areas of the country, have successfully changed the infected communities with their culture. At one point, immigrants did want their children to assimilate to make something of themselves. But the illegal aliens we have now, do not want to go that path. They want the handout. And we have people in this country already expecting the handout. The problem is, the people that pay into the system (middle class) are getting squeezed out. In many instances, those on the dole have more rights/support than those trying to make their way. This is not sustainable.

I'm now envisioning a maple syrup based retelling of the Trojan horse.

"It was then, drunk on an irresistible mixture of syrup, pancakes, waffles and crepes that the Mounties disembarked from their empty keg transports, and struck with ruthless determination.

Truly, it was a dark day in the history of all mankind, but they say that the flowers in that field continue to grow the most vibrant colours of them all, fed as the soil did on the blood and sugar shed that day..."

All joking aside, this thread has reminded me to refill some of my supplies and look into an updated first aid kit for the condo. Something to do over the next few months before winter sets in.

 Spacemanvic wrote:
I had amended that post, did you read the amended version?

I had not, but, you actually made less sense with the amendment.

You are taking it too literally. But at the same time, the US is right now going through a transition period. We are not a true capitalist system, and lately we are developing a growing class dependent on government help which do NOT contribute to maintaining "the system". Add to this an influx of illegal aliens who do NOT want to assimilate and in some areas of the country, have successfully changed the infected communities with their culture. At one point, immigrants did want their children to assimilate to make something of themselves. But the illegal aliens we have now, do not want to go that path. They want the handout. And we have people in this country already expecting the handout. The problem is, the people that pay into the system (middle class) are getting squeezed out. In many instances, those on the dole have more rights/support than those trying to make their way. This is not sustainable.

I think you've succombed the the "barbarians at the gates" mode of thinking, which colors your analysis.

Illegal immigrants is a broad term, but most would love to assimilate. They can't, not because they hate america, but because they have no realistic path to legal residency, much less citizenship. The US has absorbed massive waves of immigration, far larger than the current one, and has move ahead without a tick. The vitriol spilled against modern immigrants infecting communititis with their culture is indistinguishible from that spilled against southern and eastern europeans in the early 20th century, Irish in the late 19th century, or even Germans early on. Once people are citizens and pay taxes and own a tiny piece of the country, they start caring a lot more. Look to France if you want to see a poor job of assimilation.

And yes, incoming populations bring cultures with them, and that can change the US. That's called evolotion, and it's an alternative to extinction.

As for the welfare class, well... I aint' gonna change your mind on that. I think the middle class has an enemy, I just don't think it's the poor.