The Only Types of Preppers You Should Avoid at All Costs

Source: https://www.askaprepper.com/

These days prepper communities and survivalist groups are growing throughout North America and the world. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “Prepper” you’re probably interested in being prepared. Finding people in your area or online to connect with who have a shared interest can sound tempting.

 

However, even if you do share a lot in common, and you might even live in the same community, some preppers can be dangerous.

It might be that they don’t take kindly to anyone sticking their nose in where it doesn’t belong.

It might also be that they’re reckless, and you don’t want to get caught in the line of fire when they make another mistake.

The Macho Man

Someone who is always looking for a fight, and trying to prove they’re the ultimate macho man is someone to avoid both in normal times and when SHTF. Not only do these people draw trouble to them, but they also cause a lot of collateral damage to those around them.

Related: Are You a Bad Neighbor?

Having one of these macho personalities in your inner circle can be even more disastrous. Especially in a situation where you’re all locked down together or in limited space, where there’s a real risk of everyone getting on everyone else’s nerves.

Even if this macho man personality doesn’t end up getting in your face, they’ll end up putting a lot of stress on the rest of the group. In any kind of disaster situation, you need someone who is helping bring the group together, not constantly tearing everyone apart.

Obsessed Only with Firearms

Most preppers have a respectable, if not extensive arsenal.

That’s understandable, as safety is also a very important part of being prepared for a potential catastrophe.

One also needs a respectable firearms collection to be able to hunt game both large and small.

The concern is when a person only preps firearms like they’re Burt Gummer’s secret illegitimate child. A wall full of weapons and a can of SPAM in the corner is more than just an ineffective prepping strategy.

To complement your firearms collection, it’s important to also develop practical home defense skills. The Special Forces Home Defense Academy offers a structured approach to this. Created by former Green Beret Terry Schappert, the academy covers everything from setting up effective security measures to reinforcing your property, offering practical knowledge that goes beyond mere weaponry.

Integrating this kind of training into your preparedness plan helps ensure that you’re not just amassing tools, but also learning how to use them effectively.

The Bragging Prepper

Anyone who brags obsessively about what they’ve got and what they intend to do with it needs to be avoided. This is about more than just not stepping on someone’s ego and having them act out on their boasts toward you.

A bragging prepper can draw a lot of unwanted attention from friends, neighbors, and people who might turn to them when SHTF.

If they’re also a part of your social network or prepper community, who’s to say they won’t start spilling the beans about what they know you have?

Admittedly there’s some gray area here. Ideally, all preppers should encourage their friends, neighbors, and family members to do some prepping. That way they’re better stocked and ready and won’t immediately come to rely on you when a disaster strikes.

It’s when they start helping others understand the basics and start giving you an in-depth inventory that you need to be concerned about how close they are to you.

The Guy Who Wants It to Happen

One of the most miserable types of preppers to avoid is the person who wants the end of the world to come. It’s part of their inner fantasy scheme and they’re constantly sharing that with you.

A lot of times these people are frustrated with their own lives for some reason. It might be a substance abuse problem that they’re not dealing with. It might be social awkwardness, being unemployed, or even an unaddressed mental health problem. They get it in their head that if the world went to cr*p, they’d be able to hit the restart button.

Unfortunately, at the core of this mentality is often a “Fixed Mindset” of someone uncomfortable with change. There might even be a sense of entitlement mixed with a lack of vigorous work ethic.

When what you need in a disaster situation is someone willing to embrace a growth mindset. A person with a fixed mindset who is now even further out of their comfort zone is just going to rebrand their toxic energy and pour it into the new situation.

The Field General

It’s one thing to be a part of a prepper community, yet you want to avoid being seen as a foot soldier in another prepper’s fantasy army.

Everyone wants to feel like they’re in charge, and in command of their own destiny.

That’s completely normal.

Related: Military Items That Might Be Missing From Your Prepping Kit

It’s when someone in your prepper community starts taking command as if you’re all militarizing to form a militia or prepper posse. This sort of field general prepper creates multiple layers of concern that you don’t want to be a part of.

For starters, you don’t want anybody telling you what to do with your preps, your life or your family. I don’t care if they do have military experience. I wouldn’t want to be a foot soldier in anybody’s cause. No matter how just it sounds on paper. You don’t want the price of their bad judgment to cost you your security.

There’s also concern that other people in your prepper community will turn on this field general persona. All it takes is one of two families, getting sick of being bossed around, and suddenly you’re on the wrong side of a mutiny. Switzerland got along just fine in World War Two by remaining neutral, and you can do too!

There’s also the concern that a lot of these field generals are also bragging preppers. They talk a little too loud, too often, to the wrong people. Suddenly they’re on a government watch list. Some guy wearing a windbreaker somewhere starts connecting strings from a push pin on his picture to a push pin on your picture.

The Tunnel-Vision Prepper

A prepper who is only concerned about one single type of scenario is someone you need to avoid just for the sake of being well-rounded.

Some preppers watch a TV show about one potential doomsday disaster. It gets under their skin, and they focus all their prepping efforts on one thing.

For example, if someone is solely focused on preparing for a famine, they might heavily invest in food storage and foraging skills. While these are important, they might overlook other essential preparedness areas, such as water purification and self-defense.

Similarly, a prepper focused only on power outages might build a sophisticated backyard power plant but may neglect other critical needs like first aid and community defense.

A balanced approach to preparedness means addressing a variety of potential scenarios. For instance, in the event of a blackout, setting up an alternative power source is crucial, but you should also consider other needs like food cultivation and water safety.

In the case of an EMP attack, it’s important to protect your valuable electronics to ensure they remain functional. This includes using EMP-proofing measures like this EMP Cloth to shield essential items, such as your electricity generator, from potential damage.

There might not be one single cookie-cutter prepper to avoid at all costs. Yet there are some you don’t want to tangle with or need to keep at arm’s length.

People with a macho-man personality or who seem to want the end to come so they can flex their way out of their unhappy lives are also preppers you should consider avoiding. These are just fights waiting to happen, and you don’t want to be the target or caught up in the mix when their toxic personality goes off.

You also have to consider people with serious addiction issues. Drug addicts and extreme alcoholics can become violent and unpredictable when they lose access to their fix.

You also have to beware of someone who thinks they can shoot their way out of any problem, or who sets up their preps with complete tunnel vision. Preppers with such a narrow vision should be avoided in all but the most extreme circumstances. They often need more than they realize, and if you’re not careful, they’ll try to take it from you.