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[King of Foxes]

I have noticed a lot lately that people are mocking and making fun of people stockpiling food and supplies incase of a further outbreak. Realistically are these people not more intelligent/aware for preparing for the worst?

An example being, today my work advised that if you have access to work from home please feel free to do so for the next couple weeks as well as extending the roles that can work from home and providing laptops. All work from home people are also able to take a second monitor to connect to make it easier. This email was openly mocked by several people, all younger than 30 in general and with no kids/families.

For my country, i find this attitude very odd as all of us here either grew up in the soviet union or their parents grew up in it with all its food shortages, at least with families i know its very common to grow your own food during summer and store it for as long as possible. My wifes parents have a large property and have three potato fields each aprox 1 acre, they usually rest two a season and grow on one but since Ukraine happened they grow on two and rest on one. This means they have a large excess of potatos and they store them in their root celler with any family member who wants being able to take a few buckets if needed. Aswell as preserving other foods as well as smoking meats.

I have stocked up on canned food, smoked meats and we have an additional freezer usually filled with meat that i have also put more in than usual

It's even worse that i see for the foreigners im friends with on facebook, basically all UK and Ireland people are posting about how dumb people who prep are.

But why is it not better to be prepared and not need it than need it and not be prepared, i really dont understand.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Maybe not in every case, but mocking preparation is one way people handle the dread of what might happen. Makes them feel better about not preparing.

 

[Paasei]

Because it's a flu with the addition that it is contagious.

So far everyone who died from it, is pretty much either really old/young and/or has no proper functioning immune system.
These people would die from a regular flu too.

I don't mock it, but I do think its highly exaggerated

 

[ipukespiders]

Because all they’re doing is gathering supplies for the toughest guy on the block.
(Stolen from Bill Burr)

 

[MudoSkills]

Partly because people are bad at prepping, and panic buying is fucking things up for everyone else.

 

[Stilton Disco]

Partly because people are bad at prepping, and panic buying is fucking things up for everyone else.

This. If everyone were sensibly buying a few extra of the long lasting items they always buy anyway, most people wouldn't give a shit.

It's the nut jobs panic buying, doing moronic insanity like filling shopping trolleys with toilet roll and screaming at each other, that are the problem, both because their overreaction makes any preparation look slightly irrational by association, and inconveniencing normal people who just want to wipe their arses and now can't.

 

[Croatoan]

Because instead of buying things that would be reasonable they are fighting over buying thousands of dollars worth of toilet paper....

 

[Nester99]

134 rolls of toilet paper does not actually make more prepared.

 

[Doom85]

Here's a thought: how about already having a good amount of food and TP stored up? For fucks sake, we're about to end winter, and at least in my area there was barely any snow, but that's not a guarantee, and in my lifetime there was one instance of a massive snowstorm that left us stuck in our house for like a week. But we had more than enough food and other essentials to get buy.

I'm not saying go way overboard in supplying up, but people panicking and start doing this sort of thing now just shows how ill-prepared they were if a separate emergency that wasn't this virus had dropped out of nowhere. No one's asking you to have an emergency bunker or some shit, but come on, this is basic adult-ing.

 

[Decontamination Silo]

Our culture mocks any positive effort.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[Mihos]

Ask again in about 12 months. It's always funny to look back at panic threads a year or so later.

 

[Allforce]

We have a decent stocked pantry most of the time anyways as well as "Lil' Kroger" in the basement which is just shelving units with non-perishables. I mean if it comes to it I got enough soup to last a few months alone already

I told my wife to order a few extra bottles of hand soap, dish soap, and get some gallon water bottles yesterday at the store just to stock up a bit. People driving the price of Purell up like 500% when the CDC is literally saying "wash your hands and you're good". Toiler paper I don't get why people are stocking up so hard.

We'll probably just keep buying 2-4 gallons of water every week for the next month or so just to have a supply if necessary but we're not going overboard.

 

[Ellery]

It gives them a sense of superiority, but then karma strikes and brings them the australian toilet paper shitting crisis and they have to improvise.
Whether prepping is actually stupid or not can only be judged in the future when shit hits the fan or not. Hindsight is 20/20

The one mistake here is to think that corona virus is your enemy, but in reality it is other people. The people who make fun of prepping are the ones that think the Corona virus isn't serious and be that as it may and not the point of discussion necessarily, it's the other people and what they do you should consider.
Even a fake crisis/panic can put a big strain on the economy/society and impact it heavily. Also in times like these there is money to be made from it. I wasn't ready and didn't react properly what otherwise could have been easy money. I am not mocking those that did. I actually envy that one dude who made 5 million from hygiene products and masks because he was the first to react.

I didn't prep. I am usually well stocked and every now and then you can count on good old magic poo. I don't mock people that are prepping, but I also don't want to stockpile a gigantic amount of toilet paper/food etc. I can go pretty long with being minimalistic if necessary, but so far I don't have any reason to panic, because I also usually buy stuff on sale and then plenty of it like a rotation of never buying at full price and always having enough until the next sale starts.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Maybe not in every case, but mocking preparation is one way people handle the dread of what might happen. Makes them feel better about not preparing.

I feel that's the case with 9 out of 10 people. The remaining 1 out of 10 remembers not to brag and not to talk about hoarding supplies.

 

[ManaByte]

Maybe not in every case, but mocking preparation is one way people handle the dread of what might happen. Makes them feel better about not preparing.

No, people are being mocked because they're being fucking idiots. Instead of buying things like canned food, that you actually need to survive, they're hoarding toilet paper and anti-bacterial hand sanitizer to fight a virus.

 

[triplestation]

 

[Dontero]

Why did chicken cross the street ?

Opinions are opinions. They don't matter. Opinions change as events unfold.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

No, people are being mocked because they're being fucking idiots. Instead of buying things like canned food, that you actually need to survive, they're hoarding toilet paper and anti-bacterial hand sanitizer to fight a virus.

I remember when my parents bought a sheet of plastic to put over the windows "just in case" there was a widespread anthrax attack. Was pretty funny.

Prepping and prepping in dumb ways are two different things. The OP specifically mentioned "people are mocking and making fun of people stockpiling food and supplies incase of a further outbreak" and didn't single out stanky-butts who need 1000 rolls of tp and several jugs of hand-sanitizer to feel safe.

 

[BlackOlivesMatter]

As an Italian, I always have like a years supply of pasta and San Marzano tomatoes on hand anyway....so, I'm good and who's coming to dinner?

 

[ManaByte]

I remember when my parents bought a sheet of plastic to put over the windows "just in case" there was a widespread anthrax attack. Was pretty funny.

Prepping and prepping in dumb ways are two different things. The OP specifically mentioned "people are mocking and making fun of people stockpiling food and supplies incase of a further outbreak" and didn't single out stanky-butts who need 1000 rolls of tp and several jugs of hand-sanitizer to feel safe.

Because they're not stocking food. I went to the store yesterday and the spam and beans were fully stocked. There was no TP at all though.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Because they're not stocking food. I went to the store yesterday and the spam and beans were fully stocked. There was no TP at all though.

Sounds like you live among a dumb populace. I went to the store yesterday and all their lexicons and thick-framed glasses were completely out of stock.

 

[zeorhymer]

People absolutely have no idea how to prep. They're hoarding tp and Purell. I guess people think that Doordash can bring them food or something.

 

[gunslikewhoa]

Because it's a flu with the addition that it is contagious.

So far everyone who died from it, is pretty much either really old/young and/or has no proper functioning immune system.
These people would die from a regular flu too.

I don't mock it, but I do think its highly exaggerated

This misses the point, though. It's not the coronavirus that's going to empty the stores. It's your neighbors. I walked into work this morning to the Today Show on NBC broadcasting a list of items people should stock up on to the entire country.

If one has the means to buy a few months supply of food and other essentials, they should. They are doing everyone a favor by doing so. Even if there's only a small chance of a run on stores near you, you are one less person competing for goods in a crisis. You are also leaving items on the shelf during a crisis for people who can't afford to stock up in advance.

I heard some Aussie official telling people the other day that they were wasting their time stocking up as most have access to online delivery anyway. Ridiculous. Those goods don't fall from the sky. Even when they aren't delivered directly from your local supermarket, they are coming from a warehouse. There are physical limitations to availability.

My local stores have placed limits on many essential items and afaik, we don't have single known case in our state.

 

[MadAnon]

Prepping and panic shopping in last minute are 2 different things.

And toilet paper hoarding is funniest thing I've ever seen. Like wiping your ass will save you during some social unrest.

 

[Mossybrew]

Because of herd mentality/modern media overhyping everything for precious clicks and views, and people driven by fear not being able to properly estimate the danger of any given scenario. The whole thing is ridiculous and highly mockable.

 

[ManaByte]

People absolutely have no idea how to prep. They're hoarding tp and Purell. I guess people think that Doordash can bring them food or something.

That's probably exactly what they think.

This misses the point, though. It's not the coronavirus that's going to empty the stores. It's your neighbors. I walked into work this morning to the Today Show on NBC broadcasting a list of items people should stock up on to the entire country.

Nice to see the media campaign to stir panic in an election year continues.

 

[BlackOlivesMatter]

There is one person who approves of the t.p. hoarding.

 

[CJY]

 

[Sub_Level]

Our culture mocks any positive effort.

Its not positive in this particular case. Its heavily misguided and in some cases (medical mask panic buy) detrimental to society.

Its like wanting to protect your family from a break-in so you spend $3000 on a decked out AR-15 instead of considering a basic alarm system, home cameras, better locks, barred windows, e.t.c. People aren't thinking critically about the problem.

 

[Decontamination Silo]

Its not positive in this particular case. Its heavily misguided and in some cases (medical mask panic buy) detrimental to society.

Its like wanting to protect your family from a break-in so you spend $3000 on a decked out AR-15 instead of considering a basic alarm system, home cameras, better locks, barred windows, e.t.c. People aren't thinking critically about the problem.

Active pandemic or not, every household would benefit from having a few weeks of food, water and medical supplies.

 

[Whitecrow]

These people would die from a regular flu too.

That's why we shouldnt bring them the flu...

 

[ManaByte]

Active pandemic or not, every household would benefit from having a few weeks of food, water and medical supplies.

Again, they're not stocking that. They're hoarding toilet paper.

Even people on this forum bought into the media driven panic. Just look at the pandemic OT and people in there are claiming 255 million people will die.

 

[Sakura]

Because they are in denial.
They resort to arguments not based on any actual data, or rational thinking.
"There are lots of unreported mild/asymptomatic cases, so the death rate isn't actually high!" We have no idea how many unreported cases there is, nor what the final death rate will be, so it is impossible to claim the death rate will be similar to the flu.
"Cases are already starting to drop in China and South Korea!" The cases are dropping because of quarantine efforts. especially aggressive in the case of China. The whole point of prepping is in case you find yourself under quarantine/lock down.

If your prepping ends up being for nothing, you've got a bunch of food you are going to eat anyway.

All that being said, don't hoard shit you don't actually need.

 

[*Nightwing]

Priorities I guess... let's not stockpile food water and other essential items that will keep us alive, or vitamin c & b that will help keep your immune system up... no, let's make sure we secure our comfort in having soft TP which takes up large space for those Costco 64 roll packs cause it's not like you can't wipe your ass with anything else, nor is it like man whipped his ass with leaves for eons.

And the only reason to think TP is going to be scarce is if you think it is manufactured in somewhere currently majority affected with cornavirus such as China (and it's not cost effective to ship paper products internationally which is why pretty much every country makes the majority of its own TP itself meaning the grand majority of us TP is made in the us and not in risk of running out due to production stopping from workers being quarantined by illness), and the virus can stay alive on physical surfaces for 10 days that we know of so far, so there is no logical excuse leaving the only excuse as irrational panic.

Edit: can't help the shitposting sometimes so had to add

Spoiler

 

[DragoonKain]

People aren’t being mocked for prepping. They’re being mocked for acting like animals and flooding stores like vultures, attacking one another for toilet paper and purell. There’s a difference.

And I can’t envision a scenario where you’d not be able to get toilet paper. Even if the outbreak got worse you’d still be able to run to a store and buy some toilet paper. And if you caught the virus, you could easily have someone buy it for you and just drop it on your front step or porch and not come into contact with them. This isn’t how you prepare for a virus, this is how you prepare for nuclear winter.

Preparing for a virus is practicing hygiene and common sense, not stocking up on suppliesl

 

[ManaByte]

People aren’t being mocked for prepping. They’re being mocked for acting like animals and flooding stores like vultures, attacking one another for toilet paper and purell. There’s a difference.

And I can’t envision a scenario where you’d not be able to get toilet paper. Even if the outbreak got worse you’d still be able to run to a store and buy some toilet paper. And if you caught the virus, you could easily have someone buy it for you and just drop it on your front step or porch and not come into contact with them. This isn’t how you prepare for a virus, this is how you prepare for nuclear winter.

Preparing for a virus is practicing hygiene and common sense, not stocking up on suppliesl

But ORANGE MAN BAD and society is going to collapse before the end of the month.

 

[Vicetrailia]

People aren’t being mocked for prepping. They’re being mocked for acting like animals and flooding stores like vultures, attacking one another for toilet paper and purell. There’s a difference.

And I can’t envision a scenario where you’d not be able to get toilet paper. Even if the outbreak got worse you’d still be able to run to a store and buy some toilet paper. And if you caught the virus, you could easily have someone buy it for you and just drop it on your front step or porch and not come into contact with them. This isn’t how you prepare for a virus, this is how you prepare for nuclear winter.

Preparing for a virus is practicing hygiene and common sense, not stocking up on suppliesl

They're also being mocked for stealing hand sanitizer from gyms, and masks from hospitals and clinics.

And then there are the people trying to make a quick buck, so they steal supplies making supply worse.

 

[GymWolf]

As an Italian, I always have like a years supply of pasta and San Marzano tomatoes on hand anyway....so, I'm good and who's coming to dinner?

Ti do un kg di pistacchio di bronte per 10 kg di pomodori, affare fatto?

 

[Shizumapower]

'Memba the 2009 flu? The worldwide flu that killed over 200,000 people?

2009 swine flu pandemic - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Turn off the news. Panic state.

More history here.

List of epidemics and pandemics - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[ManaByte]

'Memba the 2009 flu? The worldwide flu that killed over 200,000 people?

2009 swine flu pandemic - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Turn off the news. Panic state.

More history here.

List of epidemics and pandemics - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

We have an entire thread where that has been handwaved away in favor of stoking panic.

 

[BlackOlivesMatter]

Ti do un kg di pistacchio di bronte per 10 kg di pomodori, affare fatto?

fammi considerare la tua offerta

 

[GymWolf]

fammi considerare la tua offerta

Cosa hai da considerare? Se la crisi finisce ti rivendi il pistacchio e ne compri 100 kg di pomodori

 

[Shizumapower]

We have an entire thread where that has been handwaved away in favor of stoking panic.

I'm wading through that now....

 

[Sakura]

'Memba the 2009 flu? The worldwide flu that killed over 200,000 people?

2009 swine flu pandemic - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Turn off the news. Panic state.

More history here.

List of epidemics and pandemics - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

The 2009 flu pandemic had a low death rate ever since the beginning. Not sure why people keep trying to compare them.

 

[BlackOlivesMatter]

Cosa hai da considerare? Se la crisi finisce ti rivendi il pistacchio e ne compri 100 kg di pomodori

avro bisogno di carta igienica per addolcire l'affare

 

[Elektro Demon]

They're mocking it because it's an extremely silly thing to do.
It's a flu, nothing more then that, and even if you catch it, if you're not old and have a solid immune system, you have very good chances of survival.
And also, spring is coming soon, that shit will be eradicated by the end of spring, possibly even sooner.
And if you wanna toughen up your immune system, eat lots of garlic, onions, bacon and sausages.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[Elektro Demon]

avro bisogno di carta igienica per addolcire l'affare

Sei finalmente cresciuto in altezza?

 

[ManaByte]

So far 20,000 people have died due to the flu this flu season.

12 from coronavirus. BUY ALL THE TP!!!!



Its funny seeing people with Nancy Pelosi avatars spamming replies Reeeing that the CDC is wrong.