PREP Prepper Anxiety Poll #24

It's time to once again gauge the anxiety members are feeling regarding the current world situation and how they view the relative near-term future.

With a nod to JC Refuge, who developed and created this identical poll the first seventeen times, and to CfI for invaluable assistance, here we go again. The poll will remain up for five days. Your poll responses are private and cannot be viewed, but I encourage you to post your response and why you voted the way you did.

A companion thread:

http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=336489

lists the significant events surrounding the time frame of each poll.

Here are links to all previous polls:

The first poll, June 16, 2004--average score, 1.83:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=104207

The second poll, July 1--average score, 1.65:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=106303

The third poll, July 15--average score, 1.91:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=108265

The fourth poll, August 1--average score, 1.85:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=111006

The fifth poll, August 15--average score, 1.65:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=113376

The sixth poll, September 1--average score, 1.89:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=116464

The seventh poll, September 15--average score, 1.94:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=118574

The eighth poll, October 1--average score, 1.76:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=120887

The ninth poll, October 15--average score, 1.94:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=123099

The tenth poll, November 1--average score, 2.14:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=125432

The eleventh poll, November 15--average score, 1.66:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=128175

The twelfth poll, December 1--average score, 1.58:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=130406

The thirteenth poll, December 15, 2004--average score, 1.59:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showt...hlight=prepper

The fourteenth poll, September 1, 2005--average score, 2.42:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showt...repper+anxiety

The fifteenth poll, July 14, 2006--average score, 2.12:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showt...repper+anxiety

The sixteenth poll, October 9, 2006--average score, 1.92:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showt...repper+anxiety

The seventeenth poll, April 2, 2007--average score, 1.98:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showt...anxiety+

The eighteenth poll, October 23, 2007--average score, 1.90:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showt...anxiety+

The nineteenth poll, January 26, 2008--average score, 1.97:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=274740

The twentieth poll, April 24, 2008—average score, 2.03:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=286030

The 21st poll, July 24, 2008—average score, 2.02:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=295575

The 22nd poll, October 18, 2008—average score, 2.17:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=306775

The 23rd poll, February 16, 2009--average score, 2.48:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=322886

Can;t vote...

watchful, ready, and checking the preps, as a habit

Click to expand...

fits best. I am always watchful and ready. Do the best you can with what you got. Fear is a disease and I won't allow it to fester in my.

Watchful, and as ready as I can be...too busy to worry.

PS: Have you noticed a difference in the vote since Cap & Trade passed the first hurdle?

PPS: I am editing to add, "Today's Pick"--a picture of the tomatoes I had left over AFTER I sent a double-handful of Roma and cherry (the orange kind) tomatoes home with a friend.

Disclaimer: This pic is not thread-drift...it is proof that I am not panicking. LOL

Glued to the screen expecting the worst any day now. Been like that since I found this blighted place.

Somewhat more than normal watchful

I topped off some Food Preps yesterday. Seems like the world is crazier than normal. North Korea's saber rattling is especially unsettling. They are in a position to EMP us one day. I read recently that the .gov is actively preparing for continuity following an EMP attack. So what is the point of pointing a rocket at Hawaii anyway?

Also worried about the potential collapse of the dollar and the effects that would have on our food supply chain.

Also worried about what happens if we reach the unemployement tipping point in our country. I am not sure what that number is, but it's directly related to the collapse of the dollar.

Also worried about what happens when California runs out of cash. Will the Feds bail them out with printed money, also related to collapse of the dollar.

I understand that most states and many municipalities are on the road to insolvency, and their tax receipts will continue to fall as we lose jobs and house prices keep dropping. What happens when the welfare checks can't be cashed anymore?

Also worried what the Chinese will do when they figure out that America isn't buying the flat screen TV's and other discretionary toys anymore, so what is the point of propping up our society/currency.

Then there is H1N1 coming back in the fall with a mutated vengeance.

I better stop before I change my vote!!

I have thrown myself completely into the hands of God, and I can't stress over any of this stuff anymore (or at least I try not to). I watch, horrified and amazed though.

I keep waiting for the good people in this country to get it together.

I voted "glued to the screen..." This is one notch worse than my vote in the previous poll.

Between NK and Iran, and our crumbling situation here in the USA, I am deeply concerned that the situation could become chaotic at any time.

Our treasured Constitutional Republic faces a terrible threat from Obama, as does life and liberty.

mzkitty said:

I have thrown myself completely into the hands of God, and I can't stress over any of this stuff anymore (or at least I try not to). I watch, horrified and amazed though.

I keep waiting for the good people in this country to get it together.

Click to expand...

Same here.

We try to be watchful and as ready as we can be. The rest we leave in the Lords hands, sure don;t like whats going down in so many places and what is happening to our country included.

I voted "watchfull"... .. .

I've been a bit concerned since I found this site several years ago. Cap & trade has activated my nervousness factor, but I'm keeping it under control.

I'm as prepped as I can be, so there's nothing left to do but watch and wait. I don't let it do a lot to change my daily life, but I did nix a weekend in the city that DD wants me to make. I don't like crowds and the more I read about the flu, the more I avoid crowds, even small crowds.

Almost set, just looking at body armor now.

Ben Sunday said:

I voted "glued to the screen..." This is one notch worse than my vote in the previous poll.

Between NK and Iran, and our crumbling situation here in the USA, I am deeply concerned that the situation could become chaotic at any time.

Our treasured Constitutional Republic faces a terrible threat from Obama, as does life and liberty.

Click to expand...

I agree completly !!

Does no one have faith in the Messiah. He will protect us from that nasty
Akmadinthehead in Iran and the cuckoo in N.K. with the big boomers. He will keep our money strong by printing billions so we don't have to worry.
\sarcasm off\

russ3

Watchful here.Preps are at the point that we have been rotating a bit but don't really have much more room for storage without major renovation;-)
Quick story from last shopping trip to Walmart. I like to go late at night and noticed a couple of other guys who had two carts full like I did. We were stealing looks at each other as we made our way up & down the isles(.sp?) -kind of funny,wonder if they prep?

Anyway I usually drop at least 4-5 hundred every time I go instead of wife and I noticed this phenomenon I call grocery cart envy. People stare at the contents and size of my purchases,I see them commenting to their companion if they have one and I am often asked if I have a large family or if I buy a months worth all at once,etc,etc. Sometimes I swear they give me dirty looks, I see jealousy-usually I get these from couples with maybe a small child or two.

Anyone else see this kind of thing increase lately? I know the economy is for shit and some people are really struggling to make ends meet,but I have been doing this for a long time and only recently noticed a change in the interactions/looks I get-I think it's going to get worse too-if it does I might have to modify my modus operandi to blend in a bit better.

The S will HTF. That is not in question and hasn't been for at least a couple of years IMO-here's the question that should be asked to determine if you are materially prepped enough(I know; you can never have "enough";-)If the SHTF right now,today- would I need,really need to rush out to get some things? Obviously if the answer is yes,then you need to get it in gear NOW!


Alot depends on how events will unfold,and what your individual plan is,what you are prepping for,time line,etc, but time is short and getting shorter with each click of the second hand.

I gave up trying to wake some of my freinds and family years ago, but find myself giving it one more try lately,not because of any particular thing but because of the cumulative nature and sheer number and seriousness of the political and economic events that occur on a daily basis.

I don't consider myself to be an uber-doomer, but I have begun to have the distinct feeling (based on the above mentioned "events") that we are in for a tribulation the likes of which the world has not seen before and certainly unlike anyone alive today has ever experienced. I think things will escalate out of control virtually overnight,cutting off communication between freinds and family through traditional methods,alternatives are imperative as is a plan to gather your loved ones close to you when this happens.

This book I read says no one knows the day or the hour,but my personal belief is that it could happen today..or tommorow-it is that close.


I wish good luck and Gods Grace and Mercy to anyone here that reads this post. Jim

Watching here. Still prepping and expecting the fan to start blowing at any time. Maybe it's the book I'm reading (The Road) but it has lit the fire under me to do a little bit more in the prepping department.

After 37 hours, the poll stands at 2.07, which is a considerable drop from the last poll done in February.

VB Granny, sorry. This is the first calculation of the average I have done since starting this poll. No way to have a before and after number.

Topusaret said:

After 37 hours, the poll stands at 2.07, which is a considerable drop from the last poll done in February.

VB Granny, sorry. This is the first calculation of the average I have done since starting this poll. No way to have a before and after number.

Click to expand...

See, the administration talking up the economy HAS done some good......

Southside

Ironically, the crazier things are getting, my anxiety level has decreased to the watchful phase. There are so many things going on hard to settle on one to fear more than another. Another thing is the webbot and other event speculations haven't produced anything significant enough to make me maintain heightened worry about their more dire predictions. It's like I'm waiting for a "sign" or something. Becoming more fatalistic that whatever happens, I'm only an unwilling participant, and can't do much about it.

DUP - sorry system burped with "loading" problem

Very Concerned

Working on food preps!!! I do not think that there is that much time left>

Many legit sources are pointing to a dollar collapse in the October timeframe. There is a rumor of our embassies buying up the local currencies to get by when it happens. This, and the flu, is why I'm on high alert.

Gonecrabbin said:

Anyone else see this kind of thing increase lately? I know the economy is for shit and some people are really struggling to make ends meet,but I have been doing this for a long time and only recently noticed a change in the interactions/looks I get-I think it's going to get worse too-if it does I might have to modify my modus operandi to blend in a bit better.

Click to expand...

Yes, you do need to make some modifications. The cashiers, other customers, and anyone who sees those large purchases and knows who you are will remember them when they get hungry. They will go looking for you!

I try to break up purchases into smaller amounts, like only buying 3 or 4 50 lb bags at a time, LOL. Seriously, when I make major buys, I go to an out of town store where nobody knows me. I pay with cash so there is no paper trail to follow. Maybe I'm overly paranoid, but it makes me feel safer.

Very rarely do I see someone shopping that I think is a prepper. If I've been in the same store with any, they have kept it under control so they aren't obvious.

lectrickitty said:

Yes, you do need to make some modifications. The cashiers, other customers, and anyone who sees those large purchases and knows who you are will remember them when they get hungry. They will go looking for you!

I try to break up purchases into smaller amounts, like only buying 3 or 4 50 lb bags at a time, LOL. Seriously, when I make major buys, I go to an out of town store where nobody knows me. I pay with cash so there is no paper trail to follow. Maybe I'm overly paranoid, but it makes me feel safer.

Very rarely do I see someone shopping that I think is a prepper. If I've been in the same store with any, they have kept it under control so they aren't obvious.

Click to expand...

Most of the time, I'm surrounded by people who are making the same types of large purchases that I am making. Last time, a woman asked me if I owned a summer camp. LOL I told her that I always panicked at the beginning of hurricane season...she said, "Oh, hold my place!" Then she came back a few minutes later with a few more canned goods. We were at Sam's--lots of people buying in bulk there. I'm just hoping that they don't tie my Kroger card to my ATM card...

After 73 hours, the poll stands at 2.09, a small jump from the 37 hour point. Answer up, all you lookie-loo.

Bump

actually, I voted that watchful, ready, and checking the preps, just in case-- but Yesterday and today I find myself glued to the screen, with dread. n If I could change my vote, I would.

I feel ancy, dreading something-- but no idea what.

Not much changed here

Expanding the food preps some, especially in cat and dog food. Planning on making everyone carry and use hand sanitizers come flu season and having clorox hand wipes at the front door. I'm the one with the most "outside contact" due to work, and already use sanitizers several times a day when at work.

A bump to take us into the last 13 hours to cast your vote...hint, hint.

Final bump before the poll closes in five hours.

Well, I finally responded. LOL I voted with the majority as it turns out. Watchful and ready - and checking preps just in case.

But I sure hope it's not time....

Our 24th Prepper Anxiety Poll is now closed.

The final tally after 234 votes is 2.05.

This is a considerable drop from the 23rd poll, which was a record 2.48 completed in February 2009. 31 fewer people voted in this poll than February's poll.

As always, I will completely randomly choose the date and time for the next, 25th, Prepper Anxiety Poll. I should note that part of the long gap between these particular polls was that every time I thought about posting a new poll, some major event would occur. I'd really like to avoid posting these polls during those kinds of times to avoid any "specific incident panic" voting, if you know what I mean. Any thoughts on that anyone would like to share? I've also thought about assigning a random, but specific date for the next poll on the date the current poll ends...thus eliminating any bias introduced by my methodology.

Thanks to all who voted and commented.

Your idea of a "date certain" for the next poll would indeed eliminate bias - and you must consider that avoiding world events introduces a bias all its own. Maybe something on the first of each quarter:

Jan 1
April 1
July 1
Oct 1

Just thinking "out loud"