This is something I’ve been mulling over for a while now and thought I’d toss it out here for discussion. Obviously, in the last few years there has been a HUGE increase in the availability of information relating to prepping and survivalism. The causes for this could be debated for quite some time but for our purposes today, it doesn’t matter why. The fact is, prepping is sort of the new “in” thing to do.
Naturally, when something begins to become popular, people try to capitalize on it. Ten years ago, you’d have been hard pressed to find a book in a local bookstore that talked about any kind of survivalism except for wilderness stuff. Five years ago, websites containing good, solid information on prepping were few and far between.
Today, you can’t swing a dead cat in a bookstore without hitting a book with either “survival” or “prepper” in the title. A quick Google search on the word “prepper” got me over two million hits.
There are people out there who are trying to do nothing more than make a quick buck or two off the popularity of prepping. Others, like myself, are trying to share practical information in hopes of helping folks. I’ll be honest, if there were a way I could truly make a living doing it, I’d be in heaven. But, for me at least, the sharing of knowledge is more important.
My point is this — how can you determine whether someone is truly qualified to be any sort of instructor of prepping and survival? Sure, there are classes here and there on wilderness survival techniques, many of which are incredibly good. But, the living in a debris hut is only one small aspect of what I’d consider survivalism. I mean, there’s food storage, water storage, first aid techniques, security, natural disasters, pandemics, civil unrest, the list goes on and on.
I’ve mentioned before that FEMA offers several classes online that are of interest to preppers. But going through those classes doesn’t really give you anything official. The knowledge you’ll gain is great, to be certain, I’m not dissing on those programs at all.
I guess what I’m getting at is, should there be some sort of organization or entity that could “certify” people as being truly experts in various aspects of survivalism? I mean, I consider myself to be a “disaster readiness expert” based on my three decades of experience and knowledge. I figure if a guy spends 30 years doing something, he’d better be an expert in it by that point, right?
What do y’all think? Do you think some sort of recognized organization might be beneficial to those seeking to learn from true experts, rather than just some dude in his parents’ basement hoping to make a few quick bucks on a slapped together website?
In my opinion the answer would be “No” I say that because at least for me, and in my mind should also be for others, a fairly private thing. You learn by doing, gathering information from trusted sorces / friends etc… and call it paranoia, but you never advertise your prepping. Going to a school or taking any kind of formal class on the subject while a newbie is likely to get good information, or atleast a nudge in the right direction on how and where to start, classes and or instructors will do little more than advertise your intentions. Not implying any covert intentions, but rather your intentions for selfreliance which could bring unwanted hoards to your door, not the least of which the federal government. Now I know your basic question was should people teaching prepping be certified somehow, I still say no. It is up to the one wanting to learn to gather information as quietly as possible. Just my 2 cents on the subject.
I’m not talking about preppers themselves necessarily revealing anything. What I’m getting at it is having some sort of certification process available for those who wish to be instructors of some sort. The idea being to try and cull out those who don’t really know what they’re doing and are just trying to make a quick buck off those who don’t know any better.
This is a very interesting idea, though, I can’t imagine most of the preppers out there would be willing to join because of the anonymity factor… even those people online trying to help others like you do (and I do as well). While I’ve encountered some of what you’re talking about online, I felt like I could see through the BS quickly; I simply left and never came back. I would think that most sensible people would do the same and these people and sites won’t get much traffic, fanfare, or attention from any legitimate source.
I think that what ever information can be shared should be. And lessons need to be taught. But to what end would being certified server if not only to certify others?