Focus Study: Survivalists PDF

7/27/23 Focus study: Survivalists Conformity and Nonconformity 1 Survivalists Survivalists are part of a modern movement originating in the United States who have recently experienced a res...

7/27/23 Focus study: Survivalists Conformity and Nonconformity 1 Survivalists Survivalists are part of a modern movement originating in the United States who have recently experienced a resurgence of interest due to rising fears related to globalisation, terrorism, political upheaval, pandemic and climate change. Focused on individual salvation, survivalists are continually preparing for a future where both government and civic infrastructure fail. The group commit to the stockpiling of ‘Standard of Living Insurance’. This ‘insurance’ is more commonly known as food, water filters and shelter. 2 1  7/27/23 Survivalists ‘survivalists’ is an umbrella term encompassing all those who seek to maintain a certain lifestyle during times of chaos. This can range from people who simply aim to keep a reasonable stockpile of essential supplies, through to some very extreme and fringe groups preparing for complete armageddon. While this study will make some reference to the more radical elements, the main focus will be on mainstream survivalists, and the survivalist subgroup known as the ‘preppers’, a term which emerged in the early 2000s. 3 Survivalists The movement began in earnest during the Cold War, when fears of nuclear fallout prompted people to begin preparing for ‘The End of the World as We Know It’ (TEOTWAWKI). Since then, numerous survivalist organisations and groups have developed around the world. 4 2  7/27/23 5 Survivalists Preppers share many of the same values as traditional survivalists, in contemporary society they are seen as mainstream or ‘survivalism lite’. However, it is important to note that this group did not make an active move to distinguish themselves from the more radical aspects of the movement until 2010. Furthermore, as the movement spreads around the world with fears associated with global events such as rising terrorism and COVID-19, prepping is gaining ground in countries where the right to bear arms does not exist, yet people feel the same compulsion to prepare for TEOTWAWKI 6 3  7/27/23 7 Survivalist vocabulary: 8 4  7/27/23 Dot point: the historical and social development of the group 9 Historical and social development of survivalists Survivalism has its roots in history alongside the original settlers who had to rely on their own survival skills such as tilling the land, building their own homes, catching and hunting game, canning food, weaving cloth and making their own clothes, to name a few. Indeed, these early settlers could be named as the original survivalists, and their lifestyle is often romanticised by survivalists as a reflection of the autonomy of previous generations. Technological innovations, modern conveniences and the luxuries associated with urban living means that these early skills have deteriorated to the point where if a disaster were to happen today, most of us would be totally unprepared for life without assistance It is this situation survivalists are preparing for. 10 5  7/27/23 The history of survivalism can best be divided into four main stages: 11 1945–70: Cold War paranoia and the retreaters Often referred to as retreaters, early survivalists began to organise with the end of World War II and the dawn of the nuclear age. Following the successful Soviet test of its first nuclear weapon in 1949, and developing social paranoia, the US government encouraged their citizens to build fallout shelters, and bomb drills became a part of most people’s daily lives. This was further reinforced in classrooms as the American public were educated on how to survive a nuclear bomb with movies such as Duck and Cover 12 6  7/27/23 13 1970–90: Retreaters and survivalists Despite the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, perceived social threats continued to escalate, causing many to take up the cause. On 1 April 1979, Jimmy Carter signed Executive Order 12148, creating the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The goal was to alleviate the impact of, respond to and aid citizens in their recovery from disasters and acts of terror, but many survivalists doubted the agency’s effectiveness. 14 7  7/27/23 1970–90: Retreaters and survivalists (cont) From 1977 to 1982, Mel Tappan, an early survivalist leader, published his Personal Survival Letter, a newsletter devoted to providing information about survival in the face of major catastrophe, while also advocating for ‘bugging out’. The United States experienced a number of energy crises brought on by the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, which caused the Middle East to impose an oil embargo. This lasted until 1974, and caused fears of energy shortage. These fears of a world without energy were repeated with the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986, and then again in August 1990 when Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein launched an attack on Kuwait. 15 1990s–2010: Radicals, extremists and the emergence of preppers The 1990s brought about a split in the prevailing ideology, with the development of a far right-wing, anti-government, conservative branch of survivalism. Although the movement as a whole was still based on individual salvation and the maintenance of quality of life in the face of disaster, a negative stereotype was created, associating survivalism with acts of domestic terrorism. 16 8  7/27/23 1990s–2010: Radicals, extremists and the emergence of preppers The Y2K scare (a fear that computer systems relying on older programs would crash when the date changed from 1999 to 2000) brought about a revival. People felt that major infrastructure programs could fail, causing unknown amounts of havoc. In fact, due to the amount of work done on reprogramming old systems in the years leading up to 2000, there were no significant problems. For many outside the community, this ‘non-event’ reinforced the idea that survivalist ideology was illogical and extreme. A number of events in the 2000s threatened people’s sense of security, such as the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (11 September 2001). The United States Office of Homeland Security, created in 2001, began to encourage more citizen involvement, and offered guidance on how to be best prepared in the event of a disaster. Their website – ready.gov – includes tips and tricks for how to best prepare for a disaster. 17 18 9  7/27/23 2010 – present: Prepping as mainstream The years since 2010 have seen an increasing number of survivalist publications, podcasts, blogs and websites. While prepping urges one to anticipate a move away from mainstream society, it is also important for those who share these values to connect and foster their fundamental beliefs. As noted, it was around 2010 that preppers started to actively distinguish themselves from more radical survivalist groups, due to differences in fundamental beliefs. Survivalists are becoming increasingly reliant on building connections across a multitude of digital platforms. For example, dating website Survivalist Singles encourages people of ‘prepared mind’ to meet and help each other enjoy the softer side of the (prepping) journey. 19 The role of technology Technology has also been used to normalise prepping within mainstream society through the broadcast of Doomsday Preppers, a TV show created by the National Geographic Channel in 2011 and airing until 2014. The program received four million viewers for its premiere, and by the end of its first season was the most popular show in the channel’s history. 20 10  7/27/23 Survivalist’s today? The prepper movement continues to grow and has started to spread, especially in the United Kingdom where social concern developed over fears surrounding the impact of Brexit. The prepping movement gained momentum with the spread of COVID- 19, drawing in supporters from across society, even people who align themselves politically to the left, a smaller trend known as ‘liberal preppers’. Therefore, while this movement is still stereotyped as radical and right wing, across changing political and environmental landscapes, it is seen as an insurance policy for the future. 21 The role of status, authority, power, privilege and responsibility within the group 22 11  7/27/23 23 Anti-Government Sentiment Survivalists are born out of anti-government sentiment. From domestic and international events including: the Cold War, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, the war in Kuwait and Y2K 24 12  7/27/23 Shared Philosophy- Loss of Power and authority Standard of living insurance: accumulation of goods for their continued well being. Many Americans don’t trust the government to manage large-scale disasters. E.g. people impacted by Hurricane Katrina were provided with inadequate and dangerous shelter in the Louisiana Superdome. For survivalists, the Superdome has become a metaphor for the loss of authority by the government. FEMA, the agency in charge of mitigating disasters, has attracted the nickname Foolishly Expecting Meaningful Aid, diminishing the status of the government within society. 25 Power: Doomsday clock Doomsday Clock has been used by survivalists as a means to legitimise the survivalist movement; as life as we know it gets closer to its demise, survivalists are stockpiling valued resources. In 2020 the clock was set by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists to 100 seconds before ‘midnight’. Midnight being diaster Started in 1947- development of nuclear arms 26 13