Gas masks and loo rolls: why ‘preppers’ are on the rise

By Street Asset On May 28, 2024 0 0

After the government advised households to have enough supplies for at least three days in case of a national emergency, attention has turned to people whose doomsday preparations are a way of life.

Previously thought of as the preserve of conspiracy-touting extremists, being “ready for an existential threat has entered the mainstream”, said The Telegraph, and “we’re all preppers now”, said The Critic.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week’s Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

The demography of preppers is shifting in the US, too, said NBC News. As the number doubled in size since 2017 to about 20 million, “much of that growth is from minorities and people considered left-of-centre politically”. Their “sense of insecurity” was “heightened” by Donald Trump’s rise to power, the pandemic, extreme weather and the 2020 protests following the murder of George Floyd.

Gas masks and loo rolls: why ‘preppers’ are on the rise

What is a ‘prepper’?

Get more stuff like this in your inbox

Get more stuff like this
in your inbox