As the wife of a former over-the-road (OTR) Truck Driver, I used to joke with my kids that their dad and I could be divorced and they would never even know it. After all, he was only home on the weekends, and sometimes only every other weekend, so it was kind of like visitation rights… It became quickly evident by the looks on their faces that my sense of humor didn’t quite line up with theirs.
But that goes to show that a simple word can evoke emotions, and sometimes drama, that isn’t always intended.
Words can evoke powerful emotions in people.
The power of words has been recognized for a long time, and the phrase “The pen is mightier than the sword” is a metonymic adage, coined by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839. Although Bulwer-Lytton was referring to the advocacy of an independent press over violence, the phrase still holds true today with just about any word usage. Yell “Fire” in a crowded hotel lobby and see what happens (No, please don’t do that.). Better still, with a few more precious words, catch a woman leaving a Beauty Salon and ask her how in the world they got her hair to turn such a beautiful green. Yes, words can certainly be fun and entertaining.
Words create imagery and have the ability to paint beautifully vivid pictures in our head, as well, unfortunately, as negative responses and/or reactions. Watch a few episodes of “Doomsday Preppers” and you’ll figure out it’s most likely the reason people look at us strangely when they find out we’re preppers ourselves. After all, according to that show, anyone who claims to be a prepper will certainly have hidden tunnels underground, secret passages and stashes, an expansive armory, and enough food and water in their homes and secret ‘Bug Out Locations’ to make a Wal-Mart Supercenter jealous.
If we look back in time though we’ll see that “prepping” was a way of life long before Y2K, long before the Dust Bowl in the early 1930s, and even further back than that.
According to Grammarlist, “Saving for a rainy day” is an idiom that can be traced at least as far back as the 1500s. Many of us remember our grandparents and great-grandparents putting loose change in a jar or “penny jug”, and some of us have even seen our grandparents stash bills under mattresses, in socks in the ‘sock drawer’, and in old dishes high up in the cupboard. If asked, the answer was usually “just saving for a rainy day”, accompanied by a little secretive smile.
As a side note, something mildly interesting; while digging for legitimate sources on that particular phrase, I came across some articles online that assigned the phrase to a play called “The Bugbears” written in 1580, where it was originally written as ‘Wold he haue me kepe nothing against a raynye day?’. (“The Dictionary of Cliches” by James Rogers (Ballantine Books, New York, 1985)
Certain words and phrases alter perception.
So where am I going with all this about word usage and saving for a rainy day? What does it have to do with prepping and SHTF? Perception and word usage. “Saving for a rainy day” is the same thing as what we’re all doing – we’re just doing it on a bigger scale and with perhaps more dire possibilities/circumstances.
As I said in the beginning, my kids were perfectly fine knowing that their dad was at work making money for the family and would be home on the weekend. Had we really been divorced (just celebrated 38 years, so obviously not), even with the same conditions in place, they would have turned into a blubbering mess.
This response to a word is being called Logomisia: from Greek logos, “words” + Greek misos, “I hate”, and is loosely defined as a strong dislike for a particular word (or type of word) based on its sound, meaning, usage, and/or associations. It’s also known as word aversion or verbal virus. Kind of like the response we get from using the word “Prepper”, or “Teotwawki”, or “Armageddon”.
Knowing my grandmother, had she asked me why I was hoping to can and store more food and water than I could ever possibly eat or drink in a lifetime, and had I answered with a common “Doomsday Prepper” answer like “We’re preparing for the end of the world as we know it”, she would have laughed at me. My grandmother, who went to church every Wednesday and Sunday, gardened, canned, dried, and ‘saved for a rainy day’. She would have told me I was ‘off my rocker’.
Now, most likely she would have said something like that because of her personal beliefs, not because of any word aversion. But people fear what they don’t understand, and fear drives people to do weird things, like laugh, mock, dislike, dismiss, and for the most part label as crazy.
Here’s why it’s important to choose your words carefully.
For operational security and family safety, let alone for all around safety during and after a disaster event, we never want to advertise that we’re preppers because that kind of information can end up in the hands of some very mean and/or dangerous people. But then, on the other hand, having a network of like-minded individuals living in a neighborhood is a good thing. So how do we safely find or identify those who would be a welcome addition to a real-life group without scaring them away or making them think we’re ‘off our rocker’? By carefully choosing the words/phrases we use.
Below is a list of terms/phrases/excuses that I’ve come up with that we can use aside from Prepper (just don’t even use the phrase Doomsday Prepper), hopefully, at the very least, to sniff out some like-minded people, and maybe even encouraging others to do the same as us.
- Just saving for a rainy day.
- It’s kind of like an insurance policy – I save things now so I don’t have to pay for it later.
- I’m not really sure about the stability of the dollar so I like to keep some silver/gold bullion at the bank.
- Just putting something little back so we don’t have to worry about job loss.
- I’m a Canner – I love to can my own foods; that way I know what goes into it – no preservatives!
- I like to can foods to give as gifts.
- I like to make jars of homemade food to have on hand when people are sick and don’t feel like cooking
- I’m a Gardener – I just love to be out there growing things.
- I inevitably grow too much so I can/dry it for later; why let it go to waste?
- My wife/husband loves to cook with fresh herbs so we grow our own.
- Competition shooting is my hobby and ammunition is so expensive- it’s cheaper just to police my brass/casings and reload my own.
- Food just tastes so much better cooked over an open fire.
- I’m just uncomfortable about not having immediate access to water when I’m thirsty, or aspirin when my head is pounding, so I carry a backpack to hold it instead.
- Sharpening my kitchen knives is a lot cheaper than buying a new set.
- We’re just a craft-oriented family. We like to sew, make quilts, garden and can the food; the kids even enjoy making candles.
- I have this rare disease that makes me allergic to beef (this actually exists by the way), so I hunt deer for my red meat.
- This farm was passed down to us from my great grandparents – I’m not about to give it up.
Note: I would have suggested that Survivalist be used in place of Prepper, but evidently being a survivalist is worse than being a prepper. And we all know the two are really very different.
Choosing your words carefully can help you network
As you can see, there are a lot of excuses and reasons that you can give a nosy person who just has to know why you’re doing things that are different from others. Obviously, you don’t really have to explain yourself to anyone – it’s none of their business.
Oftentimes though you can reach a fellow prepper/survivalist by just using the right words or phrasing that they, in turn, pick up on and reply to, allowing you both to instantly know you’re of the same mindset. The more like-minded people you have in real life, the better your chances may be to survive later.
While this isn’t true in all cases (homesteaders and those with lots of acreage are usually capable of existing without networking), it can most certainly be true in urban settings where it’s difficult to produce enough goods for one family for a year.
So choose your words carefully and wisely, and keep an ear out for responses. Remember that situational awareness is key also. You might be a bit passive regarding the neighbor who’s rarely home because he’s always on vacation – until you happen to see his unknown roommate target practicing in the backyard at night with a bow. Maybe they would now be interesting people to invite to a small cookout…?
What do you think?
Are you careful about how you describe your prepping and survivalist activities to people? Which words do you use? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments.
About Sandra
Sandra D. Lane is city born and bred but is a country girl at heart, a published artist (acrylic paintings) and photographer, fellow prepper, animal advocate, handgun competition participant, and Theologian. She currently lives with her husband of 38 years in Tennessee with an ever-growing number of outdoor stray cats.
Living in an area prone to hurricanes, it’s always a good idea to have extra supplies on hand. After all people up north do the same for the winter just in case …..
IMO you left out the best label and that”s Homesteader!
I’m a gardener, canner, prepper. Husband is a hunter. I”m also a writer, and I fully agree with the way words can be used, and how their meanings can affect people.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say a thousand words, (or less) can paint a picture.
I”m reluctant to reveal too much about what we do. However, we live in a small town and I have found that a lot of people I know garden and can, so I’m sure they may be “preppers”. Some just don’t know it.
And, the thing about being allergic to beef? I know it is true. My husband developed a beef allergy. When he would eat it, he broke out in terrible hives. I had to call an ambulance once because he couldn’t breathe. I took us a while to figure out what was causing it. Once we put two and two together, we decided that it was caused from antibiotics used on the cows. The allergy is much better now. He can eat a bit of beef now and then without adverse reactions.
According to the doc my daughter needed to eat Venison as it contains about 4 times the iron as beef. She was iron deficient during pregnancy. I HAADD to hunt more.????
We live in an area where hunting, livestock, gardening and food preservation are common. With new neighbors moving into the area I don’t explain much. When asked, I tell them that we raised 5 kids on one paycheck so it’s what we’ve always done.
I refer to myself as a “wannabe hobby farmer”
This is a great article. I recently got into it with a family member over what turned out to be “a bad choice of words”. I’d like to talk to some folks about the topic but it’s tough finding the right wording and your article has giving me some positive things to employ. When I DO get the chance to discuss prepping with like minded people, my word is prep-steader. When asked to explain it, it becomes very obvious. Thank you for a new perspective and some new terminology.
Whenever I am in a store that has a really good sale on food (or other items) and I am buying multiple items, I get a funny look on the cashiers face. If they ask what am I doing with all the items I tell them “another Girl Scout camping trip and this is what I have to supply”. When multiple shopping I do not visit my neighborhood store but will go out of my area.
Here’s mine: I’m just an old girl scout. The Girl Scout Motto is “Be prepared.” That’s what I told the kids growing up.
I, too, am a writer. Now, anyway. When I was in school (a very long time ago), I learned the power of words in English classes. (Never was any good with punctuation and spelling, though. Thank the heavens for Spell Check & Grammar Check. I would not be published if not for them.)
Then, already an avid reader, as I continued to learn academically and through reading, and life experiences, including a hobby of people watching, it became locked into my mind. Words can hurt, they can heal, they can influence, they can anger, they can calm, and they can convey a huge amount of information.
However, they can be misunderstood. Easily. Language is dynamic and ever changing. New words come into being. Old words quit being used. And, most importantly I believe, the commonly used definitions of words changes. Sometimes this is a slow process and sometimes a quick one. When it takes place in a somewhat closed environment, where those in the environment use the word(s) based on their new definition, those that are not aware of what those using the word mean based on their own definition, then huge misunderstandings can take place. Not only that, but it can lead to a real breakdown in communication because people simply do not understand each other. Kind of like the apple and orange analogy. They wind up talking about two different things, using the same word, but with different meanings to each.
There are word smiths, political ‘spinners’, media ‘spinners’, and personal ‘spinners’ that use words, phrases, and the complete spectrum of communication to create a belief in people that they want them to have, by spinning all sorts of things in ways that can totally change the meaning of the original to the meaning the spinner wants people to believe. One of the uses for this is in demonizing someone or something.
It is what happened in the 80s when MSM (Mainstream Media) began to demonize ‘survivalists’, ‘survivallism’, militias, and several other terms. It is now happening to ‘Prepper’, ‘Prepping’, a some related terms.
One of the most troublesome spins for preppers and the entire nation is that of so-called ‘gun control’. The meaning of gun control is fairly simple. The spinners, however, have been using the phrase for a long time, but have changed their definition to something else much worse. I do not use the term ‘gun control’ anymore, except as a reference like this one.
Now, for those that are promoting ‘gun control’, including ‘reasonable’, ‘common sense’, and like terms actually mean, though they often do not recognize that what they are thinking and wanting to do, actually has another meaning entirely. That term is ‘Civilian Disarmament’. When I respond to discussions about ‘gun control’ I simply do not use that term. I use Civilian Disarmament. I inject it in the conversation, whether it is verbal or non-verbal at every opportunity. It may or may not change the person’s mind, but it will at least, hopefully, cause them to actually think about what they are saying and the meaning of the word(s) and concepts they are using and proposing, usually based on someone else’s influence.
There is a huge difference between gun control and Civilian Disarmament. At least in the way the words and phrases are used. They both do actually mean the same thing now. Removing firearms from anyone not approved by a group of elite people that believe they know better than the average citizen of the US on what we citizens think and believe and want to do.
Moving on. Just a couple more definitions for terms used in the prepping community, and by the general public, that have formed their opinions and beliefs based on MSM use of words that paint specific definitions of those words, whether traditional definitions or technical definitions.
Survivalist: A person that prepares to do without when some type of disaster or event occurs.
Prepper: A person that prepares so he/she will not need to do without when some type of disaster or event occurs.
They are close, and they do have large numbers of common elements. However, the differences can be a major factor in understanding and determining what you will consider yourself, whether you use one of the terms or not. There are ‘preppers’ and ‘survivalists’ both that are preparing for the same events in much the same way. And there are others that not only do not consider themselves as either, and often get offended if it is implied otherwise. They use a term that is comfortable to them. One that they believe others will not link them with various types of undesirable people and situations.
Homesteaders, off-the-grid people, self-sufficient and self-reliant practitioners, DIY people, small-stock suburban farmers, and quite a few more, each with a link to the (usually) primary concept that they are practicing. Just not prepping or survivalism.
To further explain the definitions I use (which I do not think I explained very well above), here is a bit more extended set of definitions:
Survivalist and survivalism: A person/group that tends to believe that if there is a major disaster or nation/world wide event that interrupts the complex infrastructure that we modern humans are dependent upon, and there is a breakdown in government that creates a WROL (Without Rule Of Law) situation where there is little or no authorized law enforcement and justice system working, that they, as survivalists, must be prepared to do without those things that our current lifestyle has available to them.
Sure, they stock up on many things, but are also very highly attuned to the possibility that those items will not be available when they need them the worst, due to a variety of possibilities, so they have the means, knowledge, equipment, and supplies to do without them for a while, to find or create substitutes for them for long-term use, and do their best to ensure that they will have them for that long-term, not matter what else happens or who says what without actual authority.
Preppers and prepping, on the other hand, while it includes most of the elements of survivalism, they are not the primary, nor often even the secondary level of being ready for come-what-may. They do not want to have to ‘rub-two-sticks-together’ to have a fire. They would rather flick their Bic, or use a well-made, very efficient and easy to use ferrocerium rod and striker to start their fire.
They do not want to have set out large numbers of traps (though have them stored) to be able to have a bit of meat from time to time. They store much more of the LTS (Long Term Storage) meats produced commercially or by their own efforts.
The same goes for a safe place to be during and after an event, rather than doing some sort of expedient version. There outlook is that they intend to not only survive but thrive despite whatever might happen, where-as survivalist tend to have the outlook that they will survive, no matter what it takes, even if it will be uncomfortable, require lots of hard work and vigilance. and means that they will not have much, if any, free time for any type of distraction. They will go catch some type of game, find some wild edibles, build a purifier to have clean water, and such.
A prepper will get some freeze-dried meat out of the pantry, harvest a few things from the greenhouse, open the tap of the Berkey for a glass of water, and sit down to eat a nutritious, flavorful meal, while going over the topo maps to plan on where he/she will be putting in the traps so he/she can reduce the dependence on the stored foods, confirm the previously scouted out hunting areas, refresh the memory on where the various guerilla gardens are so they can be check on the next trip out.
This is all: Just my opinion.
We’ve always gardened and canned/dried our produce, but since moving to the island 10 years ago we’ve upped our game. Since most, if not all stores have ‘just in time’ delivery service, and only around 3 days of food as backup, having extra on hand just makes sense. If the ferries can’t dock because of bad weather, then the stores can’t be stocked. Last couple of winters have been colder as well with a bit more snow and more frequent power cuts. I haven’t heard ‘saving for a rainy day’ in quite a few years….I think I’m going to start saying more often.
It’s an old saying: Loose lips sink ships.
Nowadays it can get you killed or at least attacked. (Police? Criminals?)
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I don’t describe myself. I’m just me.
Yes, the power of words. I am not “prepping” or any of the current common terminology used to describe saving for a rainy day. I am, however, preparing for my research that will “take me into the wilderness to study geomagnetism and it’s effects on the human body and psychology.” At my age (no don’t ask because my children and grand-girls all believe I’ll live forever) I am currently working on bringing my body up to wilderness standards. Loosing weight, working with my health-care team to exercise for endurance, and subscribing and practicing with my “Dry Fire Cards” I just ordered because I’ve recently gone through extensive back surgery, that is where I am currently at in my physical recovery. My neurosurgeon giggles and reminds me I am limited to 10 lbs lifting so my son’s AR is out for now. I am an Environmental Scientist and my research is the language I use to explain all my acquisitions and practices. My research will take me into the American wilderness for years at a time and I will not have the time to stop my experiments to “re-stock” my supplies. I have my son’s experience as a US Marine to help me with my physical and mental endurance as part of my care-team, and while he is very aware of my current physical limitations, he does provide his unique motivational terminology that helps remind me of my end-goals. He also instructs me on abilities he feels I need and provides certain tools also with instruction in their use.
During my recovery I still use everyone’s wonderful checklists to put away for a rainy day. Mostly that is on hold for now because of my physical limitations. No worries though, I have plenty of time to experiment with my hydroponic growth system for the sides of my motor-home this summer while I recuperate and finish my BOB’s, EDC’s, and other necessary rainy day activities. My doctor allows me to use these activities as part of my physical therapy as long as they are within the recuperative limitations, for example – no practicing carrying my BOB if it weighs more than ten pounds, and no moving my 5 gallon jerry cans and water jugs because I am limited to one gallon of milk, lol. I did put my BOBs in the back of my van so I would not have to break the cardinal rule of BLT (no Bending, Lifting, or Twisting) just in case I run across some cool fishing tools, or that hatchet I’ve been drooling over for the last two years. My BOB is known as my “Day pack” for the times I will have to walk far enough from my main camp to require a possible overnight stay to collect sample. I use science as my alternative language. It has served me well and I am confident it will continue to serve me well as I move closer to my end goal.
This article is a fantastic reminder for all of us to be careful of the verbiage we use when describing ourselves. While our actions may provide the possibility of guilty by association, it will be our language that sets us apart.
I used to say that I was preparing for the next earthquake in LA. I love the idea of saying “homesteader” or “wanna be farmer”. It takes the political out of what we do. ????
I have adressed this topic before. I was PREPPER oriented, big time, for a long time. And I got burned out by all the negativity on a lot of prepper websites/blogs. The majority were very judgemental. “Newbies’ were often subjected to a lot of crap for not knowing better. And their info was often just regurgirtated ‘crap’. I instead went towards more ‘homesteading’ type sites, which were much more helpful and less judgemental. Homesteading and prepping are different but not mutually exclusive. It is more of an ‘attitude’ kinda thing, and yes, it also is a ‘label’/word kind of thing.
Poor, Lew. A hunting you will go.
My daughter is allergic to beef! It is true.
I love your writing, Jerry D. Young.