How do they even think this?

[Footay]

I have a little story. I am a travel advisor and have a very robust business where I work by referral only. I have a great client - let's call him Rick - who was originally a referral, and now has referred dozens of people to me in additional to his own travel once or twice a year.

I have been working with Rick and his wife on a trip, and we've been going back and forth on ideas and budget. Of course everything has gone up in price, and so we were chatting last evening via phone about this year's pricing vs. 2021, 2020 and 2019.

He told me they had decided on one of the more expensive options since it would be the last time they would travel for awhile, at least. I didn't ask why, but immediately thought there was a family reason, and was hoping there wasn't an illness, etc.

We never talk about things outside of travel, so I was shocked when he then expanded on this by saying he thought that they would stay in the US until "the world righted itself" and proceeded to tell me about all these "planned" events - fires at food plants, gas prices, chicken shortages, beef shortages, an event so that "they" can take guns......

In the last week, he and his wife have purchased deep freezers, a cow, chickens and have planted a garden.

This man who I viewed as completely normal has turned out to be a nut job and I can't believe it. He has gone full prepper in two weeks. I don't understand. Who feeds them this garbage? This seems beyond Fox and friends.

I really had trouble sleeping after that phone call, and can't stop thinking about this. Is this a thing, and I'm the one out of the loop?

[jimfields33]

1. I mean buying a deep freezer, a couple chickens, a cow and growing a garden

doesn’t sound like preppers. In fact, it’s going to save them big bucks on groceries. I could never do this due to my HOA, but I consider him rather fortunate. I honestly think many people do this throughout the country. Good for him. I don’t see a thing wrong with it.

[TigressDem]

3. IF he's ONLY said that he bought these things, I agree.

But he is specifically planning his life around events he "knows" are going to impact the US.

So how would he know about planned attacks on food plants and such if he wasn't on the ALT websites?

[jimfields33]

5. Oh. I thought he was talking past events like chickens having to be killed

The formula disaster and other factory problems affecting our food.

[TigressDem]

7. Yeah, using common sense and planning is more our style than theirs typically.

And IF he hadn't said all these things are happening SO THEY CAN TAKE AWAY OUR GUNS.... it wouldn't have sounded like a dog whistle response to me.

But there is a thread I included with a candidate in the House spouting these same type of theories... they are wrecking the economy so they can take our guns.

So all the awful that is the result of Rethugs not spending money on the schools or roads and watching our world fall apart.

Then Rethugs declare a surplus that needs to go back to the rich and defending those SAME rich who are price gouging our gas prices.

BUT all that is broken CAN'T be their fault, it HAS to be the DEMs trying to make the world a mess so we can take their guns.


OMG.

Keep your "guns" but no one needs an AR-15 with a mega clip that can frighten a dozen or more cops and kill hundreds in minutes.

NO ONE.

[TigressDem]

2. Crazy has gone mainstream and is practically a "positive political ad" in their world

House candidate Carl Paladino
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=16773417

[uponit7771]

4. K&R, if this person is in their 50s then YouTube and Facebook are the feeders of this shit

[sinkingfeeling]

6. I'm glad he won't be traveling internationally.

[UpInArms]

8. The real reason they won't be traveling

is they have chickens and a cow … who have to be fed and cared for EVERY day … forever until they die

Silly rabbits, tricks are for kids!

I have peacocks, horses, cats and dogs. Coordinating travel around them is exceedingly difficult.

[CrackityJones75]

9. I don't see anything too crazy.

He bought a cow is raising chickens and planted a garden? Seems pretty damned reasonable to me. And Fun!

Things ARE going to get bad price wise. When gas goes over $6.00 a gallon food prices are going to be outrageous.

[albacore]

10. Oh, goodie.... another farmer-wanna-be. I pity his poor animals.

Gardens and animals are a 7 day a week proposition. And animals can be 24/7. Wait until the cow (steer, I hope) gets out... when there's a weasel in the henhouse...none of that shit happens when it's convenient, or on a sunny day.
He's buying a new lifestyle like a lot of newbies are buying guns.... sounds like a great idea until you get to the practicalities.

On edit: I am a battle-scarred veteran of the Back to the Land thing in the 70's and 80's. I loved it, but it was all consuming. And hard on the body, too.

[MLAA]

11. Sorry to hear your client is a a gun owner waiting for an opportunity to use it.

I’m all for being as prepared as we can for difficulties and shortages to come from climate change and extreme weather’s impact ruining crops and supply chain delays from floods etc.


I’ve stocked up the pantry with canned goods extra bottled water and long shelf life items to better ‘weather the storms’ we’ve created by destroying our planet.

[Novara]

12. It's shocking when people you thought were rational turn out to be nutjobs

A good portion of people in this country can't THINK. Remember learning that if things sound too crazy to be true, they likely were? Remember learning how to discern truth from fiction? Remember hearing that you should always "trust but verify"?

Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values.

Way too many people fall into this trap. This is how insane ideas get into people who really should know better - it confirms what they WANT to believe so they don't question it.

Before my Mom died, she was in memory care for her Alzheimer's. I visited her as much as I could and got to know some of the staff pretty well. I always liked talking to one of the nurses - she seemed so caring and smart and funny and we always had good conversations. Until she went on one day about "chemtrails." She was absolutely convinced these were real; she even said, "I saw it on Youtube." Oy. When someone cites mass media for literal proof of something, you know they willingly surrendered their common sense, if they had any to begin with. My relationship to that woman was never the same. It came as a shock to find that someone I thought had sense, actually had none.