So, Nancy Lanza was a doomsday "prepper" & survivalist:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

33. Actually some of it is understandable and IMO its mostly ignorance, not malice

The source for most of this is from the mother's ex sister in law. Not sure how correct she is but on the surface she presents credibly.

Preppers are suburban/urban versions of the older survivalists...and many of them were anti government cranks and crazy. There is some valid history there.

The Doomsday Prepper show which I saw for the first time recently was both hilarious and scary. I assume it is as phony as many other so called reality shows. However it gives a salacious feel to the term, something many people can't resist, even here on DU.

Many people do not realize that there is a broad prepper spectrum. I freely admit to being at the very small end of it. Like others here on DU, some even on this thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1996670 have owned up to it.

I live in the middle of raw desert in Socal. Since the earthquake is coming, I have water and food stored. I also have a means to convert my solar panels from grid tie to local usage. I have a comm plan to contact my family (I live alone). So yes I have made some plans. All of this is recommended by FEMA and the state disaster people. I know my neighbors (though they are not close) and there would be cooperation.

Prepper is a huge continuum. Some are hardcore TEOTAWAKI idiots that scare the hell out of me. Most are like Mormons doing the 1 year supply of food/provident living thing and are fairly innocuous. Some are like me, Nadin, and others DUers who look at week to a month. The differences are dramatic in cost and attitude.

Everyone knows some preppers along that sliding scale. Many do not talk about it. If they are minor ones, like me, you assume everyone has that level of stuff done. If they are some of the freaks they don't talk about in case the zombies are listening.
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The mom has been labeled as some sort of Doomsday prepper. There is a counter argument building in the media here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022011030#post18 Her preps that we know about are not consistent with that portrayal. Canning seasonal fruit and an inappropriate for prepping weapons collection do not a nut case make. However all the data is not in so I am more than willing to wait for good information.