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From the KNS article:

He works a day job as a warehouse manager in Knoxville and volunteers as a Boy Scout cubmaster and unit leader.

Because I have previously advocated here and elsewhere in support of the Boy Scouts of America program, I'd like to go on record to assert my belief that this particular "Cubmaster and unit leader" appears not to have undergone a thorough enough background check.

Do hope the organization gets on that really fast...

The story does mention his belief that we will all be microchipped. But it is a huge omission to leave out the guns.

Deductively, if one were of this mindset, it would make more sense to find a more communal situation in order to survive, but what's going on here is completely the opposite. These are misanthropes for the most part.

Exactly, Toby.

I'm a bit of a "prepper" myself--not that I'd dream of pulling $50K from retirement savings, laying in years worth of food and drink, and arming myself to the teeth to fend off the Allies of Satan.

Really, my only thought is to be able to provide sustanance and comfort for a few days--maybe longer--for my own family and any neighbors in need, just through a natural disaster or more remotely following an outside attack of a "9/11" nature or some such.

I first took a few actions of this sort during the years I lived in Southern California, where earthquakes, wildfires, and mudslides happen fairly routinely and local governments advise preparedness. I added a bit more "gear" over time primarily as a consequence of having acquired it during my years as a Scout leader.

But again, my preparedness lacks this me-and-mine-against-the-world, kill-anybody-trys-to-eat-my-grub kind of mentality this guy demonstrates.

On the contrary, my instinct really is "communal," like you advise makes more sense in any "worst case," and my instinct in any emergency I truly believe would be to share anything I could.

So, Randy, as what might preclude this guy from being a Scout leader, I can't exactly say. He's pretty weird, though, and I do know that "a Scout is helpful, friendly, courteous, and kind???"

I'm wondering where he imagines the AK-47s fit into that Scout Law and I think he sounds mentally unstable.

And if anyone questions his mental state because of the beliefs he espouses they are attacking his religious faith.

An afterthought on this topic, Randy: The religious faith he professes, namely Christianity, predicts a "rapture" which would presumably remove him from the action at the "end of time."

This guy doesn't accept the notion of any "rapture," though, and has instead concocted his own notion of how he should contend with the events his professed religion says he won't even be around to witness.

His "religious faith," then, is completely unrelated to the organized religion of Christianity and his war-like preparations most certainly aren't directed by the Bible.

The more I think about it, the more inclined I am to phone Council on Monday morning and suggest to them that this guy poses yet another problem to The Brand--to say nothing of the potential risk inherent in sending one's kids off on a two-night Camporee with a stark raving lunatic.

Seriously. I think BSA needs to hear from concerned citizens about him.

The closest I've come to a disaster is being trapped above Tremont during last summer's wind storm. It was amazing how people pulled together to share comfort, comforters, food, towels etc. I'd like to think people would react with cohesion rather than malice and this guy is just an outlier.

Yeah, to the extent that I stockpile (somewhat) this stuff beyond what might be needed by my own family, it's due to my realization that some people aren't prepared at all.

My late mother, for instance, had an entire living room cabinet stuffed with decorative piller and votive candles, but I discovered she had not one lighter or kitchen match in her whole house. Neither did she own a manual can opener. Neither did she stash a single empty milk jug of drinking water anywhere.

When I realized she needed those things, I got 'em for her.

I also recall a widespread power outage one evening after which I noticed the rental house across the road and down a ways appeared not to light up with any candles or oil lamps. Its tenants were a couple of twenty-something young men whom I rightly predicted had never given such emergencies a thought.

I gathered up a dollar flashlight, two pillar candles in an aluminum pie pan, and a disposable lighter and went with the mister to deliver them to our neighbors.

The guys were so relieved, when the power returned the next day they baked me a cake!

It takes little money to keep a few extras on hand and it takes little space to store them. My experience is that someone near and/or dear is gonna need 'em!

BTW, have you ever seen these Vagabond Stoves, as the Girl Scouts used to call them, made from emptied three pound coffee cans?

The fuel source the decades-old Girl Scout manual used to suggest was a so-called Buddy Burner, made using an empty tuna can.

The manual of the 1960's used to call for melted paraffin to be poured into the tuna can to make the burner, but I've made them with young girls and boys, both, using just old broken crayons for wax.

Even kids can cook burgers, dogs, salmon croguettes, grilled cheese sandwiches, and pancakes and sausage directly on top of the can (although an adult should use two potholders to steady the can when the child is ready to "flip" these foods). You can also place a lightweight saucepan on top of the can to heat soups and such.

To snuff out the burner's flame, all you do is flip the coffee can upside down (with potholders, of course) and set it atop the tuna can.

Anyway, got eight or ten in the garage, ready to go when you need one, and maybe ten or twleve empty coffee cans on hand, too, to make your own. Just ask!

:-)

Generally, store brands are still packed in metal cans (which is what this cheapskate buys, of coures).

Or I have a couple of empty cans to spare?!

Thanks for that, TV.

I was familiar only with the "pre-tribs" doctrine and imagined our prepper had put some twist on same.

But tell me, do "post-tribs" cite any scripture instructive of a need to take on such "war-like" preparations as this fellow is?

(Or possibly I'll need to confine my complaint to this matter of his being a poor manager of his (earthly) resources???)

Min and Pam, I want each of you to have one of these three pound metal coffee cans...