I am an Eagle Scout, and the Scout motto is "Be Prepared". I try and make sure I've got supplies to last me at least a couple of weeks if things get crazy, and plans for what to do when my home becomes unlivable. When the winter storm hit and knocked out power in my area, we were ready while many people I knew were scrambling to find food and shelter. I guess growing up in hurricane territory also instills the idea that things can go bad for a while and you need to do what you can to be ready.

It always surprises friends of mine to see that the bottom shelf of my pantry contains a lot of shelf stable meals that only slowly get cycled through. They never understood why I'd bother keeping at least several days worth of food around, "just in case".

Things today really aren't that crazy compared to what they could be like. Things will probably trend more towards normalcy in the next few months. But I know if things go bad, my immediate friends and family will be a bit more comfortable for a while longer than many of those around me.

I think part of it is that people in US have historically faced only several major disruptions ( 1939 depression being one of them ). Most people here have very limited idea how things work, when things are not conveniently available and don't seem all that comfortable with all the new ways they are being fleeced ( bots buying popular items, algorithms tricking them into paying more ).

That's quiet an extremist statement. There's quiet a few ticks on the continium from nuclear fallout bunker to a few months of food and water.

I would wager that the majority people, at least in liberal / urban centers, would look down even on “a few months of food and water” preppers, though that may have changed a bit in the past year.

But "a few months of toilet paper" is basically one pack from Costco.

Only if you bought it recently. Most people don't buy more until they've basically run out.

My definition of "preppers" is a lot more specific than "people who stockpile some essential goods to see themselves through basic disasters or disruptions".

And mine used to be as well, but in retrospect I think it's clear that I wasn't being fair. Judging any movement by their extreme fringe is gonna make them look silly.

On the other hand, expanding a term to fit anything that somewhat resembles it really dilutes the meaning.