their fears to their actions,” Ellis told Newsmax. The movement also tends to see


growth during election years, al- though this current cycle has seen an unusually large rise, according to Ellis, who says that might partly be due to trends showing the country becoming increasingly divided along political lines. “This election, we are seeing a particularly large spike in searches in areas that indicate people are taking more of an active role in preparations,” explained Ellis, who underscored that he does not speak for the Department of Defense. However, Ellis says the factor most


responsible for the sharp increase in Americans preparing for the worst- case scenario is their own real-world experiences. “For many in the current genera-


tion, making the decision to prepare for extreme times is rational,” said Ellis. “If you were born in 1995, that means you were 6 years old during 9/11, then witnessed Hurricane Katrina, and that was followed by supply shocks during the COVID-19 pandemic. “For these people, it is not illogical


to want insurance,” he said. “In fact, it’s completely logical.” Adding to their anxieties were a se- ries of other signs that America’s basic


8% of all preppers do as their primary language


not speak English


structures are less resilient than pre- viously believed, including: the 2021 power grid crisis in Texas that left mil- lions without electricity; the July out- ages for thousands of AT&T mobile us- ers; the 2020 riots following the death of George Floyd, which saw cities burn and thousands of storefronts looted; and this year, the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The movement is also shedding


previous stereotypes as it becomes more diverse, according to Ellis, who says he has been analyzing years of recent FEMA data to better under- stand the state of personal prepared- ness in America. In his findings, it was revealed that


increasing numbers of people of color as well as political progressives have joined the prepper community. “That preciously held stereotype


people have long had of preppers as white nationalist types is just no lon- ger true,” said Ellis. “The reality is that the movement has become significant- ly more diverse and can no longer be attributed to a single archetype.” As evidence, Ellis points to data


showing that around 8% of all prep- pers do not speak English as their pri- mary language. Jennifer Council, a homeschool-


ing mother of four and self-described Black urban farmer in a suburb north- west of Denver, told Newsmax that the commonly held view of preppers as part of an extremist, right-wing, anti- government fringe group is comical. “Oh, I know all about the stereotype


of this tattooed white man who has a bunch of guns and rants all the time, but that obviously hasn’t been my ex-


RESOURCEFUL Jennifer Council, a mother of four, wants to be self-suficient in case of a disaster.


Survival Bunkers Go Mainstream R


on Hubbard is CEO of Atlas Survival Shelters, a


sprawling, 10-acre facility just outside of Dallas that touts


itself as the largest bomb shelter factory in the world. He tells Newsmax that


while growth in his industry


has exploded, we haven’t seen anything yet. “Bomb shelters are a very hot item right now, but just


wait,” said Hubbard, who is about to embark on a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign promoting his


48 NEWSMAX | OCTOBER 2024


JENNIFER COUNCIL COURTESY OF SELF / BUNKER COURTESY OF ATLAS SHELTERS


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