“ My first responsibility is to take care of my family.”
— Chris Todd
her time fixated on the latest news cycle; she is too busy teaching herself and her children how to become self-reliant. “I don’t have a lot of
perience,” said Council. “I am not right wing, I am not left
wing. I do have tattoos, but I don’t feel I fit into any of those other boxes. “And a lot of other people I know
who are also aspiring to be self-reliant don’t fit into those boxes either, so what does that tell you?” Council, who taught herself how
to butcher goats, make her own cloth- ing, raise vegetables, as well as tend to her flock of chickens, says she person- ally witnessed a large shift on how the movement was perceived following the pandemic. “The uptick was definitely notable,”
said Council. “A lot of perspectives have changed since 2020, and I think that is because the pandemic made people realize how important it is to be able to depend on what you can do for yourself.” For Council, who describes herself
as “inherently independent,” a life- style centered around survival came naturally. She says she doesn’t spend
structures. “It won’t be long before
survival bunkers have gone mainstream in the same way swimming pools have become part of everyday living.” Demand for his shelters,
which start at $20,000 and can go into the millions, first started to increase in 2020 during the pandemic, but then skyrocketed two years later after Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Most of the interest
comes from the nation’s ultra-wealthy, according to
faith in the grocery store. After what we saw happen with the supply chain during the pandemic, I’m not sure how anyone can.”
M
ost preppers are united by a pes- simistic view about what the
future may bring, coupled with pos- sessing little — if any — faith that the government will keep ordinary people safe during future emergencies. This growing lack of trust in America’s ba- sic institutions has translated into a multibillion-dollar business. But a million-dollar bunker may
not be needed to prepare for bad times ahead. Experts say citizens at all income
levels can prepare for unrest. First, preparing for chaos and insta-
bility depends on what you most fear, according to Ellis. “I preach generalized resilience,”
said Ellis. “The first step is to admit you have agency. Fight local and win local.” Simple activities like planting a gar-
Hubbard, who added that during the last week of July, the company had 50 high-end bunkers under construction on its lot.
“It is all about the odds,” said Hubbard, who has helped construct shelters for several high-profile clients, including Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, former professional kickboxer and social media personality Andrew Tate, and reality TV star Kim Kardashian. On the Atlas website, its platinum series promises
den or raising chickens can be relative- ly affordable ways to have some insur- ance in the event of a food shortage, according to Ellis. “If you want change, it starts in your
own community — at the school board meeting or by forging a relationship with the local county commissioner. “Are there rules preventing you
from being allowed to keep chickens in your yard? Is there opportunity for a community garden? If not, how can we change that?” Still, others will feel compelled to
take the next step. For Todd, no one can put a price on security. “No one knows what it is like to go
hungry,” said Todd. “We have become used to comfort. If you take away elec- tricity for a week, you will see a panic like no one has ever seen. “People can feel in their gut that something is wrong, that something big is coming, and they can sense it in their bones. “My first responsibility is to take
care of my family. And living here, I don’t really care what other people might think because what is impor- tant is that now [I’m] prepared to do just that.”
prospective buyers both style and safety: “Ensure your survival during the apocalypse with our custom-built, super-luxury bunkers. Experience both style and security by adding a fortified underground safe room to your home. Our safe rooms feature modern interior design, cutting-edge security features, and the option to upgrade with the renowned Fort Knox Vault Door or any luxury feature of your choice.” Among his clientele, Hubbard says there is
no single factor driving consumers to purchase survival shelters, but a more general feeling of unease. “If you asked people 45
years ago, they would put the odds of a pandemic or a catastrophic nuclear fallout at around 1%. Today, people put the odds at greater than 50%,” said Hubbard. “This is a deeply divided nation, and we may have missed a civil war by just a few millimeters when that bullet grazed [former President Donald] Trump,” he added.
OCTOBER 2024 | NEWSMAX 49
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108
