66& of fluwikians are female according to the fluwiki-survey. In other boards there seems also to be a female prevalence. But most flu-experts are male. Why is it ? Can we conclude that panflu-awareness is considerably higher among females ?
no
yes
no
Do you suppose preparedness, threat awareness and willingness to ask directions are all somehow linked?
yes
don’t listen to him… he’s not a prepper (chuckles)
now then to the beat the crap out of moeb part… I’ve said on several occasions that the predominance of .. plethora of.. well darn it anyway, I believe that people who have extra time.. be it soccor mom, retirees, the unemployed, soon to be unemployed or self employed (smiles) make up a majority of fluwikians who post. mommies by nature worry greatly about their children
(ducks flying baby bottles….)
moeb, you crack me up:-)
there is a tiny flaw in your hypothesis though…
Mom’s never have ‘extra’ time:-)
oops, that was me:-)
having never been a mommy (well except for the time I raised nine baby budgies by hand)… hmmm you know what I’m going to agree and try to adjust my thought process :-)
hears Tom snicker in the background….
I think we’ve gone from just being the nest-builders, to the hunters & gatherers too. And whether we actively serve as the primary prepper or not we know how to delegate and persuade so that the hunting and gathering get done.
The husband and I both prep but I’m not working outside the home right now so I’m the primary prepper simply because I have the time.
I think many men who are in the Husband / Father role, have lost the leadership trait to “look out” for the next villain coming up over the hill. Teaching our boys to be protective fathers is a lost art. For some reason, if you are a chivalric gentleman, you get chided for demeaning women.
I am a work at home father, I have two full time jobs, but I spend as much time with my son as I can to discuss his responsibilities to the family, ours and the one he will have one day (he is 15). One thing I teach him, is no matter what, as a Father it is going to be his and only his duty and responsibility to ensure the protection and survival of his own family.
This lost art or role is necessary for the survival of the species. So as nature hates a vacuum, Mothers will protect their flock with all of their soul; the Lady of the house steps in. Knowing that the security of her children is at stake, knowing that for whatever reason, the male is not living up to what nature has designed. The compassionate Mother, must also now be the Sheriff, the bread maker and the lookout.
All of this of course takes away from the intended purpose of Mothers, to love, nurture and teach her children.
I fear that discussions like this are not taking place any longer with our boys.
Too bad for us.
Have a great day!!!!
Worldman – at 00:51 --- I disagree. I think males still have a leadership/fatherly role, but males in general tend to look at things from a logical, “show it to me so I can fend it off” sensibility, whereas females are more nesting, protecting the offspring, emotional “ain’t nuthin’ gonna happen to my babies” mentality. That’s not to say that either is a bad thing, and far be it for me to tell any woman that she’s not logical. (Don’t go there!)
But it’s not a “lost” art, per se, but instead it’s been shelved because our sons and daughters are growing up so much earlier now. As parents, we don’t want to discuss “adult” things too early with them, yet in recent years, those same kids are teaching the parents about the world. And don’t forget, too, that a lot of “passing the torch” has been taken away by laws that are supposedly designed to protect our kids from us.
Bronco Bill – at 01:03 “But it’s not a “lost” art, per se, but instead it’s been shelved because our sons and daughters are growing up so much earlier now. As parents, we don’t want to discuss “adult” things too early with them, yet in recent years, those same kids are teaching the parents about the world. And don’t forget, too, that a lot of “passing the torch” has been taken away by laws that are supposedly designed to protect our kids from us. “
Good comments, but you have to admit, We are not our Fathers, in some ways thats good, in others (the lost traditional family) that is bad.
Thanks for the feedback.
Have a great day!!
well, I dunno… but… I’d trade all my bags of beans and rice for Eccles solar preps! (I think he’s a he.)
Worldman @0051: “as a Father it is going to be his and only his duty and responsibility to ensure the protection and survival of his own family.
This lost art or role is necessary for the survival of the species. So as nature hates a vacuum, Mothers will protect their flock with all of their soul; the Lady of the house steps in. Knowing that the security of her children is at stake, knowing that for whatever reason, the male is not living up to what nature has designed. The compassionate Mother, must also now be the Sheriff, the bread maker and the lookout.
All of this of course takes away from the intended purpose of Mothers, to love, nurture and teach her children.”
I disagree. Saying that males aren’t living up to what nature has designed if they don’t do some society-designated role is to paint all males with a very broad brush without taking into consideration that there are frequently extenuating circumstances that simply prevent them from spending much time with their children.
For instance: I am a military brat who married a career military man who was gone quite frequently due to deployments and TDYs. My husband shirked nothing, let alone his responsibilities to his children but if we had limited our family to gender-specific roles as defined by society or religion, our kids would have been in big trouble and completely unprepared for life on their own.
Yes, I took on both roles as needed but I never considered it as stepping outside my role as a mother. I’m just as capable as anyone, male or female, so why shouldn’t I teach my children what they need to know when they need to know it instead of waiting for their father to get back from wherever he was?
Well, I can’t speak for others but in our case it is that fact that my partner is out hunting and gathering (well, working for our sole income) that means that I am left to sort out things like prepping and worrying about what’s on the horizon. He doesn’t have the time and can’t really be doing stuff like finding out the best deals on rice. I look after the house and the children so it makes sense (as I do 95 percent of the cooking)that I would know what we would need to get in to live off for an extended period of time. I am also the person who tends to deal with the school, doctors etc so I would tend to be the family expert on when the kids should be kept at home. He would always accept that I know that side of things better just as I accept that he understands the financial side of things better. Division of labour is less exhausting.
Male, a beer, beans and bullets, kind of guy. My formative years were during the cold war.
I think perhaps the survey reflects more the fact that men aren’t as likely to participate in such a survey. I know several men who read the wiki regularly and have posted nary a comment.
As for our house, I’m the information gatherer and planner, but DH is every bit the implementer right alongside me. Even our kids help us when we are organizing stuff.
On another survey note, I came across a survey on our local news station’s web site. There were nearly 9,000 repsondents with a full 82% saying they are very or somewhat concerned about avian flu while 28% were not at all concerned. I thought that was a good size sample and interesting (and surprising) results. This station has also been running avian flu specials every morning and afternoon. They are being very serious about it, none of the usual hoo-hoo, hee-hee jocularity that normally dribbles out of these bobbleheads.
I agree WIW.
My husband is the sole bread winner, and is very much the head of the household. Yet I do the prepping.
He provides for us, he protects us, and he does the manual labor that we should not, or could not do. To expect him to take time from those things so he can go shopping is silly.
He has however, taken over prepping for lighting, heating, cooking fuels, camping supplies, gasoline, and ammo. Probably because he got sick of me calling from walmart every 5 minutes asking “which one of these propane tanks?” or “theres so many boxes of ammo, which one should I get?” Much simpler to just run in and do it himself! LOL
originally I thought this thread a bit humorous… but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s great for spurring lurkers to act, to prep. women looking at this will be encouraged, men who read this and have held back in the past, may participate more fully in prepping
kudos to the mous~
66% of fluwikians are female according to the fluwiki-survey.
This is just a random thought, but perhaps those of the female persuasion are more apt to post and complete surveys.
Edna Mode – at 07:31 “I think perhaps the survey reflects more the fact that men aren’t as likely to participate in such a survey. I know several men who read the wiki regularly and have posted nary a comment.”
I agree. Women usually tend to talk and discuss issues, especially health issues, much more than men. I think there is a inherent trait in women which causes them to communicate more along these lines. This is a good thing. More children survive childhood because mothers communicate and teach each other.
Men do the same, but not in an overt manner. There is an inherent trait in men not to be percieved as weak, so we tend to discreatly direct our communications towards “experts” that we know and trust. This may be the reason why some men are less likely to post on the fluwiki forum and prefer to lurk and learn. Want to know why men don’t stop and ask directions? We have a strong desire to not be percieved as having a weakness or chink in our armour.
Another totally different reason is that many men did not take typing in school so they hesitate to put their “hunt and peck” skills to work on the fluwiki. They come here to learn, not “hunt and peck”.
Lurk and learn, prep and prepare.
Worldman, I disagree with your statement that “One thing I teach him, is no matter what, as a Father it is going to be his and only his duty and responsibility to ensure the protection and survival of his own family.” I don’t think it is SOLEY the males responsibility for protection and survival, rather that BOTH parents are responsible.
Everything else you said, I agree wholeheartedly with. I see far too many “wussified” males today who have no concept of responsibility to families, nor of duty and honor. Many are self-absorbed “feel-gooders” who do only whatever it is that makes THEM feel good, and to heck with everyone and everything else.
I also agree with Bronco Bill’s statements that “As parents, we don’t want to discuss “adult” things too early with them, yet in recent years, those same kids are teaching the parents about the world. And don’t forget, too, that a lot of “passing the torch” has been taken away by laws that are supposedly designed to protect our kids from us.” Kids are like sponges, they can absorb vast amounts of knowledge. It’s pretty common to see parents who are teaching their kid to read at age 2, but not teaching any substantial morals, behavioral or social skills to their kids “because they’re too young”. One cannot rely on a child learning solely by example… I believe that it’s EXTREMELY important to also explain the “why” of something that needs to be done. I know that as an adult, I am loathe to perform tasks that seem to have no meaning and seem designed only to fill time. If I know the PURPOSE of a task, it seems to be easier, and I can’t imagine that kids are any different. Childhood is training for adulthood, not a time of blissful ignorance to be enjoyed for 18 years, after which time you are plopped into the “real world” and expected to cope. Life is a puzzle, the pieces interlock, if a kid knows the “why’s” AND “how’s” of different things it will make the pieces fit together easier.
When anything more than eye-rolling and a timid “If you don’t stop that you’ll get a time-out” can mean child abuse charges, parents become afraid of their own kids and fail to provide leadership and discipline.
Our household is like WiW and CiV. Dh is sole breadwinner, plus he’s in charge of cars/fuel/power/gennys/ammo/ all that stuff. I do the shopping, organizing-such as it is, homeschooling , and health related stuff. He spend a LOT of time on-line gathering info on solar power/ alternate energy/ and well, yes, cars.
of the two of us-I’m much more likely to fill out a survey.
My DH is just as avid prepper as I am, he just doesn’t like to post. He leaves all of the writing to me, he reads more on this forum than I do, prints out info for me and we discuss it all in great detail. Ya’ll have given us ideas and solutions that we would never even have considered prior to 6 months ago. I guess we really should be frankiewjim, oh well. I scan alot of different types of forums and info gathering places, some I write on, some I just lurke. Every morning @ 5am, my DH reads ya’ll and looks for anything new. i check mid-morning (today early, we have errands this am)and then I check again late afternoon.
good feedback, thank you
Being a stay-at-home mom, soccer mom, whatever you want to call it is a very, very important job that helps grow families.
That said, many of the stay-at-home mothers I know search for something fulfilling beyond their families to make themselves feel important, needed, worthwhile, etc. - as though the incredible job they do as mothers is not enough.
I have found that they latch on to certain causes, concerns, fears, etc. and make it their all-consuming obsession (outside the kids).
The tone here on the wiki has definitely changed over the last year+. There seem to be a lot more soccer-mom types who “feel,” “hope,” “believe”… that certain things are going to happen in relation to AI. Their posts are often emotional and often lack common sense and are based solely on their “feelings.”
Most of the people I find myself wanting to tell “step back, take a breath and think for a moment about what you are saying,” are the moms.
anonymous – at 09:48
Your perception. Men are here. Men just aren’t posting.
By the way, your insinuation that soccer mom’s are all emotion and no logic is bogus. I can see why you’d post anonymously.
(pardon the over liberal use of apostrophe; rephrased and forgot to fix that)
In our household it is a matter of sharing of the workload. My husband works like a dog … he is there when/if I need to discuss something with him. I keep him updated and he makes suggestions and has made a few purchases of his own.
Yes, I am the one that brought the subject up in the first place but he is the one that was able to fit it in with current events, which is his forte’.
Basically, he is the capital and I am the one that turns the captial into physical assets.
Every household works slightly differently. Ours runs along a more traditional model … but we also own our own business and non-traditionally homeschool our kids. We have five kids … but there can be an argument as to whether that is traditional or non-traditional depending on which era you are looking at. <grin>
What the heck … if it works for you in your family, go for it. Don’t bother with labels. Just work like a team with each person having their strengths and weaknesses and each person having a place of value on the team.
Edna Mode – at 09:58
I never said that men aren’t here, Edna. I said that, “Most of the people I find myself wanting to tell “step back, take a breath and think for a moment about what you are saying,” are the moms.”
I expect to get flamed for this as the soccer-moms rally to defend their positions.
You can agree or disagree, but the irrationally emotional posts from many of the soccer moms speak for themselves.
anonymous – at 10:03
Not a flame, I just think you have failed to take into account that most first time posters are emotionally charged. Getting that first taste of possible pandemic possiblities … the ovewhelming view of “what might be” turns people’s heads regardless of sex.
Kathy in FL – at 10:06
Excellent point. Thank you.
The wiki, as was its intention, has grown. It is accessible to everyone and that’s terrific. In the beginning, though, the discussions seemed to be much less emotionally driven – even from the newbies. The discussions were much more rational and fact based.
There still are exceedingly intelligent discussions here, but the percentage of them overall has dropped. I guess that is to be expected as the user base of the wiki grows and starts bringing in more people from different backgrounds, etc.
I appreciate your post. Thanks again.
My personal observation is that most “current” preppers or “issue” preppers tend to be female, but “long term, non issue” preppers tend to be men.
I’ve been doing this (prepping as you now call it) since back before the MSM turned “survivalist” into a bad word.
As usual the question can be divided into components which can be looked at from different perspectives. :)
I don’t know if men or women prep more, but I do know from reading these threads that Gary Near Death Valley is a testosterone-loaded prepper who makes all the rest of us (men and women)look like sissies. I think he should give lessons in this stuff.
I have found that they latch on to certain causes, concerns, fears, etc. and make it their all-consuming obsession (outside the kids). You can agree or disagree, but the irrationally emotional posts from many of the soccer moms speak for themselves.
So is Goju a soccar mom???
anonymous – at 09:48
Hmmm… unprovoked, over-generalised and gratuitously insulting and belittling remarks about stay at home mothers… nope can’t imagine why so many of us feel undervalued or in need of outside validation. :)
First paragraph was from anonymous….and soccer should be spelled with an ‘e’….sorry.
I’m-workin’-on-it – at 11:34
Maybe I need to add extra-sensitive too? Please re-read my posts.
I stand by my assertion that, “You can agree or disagree, but the irrationally emotional posts from many of the soccer moms speak for themselves.”
I apologize, my last post was not meant for I’m-workin’-on-it, but rather Worried in Wales – at 11:36
Kathy in FL – at 10:06 Not a flame, I just think you have failed to take into account that most first time posters are emotionally charged. Getting that first taste of possible pandemic possiblities … the ovewhelming view of “what might be” turns people’s heads regardless of sex.
Thank you, Kathy. As always, grounded, open-minded, and reality-based.
anonymous – at 11:45
And evidently I disagree. Incidentally, I would consider prejudging the intellectual, emotional or psychological condition of a disparate group of people merely on the basis of their occupation to be exceptionally irrational and emotionally based.
anonymous – at 09:48 Being a stay-at-home mom, soccer mom, whatever you want to call it is a very, very important job that helps grow families. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I beleive that a good mother needs very little beyond her family to fulfill her. She is joyed by thier accomplishments, she feels pain when they are hurt, she lifts them up when they fall, and she feels pride when they have done right. That is what a real mother is, feelings, love, and beleiving. Mothers, good mothers, feel. And personally I wouldn’t have it any other way.
There is no better job, anywhere, than being a good mother.
Prepping for disasters is just an extention of that job. So to me, it makes complete sense that posts written by mothers would be more emotional, simply because mothers are supposta be that way.
Carrey in VA: “I beleive that a good mother needs very little beyond her family to fulfill her.”
i’m inclined to disagree with this statement.
i’m a single (preferred term, ‘independent’) mother, and have been, from the start. and i’m a great mother! if i may say so. tho also find tremendous fulfillment in my work, personal interests, and master’s degree program in PH. so as much as i love being my daughter’s mother, i couldn’t be so tremendously excellent ; ) at what i do as a mother, without the fulfillment i experience from personal pursuit.
far as prepping goes… it’s certainly not because i have the extra time to do it in. i think the fact that i do it all otherwise tho leads me to prep. i don’t have any faith that a man will do any of what i do better than i do, including making assessments regarding the need to prep or no.
thank gawd i don’t have to consult anyone else before doing what i do.
chivalry is just about extinct at this point.
I think we have lots of manly men on the board, and I’m glad! Their advice has been priceless.
If my Dh weren’t so busy with work he’d be in full-prep mode as well. IF TSHTF his work will slow down (okay, basically stop) so he’ll have lots of time to help me with the heavy lifting, teaching the kids, etc. In the meantime it’s all my responsibility. It can feel a bit overwhelming sometimes and I often feel like I’m the only one in the entire state of CT who is prepping, but I have three little ones to take care of and that keeps me going.
Me, I’m a martial arts mom. single mom, I do all the prepping. Work full time, I do get emotional and cry, sometimes over goofy things. I do wish I had help prep..electricity challenged and would like help with heavy things…and someone to talk to about it. We all make up the world and will need each other, whether testesterone challanged or not we help each other prepare, intelectually,emotionally…
Just had to pull in some “science/health” stuff here. Having run a Public Health Library in a major medical center I have to say that the fact that the percentage of females is only 66% shows a great deal of involvement on the part of males.
Health marketers, including pharmaceutical companies market to women because the women in our society are the ones who are concerned about there own health and the health of their families. If you will notice, most (health) magazines are targeting women, even the ones about men’s health.
As far as the flu experts being male, that is probably due to the fact that very few women, until recently, were encouraged to be educated in medicine/science, at that level. Also, globally speaking, most societies still don’t encourage young women to become doctors, virologists, geneticists, etc….so seems to make sense.
Oh, and just for the record….I’m the full-time director of a public library, the single mother of an 8 year old girl and a 3 year old boy, have 3 dogs, 6 cats, and a house to maintain. I’m not on the wiki because I have lots of “free” time. I’m on the wiki because I’m informed and concerned.
Worldman @0051: “as a Father it is going to be his and only his duty and responsibility to ensure the protection and survival of his own family. “
Considering the current divorce rate in this country, I’ve had this same conversation with one of my kids. Only difference is I changed the gender from male to female.
I had the conversation with my daughter. We all need to learn to be strong, independent and caring.
Anonymous @1145: “Maybe I need to add extra-sensitive too? Please re-read my posts.
I stand by my assertion that, “You can agree or disagree, but the irrationally emotional posts from many of the soccer moms speak for themselves.”
No, you stand by your opinion, which has as much weight and should be given the same consideration as any post, including the “irrationally emotional” posts of those soccer moms you carelessly dismiss.
As for intelligent, rational discussions, how rational or intelligent is it to label an entire group of people with what you apparently consider a pejorative-“soccer moms”-simply because you don’t like the way those people post?
thanks MLBIT, very interesting. I didn’t know this. How much % of females would you have expected here ? Is there some official statistics available about this ? Those (health) magazines should have one.
not sure what my chromosomal orientation has to do with survival here . . . although I am a far better shot then almost all the men I shoot with (if you want numbers, just ask ;-)
Anon-regarding your soccer mom comments: Despite what some others might think, I’ve been more than tolerant of our postings. You bring a different perspective and question people, which is something we all benefit from. However, your blanket statement that all soccer moms “latch on to certain causes, concerns, fears, etc. and make it their all-consuming obsession” is way off base. Are you a pshychologist? Some kind of “authority” on the female species? How dare you make generalized statements about a group of people when you know NOTHING about them. Keep your personal feelings and derogatory comments about others off the boards please.
Flame off…
From Science Teacher at 23:05: “We all need to learn to be strong, independent and caring.”
Well said.
From Hillbilly Bill at 08:21 - ‘random’ thought
LOL. Yes, we can only say that 66 percent of fluwikians who answered the survey were female.
I’m more concerned about the next billion.
Anon – at 23:54 “Maybe I need to add extra-sensitive too? Please re-read my posts….I stand by my assertion that, “You can agree or disagree, but the irrationally emotional posts from many of the soccer moms speak for themselves.”
Anonymous @1145: No, you stand by your opinion, which has as much weight and should be given the same consideration as any post, including the “irrationally emotional” posts of those soccer moms you carelessly dismiss. As for intelligent, rational discussions, how rational or intelligent is it to label an entire group of people with what you apparently consider a pejorative-“soccer moms”-simply because you don’t like the way those people post?
Well put Anonymous at 11:45. Labeling is the defense of a small mind that is incapable of discerning shades of gray in human behavior. The “soccer moms” I sat with at my son’s practice Monday night comprised an anesthetist, a microbiologist, a technical editor who recently finished editing a 1,700-page manuscript on separation process engineering, an MEd., and a small-business owner who operates three or four environmental testing laboratories in three different states. Obviously the argument that soccer moms are empty vessels looking for validation by obsessively latching on to the latest cause du jour is itself hollow.
A lot of women being “emotional” here…
A lot of women articulately refuting an inane generalization here…
Your turn now, anonymous. Post so you can feel superior having the last word, and then we’ll all hopefully be done with it. It’s a waste of everyone’s time and energy, to say nothing of Wiki resources.
anonymous-08:54 When women stop expressing emotion there will be serious trouble afoot.
Posie – at 21:43
I must disagree and say that “chivalry is Not extinct”. Granted I am on the high side of fifty but I do open or hold doors for women, I allow first entry into and out of elevators, offer help in carrying objects, heavy or not, hold and slid in their chairs when seating. The list goes on and on – I have been married for 37 years to truly wonderful women whom I still buy flowers for – just for the hell of it, no special occasion needed.
I make it a point to listen to her when she needs to unload after a hard day at work, I cook, do the dishes and clean the house with her. Note that I am not allowed to do the laundry due to a small mistake I made years ago, something about separating colors – who knew?
It is I who is making all the preparations for whatever is coming down the road, be it the flu, weather, terrorist – whatever. My family knows without any questions that “Don’t worry, Daddy will take care of it”. I have always taken care of my family and will continue to do so until the time comes when I take my dirt bath.
Maybe I am just an old leftover chauvinist pig but it is my job to ensure that my wife, daughter, grandkids, etc. are protected and cared for – whatever the cost.
From this old farts perspective being a man, married or not, involves many responsibilities to ones self and those that he loves, and I feel that there are a lot more of us out there then some believe.
Lastly, I know I am not alone in this thinking as reading the comments from others in this forum leads me to believe that like in everything else, there are good and bad – here in the fluwikie it appears that the good men are rising to the top, and it is my guess that they have a good woman beside them.
can’t we just split the board ? One for females and one for males ?
Thom – at 09:39
Amen to what you said. I believe you and I have very similar views on how our side of the species table should behave. Unfortunately, I will have to respectfully disagree with you on your premise that “there are a lot more of us out there then some believe”
Besides my son and I; I am not aware of anyone in my circle of friends who hold the same manners or are willing to show the same respect you mentioned. (And I have a fairly large circle). I would like to think I am wrong and you are right.
I would like to take a moment to thank all of the strong Ladies on this thread who have added so much to this discussion. It sort of veered off the flu subject, but the comments have been stimulating none the less.
Have a great day!!!
Worldman
anonymous – at 09:56 can’t we just split the board ? One for females and one for males ?
TROLL
What scares me about this whole gender identity issue and the pandemic is that if my DH gets sick I will have to hold down the fort. I’m trying to pay more attention to things like how to start the generator. But he has a whole skill set I lack. And vice versa. I can do most things he can, but I’m just not mechanical or good at fixing stuff at all. But I’m trying. I think those skills will be much more important than they are now.
So Thom- I guess the real question is “What if Mommy/Daddy is too sick to take care of it?” I guess we just need to start cross training at home. Even with the kids. I have been spoiled and have, in turn, spoiled my family. And suddenly it’s not so cute or funny at all.
anonymous at 09:48 and various other times:
You can go stand in the corner for a week for trolling.
All:
Note that this isn’t the same anonymous as the one who started the thread.
Thanks, pogge—
Thom at at 9:39 “ My family knows without any questions that “Don’t worry, Daddy will take care of it”.
Somehow, I would like your message better if you changed part of your message to “Don’t worry, WE will take care of it. (or for a single person, “I will take care of it”. ) Prepperbabe’s comments were very instructive. Crosstraining of skills may very well be essential to survival in a pandemic. If you were not around would you not want your spouse to have aquired some of those skills that have served you well over the years? Chivalry, though, I always enjoy it. : )
This thread need not become a contention of who plays what roles but rather a sharing of skills necessary for survival. Here’s an idea for many of you…, Have you and your spouse each make a list of special skills you each have. Compare lists. Try to crosstrain each other in areas where your skills may be lacking. Have fun ( and patience :) in training each other.
For single folks, I hired a handyman for 6 hours to come into my home and train me in some areas that I was not too self sufficient in that I felt might cause me problems during a pandemic. I paid him $ 100.00. Money well spent!
I think this comes down to not men or women, but rather what each of us is willing to do in a runup to or in th eaftermath of a pandemic. If it makes people feel better to vent their concerns and frustrations here, why not let them?
Prepperbabe – correct you are about cross training, I guess I should have provided a little more detail. I do indeed worry about my wife, she would be in big trouble if I am out of the picture, she neither likes to, has had any desire to or has gotten ‘down & dirty’ in learning to fix things - that was always my job. A saving grace is my daughter has been working beside me (hands on) since she was about 8 – at 35 she is still not afraid to get her hands dirty. We have worked together with everything from fixing cars, doing electrical wiring, plumbing, etc. I am also very luckily in that over the years I have amassed quite a collection of tools that include hand and power tools for just about anything that may happen. I have many spares covering plumbing, electric, just about everything in and outside the house I can think of – in some cases I have spares for the spares. I am also blessed by the fact that my daughter is married to a great and smart young man who also is quite capable in repair / replace tasks. They both will move into our home when and if the time comes.
I am documenting procedures on starting my generators, how to fuel them, changing the spark plugs, filters, oil. The location of all the prep supplies and how to use them, etc. is also included. This I have taught my daughter & son-in-law so they can perform these function’s, and others.
I just finished the building on a new home, about sixty miles further south (away from DC) where I am also storing supplies to include food, fuel, and the other items necessary to ensure the survival of my family. I have a propane generator (500 gal buried tank) with ATS that will power the necessary items, well, septic, heat, light, etc. Here too my family members have been beside me and know and understand why and how everything works.
As I attempted to explain in my earlier note – it is my responsibility to make sure the family is safe and secure even if I am not in the picture – and this I am doing but teaching and documenting what will need to be done. If the worse does happen and I am incapacitated or dead my family will have the knowledge and guidance needed to continue on without me.
Thom,
Sounds like you are a good man, husband, and father, others should take lessons from you.
If one/both of us gets ill (or worse) we are definitely in big trouble. As primary care-taker in our house, my dh has no clue how to cook much of anything beyond some basics, wouldn’t know how to turn on the washing machine, and doesn’t know where half the preps are hidden. On the flip-side, I can’t change the oil in my car or lift much beyond my own weight. Fairly traditional roles that need to be reversed as best we can.
In addition, I am trying to teach my children hwo to do some more things on their own. I will also have a emergency kit for them - food they can open/eat without help, water, emergency numbers, etc.
Jefiner – at 10:02
Though Pogge banned my ISP for a week, you should know that there are more than myself and the original poster of this thread posting under “anonymous” here. Splitting the thread between men and women was not my post, nor was the post about women being “emotional” here.
My comments were based upon many of the mothers whom I know. It was not meant to be a generalization of soccer-moms everywhere. I apologize to anyone who took it that way.
BTW, I believe you when you say you are a better shot than a lot of the men you know. Some of the best shooters I know are women, my wife included.
Just thinking about the “soccer mom” thing from a different angle (no anon, I’m not mad any more - appology accepted). But, if we could get more “soccer moms” to prep and push their local communities to prep we might actually have a chance to save this planet. Think of all the other great causes that have started via “soccer moms.” Making them realize that their kids could die, or they could die themselves, would get a great many to act.
Lurker 2, venting is a good thing and this is as good a place as any to do it. My only concern here is with some of the posts where people on here bash others because of some sterotypical belief.
Thom, thank you for explaining more. You sound like one heck of a guy! I am seriously in awe of you. (Boy ,would I like to meet someone like you. Do you have a single twin brother available, perchance? LOL)
anonymous, nice of you to apologize to Jennifer and thanks for the clarification. I hope when you return, you post with a different name, then we could get to know the “real you’.
LauraB – at 12:56 & Science Teacher – at 13:05
Thank you.
Surveys show 66 % of internet polls are useless ;-)
I do notice more females than males on the “flu” boards however.
anonymous at 12:20:
Here’s the quote that caused me to act.
It looks an awful lot to me like an attempt to tell an entire, loosely defined group of people that they should stop posting because they “lack common sense” and they’re bringing the tone of the discussion down. In my opinion, that’s where things started downhill and I’ll stomp on that every time I see it.
That said, you’ve apologized and at least one member has accepted it. In future, a little more care in the way you put things might be in order.
Bronco Bill at 1:03 - “males in general tend to look at things from a logical, “show it to me so I can fend it off” sensibility”…..Thank you for that. That’s my husband. I wasn’t able to see it that way. Unfortunately, he’s not going to be able to fend this one off like he’s used to doing. I know that.
hmmm this is a lively thread.. who is that masked mous~?
anonymous – at 23:56 “thanks MLBIT, very interesting. I didn’t know this. How much % of females would you have expected here ?”
Don’t know the numbers off the top of my head, but it’s a pretty significant difference. I’d have expected somewher in the mid eighties or above. Don’t anyone kill me for saying this, but men and women just look at the world through different lenses. There are biological reasons for that that go way beyond who’s the mommy and who’s the daddy, but you’ll have to research those yourselves. :)
“Is there some official statistics available about this ? Those (health) magazines should have one.”
There definately official statistics on it, but your looking at a dissertation topic, not a quick blurb. Also, given the us against them conflict of the sexes, you’d probably have to do some serious digging to make sure the stats you were looking at weren’t scewed by someones subjective opinion. Whatever the case, I’m glad the guys are here too!
was the Y2K scare dominated by females too ? SARS ? Can we say that (some) panflu publicists especially address females ? Which ? Osterholm,(Oprah-show), DemfromCT (sex-appeal), maybe Siegel come to mind.
pogge, better say in advance what sort of opinions you are going to ban. And how about a warning first ? Doesn’t look to me that 12:20 is planning to be disruptive in future here. See 12:20.
oops, I mean the post which you quoted at 14:46 and attributed to the same ISP as 12:20 and which was elaborated at 12:20. Just someone shouting troll doesn’t already mean troll. Whatever a troll is. (is “it” unisexual ?)
I already addressed 12:20, noted his apology and lifted the suspension.
thanks
If you include the teens my household, we have two male preppers and two female preppers. As for my neighbors, it is much the same.
anonymous – at 12:20
apology accepted. Generalizations are dangerous. I watched a crack mom being dragged into the ER today, foaming at the mouth, spitting and biting, defecating and urinating on the floor, using language that would make a longshoreman proud, AND followed by two very scared little kids. Should we extrapolate that all moms are crackheads with limited vocabulary, then?
Just sayin’.
But thanks for the apology, and please get a name . . .
My wife says that I have “gone overboard” and she wishes I would “just cut it out.” :(
No, I am not female. I am also single. My preps are based on family (my generation is the last) and good friends that have kids for whom I am an “honerary uncle”. I am prepping for them. This may sound like I am trying to be Stan Lee’s next “super-hero” but that is not the case. I am over 50 and I am in my “golden years”, as the MM puts me. My main intent is to try and help my oblivious friends kids.
Understand that I have not given up, I hope to organize my neighbors WTSHTF, but my priority is family and the non-family young-ins.
Mike
Considering the very high number of deaths we may contemplate with panflu, males and females, would it not be a good idea for the more female softy types to learn some of the male rough stuff, and conversely, rather than discussing the respective merits or faults of either sex? Perhaps the Flu Wiki is, in some ways, ideally suited for this kind of education…
FrenchieGirl – at 16:52. Great post.
I think it goes both ways. It is not just the females that need to learn the so-called “rough-stuff” but the males also need to learn the family-based stuff. WTSTHF, who knows who will be left standing? Everyone needs to be at least aware of the possiblities of what may happen and how to deal with it (that includes all members of the “family”, adults, kids, family and friends).
Mike
My DH recently said that he just wasn’t able to visualize a pandemic causing us to resort to the type of living conditions he grew up with back in Ireland. He comes from a very rural area and grew up in a 3 room cottage, no running water, no electricity, no stove (open fire), & for supplemental heat after me testing our kerosene heater he remembers warming up with paraffin oil heater in winter. They used turf for fuel and the cottage had a thatched roof and two feet thick walls with white washed floors of mud. I’m thankful for his experience. He’s grateful I do try to visualize the living conditions of a pandemic. We both bring our experiences to this issue but from very different backgrounds. We are equals but different and he lets me do what I’m good at and he does what he’s good at. Occasionally we try to swap jobs but in all honesty we’re better sticking to our strengths. I do realize the weakness is that if something should happen to either of us the others well-being will be comprised. I’ve decided that should that be the case we need to reach out to our community.
CAMike – at 17:17 — Yes, of course. I did say “and conversely”, meaning the rough stuff males could use learning the softy female skills
FrenchieGirl – at 18:26. Yes, you did.
I missed it in my frenzy to reply. Apologies.
Mike
Perhaps the reason more women appear to be preppers is because we are usually the primary caregivers of our family. No, I don’t have too much time on my hands, after commuting 3 hours five days a week, working full-time, running kids to daycare, school, tumbling, and horseback riding, being the breadwinner and handling the finances of our family, doing all the laundry, cooking, canning, gardening, etc. (Oh, and I’m waiting for a batch of applesauce to process as I write this). Yes, I have a husband who is educated and loves his family, but is literally dangerous with tools and couldn’t fix a hangnail if his life depended on it. I don’t prep because I have too much time on my hands, I prep because I can’t bear the thought of watching my babies die or having to tell them there is no food to eat and no heat to keep them warm.
Oops, that was me. at 00:00
you “anonmice” really should pick names (not you tj). Even just for the one thread keep the same name (you can always change it if that is your desire/point) so we can follow the conversation. All the anonomice make it very difficult. It’s kind of rude to keep doing that, don’t you see that? can’t know whose talking
I think the fluwiki was primarily created for science and information. Not so much for prepping details, caring for the family,pets,gardening, cooking recipes, protecting the children. OK, that too, but I think not primarily. There are other boards which concentrate more on prepping. Am I right mods ?
fakename, why do you need to assign the postings to the posters ? That you can cry out TROLL and peach to the mods when you dislike someone ?
It’s really too bad that this thread got so off-track. There are some wonderful ideas here for all, but especially women. I, for one, found Science Teacher’s post @ 11:02, 21 Sep a real gem. I’ve recently found a handyman and think that having him give me some pointers on maintenance issues is a splendid idea. Perhaps have him put me together a kit? I’ve got lots of tools & supplies, but maybe not the right ones. The fact is, I do not currently have the skills sets that many (not all) men have developed. Despite years of fixing toilets, installing hardware, and performing numerous emergency repairs in a pinch, I could definitely use some specific advice based on my own home and situation. The reality is, women DO have some different prepping issues than men - particularly single women. I don’t intend on brushing these aside for the sake of my not-so-tender ego.
anonymous- I find the anonymous situation very rude also and I have never cried to the Mods. anonymous-“Am I right mods?” now that sounds like a whine to me.
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