So what's the difference between a prepper and survivalist?

[sirdroseph]

Those who do not prep normally die. Therefore, if you prep you are a survivalist.

That's about how I sees it.

[Pedro wyoming]

The difference is semantic. We are all preppers, even the sheeple. The difference is magnitude. In some cases orders of magnitude. How many people do you know that buy 7 squares of toilet paper each day? How about 2 eggs? 4 slices of bacon? or one potato?
Even the sheeple buy eggs a dozen at a time and TP in full rolls.

The distinction is magnitude...
The sheep buys one roll of TP, which they will hold in a frightened hand in the dark while they poop in a trash can after SHTF.

The survivalist uses his MRE accessory pack while holding his AR-15A5MK 3 rifle at the ready and reads "Anarchist's Cookbook" through binocular NVD, with an IR chemlight taped to his ballistic helmet.

The prepper read "Strategies of Composting with Humanure" in LED light powered by a 1.2 megawatt PV, hydro, wind power energy system while discharging his future fertiliser into his composting toilet. Enjoying his morning constitutional because his 6 cooperators, 9 rottweilers and 12 high resolution security cams watch the surrounding terrain.

Hooda thunk describing the "business" would ever be so amusing.

pW

[IronDawg]

The distinction is magnitude...
The sheep buys one roll of TP, which they will hold in a frightened hand in the dark while they poop in a trash can after SHTF.

The survivalist uses his MRE accessory pack while holding his AR-15A5MK 3 rifle at the ready and reads "Anarchist's Cookbook" through binocular NVD, with an IR chemlight taped to his ballistic helmet.

The prepper read "Strategies of Composting with Humanure" in LED light powered by a 1.2 megawatt PV, hydro, wind power energy system while discharging his future fertiliser into his composting toilet. Enjoying his morning constitutional because his 6 cooperators, 9 rottweilers and 12 high resolution security cams watch the surrounding terrain.

pW

So Pedro...

If I sneak off and fertilize my neighbor's porch in the darkness because he never returned some borrowed tools... what catagory would I fit in???

Anyway, to the poster who claimed that founderant's OP was somehow divisive: let me know your address because I feel another batch brewing. Founderant has, and will remain I'm sure, one of the great one's on this site that brings people together. For goodness sake's man, that the whole basis for his project!

[Pedro wyoming]

So Pedro...

If I sneak off and fertilize my neighbor's porch in the darkness because he never returned some borrowed tools... what catagory would I fit in???
ROFLMAO
Dawg,
That depends on whether you bag it or make an "express" delivery.

Anyway, to the poster who claimed that founderant's OP was somehow divisive: let me know your address because I feel another batch brewing. Founderant has, and will remain I'm sure, one of the great one's on this site that brings people together. For goodness sake's man, that the whole basis for his project!

I have, in two years, never found FounderAnt to be divisive. He has posed thought provoking questions that have spawned good conversation and i have the highest respect for him and his ANTS network.

pW

[USMCWife2010]

The distinction is magnitude...
The sheep buys one roll of TP, which they will hold in a frightened hand in the dark while they poop in a trash can after SHTF.

The survivalist uses his MRE accessory pack while holding his AR-15A5MK 3 rifle at the ready and reads "Anarchist's Cookbook" through binocular NVD, with an IR chemlight taped to his ballistic helmet.

The prepper read "Strategies of Composting with Humanure" in LED light powered by a 1.2 megawatt PV, hydro, wind power energy system while discharging his future fertiliser into his composting toilet. Enjoying his morning constitutional because his 6 cooperators, 9 rottweilers and 12 high resolution security cams watch the surrounding terrain.

Hooda thunk describing the "business" would ever be so amusing.

pW

You provided some of the best word pictures I've read in a long time. My co-workers now know I'm obviously not working because I'm laughing too hard!

[retired prepper]

I think the image the media has created confuses survivalist with a white supremesist in Idaho or somehwere. The public sees skinheads and Nazis with scary guns and lumps us all together. Like all stereotypes it only applies to a few out of millions.

[catfeet]

I think that there are a lot of different definitions of survivalist. You could: Be the guy/gal who is able to survive in the woods without supplies. Be the guy/gal in the bunker who survives on rice & beans. Be the guy/gal who's got a lot of guns and is over the top about this. (I tend to agree with the earlier assesment that survivalists are more agressive...) But, like Nat Geo says, it's about outliers.

I don't think there are a lot of different definitions of prepper. It's more all encompassing. We encompass survivalist and your ordinary cit who's got 3 day food stored for a power outage.

Therein lies the difference.

[bane5150]

What if you fall into the category of both? The term prepper didn't exist 30 years ago when I began storing camping gear and extra food survivalist or sportsman were the 2 terms. I also like all the very high tech survival tools (AR-15, GPS, FLIR, laser range finders, etc.) but can go low tech without a hiccup (bow and arrow, compass and map nav, guesstimating range etc.).
I think its nice to have a lot of stored food and gear but if it was destroyed Id still make it one way are the other in a house or under a lean-to.
.02