Secret because I don't want this under my username (mostly I'm a bit embarrassed) and I wanted to give others a chance to remain anonymous as well if they want to share beliefs but don't want to broadcast it under their name.

I live across the U.S. from my family; we're practically on different coasts. Today, my mom messaged me on facebook and was all excited because she bought a gun. If you know my mom, (which you obviously don't, haha, but trust me on this one) this is incredibly strange and out of character. She has never ever expressed interest in gun ownership. When I asked her what made her interested in learning to shoot, she said that she and my dad have bought several guns lately to prepare for 12-21-12 "because of food shortages". This was NOT the answer I was expecting! They are also stockpiling non-perishables, picking out a water purification system, planting gardens, buying chickens, and have plans for buying more survival equipment.

I am absolutely shocked by all this. I know that lots of families are perpetually prepared for natural disasters, but I think the fact that my parents seem to be anticipating total mayhem come 12-21-12 is quite alarming. They seem to be ready to hunt their own food, defend themselves against "the crazies" as my mom put it, and hunker down in the basement. I didn't want to tell her, but she was sounding like a "crazy" to me.

My dad has always been into conspiracy theories, the paranormal, ancient myth and legend, and the like, but he has never indicated he took these beliefs seriously enough to act. My parents have never even prepared for flood and we live less than a mile from water. I hate to think of them feeding into end of the world paranoia, and I could see this getting a bit out of control. Chickens, for example, are a big lifestyle change for them. Gun ownership as well. My dad has never even hunted so much as a quail and now they own 5 guns all of a sudden.

Should I be concerned about my parents or are they doing the right thing? I'm seriously freaked out by their behavior.

What's the harm, really?

If I really believed in this date, I'd throw out all my Christmas stuff now and stop paying my bills. As for the chickens? Well...honestly, chicken coops stink, so I'd stick with rice and beans.

There have always been "the world ends next week" predictions but so far... ?

I would carefully question my parents, if I were you, if their survival plans include any big financial decisions...like not paying the mortgage or cashing out all the cd's and retirement funds to buy dried fish, but beyond that...what can you do?

At a certain point, I hate to say, we become like pet owners to our parents. We really can't change them, so we just do our best to love and understand them, make sure they are eating well, and see the vet when needed.

Keep On Dancing*

The majority of the things your parents are doing doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Natural disasters can happen at anytime so stocking up on non perishables, water system, chicken are great for food. Gun ownership is a perfect logical idea to me.

I can see why you might be creeped out about the whole 12/ 21/12. I would probably feel the same way.

I think taking your parents cue and stocking up and living off nature ( hunting, planting gardens, water systems) is a good way to prepare for the future. That reminds me, I need to stock up on first aid kits.

I think you should be freaked out if they start selling all their belongings, convincing you that college is a waste, quit their job etc.

I was trying to think along those lines myself, Christine. Like, they're not hurting anyone, and at least they're prepared for whatever life throws at them. They've had their home paid off for several years now, so they have a lot of disposable income, which is, I'm sure, what they're using to fund this new "project". Even though all the preparations are a little alarming to me, I'm mostly alarmed by these thought patterns. I thought my parents were more level-headed than that. I never pegged them for the people that would buy in to the hype. It's really getting to me. I'm glad I'm not around to watch everything unfold.

When I talked to my mom, she mentioned that I am to go to my cousin's house when it happens, whatever "it" is. My cousin lives seven hours from me in the mountains. When she brought me and my safety into it, it really bugged me.

When Y2K happened we bought extra water and food but not guns and chicken.

They are also stockpiling non-perishables, picking out a water purification system, planting gardens, buying chickens, and have plans for buying more survival equipment.

Your mother is an intelligent person who is realistic about what the possible outcome of a large scale disaster could be. I have emergency supplies stored in my home (lots of bottled water, canned food, bags packed by the front door to get out in a hurry, etc.). If I had the means to have more in place, I absolutely would.

You do realize that it would take a lot less than the end of the world for us all to be in danger, right? Look at large natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina or the earthquakes in Haiti? Emergency survices don't just sweep in and make everything better in a couple days. Sure, having food, guns, water, etc. doesn't make your family impervious to danger but it sure as heck is going to make them safer and more comfortable during any type of disaster or misfortune. A lot of people who are interested in preparedness aren't only looking at end of the world scenarios. One important scenario they prepare for is economic inflation or collapse. The fact that your parents will have food stockpiled as well as a renewable form of food creation (chickens and gardens) will allow them to sustain themselves in a way that is essentially free.

Your post really rubbed me the wrong way, I can't believe you are judging your parents about taking responsibility for their own safety. We may not always be able to run down to the convenience store for our next meal.

I don't think the OP is judging her parents for preparing for unexpected events...I think her concern is with their buying into the 12-21-2012 drama (whether you believe in it or not, you have to admit, it's still "drama"). I don't think this post is about whether it's a good or bad idea to have extra food and chickens and stuff, I think it's about something like "Hey, I didn't realize my parents think this is going to happen, it makes me uncomfortable."

My opinion on this is that whether or not the world is going to end (personally, I don't believe a word of it...I think people don't understand how the Mayan calendar was meant to work), it's never a bad idea to be prepared for things that might happen. If the water source near your house floods, or if there's a hurricane, an earthquake, or even just a power failure, they will probably be better off than those who don't have what they have. While they're doing it for different reasons, at least they'll be prepared in the event of something more along the lines of a local or regional disaster. In 11 months or so, we'll see how they're doing in December. And that's theirs the deal with.

It's perfectly understandable that their thought patterns bother you a little. My advice on that front is just humor them for now. "Okay, don't worry, I know where to go," and so on. Talk to them about other things. They're your parents and they love you. If you're not worried about what they're worried about, that's okay.

^ I see your point. I wasn't focusing so much on the fact that they seriously believe the world is ending in 1 year as the fact that there are real benefits aside from end-of-world scenarios to preparing yourself.

They're not stockpiling "just in case". They're stockpiling with a concrete date in mind for an incredible catastrophe. That's weird. People have been left in financial ruin because they gave away everything and quit their jobs prior to previous predictions of the world ending. People have found it incredibly difficult to cope when the world doesn't in fact end, especially if they thought a god was going to be responsible for the end. Perhaps they think they've been forsaken, perhaps their entire faith and therefore their entire life is shaken. If it was me, I'd be worried about how it's going to affect them when their catastrophe doesn't rock up. That guy who keeps making predictions...he just makes a new prediction every time he's wrong and people are put through the wringer time and time again. Prepping for a hypothetical emergency is one thing, completely unequivocally believing that something so unbelievably awful is going to happen on the 21st of December 2012 is bizarre, not responsible or safe.

OP, it'll depend on your relationship with your parents and whether they're prone to this kind of thing...humour them, or gently get them to think about alternatives. Is your mom the 'leader' in all this? Could you gently ask your dad what's going to happen if the catastrophe doesn't occur as planned? Do they have a back-up plan or are they quitting jobs, being reckless with money etc etc?

As long as they are still paying their bills, I'd just humor them. They obviously don't think the world is going to end at that date or else their preparations would be different. They seem think that something is going to happen and as long as they don't think it's going to be zombies, I'd leave it alone.

I think another concern of the OP is that this is out of character for her parents, or at least her mother. If her father is usually on board for conspiracy theories and such, she may just be humoring him or going along with the, "What's the harm?" attitude most of us have. And it never hurts to be prepared for the odd hurricane or tornado or riot or terrorist attack. How many of us have dealt with these very occurrences in the last few years? Sometimes paranoid is just good planning.

One way or another, December 21st is going to roll around much sooner than any of us think (I tell myself as I continue to pack away this past Christmas)and most of these details and their accuracy or inaccuracy will be small points.

OP...I'm glad you live miles away from your parents. Phones and computers are wonderful things, but there is such a comfort in knowing miles of highway separate us from many of our relatives. Good luck with this. Please keep us informed as to how things evolve.

Everyone here went Y2K crazy preparing for the breakdowns that never happened. How much bottled water was dumped following the donations after 9/11? At some point your parents are going to have to ask themselves, "If the world DOES end, how much will I really need to stockpile?" No point of preparing beyond the grave.

Keep On Dancing*

I don't think that the point of this was to harp on her parents for being prepared. If this insanity pays off in the form of benefitting them in case of an earthquake, awesome! She's specifically worried because her parents believe this 2012 crap when she previously believed them to be intelligent, reasonably level headed people. Believing in 2012 is batcrap crazy and weird. I'd be deeply concerned if my parents did the same thing.

This just sounds like the new 01-01-00

There were plenty of people who stocked up on all sorts of strange stuff because they seriously believed that the worlds computers would crash under the strain of 20 instead of 19.

The only real difference is the crazies.

Their not doing any harm, just look upon it as one of those things that families sometimes do, all you have to do is nod, smile, make interested noises and wait for them to realise that they didn't have to panic.

No harm done.

I have two friends who went absolutely NUTS over Y2K. One went and bought Israeli gas masks and all kinds of stuff to seal up his house from nuclear radiation and he was armed to the teeth. Another bought huge stockpiles of rice and lentils and water, and had it all shipped to his cabin in the woods. Then he went and hid out there to await the catastrophe.

Keep talking to your parents. Make sure they are not isolating themselves. Check to see if they are involved with any sort of group or church that is into this sort of thing. If so, you can investigate the group.

Just to clear it up, I DEFINITELY am not judging my parents for their preparedness. When I asked my mom what made her want to take up shooting her FIRST response was "food shortages". I was like "Err...WHAT food shortages...?" thinking she meant current food shortages. She specifically mentioned 12-21-12 and the Mayan calendar when I asked about food shortages. This is her response c/ped directly from the convo: "12-21-12 supposed to be the end of the world as we know it. Every calendar in ancient civilization ends on 12-21-12". She also mentioned that my dad is "convinced something is going to happen," so I think that she is indeed humoring him to an extent, but she is also pretty on board herself.

I'm mostly afraid of how this could potentially escalate. They've never behaved this way, so I don't know what they are capable of in this situation. Buying so many guns (a couple of them extremely powerful...we're not talking just rifles and handguns) all of a sudden really clues me in to the fact that the situation could get more worrisome. I ran it by a friend, and they joked that I should be on the lookout for a bomb shelter. At this point, it wouldn't surprise me. I just saw on facebook that my aunt and uncle are apparently in on it, too. They've also purchased guns.

Show them this:
"The Earth is degenerating today.
Bribery and corruption abound.
Children no longer obey their parents,
every man wants to write a book, and
it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching."
Source: Assyrian Tablet, c. 2800 BC

Ohhhhh we have similar parents.

My parents live in Florida, myself in Pennsylvania. My dad believe that come December, there will be a natural disaster that will put Florida under water. That they are moving to a place not on a fault line, and going to stay for 3 months. First it was Colorado, then Michigan, now I think it's... somewhere in the Carolina's? My Mom could care less and shrugs it off, but my Father is getting a bit nuts. He's starting to DEMAND that I be prepared to come live with them. Ya know, quit school, my job, and leave everyone I know, because he reads some wordpress blog about this.

Never mind that I send him HUNDREDS of articles from NASA, Science Mag, tons of retired science pros (be it professors, former directors of you-name-it, whatever) that counteract any wordpress or "bobstheoriesDOTcom" stuff he sends me. Doesn't matter. It's now getting heated and ridiculous.

So, in point, you are by NO MEANS alone on this. I have no clue what to tell you even. I WISH my dad was only preparing at the house like yours. But nope, he wants to uproot EVERYONE'S lives about this. I just... I dunno.

Around the year 2000 plenty of people decided, "Well, I've been putting off assembling an emergency kit, anyway, in case of tornado/flood/earthquake; so why not do it this year just in case." Now that was not crazy thinking.

anonymous wrote:

I'm mostly afraid of how this could potentially escalate. They've never behaved this way, so I don't know what they are capable of in this situation. Buying so many guns (a couple of them extremely powerful...we're not talking just rifles and handguns) all of a sudden really clues me in to the fact that the situation could get more worrisome.

I think this is the heart of the problem. Any sudden change or unusual behavior can be cause for concern. Their new self-sufficiency "hobby" is not, per se, a bad idea or alarming, but you know them pretty well. And although your dad has been interested in "conspiracy theories, the paranormal, ancient myth and legend" a sudden STOCKPILING of firearms by people who didn't previously even hunt or take an interest in marksmanship is unusual.

(Personally, I have no problem with gun ownership. I'm a pretty good shot, myself, plinking away at tin cans. I have no desire to use animals as live targets for fun, a concept which I find sick. Though if hunting were the only way I could get meat for my family I would shoot rabbits and squirrels without feeling bad.)

Have your parents taken a course in gun safety or received training in marksmanship so that they know what they are doing? Are they collecting firearms in conjunction with a new-found interest in different types of weaponry or are they really planning to arm their friends and neighbors? And what do their current friends and neighbors think about this?

Can you get some feedback from other people back home?

Yes, my parents are getting kookier as they age. Their current idee fixe is being attacked by an electromagnetic weapon. They recently asked me how to line their closet with metal shielding to protect their electronic equipment. I think they were also talking about buying like 200 pounds of oats. I blame fox news.

My roommate's parents have been doing the same thing (only there's an added element of religious nuttery, as they think that December 2012 will be the Rapture...I'm not sure what the connection is to the Mayas there, hahaha), and honestly, all you can do is smile and nod. On December 22, laugh about it, but not to their faces.

Honestly, if it's not causing them problems financially, there's really not a lot of harm in it, no matter how silly the more rational among us might consider it.

I've studied quite a bit about the Maya calendar in school (my minor is Latin American Studies and I have a prof who's very into it, she speaks Nahuatl and everything), and honestly, the whole thing is just ridiculous. 2012 is merely the end of one of their Long Count rotations (of which there have already been seven, with no end of the world at the end of any of them.) It's kind of like saying that the world will end on December 31st because the calendar you bought at Barnes & Noble ends there, you know? It's that, combined with the fact that the conquistadors arrived and slaughtered or enslaved virtually everyone really cut into the Maya's calendar-writing time.

All the older folk I know have gotten more paranoid as they have gotten older. So have my fiances parents. One refuses to touch or be near a microwave because she thinks it'll give her cancer and she wont say anything about her opinions or politics via phone or email because 'they are listening.' My father-in-law deals with everything (like, everything) by baking bread and listening to NPR, which he talks to. I've learned to associate the smell of fresh baked bread with assorted turmoil. My MIL wont eat cheerios because she thinks she is allergic. Not to oats, grains, or whatever is IN the cheerios. Just cheerios.

As Megan said, the Mayan calendar doesn't predict the end of the world, it's just an end of a calendar. The end of the world has been predicted and planned for countless times and as far as I can tell, we're still good. There is no major harm in your parents being prepared for a disaster as long as they are not totally mentally unhinged. I had a foster parent who was armed and ready at the door with a little automatic gun on New Years 2001, waiting for the meteors to hit and the 'crazies' to come for his boxes of dried mashed potatoes. Ironically, he was obviously the 'crazy.'

My parents went overboard with the whole Y2K thing and then were ridiculed when it didn't happen lol. Now they are throwing religion in everyone's faces this time about the whole 12-21 crap. I try to distance myself from all of it. It's time consuming, annoying, and useless drama.

I'm going to mail all the relatives their Christmas gifts early...one for the road.



Keep On Dancing*

Christine, that's the end of the calendar, not colander.

There's a television series on what your parents are doing.

news.yahoo.com . . .