Preparing for the worst: The growing survivalist industry

Sandy laid a devastating blow to the northeast US, causing widespread power outages and billions in damage. Accompanying this were gas shortages and scenes that would have been thought to be post-apocalyptic. This had left a great deal of fear within the thoughts of Americans, but that fear had already been present with many other Americans. Thus, the prepardness industry was born. This article follows the life of Ron Douglas, a suburban dad who started a preparedness company. From the beginning I was struck by the image chosen for the article. This image shows his fairly large family of 8 surrounded by an incredible spread of materials. Who has over 20 barrels of rice and solar panels in their basement? Ron Douglas does. The article starts off with a presentation of Douglas grabbing a coffee at Starbucks(seemingly breaking the persona of a typical survivalist.) An exposition explaining the industry itself is first presented. Then, a background is presented on how Douglas moved into the industry and what prompted his interest. The whole story seems to look at his life in an almost ironic sense. Most suburbanites would not be thought to be preparing for the worst as he does. By using this irony, the article attempts to smash the stereotypes often associated with an individual who is a survivalist; a rural conservative. This is also the aim that Douglas himself wants to create. He wants every individual to be prepared, regardless of political stance, and that was evidenced by the stark contrast presented by the booths at his expo. A local tea party delegation was present along with an organic juice company, two organizations you would never expect to see in the same room. This article was part of the NYT magazine and was written by Keith O'Brien, a frequent contributor to the Times. His use of interviews and imagery of Douglas' life provided great perspective on the character of Douglas. O'Brien was able to present  the aim of Douglas while still presenting background on the individual himself. His writing was very effective and concise. In the future, it will be interesting to see how relevant the movement remains.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/magazine/how-to-survive-societal-collapse-in-suburbia.html?pagewanted=1&gwh&ref=global-home