Solar_Empire said:
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Social media, specifically twitter. It actually started in Japan. There was a post that said all toilet paper in Japan comes from China, which isn't true, and people panicked and bought it up. It then hit here and snowballed into meats, canned goods, water, etc.
Actually, while that may have some truth to it or not,...it isn't the whole story.
I recall reading several years ago on one of the prepper forums (I forget which one specifically, but survivorjournal.com stands out in my mind - don't hold me to it) there was an article where one of the regular contributors interviewed a Croatian fellow who had lived during the that civil war, including the siege of Sarajevo. The interviewer wanted to know what lessons he could pass on to people hoping to survive societal breakdown and chaos. He had many things to say, not many of them kind to American preppers, criticizing how so many of us believe we can simply hoard enough stuff to get through anything,...which is not entirely bad, but skills and strong physical prowess go further, he said.
But one thing there was simply NEVER enough of throughout the entire war,...was toilet paper. There were many reasons for that which don't really apply to our current threat. But the crisis had been real. He said of all the things he wish he could have had the foresight to stockpile before the war, if he could pick only one thing, it was TP. People literally died in pursuit of it and would do the most deaperate things for it.
I recall reading that back then and thinking how that never would have occurred to me and what an insight that was. Hmmmm, maybe I needed to bulk up my TP supply a tad from now on,...just in case. It would indeed truly suck to be without it. And in fact, I adjusted my buying habits exactly so...no longer buying the little 4 or 6 packs, but always getting the megapacks at Sam's Club or Costco. After all, like the Navy Seals say,...2 is 1,...1 is none.
And other readers of the forum who had been through things like natural disasters in foriegn countries chimed in the comments section and agreed that their experiences had been similar. Supply logistics into Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami just didn't bring enough TP. All of what was in the area was ruined from wetness. Other readers who had been through earthquakes and other events with supply disruptions all agreed; the supply of paper may be interupted, but the poop marches on.
And so it was that I recall a general coming to Jesus in the prepper community about 8 or so years ago that folks began to take seriously and stop making jokes about whether you have enough toilet paper for the apocalypse. It has been a serious consideration for some time now. And the nature of how the internet allows us to learn stories from others all over the world is largely responsible.
And just like annoying vegans, many preppers are more than happy to tell anyone who will listen what they ought to be keeping a supply of at home. I've mentioned the Yugoslavian war TP shortage to a number of people over the years. How many of them had that in mind when this all started?
So to be honest, when the toilet paper panic kicked off,...I was surprised,...but not shocked, and not bewildered. In fact, it made perfect sense to me, and I in fact had to admire that more people than ever before were paying attention (a little too late, but paying attention none the less). All I could think of was that there is somewhere a Croation war veteran watching all this and giggling at how his warning launched all this.
