Robert Mitchell Jr.

What’s the difference between a prepper and a hippie? Guns. Take the guns away from the average prepper and what you have is a hippie. And I think I can prove it.

The Top Ten Things Preppers and Hippies Have in Common

1. The end of the world.  Preppers think it’s going to be solar flares, the collapse of the dollar, terrorism, nuclear war, contagion, etc. Hippies think it’s going to climate change, pollution, or species collapse. Sometimes they even agree — remember the whole 2012 thing?
2. Pot.  Apparently both groups like their weed and they want it legalized.
3. “The man” can’t be trusted.  They both have anti-authoritarian views and dislike and/or distrust the government.
4. Favorite magazine: The Mother Earth News.  Whether to call it “back to the land” or “living off the grid” it’s all the same darn thing. Both groups practice alternative lifestyles based on self sufficiency and/or sustainability.
5. DIY and getting things done on the cheap. The ultimate way to sneer at a hippie was once to say he or she got a college degree in Basket Weaving. Now look — the preppers are weaving baskets, making pottery, reducing, reusing, and recycling like mad.
6. Hardcore spirituality. With the preppers it’s usually Jesus, evangelical-style. With the hippies it can be Jesus too, but then again it might Gaia, Buddha, the Goddess, Brahma…
7. Footwear.  Whether its boots or Birkenstocks, hippies and preppers have very intense feelings about what should be worn on the human foot.
8. Language.  They both have their own special words and catch phrases. Preppers have TEOTWAWKI , WTSHTF, and YOYO. Hippies have MLNW and TOTIDO.
9. Housing.  What hippies call “earth ships” preppers call “bomb shelters.”  The only difference is that earth ships don’t usually have gun slits.
10. Vehicles.  Hippies have their Volkswagen Buses, Mystery Machines, psychedelically painted cars, and drivable art projects for Burning Man.  Preppers have their tricked out bug-out vehicles, Hummers, Jeeps, and military surplus rides.  The only difference is — you guessed it — hippie vehicles don’t usually have gun slits.