> I'm glad to see this very reasonable take so far
What, ultimately, were preppers better prepared for?
Anyone could make a cotton mask out of a t-shirt. The mask policy was a governance error. Having N95 masks as preppers did is as far off the mark from "cotton mask" as not wearing a mask at all, preppers would still run out of N95s, they'd still use a cotton mask, N95s were still overkill.
Besides masks, was there anything the public really needed that it could not get but could have stored inside their basement? Toilet paper? That's what you will summon as, "Preppers averted a life crisis."
How are you going to doomsday prep "elective surgeries" and "ICU beds?" That's what there were real shortages of. It's ridiculous.
> Having N95 masks as preppers did is as far off the mark from "cotton mask" as not wearing a mask at all,
No, it's not (overkill and inadequate are not equivalent).
> preppers would still run out of N95s
Worst case, preppers with N95s would have a window with more time to source/make masks taking pressure off and giving more bandwidth to deal with other concerns, of which there were plenty as the pandemic took hold.
> Besides masks, was there anything the public really needed that it could not get but could have stored inside their basement? Toilet paper?
Toilet paper, basic but nonperishable foodstuffs (there were shortages of all kinds of staples early on), and a number of other things (even things that were technically available were often not practically available or much more time intensive to acquire on short notice because of limited occupancy for stores and delays in online shipping.)
What, ultimately, were preppers better prepared for?
Anyone could make a cotton mask out of a t-shirt. The mask policy was a governance error. Having N95 masks as preppers did is as far off the mark from "cotton mask" as not wearing a mask at all, preppers would still run out of N95s, they'd still use a cotton mask, N95s were still overkill.
Besides masks, was there anything the public really needed that it could not get but could have stored inside their basement? Toilet paper? That's what you will summon as, "Preppers averted a life crisis."
How are you going to doomsday prep "elective surgeries" and "ICU beds?" That's what there were real shortages of. It's ridiculous.