You know, these days,
it's hard not to feel like the world is ending.
North Korean missiles, rising sea levels,
and we've just entered the sixth season of Vanderpump Rules,
which may be why there's a new group worried about Armageddon.
Desi Lydic has more.
LYDIC: Doomsday preppers.
They're a paranoid army of...
MAN: Conservative, right-wing patriots.
LYDIC: Angry at the liberal establishment
and arming themselves to the teeth for the apocalypse.
It's time to be prepared.
MAN 2: We can fight off
a tyrannical government.
LYDIC: Meaning this guy.
I went deep into the wilderness to meet Rick Austin,
a veteran right-wing prepper who believes...
Hillary Clinton's running the biggest crime syndicate
in the world.
LYDIC: So he's fortified himself in
an off-the-grid compound because...
AUSTIN: Doomsday could be just around the corner.
(gunshot)
LYDIC: And he's serious, even with his guy in office.
But now there's a new type of prepper joining the ranks
of fringe, anti-government reactionaries.
I am a liberal prepper.
You can't trust the government with your rights.
Are you sure you're not a conservative?
-Yes. -What's the MSNBC lineup? Go.
Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Mika Kazinski.
Well done.
This is a real dude, a liberal prepper,
who's part of a growing movement
of thousands of liberals planning
for the end of civilization.
And we protected his identity because he's worried...
Under Trump, this could end up becoming a modern civil war.
LYDIC: But there can't be that big a difference
between these two camps of survivalists, right?
Sure the right wing has had a few more years to prep, but
I'm sure that they're basically on the same side.
Liberals are gonna be the first ones to die
because most of 'em are afraid of guns.
How many guns did you buy?
I don't have a gun.
Seriously?
-I have a baton. -Yes, you do.
28 and three-quarters inches.
-You don't have to brag. -It slices and chops.
So, are you preparing for the apocalypse,
or an anime convention?
Actually, this is absolutely practical.
What you need is a katana.
That's the stupidest (bleep) I've ever heard of.
But why don't you draw that?
Bang! You're dead.
Okay, but you know what you're not accounting for?
The 30 seconds when you're gonna be like,
-"Whoa! What a cool sword." -Bang.
LYDIC: Luckily, our liberal prepper was very well-trained.
I have not trained with my katana.
-You're not trained? -Not at all.
Okay. But at least he studied Kung Fu Panda.
If you spin around like a tornado,
you can suck your enemies in towards the blade,
and slice them to bits.
So conservatives are definitely more well armed,
but prepping is also about supplies, right?
You need a bug-out bag.
That's right, a camo backpack full of food,
shelter and...
-Oh. Right. -And this.
A vibrator.
It's not a vibrator.
Oh, right. Sorry. Personal massager.
-This is a lifestraw. -What else you got in there?
Cat food. For the cats.
The cats are the first thing I would abandon in the apocalypse.
In all sincerity, you might have to eat one.
-Seriously? -Mm-hmm.
Maybe this guy really was prepared.
In addition to the bag, he had a fool-proof escape plan.
My plan is to hightail it to the west side of the Rockies
and meet the other people who have the same plan.
Yes. Have you talked to anyone else with this plan?
-No. -Shouldn't part of prepping be finding out
if other people have this plan,
if it's dependent on other people having this plan?
Uh, yes, but... talking about your plan
is not typically what a prepper would do.
You don't want to, like, go on national TV
-and talk about it. -No.
(whispers): You're on TV now.
But Kung Fu Panda isn't the only liberal prepper.
The movement was catching fire.
There's even a hip L.A. survival company
selling $5,000 luxury bug-out bags.
But who would buy something like that?
Ben Affleck is a client.
-Ben Affleck has a bag? -Yeah, Ben Affleck.
When Batman has a doomsday bag, you know we're (bleep).
And this bag had nothing but the absolute necessities.
There's Mast Brothers chocolate,
caviar, and a champagne koozie.
Ooh. Love that. And it comes with the champagne.
So after I sold a kidney to a guy named Otter
and dropped 5 G's, I was finally ready
to show Rick Austin that liberals can be
just as prepared for the apocalypse as conservatives.
You got to be (bleep) me. That's useless.
That's worthless. That'll last two minutes.
That's not gonna work. This won't work.
-That's a piece of (bleep). -How about this?
-Poker. -That is the most useless thing I've seen.
You're right. I'll just play online poker.
With what?
Uh, my phone?
AUSTIN: In a doomsday scenario, the phone's already dead.
It's okay-- I was gonna upgrade it to the 8 anyway.
LYDIC: So how would a conservative
replace my badass liberal survival bag?
AUSTIN: I can show you how to set up a shelter
with just a rain poncho.
I'm gonna crawl down in here.
Sorry, how long again do you have to stay under there?
You can stay down here to sleep all night if you wanted to.
Cool. Okay, while you stay in there,
I'm just gonna keep doing some prepping.
(pop)
What was that?
-You can live in this indefinitely. -Yeah?
-It'll keep you warm, -Will it?
-and, uh, safe. -Wow. That's so cool.
LYDIC: Ugh. Partisan prepping is exhausting.
But if the world is ending,
can't both sides at least prep together?
As Rick prepared some ramen noodles,
I was determined to give it one last shot.
Maybe in the apocalypse,
there won't be conservatives and liberals.
There'll just be people that survive.
Exactly. And dead liberals.
Right.
I think the... the noodles are done.
So am I.