Alaskans are surprisingly unbothered about being in range of North Korean missiles

Alaska resident.
(Image credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

A recent North Korean missile launch proved that Kim Jong Un likely has the ability to hit Alaska if he so chooses. But while being in range of a nuclear weapon — and a dictator who threatens to use it — would scare most reasonably-minded Americans, Alaskans remain characteristically unfazed, The New York Times reports.

"I've lived a good life, so if something happens, it happens," Gary Melven, 68, told the Times. A Vietnam War veteran, Melven recalled similar Cold War nuclear attack anxieties when he was a boy in Anchorage and added that he wasn't afraid then, either: "I was more interested in riding my bike."

“You start worrying about everything, you'll go crazy and you won't enjoy life," advised another Alaskan, Jim Gorski, a former Navy pilot. John Humphries, a former military helicopter pilot, added: "What are we going to do up here that we're not already doing? They're not going to evacuate Anchorage. We have more to worry about from an earthquake and tsunami."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Read more about Alaska's preppers — and those who don't even bother — at The New York Times.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.