Killing for a living after the Zombie Apocalypse is not going to be an easy thing for most civilized human beings. Not to say that if someone broke into my house and was going to hurt anyone currently in said residence then… well… Let’s just say that the next day all of you would wake up, pop open a browser window and see in the headlines one of those “Worlds Dumbest Criminal” headlines.
Man breaks into house of Zombie Apocalypse Aficionados, outcome bad for thief.
Anywhoo… The normal run-of-the-mill American citizen would be unable to deal with the situation. Zombies everywhere, everything you loved is gone, everyone you know is a walking corpse, only yesterday you watched as your entire family was torn to shreds in front of you and there was nothing you could do to save them, gangs of thugs terrorize your Survival Team and all hope will seem lost however the only thing left to do is to get to some zombie killing and start destroying what in shape would be human and quite possibly even friends and family in the most gory ways possible. Who do you know that would be able to cope with this situation? Let’s look at a real world scenario and then expand that to the entire world.
You’re waiting in line at the bank and there are 5 people in front of you and 5 people behind you and there are 10 bank employees working throughout the bank. A man with a mask and a gun walks in and yells “Everyone get down on the ground!” firing shots into the air. Of those 20 people how many would spring into action, easily swarming the robber, disarming the thief and walking away a hero? Probably… none. I would assume that every person including yourself would get down on the floor immediately. This is the flight or fight response.
This is the body’s response to perceived threat or danger. During this reaction, certain hormones like adrenalin and cortisol are released, speeding the heart rate, slowing digestion, shunting blood flow to major muscle groups, and changing various other autonomic nervous functions, giving the body a burst of energy and strength. Originally named for its ability to enable us to physically fight or run away when faced with danger, it’s now activated in situations where neither response is appropriate,
Now take those 20 people, yourself, and even the armed bank robber and put say 40,000 zombies outside the doors of the bank. Fast, flesh eating zombies are attacking anyone outside and everyone in the bank has watched over a dozen people get run down in the parking lot, attacked, eaten and then watched as they got to their feet and began to run down, attack, and eat living people right in front of the huge glass windows that line the bank’s walls. You have no guns, except for the robber’s and your own. Who springs into action, easily locking down the bank, killing the 2 people inside that had been bitten and fall asleep that night a hero safe and sound in a very secure location? Probably no one.
What kind of person can? Well besides me and my Survival Team? Psychopaths. A Psychopath is a person afflicted with a personality disorder characterized by a tendency to commit antisocial and sometimes violent acts and a failure to feel guilt for such acts. Psychopaths are very flamboyant with how they deal with their disorder. Some famous psychopaths that you might know are Charles Manson, Richard Ramirez, Theodore Bundy and David Berkowitz. This is the guy you ave to have on our team, he is a cold blooded human-hunter with a free ticket to kill every one he sees without a pulse.
Am I wrong? Nope.
Recently I read this article on Rodney Alcala, the recently convicted sadistic serial killer called “The Dating Game Killer” because he was once a contestant on the TV series. A man with an IQ alleged to be that of a genius and who may be responsible for up to a minimum of 50 murders since his first known attack on a second grade girl in 1968. Not only a rapist and murderer, he liked to torture his victims, sometimes strangling and then resuscitating his victim, only to take them to the brink of death again before he finally tired of them and killed them. A true psychopath, he saw others as only objects for his entertainment, human playthings that he stalked, broke and then unceremoniously disposed of. One of the most frightening aspects of “The Dating Game Killer” is that they found a footlocker full of photographs of women, men, girls and boys. Most of whom have never been identified. You can go here to see some of the photos and notify authorities if you recognize anyone. Are these unknown victims? No one is sure but there are over 2000 photos. Alcala, now 66, has been behind bars since 1979, but many investigators continued to believe he was responsible for an untold number of unsolved, and perhaps undetected violent crimes.
Isn’t this who we need on our Zombie Apocalypse Survival Teams? Someone who can get up at the ass-crack of dawn, pull on his boots, grab his machete and head out for a day of hacking and slashing humans? Isn’t this who we all like to pretend we’ll be in the Z.A.? It sure is. I can site thousands of Facebook posts on my site page alone where we have debated how best to see zombies as objects for our entertainment, semi-human playthings that we would stalk, break and then unceremoniously dispose of.
Am I wrong? NOPE.
Who’s going to have the make-up to be a Zombie Apocalypse Survivor? Who is going to have the guts to wake up and de-animate their families, friends, co-workers and heros like Bill Freakin’ Murray? I would guess not many. Or maybe all of us have a little David Berkowitz, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, Rodney Alcala, Jeffery Dahmer and Richard Ramirez in us? Will the Zombie Apocalypse flip that kill-switch or will we find most people putting a gun in their mouth and pulling the trigger? I would again assume the latter. Are you ready? I’m not talking about supplies, I’m talking about mentally? If your answer is no then you are like 99.999% of the world. Killing for a living just isn’t in your cards.
