The Zombie Menace
Today I am going to write about the Zombie Menace, and how unprepared our society is for this looming crisis. Now I am not talking about your 1960’s, raised by some mad scientist zombies, I mean your infected with some crazy disease, unstoppable, completely uncontrollable zombies. I really feel that people don’t realize what would happen if a zombie outbreak got out of hand.
To be honest, zombies are also my biggest fear. As I lay in bed at night I find myself mentally checking the room’s defenses. Is the bedroom door locked? Is the front door locked? How long would our food and water last if we had to isolate ourselves? What sort of anti-zombie weapons can we make from what is in the house right now? And then I wonder, would my friends and family survive, would I be able to reach them before the outbreak got too widespread? Even if I did survive would the government declare a state of emergency and napalm the whole area anyway?
This thing is, despite all these fears, and the fact that they regularly keep me up at night, and are the subject of some very frightening reoccurring nightmares, I have an uncontrollable fascination with zombies.) This fascination that lead me to the book The Zombie Survival Guide and the realization just how unprepared the world is for this kind of disaster. The U.S. government refuses to even acknowledge the existence of the undead, including zombies, so how can they have a coherent plan to deal with the outbreak when it happens? And that means it is up to us to protect ourselves.
People often ask me why I am so afraid of zombies, seriously, there are plenty of other things to be afraid of out there in the world, and zombies aren’t even “real”. I mean, really, all they want to do is eat our brains. Well, real is a relative term in my mind. I mean, what are the chances that you are going to be killed by some ax murderer who just happens to walk into your house? And what is the likelihood that you are ever going to be thrown into a pit of poisonous snakes? But what it really all comes down to is the fact that ax murderers and snakes are real things, they can be dealt with, stopped, and killed.
Zombies for me symbolize an every growing, never ending destruction. They are the pinnacle of hedonism: always consuming, never satiated, never stopping. Sure you can kill one, but they have an endless supply which is always replenishing itself. And they are all driven by the uncontrollable desire to eat human flesh.
Of course, this is all conjecture, maybe zombies really don’t exist. Maybe my fear of zombies is just my overactive imagination. Maybe they are simply the personification of humans acting on their most basic urges, and what I am really afraid of is the animalistic nature that exists in everyone, our inner zombie as it were.
Either way, if the outbreak does come me, my shotgun, and my machete are going to be ready to save the world . . . . or at least defend my apartment.
To be honest, zombies are also my biggest fear. As I lay in bed at night I find myself mentally checking the room’s defenses. Is the bedroom door locked? Is the front door locked? How long would our food and water last if we had to isolate ourselves? What sort of anti-zombie weapons can we make from what is in the house right now? And then I wonder, would my friends and family survive, would I be able to reach them before the outbreak got too widespread? Even if I did survive would the government declare a state of emergency and napalm the whole area anyway?
This thing is, despite all these fears, and the fact that they regularly keep me up at night, and are the subject of some very frightening reoccurring nightmares, I have an uncontrollable fascination with zombies.) This fascination that lead me to the book The Zombie Survival Guide and the realization just how unprepared the world is for this kind of disaster. The U.S. government refuses to even acknowledge the existence of the undead, including zombies, so how can they have a coherent plan to deal with the outbreak when it happens? And that means it is up to us to protect ourselves.
People often ask me why I am so afraid of zombies, seriously, there are plenty of other things to be afraid of out there in the world, and zombies aren’t even “real”. I mean, really, all they want to do is eat our brains. Well, real is a relative term in my mind. I mean, what are the chances that you are going to be killed by some ax murderer who just happens to walk into your house? And what is the likelihood that you are ever going to be thrown into a pit of poisonous snakes? But what it really all comes down to is the fact that ax murderers and snakes are real things, they can be dealt with, stopped, and killed.
Zombies for me symbolize an every growing, never ending destruction. They are the pinnacle of hedonism: always consuming, never satiated, never stopping. Sure you can kill one, but they have an endless supply which is always replenishing itself. And they are all driven by the uncontrollable desire to eat human flesh.
Of course, this is all conjecture, maybe zombies really don’t exist. Maybe my fear of zombies is just my overactive imagination. Maybe they are simply the personification of humans acting on their most basic urges, and what I am really afraid of is the animalistic nature that exists in everyone, our inner zombie as it were.
Either way, if the outbreak does come me, my shotgun, and my machete are going to be ready to save the world . . . . or at least defend my apartment.
Labels: Hedonism, My fears are totally legitimate, Zombies
posted by Cathleen Kennedy | 5:45 PM
2 Comments:
Greetings from the Zombie Capital of the World! Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also credited with the Guinness World's Record Zombie Walk with over a thousand participants last year. You need not be afraid of our zombies, though, they are very nice. Max Brooks was even at our zombiefest to talk about that book you read. This year we are organizing a World Zombie Day in concert with area food drives. You can't have anything against zombies when they fight to end world hunger, can you? Zombies won't need that food, anyway, just a succulent brain now and again.
julie
I feel your pain. My unrealistic fear of zombies have kept me up many of nights and have put fear in my heart at night when I'm in a less than populated areas. Although there may never be a time when the undead rise, there will more than likely be an uprise of disease infested, mindless beings go on the attack (much like I am Legend). I too will keep my eyes peered into the dark distance and will be prepared to defend myself and family if the instance ever occurs!!
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