Zombie Cliche Lookout: Pressing Matters
Personal conflicts are an everyday occurrence. Some are minor, some are huge blow-ups. The fact of the matter is that people are often hard to get along with, and stress is only going to exacerbate things. That said, the group of survivors who can manage to put aside petty differences – at least temporarily – are going to stand a much better chance of surviving in the zombie apocalypse than those who don’t or won’t. You know that guy who always has to have the last word? He’ll probably end up as Grade A Zombie Chow.
That’s not you, is it?
In zombie stories, sometimes this trope is addressed pretty directly, with one character not dropping something and the others reminding him/her that there are more pressing matters at hand. One of my all time favorites, Shaun of the Dead does this wonderfully.
About this Episode:
As always, I need to get things moving. We’ve spent quite a lot of time at this little store, and it’s about time we checked in on some other characters. So what better way to usher in a scene change than by having a bunch of zombies show up to chase our heroes away?
Discussion Question: A Matter of Government
I’m picking yet another question from you guys. This time from Bo, who posted the following in the forum:
What kind of government would you support in the Zombie Apocalypse? If the IRS man came through, and instead of collecting income tax, he wanted a portion of your crop (whatever it might be), would you comply? What if the sheriff came through looking to press men into service as deputies? What authority would you respect in the aftermath of a zombie outbreak?
So what would it be? Are you an autonomous collective?
I really hope Dave has something bigger than these two lugging around a paralyzed can of Grade A zombie chow. If there’s some good reason to have Lou around, instead of having him at a zombie smorgasboard, I’d like to know and I’d like to know on Monday!
Sorry about no comments, everyone. I was able to write comments because it was my midterm break. School’s started back up, so now I can only write comments on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
By the way, love where the twist is going!
No problem. I had to lay off when I was in school, too. The internet can certainly be a distraction to studies. Because so much of my material was online it was really a chore to avoid FB and BotD during the week. 🙂
i would still respect cops and military if the sheriff came through yea id join him
but IRS SCREW HIM!
I just hope this story wont have to much of an open ending, certainly now you took your time telling the story (which I really like).
I really don’t know what authority I would still respect. When the chains of command are broken (and most of the communication), when all kinds of networks go down….
Sitting at my desk now I think I will follow the people who will radiate authority, who have it on their own…. but then again…. I really don’t know.
I mean, you are not a police-officer or whatever Dave… but in a Zombie-apocalypse I can imagine people following you, because you have some very helpful, lifesaving experience on the subject… on the other hand… you also need to get that experience across to people. well… I have no idea really who I will follow. I will worry about that when it becomes necessary 😀
I remember learning about different types of authority in school; but it’s been a while. I would definitely not blindly follow or obey anyone in a life-or-death scenario. There’s too much at stake for that. I think I would weigh every option carefully and do what is best for my family. I also tend not to respond well to coercion (which is the source of all government actions, a violation of the nonaggression principle). Trying to force me to do something in a WROL scenario? Well, better come heavy…
“Shag Ass” ????? O.o
Haha, That line of Inez made me laugh (too?)… 🙂
What does it mean!?!?!? o.O
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shag%20Ass
I think that a lot of survivalists have an anti-authority streak. I am certainly no exception. Regarding the establishment of a rule of law situation post-Crunch, I think it is very dynamic. What caused the collapse? Was it a breakdown related to poor monetary policy, or an earthquake? What is the government contributing to making the situation better? If it’s short-term, I will be as cooperative as I can, without risking my family. If it’s long-term, and a WROL scenario, I am not likely to give the government much concern. Again, their contribution has to better my own situation. I am certainly not going to contribute to the propping up of the welfare state in that situation.
Is that too selfish? Too honest?
The type of government I would follow is the one with the 3 branches of me, myself, and I. I do what is good for me or any group I am with. It may sound selfish, but you can’t afford to lose what little you have in those situation
Spoken like a true contrarian. Well said.
I think I would support any of military authorty for two reasons a)I do not want to die b)There probaly better prepared
Just because they can kill you does not mean you have to collaborate. There is a lot to be said for passive aggression…