# "Zombie Apocalypse" -- People take it seriously? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122 "2013-04-08T01:22:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/21 "2013-04-08T16:40:20Z")
I know people who talk about the Zombie Apocalypse, or more generically as it’s known on the gun forums, a SHTF scenario (shit hits the fan). They don’t actually believe in zombies, but what they _do_ believe is that the federal reserve bank is a sham and in a few year’s time America is going to default on its debt and the government will collapse, leading to the breakdown of society. No joke. They anticipate that they’ll be able to use their stockpiles of food and ammo to defend their tribe from roving bands of marauders. The zombie thing is a way to talk about specifics (stopping power, ammo counts, defensive strategy) without admitting that they’re talking about killing human beings in large numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/22 "2013-04-08T17:44:42Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > . . . what they _do_ believe is that the federal reserve bank is a sham and in a few year’s time America is going to default on its debt and the government will collapse, leading to the breakdown of society. No joke. They anticipate that they’ll be able to use their stockpiles of food and ammo to defend their tribe from roving bands of marauders. . . My Dad was ranting about this pretty regularly at least since the early sixties. I think I stopped believing by the time I was ten. That would have been '66. Zombies would have been easier to deal with. For the last ten years of his life, he was predicting that the collapse would happen in just two more years. He could get gleeful about it. After the third ‘two years’ has passed, he picked up the meme that the collapse had been temporarily thwarted by the advent of home computers and the courageous folks passing information thereon. He died in '97 and I don’t think I ever heard him say the word internet. I’m hoping there are some folks out there who are taking their anxiety straight to zombies and bypassing having to theorize about the evil government and hoards of stupid, violent humanity. Zombies are easier, and less isolating. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/23 "2013-04-08T18:14:03Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > For the last ten years of his life, he was predicting that the collapse would happen in just two more years. He could get gleeful about it. Yeah, the glee is where I kinda go :dubious: If I feel like armchair psychoanalyzing these people, it seems to me that they’re insecure about their ability to “make it” in society, so they train in areas that are practically worthless today (shooting and advanced survival skills) and then yearn for a day when those currently worthless skills make them into gods among men. The problem is that if we ever get to a point where hunting for food becomes a critical survival skill and not just a hobby, society will have broken down and millions upon millions of people will be dead or dying. Viewing that situation with any kind of glee just seems… sick. No offense to your dad. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/24 "2013-04-08T18:43:05Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > They also daydream of circumstances in which it would be morally acceptable to kill ordinary people on the street. I mean, what is a zombie apocalypse if not an excuse to shoot your neighbors? “Dad, you shot zombie Flanders!” “He was a zombie?” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/25 "2013-04-08T20:35:23Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I’m hoping there are some folks out there who are taking their anxiety straight to zombies and bypassing having to theorize about the evil government and hoards of stupid, violent humanity. Zombies are easier, and less isolating. Have you seen a zombie and a congress person together at the same time? Hmmm? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/26 "2013-04-08T20:39:00Z")
For many, “zombies” == “urban ferals” == “brown people”. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/27 "2013-04-08T21:21:05Z")
> [@The\_Raven](#): > > For many, “zombies” == “urban ferals” == “brown people”. Seriously? Wow! I hadn’t heard that one… did someone actually say that to you? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/28 "2013-04-08T21:32:28Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > . . . Viewing that situation with any kind of glee just seems… sick. No offense to your dad. I agree. I think it was a ‘who’s right now?’ thing. Maybe. It’s hard for me to get my head around. He’s been dead sixteen years and I still think about it too much. So even if I never believed, it still obviously affected me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/29 "2013-04-08T22:02:09Z")
What’s with the green tip on the zombie ammo? ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/30 "2013-04-08T22:07:29Z")
Moichandizing! I guess green is supposed to represent putrefying, gangrenous flesh or something… Either that or Hornady; 1; ran out of the red dye they normally use for the polymer tips 2; had a surplus of green dye from a failed project and wanted to use it up ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/31 "2013-04-08T22:24:01Z")
Okay, why polymer tips? My .45 cartridges are lead with a presumably copper full jacket. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/32 "2013-04-09T19:32:49Z")
It’s not outside the realm of reality to think there could be situations of temporary isolated urban and civil unrest where local law enforcement is overwhelmed. In those situations, it’s good to be prepared. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/33 "2013-04-09T23:14:02Z")
and he pretends to believe that it might happen. It was fun planning with him about our response. I was able to poke holes in several of his assumptions, so in a weird way it became an exercise in critical thinking. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/34 "2013-04-10T01:58:07Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’m preparing for the wave of radiation that will turn some humans into mutant superheroes and -villains. With my luck I’ll be “Sponge Man!” But without the exclamation point; I’ll be so bummed I’ll join the Faction of Neutrality. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Cool. > > Bastard needs a muffler. His taste (and timing) in music left much to be desired, as well. Oh, and for the thread: [5 Scientific Reasons A Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen.](http://www.cracked.com/article_15643_5-scientific-reasons-zombie-apocalypse-could-actually-happen.html) It must be true; it has the word “scientific” in the title. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122/35 "2013-04-10T02:49:52Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > His taste (and timing) in music left much to be desired, as well. No, my neighbor. “Pretty Boy”, PB I call him in front of Mrs. Plant (v.3.0) and my current Step Daughter. Skinny, long haired MF without a muffler on his big ass truck. Starts it at 6:30 to take the daughter of a Previous Marriage to her favorite school far away. When I’m trying to get the dogs to perform their toilet. Pisses them off, too. Admired for this and his plaid shorts (urk) as well as taking the trash out in his plaid boxers (excuse me, I’m going to be sick) by the above Mrs. Plant (v.3.0) and current Step Daughter. And he TALKS. “Oh, washing your car, I see!” No, Mother Fucker, I’m removing the blood of some asshole I killed last night because he talked all the time about nothing! Mother fucker borrowed and broke my lawn mower, too. I’m fine now, really. I am not channeling Norman Bates, honest. Yes, Mother, I’ll get off the internet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-apocalypse-people-take-it-seriously/655122.md?page=1)