The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: There can be a better way

Conflict and violence are, sadly, something of a necessity in a zombie apocalypse. But, as Jesus taught Morgan (And us) in The Walking Dead, there CAN BE a better way.

Violence, to one degree or another, is just a part of life, whether we like it or not. Even if we don’t participate in it, chances are we’ve seen it or know someone who’s been affected by it. For any of us to pretend otherwise is, frankly, delusional.

Of course, the amount of violence we’ll see, experience, or commit in a zombie apocalypse will be much higher, from killing zombies, if nothing else. Another thing we’re likely to have much more of? Conflict with other people.

Why? Pick a reason: Competition for resources, people gone crazy, or, sometimes, people just go bad. Whatever the case may be, it’s a good bet you’ll have to fight somebody, eventually.

But…how do you fight other people?

I’m not asking “Do you box people? Wrestle them?” or something like that. No, what I’m asking is: “Is your aim to beat the other person/group, or…destroy them?” The answer not only depends on the kind of person you are, but, can change the kind of person you are.

Are you the kind of person who’s ready, willing, and able to use extreme violence? Are you the kind of person who’s ready to accept how doing that can change you?

Now, don’t get me wrong: There will be people, maybe even groups of people that you simply cannot co-exist with.

If you meet a group who are wantonly cruel, megalomaniacal, bloodthirsty, or cannibalistic, these are people you can’t risk being around, as these sorts of people will try to wipe you out. You’ll need to be ready to do whatever is necessary to defend yourself and your group from these miscreants.

But, what about everyone else? Well, that is my point this week: When confronted by hostiles who aren’t any of these sorts of vile types, bloodshed may not be necessary.

You don’t need to kill people in a zombie apocalypse simply because they’re hostile. All you may have to do is incapacitate them.

You see, just because someone’s hostile doesn’t mean they’re evil. People can be hostile for all sorts of otherwise normal reasons: To get necessary resources, because the apocalypse has messed them up to some degree, hell, fear you might be hostile, who knows? The point is: All of these things can be dealt with in another way besides killing them.

I’ve often said that you shouldn’t necessarily judge a book by its cover, and this is where that can prove most useful. If you get a chance, when dealing with a hostile, maybe you can get them to tell you why they’re hostile. Who knows? Maybe you can help them with what they need, so they won’t be so hostile anymore. I’m not naive, not all hostiles will be so easy to deal with, but, you shouldn’t be so quick to rule it out that you don’t try.

This even can apply to groups of hostiles. If you can get them to understand that they don’t need to be hostile (Even if you have to beat them in battle to get them to understand), shouldn’t that be enough?

What point would retaliating against them have if you’ve already defeated them? Or got them to lay down their arms? A vendetta? Vendettas destroy both parties eventually. Do you want to become the very hostiles you sought to destroy? If you retaliate against a defeated foe, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing.

Which brings me back to my point: You don’t need to do that. If you can give a little understanding, and convince enemies (Again, after beating the fight out of them, if necessary) that you don’t need to be enemies, you can change things. Bloodshed doesn’t need to be the answer. There can be a better way.

Next: The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: Everyone has worth

And that’s our survival rule of the week!! Hopefully, it will help you should you ever need it and give you that mental edge that will prove so crucial once the dead start eating everyone.

If you like this and want to find out more rules to survive the zombie apocalypse, why not pick up a copy of my book, The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse! You can get it on Kindle here and on iTunes here!