If you watch The Walking Dead (Or Fear The Walking Dead, for that matter) long enough, you realize something about people in a zombie apocalypse: They suck.
Let’s face it, to one degree or another…people suck. You know it. I know it. On some level, I think a lot of people know it. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great individuals out there, but, let’s be real: On the large scale, people suck.
People sucking is, sadly, just part of the human condition, and it falls on each of us to strive not to suck as much as possible. Unfortunately, there’s a great many people who really don’t put that much effort into it, and more than a few who actively do everything they can to be the biggest douchebags possible. Whatever.
While this certainly isn’t a good thing, it becomes downright dangerous in a situation like a zombie apocalypse, where one awful person can wreck up your life and the lives of anyone with you.
So, this week, I figured I’d do my part not to suck, and give all of you some tips of what kind of behaviors to watch out for in people, and, a bit of an understanding as to why these behaviors happen. If you know the cause of someone being awful, you can recognize it in others, and, maybe, avoid disaster later down the line.
1) People are ignorant.
Let’s be clear here, right off the bat: I’m not using ignorant to mean “stupid” (I have too big of a rant for that to lump it in here), I’m using it to mean “Literally unaware of a threat staring them in the face”, though, I can see where the latter can be confused with the former.
There, now that we got that out of the way, we can begin.
There is a sad fact about our species: We have a tremendous capacity for ignorance (We have a tremendous capacity for a lot of things, ignorance is but one of them…). Large groups of people can and will happily ignore a huge problem staring them in the face if they think it’s too difficult to tackle, and, a zombie apocalypse is one of them.
Think about Alexandria in The Walking Dead. Even though they knew they were in a zombie apocalypse (Hell, it’s pretty much the reason the community was established in the first place) they went around acting like nothing was wrong. In fact, they were so dedicated to blocking out the world around them that they weren’t, in any way, concerned about the relatively small number of walkers they’d been dealing with up to that point, in spite of the fact that they were only a stone’s throw from Washington D.C., which, because of the government’s orders, would have swelled to millions of people, most of whom (It could easily be assumed) had been turned into walkers. They were only a few miles away, and yet, saw only trickles of walkers.
Did they think they had just gotten lucky?! If they had been paying attention, they would have sent Aaron or Eric, or somebody out to scout around and at least see where there might have been herds of walkers, just to figure out where not to go, but, because it wasn’t bothering them, they just figured “Out of sight, out of mind”.
Why am I saying all of this?
Because, when the apocalypse begins, it won’t exactly start with a million zombies marching down the streets of New York or something like that, but, it will start with a small number of people acting in increasingly weird ways — A person staggering around incoherently here, a person savagely biting a cop there, yet another person shaking off getting shot, etc. — and you will watch as either the media will ignore it (Which means no one else will hear about it) or the population at large will simply treat these incidents as isolated, rather than a warning to take precautions.
I’ll give the governments of the world a little credit — It’s one thing we can thank coronavirus for, I suppose — if they see enough incidents of this nature, they might attempt to take action, even if clandestinely, but, whether it’ll be enough, I can’t predict.
Other than that, though, if you’re wondering why people are just letting a zombie outbreak occur right under their noses, this is why and, once zombies emerge, if you’re expecting everyone to wake up to the problem before it becomes a disaster…don’t hold your breath.
2) People are arrogant.
Have you ever noticed that the biggest know-it-alls have a tendency to be clueless? This is because arrogance goes hand-in-hand with ignorance. Always has, always will.
I don’t believe people should convince themselves that they’re sewage or made of glass or anything like that, but, somewhere along the way, far too many people have convinced themselves that they’re untouchable, that everything they do is great, and anyone who thinks otherwise has a head filled with gravel, and…that’s a problem.
Right up there with people being ignorant of the threat posed by a zombie outbreak, I think it’s a safe bet that a good part of why an outbreak could evolve into a apocalypse is down to people who have the means of doing something about the problem, failing to out of the erroneous belief “It could never happen to us”.
This could end up playing a large role in why the populous at-large would be left out of the loop when the outbreak begins, because people who have the means to warn everyone simply assume that the problem is nothing to worry about, much less warn people about it, and so ignore the initial zombie incidents, leaving everyone blindsided when things escalate.
This goes beyond the beginning of the apocalypse, though: This problem will continue to plague people long after the outbreak, as it will rear it’s ugly head over and over again, causing problems whenever and wherever it appears.
Think about any time you’ve ever seen or heard of someone being asked to do something or spot a problem, say “I’ll do it later” or just plain ignore it, and then, sooner or later, that problem comes back to bite them, that is arrogance. It might not be overt, it might not be in your face, but, a part of why that happens is because, on some level, the person says to themselves that it’s either no big deal, or that that would never happen. I mean, re-imagine that scenario I just posited…but in a world where zombies exist: Suddenly, someone being asked to do something like tighten a fence, replace a broken or rusted wall panel, or simply inspect the perimeter, then ignoring it because they think “That will never happen!” takes on a whole new (And frightening) connotation.
If you end up as part of a group in a zombie apocalypse, and you have a situation like this –Where a person is asked to do something regarding the security, maintenance, or supplying of your base and they decide not to do it — you need to get that person’s ass in gear and remind them that the moment they think that zombies or other people can’t attack them, is the moment they become vulnerable to such attacks.
3) People are stupid.
I told you I had a rant about this brewing…
It never ceases to amaze me just how stupid people can be. Just when I think I’ve seen or heard the dumbest thing imaginable, something new comes along and reminds me that there are people out there who have a level of intelligence comparable to that of a possum.
I could probably spend an hour detailing all the various flavors of stupid people might exhibit in a zombie apocalypse, but, that would be a waste of my time, when, honestly, a few examples would do enough to get the message across.
Like what, you might ask? Oh, like people putting their own selfish wants over the safety of their group or maybe even their own family, how’s that for a start? Seriously, look at Gregory, from The Walking Dead. The stupid bastard tries to sell out his community, Alexandria, and The Kingdom to the Saviors, fails, IMMEDIATELY gets turned on by Simon, tries to act like everything’s normal (After leaving Father Gabriel to die as repayment for saving him), gets jailed by Maggie, escapes, then goes back to the Saviors, the same guys who turned on him the moment he wasn’t useful to them. Do you think there aren’t people so self-serving that they would try that? Please.
Want another example? Okay, how about people blabbing crucial information to a stranger, before even figuring out whether the person they’re blabbing to is sketchy or not?
Seriously, even in the year 2020, long after these tactics have been exposed and have been practiced for years beforehand, people still get tricked by scam callers asking for credit card numbers and things like that. If that can happen now, do you honestly think people wouldn’t fall for an equivalent to that in a zombie apocalypse?
Alright, enough of that. Earlier, I mentioned how I’m not treating someone being ignorant as an equivalent to being stupid, and, I’m sticking to that. You see, for the most part, ignorance is simply someone not knowing something. You can’t sit there and call a four year old stupid for not knowing multiplication when they haven’t been taught it yet, now can you? It’s the same idea.
However, ignorance can be compared to stupidity when it is willful. It’s what I like to call “Ostrichism”, i.e., when there’s a problem, a person (Or group of people) know there’s a problem, have some means to address it, and just…don’t. They sit there and pretend that there isn’t a problem, or worse, find excuses for it, rather than actually address it, and, proverbially, put their heads in the sand…like an ostrich.
Imagine if the Alexandrians knew about the quarry herd, had the means to lure them away or burn them all, and, rather than do either of those things, just…didn’t. If they knew about the quarry herd and just pretended like it wasn’t a problem, that would have been the epitome of stupid.
But, sadly, people do stuff just like that right now, as we speak. They sit there, and watch things burning around them and, rather than acknowledge the problem, just pretend like it isn’t even there. This won’t change just because there’s zombies, and will, in fact, be worse, because it’ll probably be the reason so many people become zombies.
4) People are greedy.
Greed is one of the worst qualities of the human animal. Sure, it can compel someone to push harder, fight harder, to stubbornly carry on with something in spite of difficulty, but, at the same time, it has also served as the source of so much suffering and death over the years, that it succeeds in being considered, by and large, the worst trait possible. Sadly, a zombie apocalypse, Hell, any kind of apocalypse, won’t change that.
Don’t believe me? Watch the next time there’s any kind of riot, I’ll bet dollars to donuts that you’ll see at least a few people stealing things, and not things like food, diapers, tools, or things that they might need, but, things like electronics or other luxury items. That is greed. Pure and simple.
And, I can guarantee you, as things break down at the onset of the apocalypse, there will be people doing it then, too. You’ll watch as people try to make off with TVs or computers or jewelry or ATMs or something, as hundreds of zombies start converging on them. And then, you’ll probably see those same people get taken down and forcibly added to the ranks of the dead because they’re slowed down by all the useless crap they’re carrying. It’s why I so often say that looting is stupid.
That said, greed will carry on long after the apocalypse has become our new normal.
If you’re lucky enough to establish a solid base in a zombie apocalypse, sooner or later, someone is going to come along and want to take something from it, sense money won’t mean anything by that point, what the something the hostiles will want will be different, but, that doesn’t change the motivation.
Furthermore, greed also sort of applies to people who want nothing more than to have control over others. I guarantee that someone somewhere will be willing to betray someone else or commit horrific atrocities on another group just so they can boss around other people. It’s been happening since the Bronze Age, why should a zombie apocalypse be any different?
5) People are duplicitous.
You know something? On some level, I can tolerate a person who’s greedy. If I were in a zombie apocalypse and met someone who said to me “I’m only out for myself. If someone comes along with a better offer than you, I’ll take it. Just letting you know up front.” I’d respect that. As bad as what the implications of such a warning are, at least I’d know right out the gate, and would have no expectations of loyalty from such a person, and no reason to have such expectations in the first place. If nothing else, I’d know what I was getting into.
Something I can’t tolerate though? A person who says they’re on my side, only to have it turn out that they were lying.
Unfortunately, duplicity and deceit are all too common, as there are countless snakes in the grass, painting themselves as good, kind, tolerant, and benevolent in order to get something out of those who either genuinely want to believe them, or other two-faced people who want to make themselves look good by supporting them. That willingness of people to take others at their word if it’s said the right way opens the door for any number of thieves, liars, opportunists, politicians, and worthless hypocrites to exploit them, and, if you think the world being overrun by millions of zombies will deter these people, you’ll be sadly mistaken.
In fact, not only will such people get worse, but, they’ll multiply, as many people, freed from the judgment of society, will give in to the deceitful monster that lies within them, and do whatever they think necessary to anyone else in order to stay ahead.
The worst part is that so many of these people will be tough to weed out from the kind of people you might want to have with you in a zombie apocalypse. While some behavior may be a dead give away as to the sort of slime a person might be, with others, it might take a lot of time, a lot of watching, a lot of listening, and maybe even getting into some dangerous situations before you can truly tell the worst of the worst from the people you want on your side.
Trust is the most important thing you can give someone in a zombie apocalypse, and you need to make damn sure you’re giving it to the right people.
6) People are cruel.
Right up there with ignorance, people have an amazing capacity for cruelty. Honestly, it’s staggering how cruel people can be, and, you’d think it’s limited to people like murderers or dictators, but…no, there are people who are completely ordinary, yet, can be startlingly cruel when given the opportunity.
Seriously, there are people out there right now who will revel in the misfortunes of others, laughing at other people being beaten to the point of getting brain damage or watching everything they have being destroyed by natural disasters, based on nothing more than what they think the other person thinks. Like I said, it’s staggering.
I wish I could say that people would shelve it during a zombie apocalypse, but, I know that’s wishful thinking. In fact, just like with duplicity, it will actively get worse once the apocalypse hits, for the same reason. With no one and nothing to stop them, many of those people who simply say cruel things, might just take it to the next level and do cruel things. Why? Who knows? Maybe because they’re angry that the world collapsed, maybe because they blame other people for it, maybe because someone did something to them once before, none of them are actually excuses for being cruel to people, but, they’ll convince themselves they are to justify their behavior to themselves.
Once the apocalypse hits though, you’ll have two things to worry about: 1) Making sure you don’t wind up recruiting cruel people and 2) Fighting hostiles who possess this most despicable of characteristics. For the first, I wish there were some kind of warning sign, like they glowed purple or something like that, but, sadly, they don’t. The only way you can weed out cruel people is to watch the people in your group closely, and listen carefully to what they say and how they say it. If there’s someone in your group who revels in the misfortunes of others, be they random people before the outbreak, or people who don’t pose a threat to you or your group once the apocalypse hits, to say nothing of people who are physically cruel to others, that’s about as close to glowing purple as you’re gonna get.
As for dealing with hostiles like that? Treat them the same way you would any other hostile, just be especially sure not to let yourself get captured by them, because, once someone does something like torture you…it’s not something you can undo.
People are cruel enough as it is right now when things are relatively normal, when the zombie apocalypse hits, they, and cruelty in general, will only get worse. Don’t be that way, and don’t let others be that way to you.
7) People are evil.
On some level, all of the negative traits I’ve described up to this point could, possibly, either be mitigated by some factor (Like some trauma experienced during the apocalypse), or, don’t make a person necessarily bad. However, the fact remains that some people, well…just are.
There are people out there who, regardless of who they are, where they are, what place they hold in society, etc. will say and do awful things to people for no better reason than the fact they have the ability to do so. People like this do not care about anything or anyone, and will simply see the zombie outbreak (And subsequent apocalypse) as an opportunity, a chance to do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whomever they want.
For example: Once the outbreak begins, and order begins to break down, you’ll see people use it as an excuse to hurt or even kill people who’ve never done anything to them, be it directly or indirectly. Oh, they may try to say it’s justified, but, in reality, that’s little more than an excuse: They just want to hurt people.
Similarly, you’ll also find people who use the power vacuum the apocalypse creates to live out all their Machiavellian fantasies. If you see mini cults or dictatorships pop up, where someone has placed themselves at the head of it, and uses their power and influence to lord over their followers, or wield those followers against other people, then it’s a safe bet this person is a terrible excuse for a human being.
If you want an example from The Walking Dead, look no further than Simon, who seemed to look for excuses to kill people, if and whenever possible, leading to the destruction of at least two whole groups that we know of (The Library Group, and the Scavengers), and the murder of half of another (Oceanside). On top of that, after he deemed Negan not brutal enough, he decided to try to usurp Negan (After he colluded with Negan to usurp the previous leader of the Saviors), so that he could lead the Saviors in a full-scale assault of Hilltop, with the intent of destroying the community’s entire population.
But wait! There’s more! To complete the trifecta, after assuming control of the Saviors in Negan’s absence, the excuse Simon was using for attacking Hilltop was the fact that they had captured “his guys” (I.e. the Saviors manning the satellite outpost). This is fine and all, until you remember that the moment he arrived at Hilltop to stage his attack, Maggie used the threat of violence against his captured troops to try to get him to stand down, and Simon decided to attack anyway, meaning that the whole time he was griping about “his guys”, it was just another excuse to try to kill people, and a manipulation of the rest of the Saviors to get them to go along with it.
You might think: “Well, Simon was just a TV character!” And while, yes, that’s true, the fact remains, people have used similar tactics just in the last century (Never mind earlier) to excuse the wholesale slaughter of millions of people! If people can do that once, they can do it again, and I can guarantee that, somewhere, there’s people itching to right now, all they need is an opportunity, something a zombie apocalypse would handily provide.
I can’t give any specific instructions about dealing with such people, because, well, these are going to be the hostiles you encounter in the apocalypse, and, how you’ll deal with them will depend on your circumstances, but, rest assured, you are going to have to deal with them eventually, and, you need to be prepared for when that day inevitably comes.
Never underestimate the human capacity for evil. It is limitless.
This is why you follow…The Rules.
And that’s your Survival Rule Of The Week! Hopefully, you’ve learned that people can be as much a curse in a zombie apocalypse as a blessing, learned what kind of people to be wary of of, and why. If you like this and want to find out more tips 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 also get it at Amazon here, on iTunes here!