...and don't get me wrong, I love zombie movies...
What the hell is the deal with zombies?  I'm really surprised (prior to discovering Zombie Central) by the number of people fanatical about zombie hunting.  Is "zombie" just a PC term for something else?  What's the deal?


If this is all for fun, I can chime in.  If not, please disregard the following paragraph.
If this is just in the spirit of "worst case scenario"...  wiith Hollywood's creation of faster and stronger zombies, my "escape the area" weapons against the zombie hoards are flamethrowers (with an undermounted streetsweeper) and explosives.  The best firearms for someone trapped at ground-level with those things would be .50 machineguns, miniguns, or a Vulcan.  Trying to get CNS or headshots with anything less would be too hectic and eventually you'd be overrun.  With katanas you'll only die tired.  Now if you were trapped on a tall building, you could do headshots all day until the stench kept you from going outside.  Then you'd have to burn down the pile.
If the zombie condition is only transferable between humans, It wouldn't last long.  However, if animals can get infected with it, you'd better make your way to the artic or antartic for a few years until all of the animals (especially biting insects) are dead.  If the disease can live indefinately in water, you'd better either move to the southpole (endless freshwater supply) or eat a bullet.

Go easy on me it's 3:30am.

Lighten up Francis.

I'd be looking for high ground that is defenseable.  

Prefferably something like a offshore oil platform.  Hard to get to and allows some access to land runs via boat for supplies.

Land locked a prison or plant that is fenced would be prefferable.  Airstrips, government buildings, ect anything that offers fences and high ground for sniping.  With enough distance the bodies can rot and you'd eventually become accustom to the smell.

I like the idea of a 3 level apartment building on the outskirts of town.  The kind that have only two stairwells on either side and a total of 12 units (4 base level and 4 2nd level, 4 3rd level).  Block the two stairwells, clear the apartments one at a time.  Third level patios provide almost 360* coverage for distance shots.  8 units in middle to third offer scavenging.

Fun with zombies is just that, fun.  It allows people to plan like a SHTF survivist without feeling like people think you are a nut job.  Realistically the real time SHTF senarios require much more thought as you would be dealilng with thinking, reasoning people.  I like the zombie stuff, but I also REALLY enjoy senarios like the story "Lights Out".

The original Dawn of the Dead, for me, defined the genre.

Zombies in that movie were, to me, a statement about rampant consumerism, self-absorption, and generally the idea of people going about their daily lives with utterly no regard whatsoever for anybody else.

In a large sense, the zombies in that movie weren't even the bad guys.  They were just... there.  The bad guys were the greedy, violent, humans.

To expand on that a little, consider the situation after Katrina.  Some people acted responsibly.  Others shambled around and demanded rescue from the circumstances they deliberately remained in.  Arguably, the latter were very zombie-like.  Does that mean we think about shooting people like that?  Of course not.  I may think very little of them, but I certainly don't wish them dead.  Or undead.

Nevertheless, they embody certain lessons about ethics, responsibility, passivity, etc.  And many of those same positions are held by serious criminals.  The difference between a passive "you're supposed to help me" person shambling about with no regard for other people, and a violent criminal, can often be mere opportunity.  What would, honestly, prohibit the former from acting violently, given the means and opportunity?  What moral limiter governs their actions?  It's not clear that there is any, in many cases.

Thus, the zombie metaphor gets expanded to be "those selfish types who may very nearly spontaneously transform into a dangerous animal, with no forewarning for their victims".

And I hope you can see why that metaphor would be of interest to responsible gun owners.  That rapist in the other thread was, at one minute, a casual acquaintance, and the next minute, a monster.  Maybe zombies are fiction, but the metaphor is real.  Zombies are just a convenient and lighthearted illustration of it.

That's my thought, anyway.  You'll find many answers that differ.

Most agree that the definitive genre movies are "Dawn of the Dead" (the original, of course, not the bad remake) and "Shaun of the Dead".  Both are scathing commentaries on human flaws and foibles, and entertaining, to boot.

Dude, this is a zombie forum. Your phrasiology is too opulent for my diminutive comprehension.

The apocalypse is coming.

First rule about Zombie Central: Don't talk about Zombie Central.

yes it's all for fun ... but ... it does feed my anal-retentive side for being prepared for any kind of disaster.  Do I have enough weapons, ammo, food, water, emergency supplies ...

Well the thing is, if you talk about being ready for the zombie apocalypse, (which we all KNOW is coming ) people think 'yeh he's crazy....but in a non threatening, funny way.'  

BUT if you talk about getting ready for any number of other things, people will think 'yeh he's crazy'...and it could lead them to calling 911 on you "for your own good." Or "for the children"..  

Not to mention, when you get tired of being stressed over;
Friends and family health issues
Friends and family on deployment
Friends and family losing their jobs, and/or homes due to losing their jobs
Or a ton of things that can happen in your normal day.

Ya just have to stop, take a deep breath and fully explore this burning issue.    

Maybe you're one of them trying to lure us out with a false sense of compacency.  Nice try Zombie Boy!  Better luck next time.  Now we know what you are up to and I, for one, will be on the look out.

Zombies are a euphenism for Obama voters. Slow, dangerous, only consume, never create, mindless, brainless, soulless leeches willing to destroy all they meet.

Too unrealistic .50 machine guns, mini guns, vulcan cannons.... You have to keep your scenarios do able or it just gets retarded, like for example a do able scenario:

I would dig a moat around my house 10-20 feet out fill it with coal and oil and start a long burning fire then i would crawl on top of my roof and pick the zombies off 1 by 1 with my Mosin Nagant and the 2000 rounds i have stock piled.

But you can't say: I would just mow them down with 50 caliber machine gun and throw grenades at them then pull out my duel titanium chain saws and turn on my auto turrets then trigger my c4 explosives.


As weird as that is to say in a forum where we are talking about fighting fictional monsters you have to keep this realistic because alot of the zombie survival theory actually helps you in almost any other survival situation.

Like for example: When the zombies come and the power goes off i will use my wind up flashlights and live of my MRE stock piles.

Now that i have these wind up flashlights and MRE's stock piled in any emergency situation they will be very useful

So please keep this as realistic as possible keep in mind what your working with no making up fictional supplies and have a good time at ZOMBIE CENTRAL.

all of this.

zombies let you "get away" and still keep your eye on the prize. like others have said, you'll look crazy but not like the *psycho, shoot up the neighbors* kind of crazy.

They are not metaphors, they are real, and..... They're coming to get you AR Builder Upper

The zombies are going to come. I see them in my dreams and make my family do zombie invasion drills in the middle of the night. It is serious business.

Damn right it is! You can never let your guard down!

                             

rule #1 when dealing with the undead:  These are ghouls that cannot be killed.  Don't bother trying...A little gasoline and a lit match will make them cinders which are far easier to deal with.  A simple garden hose is enough to make charcoal of them at that point

rule#2 pretend to walk and make noises like a zombie to catch them off guard.  It gives you the opportunity to set them on fire.  Once they burst into flame resume your zombie impersonation.  It usually works well for me, especially after dark.  The undead have better night vision than the living.  Numerous scientific studies (See New England Journal of Medicine, page 66, May 1984, Atley et al) confirm this in over 83% of 573 ghoul vs. living subjects studied.  The double blind study has been repeated several times and peer reviewed.

Who says, I'm getting ready....  And keep telling everyone who laughs at the idea that I will be their best friend when they arrive!

balloo93
I also enjoy planning.  Of course there are pros/cons and the resulting strategies dealing with such for real and fantacy scenarios.  And why would anyone think you were a "nut job" for preparing for a zombie outbreak?

JBlitzen, I remember hearing the metaphor explanation before.  While I agree about mainstream culture's resemblance to zombies, you'll understand if I won't go down that road in this thread.  One thing I'll add to the criminal element vs. zombies comparison is that you can frighten criminals away.  If not in the sense of the emotion of fear, at least in the sense of self-preservation.  

Freelance_Bum, thank you.  That disturbing link gave me needed laugh.

Mosin_Soldier, I can't tell if you're being serious.  If I want to surround my house with Firestorm units and a battery of motion-sensing, auto-tracking miniguns on my roof to keep the undead away, I don't see why you would have a problem with that.  After all, I don't have any issue with the fact that you expect to survive with only 2,000 rounds..  So please, add a winky face if you're just silly.

BOBLATHON
Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes and the poison arrows fall from the sky and the pillars of heaven shake.  Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big old storm right square in the eye and says, "Gimme your best shot, pal.  I can take it."

 WA9BYR
I've wondered why nobody tried that.  I've also wondered how the zombies knew where the food was... and why they never ate each other.
BTW I can't be a zombie.  My speling iz to gud.



So it seems this zombie thing means different things to different people.  Some use it as a creative outlet.  Some use it in conjunction with their doomsday prep.  Some use it as a cover for their doomsday prep in hopes that others will see them as a "harmless" crazy person.  If I left out any other possibilities, please let me know.

And this time it's 3:54 am

The only advantage to working the garveyard shift is that fact I can identify with the zombies.  Some days I transition from days to nights and end up coming home and hitting the bed at the 28hrs wide awake mark!

I like messing around with simulating the SHTF and Zombie senarios becasue it gives me the perfect excuse to have a BOB and buy myself random supplies and ammo.  Wife has her hobbies and I have mine

My neck of the woods isn't too bad, but it has the potential to go bad quickly.

Yes it is primarily a doomsday prep for sure. It also makes sure people I dont want to talk to leave me alone. All I have to do is start to mention zeds and my preparation for them and they no longer talk to me. Lastly I dont think it is beyond the realm of possibility that some type of medicine or virus could mutate and cause a zombie like scenario. If you do then well, I will be alive and you will not and that wont matter to me one bit. BTW I love the zombie forum and check in daily!

glad I could help. Did you see the ZRT gear in the online store?

Biohazard sticker
Biohazard zombie
ARFCOM ZRT sticker
ARFCOM ZRT patches on the way!

                                                       ^
                                                  ZOMBIE

nope missing obama supporter Tshirt

this

My friends call me Psycho.

For me a "zombie" is a euphemism for any "mob of people" wishing to do me or my family harm.

Explosives?  Miniguns?

So, after your first 5 seconds of firing, what will you do when you re out of ammo?

Zombies keep coming man.  They don't stop.

You ever read "Leiningen versus the ants?"

It will be almost like that, but with people.

Planning for the zombie invasion requires thinking about defensibility, sustainability, and mobility.  It is quite the mental exercise. Everybody needs a zombie plan.  When they come, it is always easier to execute a plan you have rehearsed in your head, than to have to think on the go while fighting for your life.

yup

I can use anything I want in this fantasy scenario.    
Of course I've done the "well I would've..." bit while watching those movies.  Best bet always ends up being in an inaccessable location with too many supplies and food/water.
Everyone has a plan until they get hit.

I thought 'zombies' meant non-whites?

White power!!!

87 For life!!!!














*In case you didn't realize it, I was joking*

You still need a plan.  Zombies are no laughing matter.

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFLtUxncZcU