Our Responsibility
As with any apocalyptic scenario, conversation routinely turns to defensive and offensive measure against the particular threat in question be it human, zombie or otherwise. Anyone who knows me understands how much I enjoy weighing in on such discussion but I would like to pose another question.
One thing that I tend to bristle at is a concept I have heard many times in which women become the unfortunate thralls of whatever stronger, gun toting male happens to “rescue” them from whatever unfortunate fate they would have been privy to without our heroic intervention. I would posit that this is nonsense in its most legitimate form. To that end, I would like to provide some of my own hypotheses on how human behavior must change in order that humanity as a whole survive this, or any other apocalyptic scenario.
Let’s say for the sake of argument that all of our preparation, combined with a convergence of fortunate circumstances allows us to survive what I often refer to as the “First Wave” of the Zombie Apocalypse (heretofore referred to as the “ZA”). The First Wave of the ZA can be defined as the period following which the virus becomes exponentially prevalent in the major population centers. By this time, most prepared survivors will either be in the process of or already have, executed their survival scenarios.
I feel that as men, the only way for us to ensure the continued survival of the human species is to sacrifice everything we have to ensure that our fellow female survivors continue to grace the world with their presence. Some of you may attempt to construe this as some misogynist statement but that is not it’s intention, it is simple math. Two men and twenty women can repopulate a small town, two women and twenty men cannot. Before I go on, let me make sure that anyone who reads this understands that the intention of this statement is NOT to insinuate that women are little more than baby making machines…if that is all you get from that statement, please stop reading now since any of you who know me understand that I am not so narrow minded as that. Instead, I mean that Women, for MANY reasons, are more important than men are in the grand scheme of things.
Men, by and large, have a tendency to be preoccupied with physicality in some aspect or another. We like our big guns and our shiny toys and we love to brag to each other about how big and tough we are. We are essentially doing this because intrinsically we understand that such violent tendencies will ultimately make us more valuable to members of the opposite sex because we also understand that women are not as steped in physicality as we are. In fact, it is an arguable position that women, as a generality, are far more adept socially than men are and therefore less preoccupied with the male held belief of physical security. In the general collective opinion of most men this makes women less likely to be able to defend themselves from physical threat.
However human beings were designed, whether it be some Omnipotent intelligence or simple evolution, the greatest strength of the human design was the separation of one sex from the other. In nature, many of the principles that I speak about here can be observed in the animal kingdom. While many may wish to look at this as “Well they are animals, it’s instinct” I would argue that many of the complex emotions that humans use to separate themselves from their animals brothers and sisters can be traced back to simple genetic and instinctual imperatives that are literally built into us. As we evolved more complex social skills, these instincts were modified and incorporated into modern behavior. Speaking from a general scientific perspective, it ensures that the species continues to carry genetic traits across a greater variety of individuals from generation to generation. It has been my experience that Men and Women are NOT equal in all things but that the sum of their strengths makes up for the sum of their inequalities.
It is my belief that men have subjugated women through history because they have failed to respect this balance in favor of psychological politics which, as I have already stated, spring from instinctual behaviors. As we observe in nature, the male counterpart in most animal relationships fill one of two basic roles.
1.) Sperm Donor
2.) Leader of the Pack
As we all know, I am a fan of Bears. In Nature, Male Bears have been known to eat the young whether it is theirs or not. Females are therefore naturally more aggressive to deal with the constant threat. In fact, Mother Bears are known to be some of the most aggressive and dangerous animals in nature when protecting their young from a threat. What this means to me is that nature has a way of balancing itself. If one side gets to heavy in one aspect, the other side must increase its own weight to compensate. Human beings are the only animal on the planet that disregard this balance and the result is that we have upset the equilibrium of almost everything around us.
In a post apocalyptic society, can we really afford to make the same mistakes that our forefathers have? I would say “No”. When working with equals, it takes both sides to pull in order to reach equilibrium. When once side is pushed and the other pulled, everything goes in one direction.
If you are still reading this, I commend you. This is not the usual fare for a Zombie website in which gore, cracked skulls, guns, swords and battle axes tend to rule the day. In truth, I suspect that this post will be largely ignored and that is okay. My goal here is to foster some thought on a subject which I think is largely ignored by many people and I feel that there are some very intelligent people on this site.
That said, let’s open the discussion. What do you feel are our responsibilities beyond simple survival in a post apocalypse? What changes do you think will be necessary?
I ask only two things, please be respectful of others opinions. Considering the subject matter and the assertions I have made, I can see the possibility of some smaller minded individuals posting something that is simply egregious and offensive. This is for honest discourse and intelligent conversation, if you can’t handle that, please do not post.
The other thing is that you speak honestly. I am legitimately interested in what other people feel about this concept, what things they think our society fails at and what ways they think it can be fixed. Let’s face it, the Zombie Apocalypse is a reset button scenario!
One thing that I tend to bristle at is a concept I have heard many times in which women become the unfortunate thralls of whatever stronger, gun toting male happens to “rescue” them from whatever unfortunate fate they would have been privy to without our heroic intervention. I would posit that this is nonsense in its most legitimate form. To that end, I would like to provide some of my own hypotheses on how human behavior must change in order that humanity as a whole survive this, or any other apocalyptic scenario.
Let’s say for the sake of argument that all of our preparation, combined with a convergence of fortunate circumstances allows us to survive what I often refer to as the “First Wave” of the Zombie Apocalypse (heretofore referred to as the “ZA”). The First Wave of the ZA can be defined as the period following which the virus becomes exponentially prevalent in the major population centers. By this time, most prepared survivors will either be in the process of or already have, executed their survival scenarios.
I feel that as men, the only way for us to ensure the continued survival of the human species is to sacrifice everything we have to ensure that our fellow female survivors continue to grace the world with their presence. Some of you may attempt to construe this as some misogynist statement but that is not it’s intention, it is simple math. Two men and twenty women can repopulate a small town, two women and twenty men cannot. Before I go on, let me make sure that anyone who reads this understands that the intention of this statement is NOT to insinuate that women are little more than baby making machines…if that is all you get from that statement, please stop reading now since any of you who know me understand that I am not so narrow minded as that. Instead, I mean that Women, for MANY reasons, are more important than men are in the grand scheme of things.
Men, by and large, have a tendency to be preoccupied with physicality in some aspect or another. We like our big guns and our shiny toys and we love to brag to each other about how big and tough we are. We are essentially doing this because intrinsically we understand that such violent tendencies will ultimately make us more valuable to members of the opposite sex because we also understand that women are not as steped in physicality as we are. In fact, it is an arguable position that women, as a generality, are far more adept socially than men are and therefore less preoccupied with the male held belief of physical security. In the general collective opinion of most men this makes women less likely to be able to defend themselves from physical threat.
However human beings were designed, whether it be some Omnipotent intelligence or simple evolution, the greatest strength of the human design was the separation of one sex from the other. In nature, many of the principles that I speak about here can be observed in the animal kingdom. While many may wish to look at this as “Well they are animals, it’s instinct” I would argue that many of the complex emotions that humans use to separate themselves from their animals brothers and sisters can be traced back to simple genetic and instinctual imperatives that are literally built into us. As we evolved more complex social skills, these instincts were modified and incorporated into modern behavior. Speaking from a general scientific perspective, it ensures that the species continues to carry genetic traits across a greater variety of individuals from generation to generation. It has been my experience that Men and Women are NOT equal in all things but that the sum of their strengths makes up for the sum of their inequalities.
It is my belief that men have subjugated women through history because they have failed to respect this balance in favor of psychological politics which, as I have already stated, spring from instinctual behaviors. As we observe in nature, the male counterpart in most animal relationships fill one of two basic roles.
1.) Sperm Donor
2.) Leader of the Pack
As we all know, I am a fan of Bears. In Nature, Male Bears have been known to eat the young whether it is theirs or not. Females are therefore naturally more aggressive to deal with the constant threat. In fact, Mother Bears are known to be some of the most aggressive and dangerous animals in nature when protecting their young from a threat. What this means to me is that nature has a way of balancing itself. If one side gets to heavy in one aspect, the other side must increase its own weight to compensate. Human beings are the only animal on the planet that disregard this balance and the result is that we have upset the equilibrium of almost everything around us.
In a post apocalyptic society, can we really afford to make the same mistakes that our forefathers have? I would say “No”. When working with equals, it takes both sides to pull in order to reach equilibrium. When once side is pushed and the other pulled, everything goes in one direction.
If you are still reading this, I commend you. This is not the usual fare for a Zombie website in which gore, cracked skulls, guns, swords and battle axes tend to rule the day. In truth, I suspect that this post will be largely ignored and that is okay. My goal here is to foster some thought on a subject which I think is largely ignored by many people and I feel that there are some very intelligent people on this site.
That said, let’s open the discussion. What do you feel are our responsibilities beyond simple survival in a post apocalypse? What changes do you think will be necessary?
I ask only two things, please be respectful of others opinions. Considering the subject matter and the assertions I have made, I can see the possibility of some smaller minded individuals posting something that is simply egregious and offensive. This is for honest discourse and intelligent conversation, if you can’t handle that, please do not post.
The other thing is that you speak honestly. I am legitimately interested in what other people feel about this concept, what things they think our society fails at and what ways they think it can be fixed. Let’s face it, the Zombie Apocalypse is a reset button scenario!
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by The Bruin on
-
Unfortunately, that is precisely what I hope doesn't happen! My hope is that as that we can do away with the preconcieved notions of male superiority and embrace the concept that the survival of the species outweighs sexual politics. For instance...considering that anyone in their right mind should avoid close contact with the undead in any ratio greater than 3 hungry zeds to one human combatant, I have no doubt that any woman can handle herself as well as a man. I believe that given the scenario of the timeline (and I readily agree that there are a number of variables that exist outside that scenario), the undead are essentially a limited threat when one considers their inabilty to problem solve among other detriments. Anyone of any sex, with the possible exception of children, can pick up a long gun and defend from a distance without having to face the rigors of close combat. If such neutralization is utilized, then the male to female ratio is likely to be greater than otherwise...
-
Permalink Reply by Kevin Allan Morrison on -
I think I gotta go with Bonsai on this one. My personal view is, though while there are strong natured and physically strong women out there. The chances are there are going to be more men. I'm not being sexist in this next part or anything, just stating information that I've got at my disposal.
In the UK currently theres a ban on female combat troops, in cases of entering the most high risk zones. This is down to men being more fit for battle on the whole and being able to cope with the emotional and physcological stress of a situation better than women are. < Again thats what I'm reading, not reflecting anything. I know for a fact my own fiance would likely give the undead more than they could handle. Shes the boss in the household =p.
As for the point on guns. Yes this would be easy, if guns were there at a ready source. But take for examples countries where guns are harder to find than perfect diamonds. In the UK for example only specially trained police units are allowed access to guns. They arn't something we can pick up on a sidewalk. Best we'd be able to work with would be long range, cross bows. And short range anything varying from a pointy stick to a kitchen knife. In close combat a man is in my opinion more likely to come out the victor than the woman.
But this again poses another point. Is the man more likely to survive? Close combat would perhaps bring about a bite. Which the man might eventually die from. Although men are physically stronger than women, women are more agile on the whole. And following Max Brooks rules. The best way to survive a zombie attack in close range is to run away. And I'd probably say the majority of women would have a better chance of escaping than men would.
But on whole as for survivor communities. If there were both strong men and women who hadn't been reduced to a dribbling wreck by the outbreak. Well situations might be different. Women in the past were quite happy to let the man rule the roost ( well perhaps not happy but there was a general acceptance of this). However modern day society has flung out this idea. So if we were to press the reset button, would things go back to the way they were or would altered perceptions play a part?
I suppose my final opinion on this would be. I have absolutely no idea. It would depend on the situation ( if they were in a badly fortified area with little or no long range weapons, or the opposite of this)and the people ( their personalities and attitudes). Things could go either way dependant on factors.
-
-
Ahhhh. I cannot deny that your argument has merit. In fact, I agree that your scenario is far more likely the outcome than my idealized hope. Should I be fortunate enough to see the other side of the "conflict" I will do what I can to ensure my model survives...unfortunately I will likely be killed in my sleep...
-
Permalink Reply by Courtney, zombie hunter on -
First of all, the reason that there will be more men than women surviving the apocalypse is as follows...
Women are not taught to be as rough-and-tumble as men are, from a very early age. Its always fine and dandy for young boys to roughhouse and play act their fighting skills in the school yard, but girls are taught to be "good girls" and not get our lacy dresses dirty. This is false and needs to stop being perpetuated from both genders of parent.
Second, a lot more men share a belief in apocalypse and/or battening down the hatches and defending, than women do. We have enough on our minds already, with work, children, sucking dicks (please learn to suck them yourselves, btw) and friends. Friendships between women are INTRICATELY more time consuming than friendships between men. So in short, we have less interest and less time to follow post-apocalyptic scenarios to their end. Except for me, because I'm odd.
And finally, there are a lot of men who LIKE the idea of keeping women down and submissive to their needs. They are called "insecure" because, although they may think a girl who rides motorcycles or knows how to shoot a gun is sexy, they are VERY threatened by the fact that these same women have no interest in behaving like their housewife/doormat. There's a lot to be said about male insecurity when it comes to Z Day, and how men will react.
I know that the men in my life will be very chivalrous and take good care of me when Z Day drops, but I also don't NEED them to. But the fact that they will is enough for me to feel like I have good friends/good boyfriend. Sadly, there will most likely be more men than women alive when everything goes down, and not solely based on the arguments I made above.
-
-
Courtney, I think that most men would agree that if we could learn to do that ourselves we would never leave the house...LOL. I personally believe that this may be a decent argument for intelligent design. After all, wouldn't an omnipotent being see the evolution of our social behaviors to the point that we would prefer such self gratification to the point it might threaten the species by shortcircuiting the desire to procreate? This is me trying to make a joke and sound intelligent at the same time...I don't think it's working.
So, it sounds to me like you have made an intelligent decision in regard to this discussion. You possess the requisite skills should they be necessary but have surrounded yourself with people that consider you on equal enough footing that you will be a part of the group and not subject to it.
Personally, I find a woman who is capable of taking care of herself much more attractive than one who cannot. That said, I personally would like to see more women like yourself...spread the word willya!
-
Permalink Reply by JB on -
I have a much different opinion when it comes to women and their survival...
Women, much like men, have a survival instinct. Their instinct will more than likely be to run and hide, not stand and fight, and then get bitten and die a most horrific death. But seriously, it's not about one's ability to fight. It doesn't matter how strong you are. Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman (look it up) have a hard enough time putting their hands together, let alone swinging a bat.
The whole survival mechanism is a knee jerk reaction, much like that time Bobby took a fake swing at Jeff, and jeff flinched. HAHA, Jeff flinched. But had Bobby not stopped his fist, Jeff would have been better prepared for the impact. My point here is that intelligence is what will keep us alive, not our ability to kill zombies.
Women are just as smart as men, and more than likely, a woman could end up being the mastermind behind a groups survival. Yes, men are considered the hunters, but it's because we choose to be, not because we have to be.
Okay, now that we're all on a level playing field, a few quick notes...
Being an educator is not as easy as many people think, especially when it comes to children. If you find an educator, protect them. Anyone who's seen "Idiocracy" knows what I mean.
After the all clear, screw any current style of government. Return to the days when the brightest and wisest made the decisions. Most people don't know what's best for them, because they choose to be ignorant of the issues. Such as healthcare. In our current system, we pay premiums and what not for our medical care, we have co-pays and many other options to ease the burden of paying, not the doctor, but the facility tons of money to pay that guy at the top sitting at a desk making paper airplanes....anyway...in the new society, get rid of money. Your post-apocalyptic utopia must not contain a means of power through distrobution. No one person is greater than the next. There are the elders who hold ultimate decision making power, as a board, and the best of the best in different areas as advisors. But money really is the root of all evil.
Rules were ment to be broken...yeah, but only when there's too many. The general rules we're taught to follow is do not harm...Don't hurt other people unless it is in defense of yourself. No rape, no assault, no murder...the most simple of rules.
Don't steal from your brothers and sisters. In an event like this each person you survive with, becomes your new family. You shouldn't take from them, but you also shouldn't have to...
respect each person as you would want them to respect you. Nuff said...
The current judicial system is warped. Evidence will not be thrown out because of a technicallity. If someone murders someone else, and the murder weapon has his prints on it, and the other persons blood, it's still evidence. The system should be fair and impartial, not completely oblivious...we'd need to work on this...
Then there's the breeding thing...should everyone have the option to breed? If you have 100 women and 50 men, should all of them get to breed? What about genetics? Is there a way to breed out sicknesses or diseases? Survival of the species, right?
-
Permalink Reply by Caity Cat on -
Therein lies the problem, we want to foster a society in which we are equals, but the repopulation of a species can not be put down to the preference of those involved. I am of the opinion that you can not force anything with a social consciousness to breed without some sort or back lash.
If we are going to breed out sicknesses and diseases, why not take it to the next level, and implement eugenics. But of course this means that repopulation would take much longer and those with genetic weaknesses would become a second class amongst their genetically superior peers. I know that many people will not agree with me, but once children have been reared and a society has been developed, I will step aside and allow those without my genetic inferiorities to produce the next generation. Of course my views may change if I am faced with the decision, but in a hypothetical situation this course of logic would seem the most appropriate.
-
-
One cannot "Breed Out" social consciousness...social consciousness by it's nature presupposes that we are supremely capable of controlling baser emotion in favor of socially acceptable behavior. If one looks at say, chimps, they a more complex social dynamic than others in the "animal kingdom" (excluding human beings). They can be dangerously violent to one another when one or members of a group act in a way that is not in keeping with the accepted social behaviors of the group (challenging authority, stealing food, trying to mate with a female which they are not supposed to, etc.). These offending chimps are often scarred horribly or killed. Members who are not physically capable are often shunned. If we think about it a little bit, I think that what most people can agree on is that there is nowhere in nature in which survival is a brutal everyday challenge for the animals that live there. As human beings, we have fallen so far away from the appropriate balance between ourselves and the world around us, that we have forgotten what it is like to survive and an apocalyptic situation will undoubtedly be a crash course.
One other behavior seen in Chimps, Gorillas and the like? Males protect the females in their social group and rarely if ever abuse them...
-
Permalink Reply by PRIME_Ω_PREDATOR on -
Breeding , hmmmm. Well I don't see it happening with me. I had a vascectomy about 10 years ago. Yeah sometimes they don't take but I haven't had any kids. I see my responsibility as being the person who protects and helps others survive. Specifically those close to me, family and friends. I will do what it takes to keep them safe. I guess it's what I did all along as a cop. I kept people safe.
As for society, it will develop as it does. Those who survive will have the skills to do so. They will be smart or strong or both. If they aren't very strong they will team with folks who are. If they aren't very bright they will find a leader. Those who are both can make a go of it on their own but there is safety and a higher survival percentage in numbers. Some will do good things while other will do immoral or bad things. The one thing that is common is that they all want to survive in this harshest of environments.
-
-
Thanks Predator. I feel that ultimately you are correct. Society, what is left of it, will evolve on it's own and likely in vectors we can barely imagine now.
-
-
I went about the business of deleting several comments that seem to have snowballed into a rather immature back and forth.
If you want to have intelligent discourse, that is fine. Post commentary that is relevant to the conversation not insults. The offending parties know who they are and I trust they will have the maturity to cease and desist.
-
Permalink Reply by Courtney, zombie hunter on
-
I happen to be naturally offensive and I feel that you're being rather biased and not as sensitive to we offenders as you should be. :)
I couldn't resist. Delete at will.
Now Available!
Call Us
Call the Lost Zombies hotline, toll free, and leave us a message. We may use your message in the Lost Zombies Documentary.
877-ZOMBIE0 that's
877-966-2430
877-ZOMBIE0 that's
877-966-2430
LZ Merch
If you're looking for shirts and LZ gear you can check out our Zazzle store
© 2013 Created by Skot (Lost).
