Hollywood Victims

In my head I can't help but sometimes compare our situation to the people in Europe during the Black Death. Yeah there's big problems with that in some spots, but in others it's bang on. Prior to the Black Death population was exploding, and finding enough to eat depended on great harvests and enslaving yourself to some landed noble who probably already had too many serfs. When the plague came it hit so hard and fast that many people never understood the nature of what was happening. They took refuge in their beliefs and superstitions and they died like flies. I would imagine most of them died baffled. The all powerful church had died with them. The people who were supposed to be God's earthly hand fell as fast as everyone else, and no prayer or ritual, no sacrifice or scriptural knowledge even slowed down the death rate. I wonder how many people died a few minutes after the light bulb went on and they realized the happy dance they had been doing all their lives was bullshit.

When Campion's got loose there were a lot of people who thought they were ready. Even as it burned through the cities, and all the institutions we depended on crumbled, people were grabbing bug out bags and hidden weapons, getting ready to fight the great war against the undead. They knew about zombies, you see. They knew about them, and had grown up with them, and had posters and T shirts. They had watched the movies like the European peasants had listened to the priests stories of hell and damnation, and they had believed, and laid their plans, and prepped their asses off. While millions died in denial and confusion there were millions more who thought they had a handle on things. They didn't have Rome laying down the rules and promising salvation. They had Hollywood. Good old Hollywood. Big on shoot'em up, and pretty girls in Daisy Dukes, woefully short on science and useful information. Hollywood that cherry picked the CDC and medical community for the sexy interesting bits, and left out the ho hum, elbow grease stuff that might have saved millions. Contact isolation precautions aren't sexy. You stick a pretty little post disaster survivor girl in a rain suit or rubberized coveralls, and nobody is going to that movie. We want to see the tats and the pop top nipple rings. The movies never wanted to deal with human waste, or body disposal, or even the most basic concepts of infection control. That stuff doesn't sell tickets.

The God's of Hollywood gave us sexy girls and studly heroes fighting a contact virus in wife beaters and cool sunglasses. They were real long on AK's and AR 15s, and short on bleach and rubber gloves. It was sexy to fight the monsters, but they forgot to mention that the monsters were just a symptom. The enemy was the virus. I look at the walkers that are around now, and I notice that they are different than those of even a few months ago. Lots of them are wearing bits and pieces of military clothes, knives and war surplus gear strapped on, not even sporting obvious wounds. Lots of them could have been cast members in the latest Hollywood masterpieces. You can watch all night and never see a pair of rubber gloves, or a face shield. The movies never mentioned, things like rubbing your eyes, or washing your hands before you touch your genitals. Heroes with the blood of their latest kills splashed across their faces was sexy, chicks with ballistic vests, and bare arms, fighting walkers with a machete, and slinging fluid and tissue in every direction was sexy. Walkers that no CDC doctor would go near without a respirator suit and a negative pressure room even if they were rendered inactive our brave zombie fighters will walk up and punch in the face, or slice open with a fighting knife. I wonder if they ever consider that that goo soaking into their studly leather coat, or cool looking ballistic vest is caring a viral load that will kill a city.

Buzz kill, huh.....