"Zombie Apocalypse" -- How will it happen?
 

A recent topic among my circle of friends is how the so-called "zombie apocalypse" will actually happen.

One theory: US Government fails to find more foreign lenders to finance it's increasing debt burden, so can no longer fund the government. Everything, including entitlement programs, shut down. When welfare checks stop coming out, the recipients riot, causing general mayhem.

Another theory: California leads the rest of the US on debt, and goes bankrupt as a state. Poor folk across the state riot in mobs, killing for food out of sheer desperation. The rest of the country is deeply divided between bailing out California and selling the state to the Chinese, inciting riots and violent protests elsewhere.

A third: Gun-control activists pass legislation which allows the government to legally confiscate all guns (or all semi-autos, or whatever). Violent pockets of Second Amendment activists take a desperate last stand against the government troops. The country descends into civil war.

... I'd be curious for the best theories from this crowd. I'm sure we've got the creativity to come up with something more realistic!


Dan

Well.........first parf zombie thread.......congratulations.....

I think theory number one is most likely. Except...I think they will come up with some sort of "trillion dollar coin" thing and keep paying the bills, while devaluating the currency. This leads to massive inflation, a stagnating economy. Crime will go up. And a new show will start on TV called "Welcome Back Kotter".

Theory #1 seems the most likely, but where do the zombies come in ?

According to that show on Nat Geo, people are spending huge amounts of money and time prepping for all sorts of doomsdays from volcanoes, to oil crisis to financial meltdown.

Zombies in this discussion means anyone without means that will do anything once civilization falls apart.

I love it. Can we put Charles Ponzi's face on it? lol

Next question: Will there be a reality TV show about the apocalypse? 'Coz that'd be a real winner.

Zombies? Pfft... didn't you get the memo?

The Moneys take over... and the sooner the better I say!

You fools are stocking up on guns and ammo... I'm planting banana trees!

There already is......its called cardashiasomething......lol

Besides that whole zombie thing can never happen...

I have the zombie virus safe and sound right here in this vial and it is not going anywh...

OOPS!

A popular website recently asked its members what they were stocking up on for disastors. lots of elaborate plans and responses. Anonymously i posted "I`m just maintaining a list of preppers in my area." End of thread. By the way, can i have your address? :-)


My best likely apocolypse theory is that gas/crude supplies get withheld by our overseas suppliers to the point where fuel costs go stratospheric and truckers go on strike. Food supplies in most towns would run out in about 3 days according to many estimates. Hungry people, things get ugly.

Uh, you do know we get most of our oil from Canada and Mexico right? And we have enough reserves in the ground under us to run this country for a decade or so if need be.

HMM. Self centered Americans decide not to pay for infrastructure, and become paranoid about personal poverty and the entitlements of others while living high off the hog.

They then secede after being brainwashed by so called ''News'', and convince themselves that everyone else is a zombie. Start shooting spree that leads to decline of a once great civilization, and then turn to cannibalism as a prime food source.

At this point they decide that raw brains are a prime delicacy, and pass on a slow, but debilitating virus to their kith and kin, thus consummating the self fulfilling prophesy that their own selfishness and paranoia created.

One of those end of the world shows was discussing some disease similar to rabies that would cause zombie like symptoms in humans. Not the undead type in the movies, but live people with scrambled egg brains and rotting flesh falling off their bodies. Could it be the next pandemic?

Daniel, you need to look at our budget. The problem is not we are spending too little on infrastructure. The problem is our politicians made a bunch of promises that can not be kept. Reconciling this will mean a reduction in money going to these groups. And they are not going to like it.

Look up toxoplasmosis. It is a parasite which does affect the brain. Imagine if a super strain of it came out!

I see no mention of an incurable craving for brains.

Yes. We get less than half of our imported oil from "The East" but it would take a long time to develop our oil reserves here. If that went away and there were lines to Gas and a "peak oil" scare I could see prices getting doubled easily.

Remember this is my zombie apocolypse theory and as such is researched accordingly. :)

I have heard it said that we reached "peak oil" 40 yrs. ago in the US when we went from net exporter to net importer of oil. If that's true, we're still doing pretty well. Everyone knows there's plenty more oil in places the NIMBYs and environuts don't want to drill. We can get it if we really need it.

We produce about 36% of our oil needs domestically. At present, we import the most from Mexico. If we simply let the Canadian Pipeline be installed, we would be North American self sufficient.

I would only start to worry about the zombie apocolypse when Umbrella Corporation is listed on the stock exchange.

^^^this. funny and to the point.

I'm still waiting for "The Walking Dead" to explain what happened. Then I'll get back to you.

I'm still waiting for a zombie show that doesn't violate the laws of thermodynamics...

As an aside, Chris' apocalypse is covered in "Slow Apocalypse," wherein a bioengineered virus destroys the world's petroleum supply. And yep, the inability to move food is the chief effect of the crisis, especially in California.

there was a longshoreman strike in long beach a few years back. someone explained that los angeles only has a 7 day food reserve. after a week the supermarkets run out. people are on their own.

7 days after that all the people who didn't plan ahead are real hungry. what do they do?

what happens to the people who did plan ahead when three months later new supplies still aren't coming in?

What happened after Hurricane Katrina and "Super Storm" Sandy? In both cases the infrastructure, social and otherwise, collapsed. Was there a "zombie apocalypse" in either case? I do remember some cops shooting some unarmed people on the bridge after Katrina. I think there was a big concert after Sandy. Bon Jovi and Springsteen, etc.

I think you better have a garden/greenhouse/chicken coop/fish pond for renewable food sources and many guns, er, spoons to protect it all from the hoarding masses.

Well, there was widespread looting and the gov't. did go on gun confiscation raids. I'd call that pretty bad.

Those were limited cases though. For each there was significant food, water, and shelter aid available pretty quickly after the event. What if there was a breakdown on a larger scale?

^^^
a larger circle gets drawn on a map.....

Have enough ammo on hand to kill everyone who comes up your street I guess. I mean, what's the answer? I'd bet poor people, the "zombies" we all seem to be afraid of, are just as afraid of all us gun owners. When they come they'll probably be begging for food and they probably know that if they pull a gun then they'll be shot down in the street, just as it's been for over 200 years in this country. And if it's a true "zombie apocalypse" then it will be open season on poor and helpless people. And their lawyers. So cheer up guys.

The effects of hyperinflation will force people to pare down their purhases to only the absolute necessities, that being food (including water), shelter and fuel. The shelter part being the least difficult. Heat will be problematic and the electrical grid will function intermittently.

Eventually, desperation will set in creating increasingly more zombies. Law enforcement will be overwhelmed causing people to depend on themselvs for the security of their homes and families.

High density urban areas will suffer first and most dramatically due to the mob mentality. I get the sense there are a lot of people just itching to cause mayhem just for the fun of it. After the initial wave of panic, things will rapidly settle down. Widespread lawlessness will not be tolerated. There will be mass demise of people with chronic, expensive illnesses for lack of meds (due to the cost). People with hands-on skills (medical care providers, electricians, farmers, mechanics, etc.) will barter. The masses of people with no skills will become dependent on whatever system gets set up.

No dramatic changes; allot like it is now but worser.

I think CrowBob hit the nail on the head with how it will go down. I guess my woodburner, 10 wooded acre farm with animals, and guns/ammo will all be in high demand. Come and try to take it !

Think of all the people in the superdome after Katrina. Two weeks go by and no help. They set off in groups of 10-20-100 looking for food.

They head for your neighborhood.

When the stronger, better-armed tribe(s) finally arrive in your neighborhood looking for food, gasoline, women and more ammo, and to finally take your guns, save the last bullet for yourself! Maybe have an extra gun in case the one in your mouth/up against your temple misfires or jams. Have a last-ditch plan for that end moment when you hear them coming and you know you're out of options. Maybe a banzai charge with guns blazing and demo going off to take a few of them with you. Go out in a real blaze of glory.

Actually, off-duty cops killed them on the bridge out of town. Unarmed too, if memory serves.

If something really dramatic ever took place I'd load up the food, water, guns, and head to my in-law's place in central KS via back roads. On 40 acres with a garden, generators, about a cow's worth of meat, and a few heavily armed farmer neighbors that know me well. Being in an urban area, even a mid sized one like Wichita, is not where I want to be in the event of a major emergency.

They'll see you are well-equipped and just surround you and wait you out. Probably set a grass fire and burn you out or just overwhelm you with sheer numbers and superior firepower. That's how we did it to the American Indian when we zombie-apocalypsed them.

Yeah, I'm bored. Back to reality.