Zombies and Sheep

Prepper and survivalist blogs and websites are full of euphemisms for the non-prepper majority. The average American male is referred to as "Joe Six-Pack", and we are not referring to his abdominal muscles. Jim Rawles prefers sheep, sheepdogs and wolves. Big John Lipscom uses the term Clones. If you have read this blog or any other prepper blog you had to have seen the term sheeple. I've used the term "Sleeper" here on this blog.

So what's it all mean? Is there a mental trap in thinking of people as sheep or zombies, ninjas or anything else? Humans think in terms of stereotypes. It is how our brains are wired, a evolutionary remnant of our tribal beginnings. Deal with it.

To some extent all stereotypes are a mental trap. I've met many Black men that were harder workers than the rest of the crew combined. I've met Jewish people that were not miserly, cheap, or frugal. I've met Irish that didn't drink and French people that didn't stink. I met an Italian engineer that was a mechanical genius. I've eaten at a restaurant with a British chef that was a culinary delight.

So our brain has a tendency to clump people into groups. As higher-evolved lifeforms, as all preppers are by definition, we are aware that there are exceptions to these stereotypes. Our brain might divvy up the world into "Us" and "Them" but remember "Them" could be "Us" one day. Labels are applied to these groups, these stereotypes, to provide a way of communication and community in our group.

So how does this apply to prepping? We preppers divide the world into neat categories like anyone else. If you are unprepared your a mindless Sheep, aka a Sheeple. If your a criminal then you're a Wolf. If your a prepper or survivalist you are a Sheepdog.

I don't like this because the last thing I see myself as is a Sheepdog. Sheep are a poor term for the mass of humanity because the public will turn on each other once the thin veil of civility is removed. Look at the post-Katrina reports as proof of this behavior.

The term Wolf is used as a bad thing. Wolves are loyal to the pack. They breed for life. They work as a unified team in times of crisis and food-gathering - all inter-pack rivalries are set aside for the good of the pack. I like wolves, and I think survival communities should emulate them. Not to say they should prey upon others, but the structure and how they put aside all problems when in a crisis.

I fully plan on leaving as much of the world to it's own devices as possible. I currently don't have enough to supply my immediate family, never mind a horde of hungry refugees. So the closest thing in the animal world to me is a Bear. Don't poke a Bear, you'll be lucky if he is nice enough to let you keep a stump of an arm left. Bears have this whole don't fuck with me and I won't kill you thing going on. When bears run out of food they will turn on each other, and everything else around them, so it's not the best illustration of my beliefs, but it gets the point across.

Zombies are a better word for the mass of humanity. If you have been lucky enough to play Left For Dead you will know the version of Zombies I'm talking about. In Left For Dead, zombies are the typical mindless horde of Romero's 1968 classic, Night of the Living Dead. Slow, clumsy, and mindless. But the difference with the zombies in Left for Dead is when a human is noticed, they are instantly fast as lighting and a tough as nails. These zombies are bad-ass killing machines. They also work as a team to get their hands on the living. They only way to defeat them in the game is to use teamwork and superior weapons.

This is the Zombie I speak of when I refer to humanity as a mass of zombies. Once the comfortable surroundings is stripped away, once the zombie's awareness is awakened, then the Zombie shows it's true nature as a killing machine bent on your destruction. Like a pack of locusts they will consume everything until they starve themselves out.

So what other ones are out there? How about a Cow. Comfortable in their retreat-pasture they contentedly munch away. Not a care in the world, or a desire to better it, either.

Then you have the monkeys who throw their shit at everyone else so we will pay attention to them. Another name for them are trolls.

The worst are Spiders. They lurk about, gathering information about their victims ahead of time, then when the poop his they fan they kill their prey and bring back the booty to their nest. These fuckers are the reason why you need such careful security.

Then you have your Ticks. Usually family or friends they take what they can while providing no benefit to anyone else. once your drained dry they'll bail on you to hitch a ride with another victim.

how about the Queen (or King)? Never wants to get their hands dirty they expect to be waited on hand and foot. They don't contribute anything to prepping, but expect to reap the rewards.

Goons are government law or military. Also known as JBT, or Jack-booted thugs. Not to be confused with the common Thug.

Thugs are organized criminal elements. Gang members to Mafia soldiers, they are the same.

This has been fun for me. If you come up with a few others post them in the comments.