CDC ISSUES WARNING: The “Zombie Apocalypse” is Upon Us!
What is the CDC you ask, and what, pray-tell, do they have to do with zombies? C.D.C. is the abbreviation for the Center for Disease Control. They are a governmental organization whose motto is, “CDC 24/7: saving lives, protecting people, reducing health costs.” Among other things, the CDC is involved in emergency preparedness for natural disasters, disease epidemics, terrorist threats, and the like. The real question we should all be asking is can we trust the CDC to be looking out for our best interests?
My opinion? We should all be doubtful. Since when is the government looking out for the best interest of average American citizens? A couple minutes on the world wide web and you’ll see that the CDC has a credibility gap that’s a mile wide and growing larger by the day — proof is coming momentarily.
As crazy as it sounds, the CDC has declared this month to be (ahem) ‘Zombie Awareness Month’. Huh? For whatever reason, zombies are popular. In fact, zombies are so popular that George Romero’s 1968 cult classic, “Night of the Living Dead ” (a movie about flesh-eating zombies) has recently spawned a host of knock-offs, including video games, novels, and zombie-themed parties and events. Yep, “Zombie Walks,” are actually a thing.
As absurd as it may sound, Zombie Culture has become such a big deal that ammunition manufacturer, Hornaday, is cashing in with a best-selling brand of high-end ammo called Zombie Max. And now the CDC is getting in on the action as well. In a blog post that I could not possibly have made up, the CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL is warning citizens to prepare for an ‘imminent’ Zombie Apocalypse. Who knows; maybe our government knows something we don’t?
In an early summer Blog Post for the CDC, Ali Kahn posited the question…
“Where do zombies come from and why do they love eating brains so much? ……Zombies would take over entire countries, roaming city streets eating anything living that got in their way. The proliferation of this idea has led many people to wonder – How do I prepare for a zombie apocalypse?“
No, no, no. Our government is not really saying there is going to be a Zombie Apocalypse. They are using pop culture to sell us yet another PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT —- this one on “preparedness”. And in all honesty, their message of being ready with emergency food supplies, water, tools, etc, is not all bad. In its own watered-down and cheesy way, it is the message that hardcore survivalists have been preaching for years.
Most of us, though, are not interested in living out life as a prepper or survivalist. However…..
When the chips are down, who do I want on my side? Some kid who thought the CDC’s Zombie article was cool and thinks he’s wired tight because he learned “real” zombie survival tactics playing his Xbox? Or a curmudgeonly, grizzled old ex-Marine retired Marine who knows how to live off the land and take care of himself, his family and his neighbors? The guy you can count on when it’s all on the line, even though the cards are stacked against. The guy who can still kick serious ass at 70.
Not surprisingly, this article failed to mention the need to at least contemplate arming yourself against the zombies in this looming invasion. We don’t wonder why. The current administration is unarguably anti-firearm. But I guess we shouldn’t worry. One of the article’s headers says, “Never Fear — CDC is Ready!” Whew; I feel better already. Kahn’s piece goes on to say…
“If zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak. CDC would provide technical assistance to cities, states, or international partners dealing with a zombie infestation. This assistance might include consultation, lab testing and analysis, patient management and care, tracking of contacts, and infection control (including isolation and quarantine)“.
Does anyone remember Stephen King’s epic 1978 novel, The Stand? If I remember correctly only about 1 in 300 people survived a government-induced (bio-weapons) plague. The survivors formed up into two groups, good guys -vs- bad guys, following their respective leaders (a sweet elderly black woman rocking on her front porch in rural Nebraska, and bad man with dark eyes and cowboy boots) to Colorado and Las Vegas, where they would eventually battle each other for control of what was left of the country. Intriguing concept. And interestingly enough, if my memory serves me, the book began with (gulp) a government quarantine.
If you understand how government quarantines actually work, you might begin to wonder about the above statement from the CDC. Try and break a true quarantine and soldiers (or UN blue-shirts) will eliminate you on the spot. All of this begs the question of whether the CDC or any other governmental agency has any sort of credibility in this arena. After all, they have a track-record we can actually review.
When it comes to real life disasters, the only organizations that seem to be getting it right are the faith-based groups (church or para-church). After Katrina, they were on the ground almost immediately, bringing in water, food, clothing, and medical supplies to devastated people. But the government shut many of these down — even before they started supplying disaster relief themselves. I guess the bureaucrats didn’t appreciate being shown up by unpaid volunteers, many of whom have their AARP cards.
This and the known fiasco-rate of other government-run endeavors tells me that we should be very leery of trusting government agencies to take care of us when the chips are down. So; if we can’t trust the government to protect us in the case of a disaster, what should we do?
HOW TO SURVIVE A DISASTER (WHETHER NATURAL OR DUE TO ZOMBIES)
Before we start, let’s get something straight. I am not advocating selling everything you own, converting the proceeds to gold, buying 40 acres in Montana, building an underground fortress stockpiled with guns and ammo, and ‘living off the land’.
There are, however, some precautions to take and simple things to do to get ready for emergency situations or natural disasters. Whether you live in a rural or urban setting, these are the basics. Do your own online research and figure out what will work the best in your particular situation. Just be aware that if you live in the city, things can get dicey a lot quicker than for us HILLBILLIES LIVING IN THE OZARKS.
- FOOD: What you do here really depends upon how much space you have. Can you put a deep freeze full of meat in your basement? Can you power it if the lights go out? Do you have a garden spot and know what to do with it? Can you stock up on some extra canned goods? Do several weeks / months of freeze dried foods or military rations (MRE’s) sound like a good investment to you? Have you got some heirloom seeds hidden away (the seeds of most plants raised from store-bought seed packets will not grow —- they are GMO and purposely created sterile)? These are all things to think about. Do your own research.
- WATER: Water is a basic necessity. Although I would suggest that you do store some water, storing water is not easy because it takes up a lot of space. There are all sorts of ways around this — gizmos that you can purchase for the emergency purification of water — many quite inexpensive such chemical means, or even a Steripen Sidewinder. And then there’s the ‘Big Berkey’ for those willing to pay the price.
- GUNS & AMMO: Few people are aware of just how quickly a situation can degenerate into chaos, anarchy, and mayhem. Does anyone remember the Rodney King Riots in LA? What about New Orleans after Katrina? How about the Ferguson Riots in the St. Louis area? Any time the power goes out for any length of time, your chances of ending up in an anything-goes situation — particularly if you live in the city — increase dramatically. And although the CDC did not mention the need for firearms in their article, they could be the difference-maker for you and your family. I really don’t care what your personal beliefs are; when the SHTF and the “zombies” are beating at your door, do you want to trust your wife and daughters (not to mention your sons) to your ability to talk your way out of a desperate situation? Few things speak louder than a 12 gauge pump loaded with 00 (JUST ASK JOE) (YES, VP BIDEN). Better to have something dependable and never need it, than to need it and not have it. The best place to shop for Joe’s double barrel would be HERE.
- TOOLS & EMERGENCY SUPPLIES: There are all sorts of things to have on hand. Do your own research and plan accordingly.
- EMERGENCY PLAN / EMERGENCY KIT: Do you know how to turn your water off in the event that the power goes out during the winter months? Do you know your neighbors? Do you know how to garden? Do you have seeds? What about extra blankets? Do you ave any sort of backup cooking or heat? Did you know that you can get inexpensive radios and flashlights that run via hand cranks? I could go on but you get the point.
The truth is, you can really go overboard with some of this stuff. But then again, in the event of a real disaster, no matter how much you have prepared, you will wish that you had done more. I am not convinced you need to live your life like television’s “Preppers”. However, some internet research, a bit of simple planning, and some common sense could literally be the difference between life and death for you and your family.
What are the odds of a disaster happening to you? I’m no statistician so I am not sure. But as a student of history I can tell you this. No nation has ever taken on the amount of debt we have without crumbling. When it (“crumbling“) finally happens, it will happen all at once — just like it did a little bit over 80 years ago. All it takes is a plunge in the markets, citizens totally losing confidence in our government-backed currency, and a run on the banks. Once people realize that there is nothing but thin air and GOVERNMENT-ISSUED IOU’S backing their dollars, the panic will set in.
The difference between then and now is that back in the late 20’s and 30’s most people did not have much of anything to begin with. For many people, the Great Depression was just another day-in-the-life. Folks worked hard and most of them lived hand-to-mouth with few conveniences or luxuries. People made do with whatever they had, and could repair or fabricate almost anything. There was much deeper ‘community’ back then as well. People went to church and helped each other through hard times. It’s a very different society we live in today.
And as I just showed you, there is nothing (gold nor silver) backing our currency like there was back then. Add in the fact that we have a huge (and rapidly increasing) segment of our non-elderly population being completely supported by government programs, and you might begin to see the potential for a Zombie Invasion after all.
