Governmental role during a zombie attack?

[MissJacksonCA]

Lets say... suddenly there's zombies... what, if any action would the government take?

I felt Resident Evil did a good job showing the reaction of a government officer (though it was an employee of umbrella) when Rain asked the zombie doc to stand down... and when she refused and attacked her she kicked her off and it was only when the zombie came to attack her again that they then threatened to shoot her and when that didn't work was when they killed her. The employees kinda acting like doctors and first doing no harm until of course they realize the veracity of people warning them that these folks are consuming live people. I see that happening once the zombie infection begins and starts to spread. *I refer to it as an infection because whatever 'it' is its highly contagious... like an (anyone? anyone?) ...infection*

In Dawn the station guy telling the viewers watching that the government insists everyone evacuate their homes in order to go to a rescue station suggests that they're going to eventually sweep the streets and kill first asking questions later.

From the rescue stations establish some kind of perimiter around the area deemed to be infested and at the 'border' of the perimiter they'll be admitting the people who haven't been infected. Those who have been will be quarantined for a period of time while they investigate possible solutions to cure the infection. Of course such blockades would be dangerous because if someone turns guess what? Lunch can be found in every direction.

I dont know what our stance would be on using chemical weapons because at some point we will want to re-establish life in this country, no? But hey look on the bright side Canada, and Mexico... if we ever build that wall to keep evil-doers out of the states it will save your lives when zombies attack!

[acealive1]

goverment here wouldnt have that much of a role. they'd disappear til it was over.

[MissJacksonCA]

thanks for making me look optimistic :moon:

[rightwing401]

The biggest factor that matters in governmental response is what kind of outbreak are we dealing with here.
If it is a virus like off of Resident Evil, then government countermeasures would most likely be able to bring it under control.
But if we are talking about the unexplained pandemic that Romero used, then not a chance.
I'm not saying that the government wouldn't give it their all, it's just that it just wouldn't have the manpower or resources to bring things under control. Two good examples: L.A. and New Orleans---it took the local state government days to organize up enough National Guard and police to bring order back into the cities.
Now try and picture something like that happening in every city, every town, in the country all at once. And factor in that the dead are returning to life and attacking everything living.
All forms of emergency services and hospitals would be swarmed over with the sheer number of injured. Every interstate and highway would be clogged with people madly trying to flee the carnage and find safe places. The whole social structure would simply collapse in on itself with a few days to a few weeks as food and fuel become unable to deliver their goods to their regular places. And many people would naturally jump on this opportunity to do whatever they wanted.
I know we all like to think of ourselves as a higher society, but only two things keep it that way. The laws we have made to govern ourselves, and the means to enforce them. Once those two factors go out the window, people become barbarians.
So factoring all of that in, there's simply no way that the government would be able to organize any kind of effective countermeasure with hundreds of cities and thousands of towns becoming literal war zones within a few days. The military, comprised of perhaps no more than a million personnel with all branches combined, will have to keep a population of over two hundred million in order. While trying to counter the rapidly increasing numbers of the living dead, the military will have to be entrusted with protecting civilians and keeping the general fabric of society from falling apart, and no doubt engaging in thousands of tiny battles against rioters/gangs/anti-government people.
Quite simply put, there would be no big battles, just tens of thousands of small unit actions as the military attempts to stem the tide of the collapse. Then of course, you have to figure how many of the soldiers will actually stay at their posts while their own families are in danger. And then we come the ethical question, will they be able to utilize their heavy ordnance to counter the rising dead? Will they be able to use 155mm and MLR missile bombardments on U.S. cities? And if that fails, atomics?
Sadly, I don't see how the government could even have a prayer of being able to put a stop to a rise of the dead.

[darth los]

The "important" people who were vital to the continuation of the gov't would disappear in their fancy underground bunkers until it blew over, if at all. The rest of us would most likely be zombie food.

[Cody]

well it wouldnt take long for all the weird storys come out of a town since we have internet. i think the govt would send troops in and ofcourse lock the city down.

if that fails nuke it. no virus left.

[darth los]

Sounds eerily like the Umbrella "sanitization" scenario. :eek:

[flyboy]

The "important" people who were vital to the continuation of the gov't would disappear in their fancy underground bunkers until it blew over, if at all. The rest of us would most likely be zombie food.
@agree! @agree! my government in england, wouid probly anounce tax rises knowing the twat we have in power.:rockbrow:

[darth los]

@agree! @agree! my government in england, wouid probly anounce tax rises knowing the twat we have in power.:rockbrow:

I thought blair was gone.:lol: :lol:

[MissJacksonCA]

I think if the zombie outbreak began anywhere the government wouldn't know how to initially respond and even when they do understand it would be hard for them to isolate all of the government figures in any given area because they'd all have to go via helicopter and the **** would be hitting the fan everywhere by then they'd prolly encounter people trying to buy their way onto the helicopter or airplanes and then of course the people who give their lives protecting government figures may not be willing to leave their families behind and leaving their post to go be with their families... oh this is so great i'm getting a vision of bush and his lady laura being left on the white house chopper while everyone flees and a horde of zombies circling them and tearing them apart... ahhhh

[darth los]

I think if the zombie outbreak began anywhere the government wouldn't know how to initially respond and even when they do understand it would be hard for them to isolate all of the government figures in any given area because they'd all have to go via helicopter and the **** would be hitting the fan everywhere by then they'd prolly encounter people trying to buy their way onto the helicopter or airplanes and then of course the people who give their lives protecting government figures may not be willing to leave their families behind and leaving their post to go be with their families... oh this is so great i'm getting a vision of bush and his lady laura being left on the white house chopper while everyone flees and a horde of zombies circling them and tearing them apart... ahhhh

You have to understand that there wouldn't be just one place where the countries leaders would congregate. There are a bunch of them. Also, they wouldn't be taking helicopters. They have underground networks they use in order to get to all that stuff. You don't really think that the gov't pays $100 dollars each for hammers do you? They buy a $10 hammer and use the difference for their secret projects.

[sgrosse]

One important thing to consider is, when was the last time our government had to contain and fight a global pandemic? I just dont think that there is procedure here. First off, it would take at least a few weeks to mobilize the troops. That is becuase of having to research what is going on, and giving the spread a grace period of that many weeks.

[darth los]

One important thing to consider is, when was the last time our government had to contain and fight a global pandemic? I just dont think that there is procedure here. First off, it would take at least a few weeks to mobilize the troops. That is becuase of having to research what is going on, and giving the spread a grace period of that many weeks.

They can't even handle a hurrican let alone the walking dead. Katrina really destroyed the idea that you can count on the gov't in the event of a catastrophe of that scope.

[sgrosse]

They can't even handle a hurrican let alone the walking dead. Katrina really destroyed the idea that you can count on the gov't in the event of a catastrophe of that scope.

Oh, the government destroyed that notion long before Katrina, they just confirmed it with Katrina.

[darth los]

Oh, the government destroyed that notion long before Katrina, they just confirmed it with Katrina.

It's why people don't even come out and vote anymore. They prove themselves inept every chance they get.

[Philly_SWAT]

Government, in particular the American government, if it worked the way it is supposed to on paper, might be able to do something helfpul and efficient in the event of a zombie outbreak. Unfortunately, the way government actually is, the hope of them helping on a massive scale is laughable at best. In anything, the military would be our only hope, guys that are used to make quick life and death decisions without wading through oceans of bueracracy. I doubt they would be able to mobilize quickly enough in any event.

Once the outbreak got going on a large scale, say, like it was at the beginning of Dawn, one huge problem that people fail to mention would be the breakdown of the distribution of goods. Food, gas, and "survival-type" stuff (tents, tarps, hatchets, etc) would no longer be distributed. I found out here in Florida a couple of years ago after the mulitple huricanes came through. They didnt really hit this area. There was damage here and there, but not that bad compared to other areas of the state. What happened was, the power went out. Gas stations, even tose with gas, were non-functional due to the power outage. Blocked road into this area kept trucks from being able to enter. Whenever a gas station opened, there were HUGE lines of people desparate to get gas. Local supermarkets had to throw away large amounts of spoiled food. Water, batteries, etc., were gone from stores very quickly, with no re-supply coming anytime soon. And this was in an area where people were still obeying the law, not looting, etc. We had reasonable faith that eventually, roads would be cleared, power would be restored, and goods would be back in stores. Imagine in a zombie outbreak, how many OTR truckers would want to be bringing goods to stores? Gas, food, and supplies would be gone in short order. The only place to find anything at all would be your neighbors house. Mass chaos would result. The government or the military would not be able to control the chaos due to the lack of necesities. That would be the main reason to "head for the hills", not due to the lack of zombies there, but due to the lack of the living there.

[darth los]

If it happened today we'd be really screwed because the bulk of our military and national gaurd are in iraq and afghanistan.

I've always said that in emergencies where supplies are scarce the biggest thing you would have to fear is other humans who want what you have and would be willing to kill you to keep themselves and their family alive.

[jim102016]

They can't even handle a hurrican let alone the walking dead. Katrina really destroyed the idea that you can count on the gov't in the event of a catastrophe of that scope.


I was down in Biloxi, Mississippi for Hurricane Katrina. Despite all the race-card publicity that went to New Orleans....the eye of the hurricane hit southern Mississippi causing hundreds of billions of dollars. I saw armed national guardsmen block off and patrol the main beach road that contained a dozen ruined casinos, and I saw state police from all over the nation on the streets directing traffic. Hell, I even saw military policemen in Walmart at closing time to discourage any trouble. Lots of assistance came down to help, but the scale of damage can not be imagined.

I had packs of looters in my parking lot, people pulling guns on each other at the gas stations, and no power for a while. I think crime went up 300% in the months afterward? It can't be understood unless you were there to see it.

Although one couldn't do much under these circumstances, my point is that you have to take some responsiblity for yourself. You can't just sit around and bitch about the president failing you because you're this nationality or that religion, you have to get off your ass! There are too many people reliant on the state/federal government today, the American sense of self-reliance is all but extinct.

I think if the dead came back to life, the government would be quickly overwhelmed by an uncooperative public who refused to do the necessary dirtywork on their own. We'd be f*cked.

[darth los]

I was down in Biloxi, Mississippi for Hurricane Katrina. Despite all the race-card publicity that went to New Orleans....the eye of the hurricane hit southern Mississippi causing hundreds of billions of dollars. I saw armed national guardsmen block off and patrol the main beach road that contained a dozen ruined casinos, and I saw state police from all over the nation on the streets directing traffic. Hell, I even saw military policemen in Walmart at closing time to discourage any trouble. Lots of assistance came down to help, but the scale of damage can not be imagined.

I had packs of looters in my parking lot, people pulling guns on each other at the gas stations, and no power for a while. I think crime went up 300% in the months afterward? It can't be understood unless you were there to see it.

Although one couldn't do much under these circumstances, my point is that you have to take some responsiblity for yourself. You can't just sit around and bitch about the president failing you because you're this nationality or that religion, you have to get off your ass! There are too many people reliant on the state/federal government today, the American sense of self-reliance is all but extinct.

I think if the dead came back to life, the government would be quickly overwhelmed by an uncooperative public who refused to do the necessary dirtywork on their own. We'd be f*cked.


Like ben said in NOTLD 90', " it doesn't take the world long to fall apart does it?" Yeah, it was crazy seeing all those people yelling help, hungry, dehydrated babies, and bodies in the street. It gave a glimpse into the darkside of human nature once all our amnenities are taken away. It just confirms what i always say. Humans are basically animal. We think because we have a little technology that we're evolved, we're not. We're basically the same as the humans who came out of the jungle 25,000 years ago only with i-pods.

[acealive1]

now thats somethin to chew on

[MissJacksonCA]

People dont go out to vote because they feel that their vote doesn't matter. And frankly thank god they dont vote because they're morons.

But back to the topic...

At present with such a strong amount of troops at war in Iraq and with so many here wounded from Iraq it would be hard for the government to mobilize and defend our country from flesh eaters. Its that easy. Next you have the secret service agents that protect various present and past government officials and while they may be willing to give their lives for someone who's to say that they'd be willing to let their families die to save someone? Odds are no.

As to the 'underground' stations the government may have my source says and I quote 'it is not unlikely' but what would be unlikely is that they are all connected like you got a glimpse of in Day of the Dead. If you're in Vegas you're in luck because I think it was Sinatra who had some kind of underground palace built with everything from sun lamps to a pool down there but somehow I doubt the government underground facilities are so lush. While i'm sure they will be larely stocked with ammo and food items I doubt there would be enough security officials to use them and serve the government thats left.

Lets say the zombies are attacking today and spreading right now and the government is aware of the severity of the situation... we've got few troops to help us and what we have are mostly those in training... depending on their knowledge of the situation would determine whether they help secure our government which would end up gathering their families and ending up in an underground bunker (if we're sticking to your theory)... so because of job posts being abandoned you'd end up with dick cheney, his wife, their gay daughter, her lover, bush, his momma, his pappy, his wife, their two daughters would be eaten by now, you'll have condoleeza rice on her tanker so she'll be gone, aaaaaaaaaand senator and former president clinton, their daughter, and they'll all be living not quite so comfortably ever after. I think if they told any security people about the where abouts of their bunker it would possibly jeopardise their safety becaues who knows? Maybe their security teams would try to bring their families to all live down under there. Again... thats the mentality you have to face zombies with. If you have a safe place you're not the only one who's gonna wanna be there. And if you have supplies you're not the only one who's gonna want to keep 'em.

While I see the government possibly going into an undergroud safe haven I only see actual leaders down there and no security personnel which would thus kill the president because really... he only pretends to be a man he doesn't know how to fire a gun remember... he never actually went to war he just plays a cowboy for the tv crews.

This does however bring to mind the underground railroads from the past... i'm wondering how functional those would be today but more so i'm wondering if it would be such a grand idea to travel by those methods because it would be easy to get caught down there with some undesireables. Or how well can you travel through the catacombs in France and is that really the place where you want to be? If you took to traveling by the subway rails in NYC and zombies attacked you prolly wouldn't wanna be down there because again... you could end up surrounded with only few ways to make an exit. And we've seen sewer travel in Dawn 04 and know the obvious dangers of traveling by sewer. So underground travel is silly and underground bunkers are reserved but fret not... they wont live long :elol:

[jim102016]

People dont go out to vote because they feel that their vote doesn't matter. And frankly thank god they dont vote because they're morons.

But back to the topic...

At present with such a strong amount of troops at war in Iraq and with so many here wounded from Iraq it would be hard for the government to mobilize and defend our country from flesh eaters. Its that easy. Next you have the secret service agents that protect various present and past government officials and while they may be willing to give their lives for someone who's to say that they'd be willing to let their families die to save someone? Odds are no.

As to the 'underground' stations the government may have my source says and I quote 'it is not unlikely' but what would be unlikely is that they are all connected like you got a glimpse of in Day of the Dead. If you're in Vegas you're in luck because I think it was Sinatra who had some kind of underground palace built with everything from sun lamps to a pool down there but somehow I doubt the government underground facilities are so lush. While i'm sure they will be larely stocked with ammo and food items I doubt there would be enough security officials to use them and serve the government thats left.

Lets say the zombies are attacking today and spreading right now and the government is aware of the severity of the situation... we've got few troops to help us and what we have are mostly those in training... depending on their knowledge of the situation would determine whether they help secure our government which would end up gathering their families and ending up in an underground bunker (if we're sticking to your theory)... so because of job posts being abandoned you'd end up with dick cheney, his wife, their gay daughter, her lover, bush, his momma, his pappy, his wife, their two daughters would be eaten by now, you'll have condoleeza rice on her tanker so she'll be gone, aaaaaaaaaand senator and former president clinton, their daughter, and they'll all be living not quite so comfortably ever after. I think if they told any security people about the where abouts of their bunker it would possibly jeopardise their safety becaues who knows? Maybe their security teams would try to bring their families to all live down under there. Again... thats the mentality you have to face zombies with. If you have a safe place you're not the only one who's gonna wanna be there. And if you have supplies you're not the only one who's gonna want to keep 'em.

While I see the government possibly going into an undergroud safe haven I only see actual leaders down there and no security personnel which would thus kill the president because really... he only pretends to be a man he doesn't know how to fire a gun remember... he never actually went to war he just plays a cowboy for the tv crews.

This does however bring to mind the underground railroads from the past... i'm wondering how functional those would be today but more so i'm wondering if it would be such a grand idea to travel by those methods because it would be easy to get caught down there with some undesireables. Or how well can you travel through the catacombs in France and is that really the place where you want to be? If you took to traveling by the subway rails in NYC and zombies attacked you prolly wouldn't wanna be down there because again... you could end up surrounded with only few ways to make an exit. And we've seen sewer travel in Dawn 04 and know the obvious dangers of traveling by sewer. So underground travel is silly and underground bunkers are reserved but fret not... they wont live long :elol:

Ha, at least he wore a uniform of some sorts. Have you ever been a soldier serving a commander-in-chief who's a draft dodger? Yeah, great feeling to under a certified chicken-****.

I saw a show on the history channel I think about Sinatra's facilities! I don't think I'd want to be stuck in there, not with so many former people from Vegas shuffling around outside. You never get away!

[darth los]

Just imagine spending eternity with sigfreid and tom jones.!!! :eek: The horror!! I'd take my chances with the ghouls thanks. :rolleyes: