Modern interpretation of a zombie apocalypse

We've all seen zombie films, or at least know about the undead flesh eating creature of horror films. But how many people have considered the real world interpretation of such a phenomenon? Are there people in society that can be considered zombies?

Most zombie associated films centre around some form of social collapse. So I shall start there. If there were a social collapse tomorrow, who would the zombies be? There are two main types of zombie, the fast running and the slow walking. They gather in crowds and consume anything eatable and move on to their next meal. They all have very limited intellectual functioning and lack the capability to overcome simple obstacles or problems.

If there were a social collapse, are there people who would fit the above description? Many people would not know how to fend for themselves, be unable to cope emotionally or physically to a collapse. They would go with the crowd, be that to government run humanitarian camps or areas where other people are going.

Our culture socialises people to follow the crowd, whether in areas of fashion, sporting events, social media, transport and consumer habits. In times of crisis, people move on mass, commonly known as refugees. There is nothing wrong with those people, they are not maladjusted or dangerous, they are simply going where the crowed goes.

Should a collapse occur, it is those people, the nine to fivers, soccer mums, Instagram/Facebook faithful that would behave as described above. Their reliance on supermarkets, wifi, fuel for their cars and electricity puts them in a position of not knowing what to do in a collapse situation.

So they will gather in crowds, consume anything that is available without understanding the need to ration, their intellectual capabilities will be hampered by stress and ignorance and will be unable to overcome simple obstacles and problems. Initially, they will be fast moving, as their energy levels are high. Running away from danger or to get a portion of the available food. But over time they will tire, malnutrition will cause them to slow down and move at a slower pace.

Such people are everywhere in modern cities, unconcerned, untroubled and unaware. They are blissfully ignorant. Provided there are supermarkets and wifi hotspots. Provided they can get fuel for their cars and switch on their lights at home. There is another word that describes these people, sheeple.

Sheeple are the zombies in waiting. Should a collapse happen, they will personify the creatures of horror films. Would they resort to cannibalism? Would they in their desperation, their need to eat, their ignorance and impaired intellectual reasoning, resort to eating other people? Have desperate people in situations of survival resorted to eating people in the past?

There is one factor that some may wish to pick me up on. That is that zombies are the undead. Well look at it this way, death in a literal sense is a simple interpretation. How many people do you know have died inside after a break up, or after losing their jobs. For sheeple, their death occurs when their way of life ends. The person who goes shopping, checks Facebook, is projected to others through their job, clothes and car. When a collapse happens, that person dies. Becomes a memory of someone who used to be alive. The new person, the new incarnation of that person who no longer exists, is the zombie.

So look around you, your friends, colleagues, family members, and strangers in your communities. How many of them are sheeple? How many of them are zombies in waiting?