What is it about zombies?

Just like any other non-flesh eating human, I have always had an interest in zombies. I hate to say it, but these days I am on the verge of OD’ing on them.

The string of recent disturbing events has been written about many times, and many people are wondering (some jokingly, some probably serious) if these events are an indication of “the zombie apocalypse.” The events I’m referring to include the alleged bath salt-induced, face-eating attack on a homeless man in Florida; Alexander Kinyua, who is accused of murdering his Joppatowne roommate and ingesting parts of his heart and brain; the murder of a student at Montreal’s Concordia University and resulting allegations that his murderer ingested parts of his body; and yet another face-eating (and possibly bath-salt induced) attack in Louisiana. This list is far from comprehensive, but I find it hard to stomach discussion of any more incidents. Anyway, in short, it’s zombie overload.

With all these shocking, cannibalistic occurrences, I really can’t blame people for wondering what’s going on and whether the events have some kind “apocalyptic” meaning. It’s forced the Centers for Disease to issue an official statement that, yes, zombies do not exist. (Past statements about zombies from the CDC have been more tongue-in-cheek to raise awareness for disaster preparedness.)

Although the CDC may argue that zombies don’t exist, it’s possible that the defense arguments for many of the accused may center around the defendant’s lack of mental capacity at the time of the acts. (One definition of “zombie” is “one who moves or acts in a daze.”) There are myriad legal and social issues related to each of these attacks and it’s important to try and understand what happened in these incidents. For example, Morgan State (which Kinyua attended) is already feeling the impact of Kinyua’s actions on its reputation and both Kinyua and his victim had issues with the law.

None of what I write is to make light of these events, and my heart goes out to each person who has been personally affected by them. The attacks were horrific and resulted in the death, life-threatening injury and disfigurement of the victims. I feel immensely for the accused and their families as well, who likely have dealt and will continue to deal with so much heartbreak. And I really, really hope that all of the “zombie” talk does not overshadow the reality of what has happened and hurt these people further.

That being said, are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse? I mean what is going on? While all the articles about the zombie apocalypse have begun to be a bit much, it’s not hard to understand the fascination.