[ SECRET POST #2948 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2948 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #421.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I kinda feel that about most post-apocalypse stories. Like, I watch LPs by Markiplier, and whenever he plays something dystopic/survival he says plaintively "I really do think if something terrible happened we wouldn't all turn on each other and start killing each other! We can be better than that! Teamwork is so much more effective!" and I'm like, preach it brother.

[sarillia]

Same. There's a reason civilization has formed and survived in so many forms throughout history.

[lb_lee]

Yeah, I admit, post-apocalyptic survival shit tends to bore me for the same reason. Cooperation is a HUGE necessity, but most of those stories are way more interested in peddling the Great Lone Badass narrative.

Part of that is I know that in an apocalypse like that, I'd be one of the first to die. Severely mentally ill, off their meds (no pharmacists after the apocalypse!), no survivalist skills whatsoever? I'd be dead in a week.

However, in a cooperative group, I would be usefulish, because I can cook, clean, do grunt work, basic gardening, and tell stories. (Never underestimate the power of entertainment after the apocalypse.)

--Rogan

[(Anonymous)]

If you're looking for cooperative post-apoc, you might be interested in checking out Zombies, Run! It's part fitness app, part audio drama, and it has a huge emphasis on "the only way we're continuing to survive the zombie apocalypse is because we're all working together." There's still a lot of "witness my zombie-killing badassery" going on, because it's a fitness app and it's your character's job to run from (and occasionally towards) the undead for various reasons, but your support system inside the city gates is just as important storywise. And one of the fan-favorite characters is a physically disabled man who, along with his boyfriend, earns his keep by hosting a radio program to keep the locals informed and entertained.

[lb_lee]

Aw man, that sounds so awesome... but I have nothing to put an app ON. My only portable media player is a Discman.

A shame too, that sounds like a lot of fun, something me and hubby could do on the treadmill at the gym together.

[sarillia]

That sounds awesome! Too bad I can't run and podcasts make me twitchy.

[(Anonymous)]

Ugh, I hate that sort of narrative, too.

Part of it strikes me as this sort of... wish fulfilment fantasy. Along the lines of "You are the Chosen One, Neo!"

You see so many of these libertarian survivalist types (who are usually programmers in their day jobs) stocking up for the apocalypse like it'll be some kind of lone heroic crusade thing. Please. You're far better off collaborating with people. They're like little boys playing with toy soldiers - if the apocalypse actually happened they'd be pissing their pants like everyone else.

It's the reason I was surprised I enjoyed the Walking Dead so much - because that show is about a GROUP of people, banding together, and creating a family.

[lb_lee]

It's definitely a power fantasy. The idea that when everyone else is panicking and eating each other, you will rise to the top and be a true badass. Which is fine, we all have our silly little escapist fantasies (I sometimes fantasize about my work being on TVtropes, or being in a documentary) but when you start mistaking it for reality, there's a problem.

Even if the Lone Badass apocalypse DID happen... I dunno that I'd WANT to survive it, if there weren't other folks to be around. Even if I COULD be totally self-sustaining as a hermit in the woods, and even though I can handle solitude, what's the point of being an artist or educator when there's no one around to teach or give art to? I'd probably end up that crazy old man pontificating at tree stumps and rocks, just to give myself something to do.

I tried reading Walking Dead, didn't really do much for me. Zombie stories have to have something different for me these days; humans surviving the zombie apocalypse is just kinda boring to me these days.

--Rogan

[(Anonymous)]

The only way Lone Badasses rise up in real life is because they have a support network around them that doesn't get any credit. Real loners are strictly subsistence level only. Every Clint Eastwood film ever peddles this lone wolf bullshit and I'm glad it's falling out of favour.

This was also the main thing I liked about the Walking Dead, the ensemble.

[lb_lee]

Yup. I liked World War Z for the same reason; it showed just how many people were doing different things to get things to work.

Occasionally, lone badasses show up when they're sole survivors of a plane crash or something. But that's all, and usually (god willing) their period of duress is relatively short.

Sometimes, I wonder if the reason some people backlash so hard when they hear about someone being trapped in a hellish abusive relationship is because they think Lone Badasses are how the world works. They don't understand that support systems are a necessity.

--Rogan

[(Anonymous)]

IIRC, some studies were done about how people in the Towers behaved on 9/11. And rather than some dog-eat-dog, every-man-for-himself-and-devil-take-the-hindmost scenario, people cooperated in getting out, and helped and comforted each other. I don't know how you would do a google scholar search to find those papers, but I'm pretty sure they're out there.

[(Anonymous)]

That's like saying 'I triple dog dare you' to a librarian!

http://www.survivorsnet.org/research/Fire%20and%20Materials%20Quantitative%20Paper%20fnl%20of%20Factors%20dnd.pdf

findings of the study included:

"A very high proportion of the sample (96%) reported that they acted calmly during the evacuation. The most frequently given reasons for acting this way were the following: ‘others remained calm’,‘I provided emotional support to others’, ‘I did not feel my life was in danger’, ‘thoughts of my family/friends’, ‘my faith and spirituality’, and ‘I was concerned others would panic if I panicked.’"