Gene Marks: If I Were a Poor Black Kid Stuck in a Post Zombie Apocalyptical World…
Gene Marks wrote an interesting article for Forbes last week, you’ve probably heard about it about what he would do if he were a poor, black kid to be a success in this world. For example:
“If I was a poor black kid I would first and most importantly work to make sure I got the best grades possible. “
He makes an interesting point. But, what if he were a poor, black kid in a post-Zombie Apocalypse?
I am not Gene Marks as a poor, black kid in a Post-Zombie-Apocalypse-World (GMAAPBKIAPZAW), I am a 30-year old white guy from a middle class background in a non-zombie infested reality, so life is easier for me. But that doesn’t mean that GMAAPBKIAPZAW can’t survive and thrive. It doesn’t mean that the zombies control the world and we have to fight for what’s left behind (although you could argue that this is in fact the situation GMAAPBKIAPZAW is faced with). I don’t believe that. I believe that every human in a Post Zombie Apocalypse World has a chance to succeed. Even Gene Marks as a Poor, Black Kid in a Post Zombie Apocalypse World.
And I quote Gene himself:
“It takes brains. It takes hard work. It takes a little luck. And a little help from others. It takes the ability and the know-how to use the resources that are available. Like technology. As a person who sells and has worked with technology all my life I also know this.”
If I was GMAAPBKIAPZAW, I would first and foremost work to make sure I wasn’t bitten. I would make it my #1 priority to not get bit. I wouldn’t care if I was in a serene farm house or in the middle of the deepest, darkest urban jungle, not getting bit means I don’t become a Zombie. And the key to surviving is to not die. Without getting bit and dying, I can focus on ways to stay alive and then progress on to making the world a better place.
I would use technology available to me. I know a few school teachers and they tell me that many inner city parents usually have or can afford cheap computers and internet service. Or they did pre-ZA. As a GMAAPBKIAPZAW, I would ignore those computers and go for a chainsaw and a gun. That’s the kind of technology that I am gonna need to keep from getting bit. Libraries and schools are full of computers and other electronic gear that’s useless now, so I’d ignore them for the most part. Professionals like accountant and architects use computers all the time. That means I’d avoid these types of people as they are likely the least capable of surviving now and most likely to get me bit, if not bite me themselves.
If I was GMAAPBKIAPZAW, I would grab a few books from the library. The ones that talk about survival, etc. I’d become adept at snares for hunting and traps for defense against zombies and accountants. I would set these traps all over the place. I would learn how to weld and secure an apartment building by welding the windows shut, except for the top floor where I would build a greenhouse and a hydroponic system. Thanks to those books from the library, I’d be set.
Is this easy? No, it’s not. It’s hard. It takes a special kind of kid to succeed. And to succeed even with these tools is much harder for GMAAPBKIAPZAW than a white kid from a non-PZAW. But it’s not impossible. The tools are there. The technology is there. And the opportunities are there.
In a PZAW, there are going to be communities like ShackTown, FreeTown and Tradesville. These towns are free to join, but hard to get in to. You need some sort of skill that they need and you have to have proof you’re not a zombie. In a broken world, these are the bright spots. Getting into one of these towns opens up a world of opportunities. More than 90% of the people that go to FreeTown don’t get bit. I would use a telescope that I fashioned from loose scrap and with instructions from the library I raided earlier to investigate the towns, learn their culture, and what specific skills they needed. I would find out the names of their leaders and their trade routes. If I was GMAAPBKIAPZAW, I would make it my goal to get into one of these towns.
Or even a slaver camp. Most slaver camps in the PZAW are filled to the brim with humans. That’s because they’ll take anyone that’s still alive and can’t fight the slavers off. But there’s a secret about them: most won’t kill you outright. Most of these are well-run organizations with a board of trustees that want to give opportunities to young kids, even if they don’t have a skill. There’s always room keeping their beds warm. Trust me, they love diversity. They want to see smiling, smart kids of different colors and races on their auction block. If I was GMAAPBKIAPZAW, I’d be using my set of binoculars I took off a guy I got with one of my traps (tripwire, long piece of bamboo and shard of glass aimed for head-level) to check out these camps, if the towns didn’t look like a good prospect.
And once admitted to one of these towns, I’d cozy (whichever kind of cozy is necessary) up to the cultural leader of the town. This is the person who will one day help me establish myself. This is the person that knows everything there is to know about zombies, survival, other towns and slavery camps, and the like. This is the person who may also know of apprenticeships where I can become a better welder or zombie hunter. This is the person that could get me a spot on the scavenging party to the homes or offices of the old 1% where I could meet people and show my stuff.
If I was GMAAPBKIAPZAW, I would get technical. I would learn the welding. I would learn skinning, knife play, knot tying. I would also seek out weak older people I could force to teach me skills in return for food, water or just the opportunity to live another day. I would make sure that my communication skills stay polished.
Because GMAAPBKIAPZAW who knows how to not get bit, hunt food safe to eat, avoid slavers, use a knife, and grow food in nutrient-rich water doesn’t become a zombie. There are trade goods available. And no matter what GMAAPBKIAPZAW specializes in, GMAAPBKIAPZAW will have opportunities. He can find a job in a country of humans trying to escape from zombies starved for smart, skilled people. He will succeed.
Gene Marks was right in his column last week. The division between rich and poor is a national problem, but the biggest challenge we need to be aware of is survival in a Post Zombie Apocalypse World. So many poor, black kids don’t even know this is a possibility.
“They come from single-parent families whose mom or dad (or in many cases their grand mom) is working two jobs to survive and are just (understandably) too plain tired to do anything else in the few short hours they’re home [to teach survival skills]. Many have teachers who are overburdened and too stressed to find the time to help every kid that needs it.”
But that ignorance is just a reason, not an excuse as Gene so beautifully expresses:
“Technology can help these kids. But only if the kids want to be helped.”
Wanting to be helped is the key. Just wanting help is all a kid needs to know with the same precision as a “middle aged white guy who comes from a middle class white background” who has attended college and worked in the business world for years exactly what is necessary to be a success.
And the same holds true for a Post Zombie Apocalypse World. That’s why, when the Zombies show up and start eating everyone, my money is on Gene Marks as a Poor Black Kid in a Post Zombie Apocalypse World.
