Response to ZDC: Unspoken Threat?

Anonymous, Contributing Writer

I recently picked up the October 19 edition of the paper, and was shocked and amazed at one article that I read. The article was Nathan Plumley’s “Zombie Defense Corps; Unspoken Threat.” Before I begin, I would like to point out that I am not a member of the Zombie Defense Corps (ZDC), but was still greatly offended by this article.
Plumley treats his readers as if they are ignorant children. He points out that brightly colored and easily identifiable Nerf guns can be modified to resemble real firearms, and that this is a threat, but is that not true of anything? It would not be hard for an individual to modify any easily obtainable and cheap object, such as plastic and paint, and modify it to look like a weapon. Should plastic also be banned from campus? If a student was going to bring in a gun, I seriously doubt they would even show it at all. Why would an individual flaunt a weapon and try to pose as a member of this innocent game when they could just hide it completely in a bag? Plumley does not think logically about this argument. If he is that concerned about school shootings, he can petition for this campus to be treated like high schools in New York City; we all would go through metal detectors every morning, and only carry clear bags.
Plumley then begins to describe the actions of the ZDC as “extreme abnormalities.” Running around with Nerf guns and tagging each other is not that extreme of an abnormality. What really is abnormal is hundreds of drunken campus students coming back after Thursday night binge-drinking at early hours of the morning and screaming profanities. But I see that Plumley must not see this as “abnormal” because our society has accepted it. Some very intelligent and kind people are “abnormal” simply because they are engaging in an activity that is not accepted by the society of this campus.
I was even more insulted that Plumley tried to pull the World Trade Center attack into an article regarding the ZDC. Think about that: this person is comparing a fun college game to one of the most tragic events in American history. This is completely unacceptable. It is insulting to think about all the lives that were lost in that attack, and then compare them to a few college students who are innocently trying to have fun in a way that is not commonly accepted.
Then, he goes on to mention the Columbine massacre. Once again, I would like to point out that while this club may be slightly annoying to “normal” college students, there are many other issues that are much more dangerous and annoying than this club. For example, drunken students have bothered me 100 times more than the ZDC ever has. If Plumley truly feels like the ZDC is a great issue, why not suggest methods of change instead of condemning this group? He should be giving suggestions on how to improve the game, and make it safer instead of simply pointing out issues and condemning it. The bottom line is; if a student is going to shoot up a school, they won’t care about disguising their weapon. There would be no difference if the club existed or not.
Plumley is making a slippery-slope argument. If you start banning one group for bringing Nerf guns into school, where do you stop? Would the Dragon’s Lair need to be closed down because some of the video games there might promote gun use? There are many other less complicated ways to sneak guns onto campus that Plumley does not mention. The ZDC is not the most threatening activity that could lead to school shootings. There is no need to attack the ZDC exclusively about this point.

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