Evil requires the sanction of the victim. - Ayn Rand
heh heh that should be entertaining, love the zombie stories
Taking a break from social media.
Goes to show you, fanbois will buy anything.
That guy makes a living off of stupid people. It's just amazing.
I'm not against the whole zombie genre......I actually love the zombie genre. I own both Max Tucker's World War Z (my purchase), and his Zombie Survival Guide (gift). I love The Walking Dead TV show.
But this just reeks of stupid. The fact that Chris Costa is the main star makes it even more stupid. I don't appreciate the photographic use of actual dead human beings for jovial entertainment enterprises, either. That's just straight up disrespectful and selfish on so many levels.
After I saw the promo once or twice I have to agree that the mock national crisis and real footage of dead bodies is in poor taste.Originally Posted by TGS
I posted a response to this on Chris Costa's facebook page, to which he responded with an explanation, and to which I responded.
I hate the whole zombie thing and how it has permeated the gun industry. I feel it has gotten to the point where it is trivializing a serious subject.
My post reflected this, but was written to be humerous and way over the top fashion in the style of a Deam Martin celebrity Roast or Friar's Club Roast. I was on pain meds for my back at the time, and I suspect most of it would have been bleeped and even made Redd Fox uncomfortable.
Here is what I wrote with some editing for clarity and to tone it down a little:
"First, I am a big fan of Chris Costa. I attended his carbine class, thought he was a fantastic teacher and a truely dynamic individual, and wrote an article about him that appeared in SWAT magazine. I would even buy his $100 action figure if it wasnt for the fact that I thought it was more important to donate that money to the NRA Political Victory Fund.
However, I hate zombies, and any mention of them, especially when brought into a serious or even a semi-serious converstaion. It sickens me to see him alligning himself witha Zombie project.
I feel that any commentary about fictitious monsters hurts credibility. It stinks of live action role playing.
I realize that Chris has met with a huge amount of success and gets all types of offers. Were I him and someone offered me a part in a film, documentary, even a semiserious one, involving zombies, I would treat them with the same outrage as if they offered me money to perform some sexual act.
I'm deeply disappointed in him. Someone needs to stage an intervention.
I realize that some big name trainers Like Kyle Defoor, have appeared in some zombie oriented features, but that doesn't make it right, credible or even sensible.
It is one thing to talk about defensive firearms, but as soon as people discuss using them against fictitional dead or undead creatures we have credibitlity problems.
Aren't there enough live humanoid predators and threats to worry about?
Maybe talking about shooting zombies makes it politically palitable and safe for everyday conversation rather than saying, 'gee, I might have to shoot a crackhead who attacks me in the parking lot, or use my AR to blast a bunch of thugs who try to force their way into my home.' But rather than mentioneing fictitious creatures that exist in bad TV series as an explanation as to why you own firearms, simply explain that you enjoy owning and shooting them and a quick perusal of any newspapers provides description of many dangerous criminals who require multiple shots to end their nefarious actions.
And now we have firearms companies, optics manufacturers, and ammo companies jumping on the moronic zombie bandwagon--many of who should first worry about producing a product that works reliably before they add silly fictitious creatures to the mix.
Yes it sells. So why not market Brokeback Mountain Leverguns, like they used in that movie: "Winchester: I Wish I knew How To Quit You." Even have KY introduce a weapons lube for the crossover market.
What the f*@% is wrong with people?
C'mon, if someone posted that 45-70s were good against goblins, orcs, and Harry Potter they would have their masculinity and sanity questioned.
But somehow zombies are okay?
Someone needs to take a stand against this stupidity.
I feel like the Peter Finch Character in the movie Network, who encouraged people to scream "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore" (or more likely some moron ranting on Youtube; but I prefer to try to maintain the illusion of an Oscar winning performance).
Meanwhile I can't turn around without finding some zombie product or another, but really have to search to find some Darvocet for my wrecked back. Talk about a paradox. If anything, zombies have proven to be far more addictive than Darvocet."
Last edited by Ed L; 10-22-2012 at 01:03 PM.
Here is what Chris Costa wrote in response:
"When first approached for this project, I thought the same as you did. I basically said GTFOH. Zombies? Why not Gang bangers, thugs, or psychopaths? And the truth is.... It's too real. Asking someone with absolutely no gun experience to shoot a real person scares the living shit out of them. But shooting something that is a complete fantasy makes it that much easier to teach someone how to use a weapon and eventually kill the threat.
I was asked to look at zombies not as zombies but more as a metaphor. Zombies being the collapse of a society and in order to survive, you need to learn the necessities of survival. The group that was trained had never been around this type of training and most likely would never know that there are Carbine 1 or Handgun 2 type of classes to take or would even attend. This gave them the introduction to devices that can potentially save their lives. These are your everyday teachers, mailmen, gardeners, etc. and when something happens, what are they going to do?
If we laid out 2 tools, a ninja sword and a Stanley FatMax, which would you take to help you potentially kill people and keep your survivability rate up? The average untrained person would take the sword because it could slice, dice, and fillet an enemy. The smarter choice would be the FatMax because you can hit them with blunt force and use it as a tool to breach into a building so that you can provide cover for yourself. That's the mission of Operation Z. To draw an outside crowd the would be unaware of how to do things if something catastrophic happened and give them a helping hand and introduce easier methods. I get it, the whole zombie thing is either a love it or really hate it deal but its much simpler to think about killing zombies than a real person. For you and me, it's a no brainer. For somebody else, there's sometimes a slight hesitation. I hope that kind of clarifies the goal of this project."
Does that mean there is a Costa Ludus Stanley FatMax in the works?
Think for yourself. Question authority.
I wasn't even aware what a FatMax was, which means I probably need to buy his tapes
Here is what I wrote in response to Chris Costas's response and posted it on his facebook page.
"Chris, thanks for taking the time to write that thoughtful and well-reasoned reply. From what I understand you will have a 12 DVD series on surviving a Zombie Apocalypse and how those skills and mindsets translate into general firearms and defensive use, and surviving all varieties of natural and man made disasters and emergencies. It looks like the first DVD will be on the use of a handgun. I would be interested to know the themes and contents of the rest of the set.
I've found your Magpul Dynamics instructional videos to be first rate and really enjoyed my time training with you and working on the SWAT article about your class. I might even consider purchasing your new series, had I not just dropped a bunch of money on the complete Dark Shadows DVD collection as a birthday gift for myself.
I've long understood the reference to Zombies as being a euphemism for crime and breakdown preparation. However I felt this was pussyfooting instead of simply referring to them as violent criminal attackers who are often armed. Besides, an appeal of Zombies is that they can be relatively easily dealt with by even a slight teenager armed with a head smashing bludgeon weapon.
If we are going to use metaphors to illustrate dangerous threats and possible times of criminal and social upheaval I believe Werewolves or Lycans from the Underworld movie series represents a more formidable threat that requires far more effective skill, armament and preparation. I mean these heavily armed creatures are like NFL lineman on a steroid binge after a bathsalt overdose. Thus, when I practice I am armed with at least a pair of HK45 longslide match autos while dressed in a black leather catsuit like Kate Beckensale wore in the Underworld movies.
If we are looking for cinematic examples of dealing with criminals, we had Charles Bronson in Death Wish long before Zombies became a popular worry. I'm talking about the early Deathwish, not the later movies that went off the deep end where Bronson took on the Mafia and multicultural streetgangs dressed in leftover costumes from the Broadway musicals Godspell and Hair.
We don't have to look toward science fiction or rely on fantasy zombies to see effective examples of fighting dangerous criminals while employing aggressive tactics and attitude. Just watch Joe Pesci overwhelm a larger threat using nothing more than a pen in the movie Casino:
Warning, the clip below of Joe Pesci doing in a bigger guy has NWS bad language:
Imagine a criminal expecting a passive victim and found himself on the receiving end of that counterattack.
Another fine cinematic example of ignoring fear and standing up to overwhelming aggressors in dire consequences in recent films takes place in the movie Kill The Irishman, based on the real life saga of dockworker Danny Greene who challenged Cleveland's organized crime in the 1970s, destroying many lethal rivals including Christopher Walken, while gaining valuable law enforcement experience since he served as an FBI confidential Informant while doing in his criminal rivals.
In short, I understand the Zombie metaphor but feel there are more realistic ways, and better people to model. Really, would you rather be some nobody actor from a bad zombie movie or show, or academy award winning tough guy Joe Pesci or real life badass Danny Greene, who used his fists, firearms and explosives to eliminate some real life threats?
Last edited by Ed L; 10-22-2012 at 01:45 PM.
Riiiiiiiiight.
I think these 2 photos much more plausibly explain the strategy going on:
Not to mention explaining the selfish use of photos. I wonder how he'd feel if the photos used for entertainment were of his family laying there chopped up.
Because he shoots well, looks good while doing so and emanates a genuine coolness without really trying, Chris Costa has developed a huge fanbase among shooters who would love to be him. The whole thing has turned into a joke upon itself with people asking what brand of socks he wears.
I don't hold this against him, because he is a genuinely nice guy and actually has a humerous outlook on it.
I do think this whole Zombie Defense series tapes and this zombie fad in general is incredibly stupid for the reasons I already stated.
If I were him and approached with this idea, I would have told the people to get the F away from me. But I don't have a wife and family to support so I can't look at it from the same perpective he does.
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