Kentucky governor partly blames mass shootings on 'zombies' and celebrating 'culture of death'

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin playing a “test your strength” game — not preparing for the zombie apocalypse. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin playing a “test your strength” game — not preparing for the zombie apocalypse. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, is blaming mass shootings on a new target — and they are often the target in video games and TV shows: zombies, at least in part.

Bevin said in an interview with conservative radio talk-show host Leland Conway that the “culture of death” is what makes mass shootings in America so prevalent. He goes on to explain that “it starts with everything from the kind of entertainment that we focus on. What’s the most popular topic that seems to be in every cable television network? Television shows are all about, what? Zombies! I don’t get it … that’s what we are. We celebrate death.”

America’s obsession with zombies may not be about the brain-eating creatures themselves but rather what their existence means. People are afraid of infections, sickness and total government collapse resulting in an apocalypse. Most viewers aren’t daydreaming about knocking off their infected neighbor; they’re wondering if and how they would survive.

“When a culture is surrounded by, inundated by, rewards things that celebrate death, whether it is zombies in television shows, the number of abortions … there’s a thousand justifications for why we do this. … Eventually, some of those young minds are not going to be able to handle it, and this is what we’re hearing,” he added.

Conway even joked on the show, “You know there are media reporters listening and they’re typing on their computers and they’ve already said you blame The Walking Dead.”

Despite Bevin’s condemnation of violence in the media, on Oct. 12, the governor shared on his Twitter account a video of himself throwing multiple smoke bombs and shooting grenade launchers, ending with a smoke-filled, slow-motion walk like something out of a movie.

Bevin stated he is running for reelection in 2019, but he has yet to file candidate paperwork.

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