At first glance this ‘Zombie Beach Party’ sounds like an amazingly fun time:

In celebration of our 2010 Guinness Record achievement as the “Largest Gathering of Zombies in the World” we will be hosting our first ever “Zombie Beach Party” in Asbury Park! On Saturday, May 28th zombies will once again converge on the Asbury Boardwalk as we kickoff the summer beach season and Memorial Day weekend.

This retro themed event will bring beach goers and zombie lovers back in time by invoking the spirit of the classic beach party films of the 1960’s. Beach activities will include games like brain volleyball, legless limbo, intestine-twister, zombie hula contests and more!

The event will also feature an amusement midway – a throwback to Palace Amusements and the games and boardwalk attractions that are part of Asbury Park’s history. Patrons can play traditional carnival games with an undead twist including a zombie dunk tank, a kissing (biting) booth, brain dart toss, and “Aim for the Head.” Players will have a chance to win an assortment of festive zombified prizes.

However it becomes clear reading the press release that the city of Asbury Park has a troubled relationship with its Undead and Undead Enthusiast citizens and holds them to a double standard compared with the Living:

Zombie Walk Rules and Etiquette

During the Zombie Beach Party, participants must agree to abide by the Rules & Etiquette. These have been put into place to ensure that everyone has a good time, both Zombies and citizens alike. First and foremost, all Zombies must respect the City of Asbury Park and refrain from entering any public premises without permission. Zombies must be mindful of their actions (and make-up) so that they do not smear, stain, cause damage to, destroy or vandalize any person or property. Zombies must not block doorways or impede businesses & homeowners. Zombies must also respect others personal space by refraining from touching anyone who is not participating in the Zombie Beach Party or harassing anyone that wishes to be left alone. Zombies must always stop “attacking” someone when asked to, especially children. Zombies must obey all beach rules, traffic laws, city ordinances and authorities at all times. If asked to disperse, they must do so immediately. There will be absolutely NO alcohol or illegal substances tolerated during the Walk. Small children and pets must be accompanied by an adult.

Why would a city which has obviously profited from and co-existed peacefully with the Differently Animated feel the need to single them out thusly on their special day of public celebration with veiled accusations and snide insinuations that Zombies are an unruly mob of some kind?

Truly, prejudice is a scourge almost impossible to eradicate. Even tourist dollars sometimes prove no match for Living Supremacist attitudes.

And what’s with all this fear of ‘attacking’ people, or the lines about Zombies and Citizens, implying that Zombies are not, in fact, citizens?

Zombies are citizens, and people, too.

Clearly, the New Jersey Zombie Walk organization means well, and I’m sure they’re doing the best they can to cope with the legal burdens placed upon them in their struggle to provide a good time for all. Still, the prejudice sullies what would otherwise be a sterling example of Living-Undead peaceful co-existence.

Hopefully this summer’s Beach Party will go off without a hitch and some of that unfortunate prejudice will be erased from public memory. Hopefully.

Tags: Social Justice, Zombie Public Event

This entry was posted by John Sears on Saturday, May 21st, 2011 at 8:08 pm and is filed under ZRC News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.