The Stand is absurd for the following reasons:
1. The US government would never develop a virus that could wipe-out civilisation
2. The US government would never commit genocide, i.e. releasing the virus behind the Iron Curtain and in the People's Republic of China
3. The US government would never kill journalists
Obviously, Stephen King hates the US government and the US military.
There is no such thing as the "US Government" because it's a collection of changing people. Among the people there are pockets of people. These pockets, in real life, have ordered very bad things to be done. Look up "MK Ultra" because that sounds like science fiction, but it real.
If you got a pocket of crazy people in the government, they wouldn't need the approval to be crazy from the ENTIRE government, just themselves.
So, people like that launching nukes is unlikely, but spreading a disease, that is possible.
Obvisouly, this is one of the most dated and absurd posts considering real-world events, and was written by a simple minded, flag waving fool - who displays absolute ignorance of basic US history.
Are these the kind of indoctrinated drones the American education system spits out? Frightening, most around the world are aware of the US dropping nukes on Hiroshima or engaging in chemical warfare in Vietnam.
FYI, the OP is not an American.
shareHow do you know? They don't even have a profile here.
share[–] Retromogul (912) 3 days ago
Obvisouly, this is one of the most dated and absurd posts considering real-world events, and was written by a simple minded, flag waving fool - who displays absolute ignorance of basic US history.
Are these the kind of indoctrinated drones the American education system spits out? Frightening, most around the world are aware of the US dropping nukes on Hiroshima or engaging in chemical warfare in Vietnam.
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[–] Gary O. (611) 2 days ago
FYI, the OP is not an American.
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[–] Retromogul (912) 4 hours ago
How do you know? They don't even have a profile here.
Which of his points do you disagree with? It stands to reason that a biological weapon would need to be one that could be used somewhat precisely. What good does a virus that will kill everyone on earth do? As for the other two points, while one can't predict the future, the U.S. has a long track record of doing neither of those things, and at the time the book was written the government at the time would not be expected to have done them, so in truth the future is irrelevant as the book takes place in the then-present/now-past.
shareDoing neither of what? They have used chemical weapons such as Naplam and defoliants in Asia - which was not long before The Stand was first written.
Law enforcement and the National Guard have been known to murder innocents, such as at Kent State or the Newark riots, or attack journalists, such as during the 1968 Chicago police riot.
King's writing was reflecting upon what his generation had experienced during the 1960's and '70's. The idea of the US secretly testing chemical warfare weapons is not out of the norm - particulary for King's generation.
The virus in the Stand was not intended to wipe out the entire world's population - it was to be targeted against foreign enemies but it was let loose, causing a global holocaust. Not so different a concept to a nuclear holocaust.
I do not think the US Gov, as a whole, or most of its real leaders, would deliberately spread the plague to the rest of the world. After all, if they do that they have no place to escape to. Otherwise, I find the US Govt's actions in the book to be pretty believable. Anyone who thinks it wouldn't and doesn't commit murder and fraud and... other things is gullible and naive.
Regarding the US military, which I see no reason to champion, it should be noted that as things start coming apart it seems the military begins to turn on itself. There are several descriptions of regular troops killing or attempting to kill their superiors. For example when the college students are fired on the police, who witness the event, describe that after the soldiers opened fire that they then opened fire on one another. Two of the troops sent to execute Ray Flowers refuse and are executed on the spot, only for some of the remaining men to kill the sergeant after he guns down Ray. A communique from LA to Blue Base (Project Blue), has the officer in charge describe that he is trapped in an office in a Bank of America building with demonstrators outside trying to break in and kill him; he describes many if not most being in army uniform.
So at the very least, King did not write every member of the US military being a mindless drone. That would be very unrealistic. Even General Starkey, the guy charge of most of the clean-up, is presented as a layered, if strung out and deeply flawed, human being.
Regarding the virus itself, I doubt something so potent would ever be intended for release. Rather you develop it and then tweak it and tone it down. Perhaps into something lethal but which won't mutate and will break down quickly outside of the human body. A biological weapon as potent as the Superflu has no practical military application since it is near-enough guaranteed to destroy you along with your enemy.
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