MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23 This week of internet freedom, Seattle treasures, and the fight for the right to suck blood from babies’ wangs kicked off in the world of broadcast television. Our subject: The Walking Dead, AMC’s hit drama about the zombie apocalypse, which for five seasons has delighted fans and outraged detractors with its ambitious gore and hardcore violence, from graphic cannibalism to dozens upon dozens of imaginatively grisly killings. Last night brought the latest episode, which introduced two new characters: Aaron, a recruiter for the Alexandria Safe-Zone community and a valuable ally to the survivors, and Eric, his fellow recruiter and boyfriend. However, “as soon as they shared a kiss, half of the fans went berserk and tweeted disgust about the inclusion of a gay couple,” as Cameron Hatheway reported at BleedingCool.com, describing the same-sex intimacy as “more upsetting [to homophobic viewers] than any of the gory deaths, child killing, or cannibalism that have been constantly present in the past five seasons.” The upset tweeters ranged from protectors of the heteronormativity of the imaginary zombie apocalypse (“I don’t like that the walking dead got faggot shit on here now. Is Nothing Sacred !???”) to concerned parents who don’t want their wholesome family gorefest degraded with same-sex affection (“i have been watching the walking dead for years with my kids,then with no warning u throw gays in there, I’m disappointed”)…
