So I guess executing wounded American prisoners is acceptable to these people.
And poor ol' Dale is demonized for trying to talk sense into the other characters.
Viewers, I give a pass to, because it’s a TV show, and the majority seem to expect something that’s action-packed (even though the graphic novel the show is based on was never about action), and are thus disappointed with all of the “drama”.
The characters, I also give a pass, to a certain extent; how much does it take for ‘civilization’ to pass away? To paraphrase Dale, how long until the world we know gives way to one ruled by Darwinism?
Given that we only have certain snippets of life before Rick’s awakening in the pilot episode, I can only speculate how long it took for people to reach their breaking point...and how many people saw the end of life as we knew it as an opportunity to do whatever the heck they wanted.
If certain story arcs begin to emerge from this (like the Prison, Michonne, or the town of Woodbury - aka, fiefdom of the Governor), we’ll some light shed on both.
You're looking at it from a real world perspective.
I hate Dale because I'm evaluating his value to the television show I'm watching. Every minute he spent pontificating on some "we're not any different!" whine was television time away from battles with zombies. I don't tune into zombie movies for philosophical navel-gazing.
I don't care if he was right or wrong or somewhere in between. He was a nuclear buzzkill for the show's pacing. I'm glad he got ate.