Now, it's already well-known that CWCville is a barely-functioning hellhole where Chris rules viciously and autocratically. Granted, Chris has never tried to represent CWCville as being that but he conveys the message rather clearly thanks to his incredible ineptitude.
Anyhow, I have a real fascination with dysfunctional forms of government, namely police states and autocracies, both of which CWCville is. Some time ago, I came across this list titled The Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism (http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm). Basically, those are just fourteen traits commonly shared by fascist nations and similarly dysfunctional crap holes. They are indicators that there are serious internal problems in a government in other words.
As I apparently have way too much free time, I thought it would be interesting to go look at the portrayals of CWCville in the comics again and see how many of the aforementioned traits are displayed. The results were exactly what you would expect:
Note: If anyone points out any details that I may have missed that support these 14 points, I'll be sure to add them onto this list.
1. Intense Nationalism - Chris's initials are plastered everywhere: on the currency, on businesses, even in the title of his domain, "CWCville." Chris goes so far as to declare a holiday named after himself, "Chirstian Love Day." The presence of corporations named after him, such as CWC Cola, may also be a display of nationalism.
2. Disdain For Human Rights - Oh boy,where to begin? Chris manages to get away with committing genocide against the 4-cent garbage employees without so much as a single outcry of dissidence among his citizens. No one bats an eye at the abortion of justice that was the Asperpedia 4 trial nor the subsequent executions. Chris is able to commit atrocity after atrocity without any of his subjects objecting in any way whatsoever.
3. Identifying Enemies/Scapegoats - Trolls and Homos are the two big scapegoats in CWCville. Disdain for these two groups is evident, with Homosexuality being verboten by law and the word "troll" being synonymous with "terrorist" or "enemy of the state." The people of CWCville do not seem to show any opposition to Chris's ruthless hatred of these groups, suggesting that they concur that those groups are foes to be eradicated. Although not quite as prevalent, mistreatment of ethnic minorities is also present, examples including the elderly Jamaican hobo Inos being arrested and unwillingly forced into a soup hotel.
4. Militarism - Chris's squad of Sonichus, more or less making up the military branch of CWCville, are given more precedence than any of the town's other aspects. Chris actively ignores the very real domestic problems in CWCville by leaving them for his secretary to sort out. He spends a great deal of time fighting trolls with his squad of super-powered thugs and engaging in needlessly drawn-out conflicts with dissidents.
5. Homophobia and Misogyny - As mentioned above, homosexuality is punishable by law. Chris enforces mandatory "Dating classes" for the people of CWCville, instructing them to stay straight or else. Orwellian surveillance is used to root out and arrest any and all homos present in CWCville. Chris infamously commits genocide against the worlds homosexual population by lacing the world's water with an alleged cure for the orientation. Women are treated similarly poorly in CWCville, seemingly having and even desiring to adhere to the stigma of being subservient to men in society. Women in CWCville exist almost solely to engage in intercourse with men. Additionally, women apparently do not have the right to vote. What they're unable to vote on is unclear.
6. Government Controlled Media - The radio station titled "KCWC" speaks for itself. Along with playing music, the station frequently praises Chris for his inane actions, carrying with it the shady undertone of Chris's influence.
7. National Security - Although its never explicitly shown, this seems to be how Chris gets away with committing heinous acts as frequently as he does. The destruction of the 4-cent garbage building draws no attention, likely because it was populated by "trolls," indicating it was an act done in the best interests of the security of CWCville.
8. Non-Secular Politics - Religion is only mentioned in passing during Sonichu although a few occasions stand out. When Sonichu goes to "liberate" the characters of Asperchu, they mention that they have been praying to Chris in the hopes that he would save them. Chris also mentions that he is "a servant of Jesus and God" and seems to think of himself as having the authority to forgive others for breaking the ten commandments. Given Chris's peculiar standing on religion in real life, it would be reasonable to assume that Chris's rule has theocratic tendencies.
9. Government Entwined Corporations - The presence of companies with titles such as CWC Cola and KCWC seem to indicate that there is some kind of connection between the government and the elite corporations of CWCville. As the CWCki put it, this aspect of the corporate world of CWCville seems to point to "either nationalization of normally private businesses or rampant cronyism." Additionally, Chris's base of operations is located in a mall, a center of commerce as opposed to an actual government building.
10. Suppression of Labor Power - Examples of this were hard to come by. The massive amounts of homeless people and soup hotels don't seem to indicate anything positive about the world of labor in CWCville. Given the authoritarian nature of CWCville, it can be reasonably assumed that labor is suppressed but no sufficient examples exist to demonstrate that possiblity.
11. Anti-Intellectualism - One of the many people resisting Chris's rule in the comic is Mary Lee Walsh, the dean of what is apparently the only college around. Alec Leary Benson and his comrades are perceived as being vile national enemies for making a comic that criticizes Chris. They are charged with the grievous offence of "slander" and are mutilated and killed for their actions. That being said, many of the offenses made by the villains throughout the series frequently boil down to just "mocking Chris."
12. Unjust Laws and Draconian Law Enforcement - The way crime and punishment functions in CWCville is confounding to say the least. Smoking is punishable with jail time, homosexuality is illegal and sexual assault isn't seen as a viable offence. What's more egregious is that Chris's Sonichu squad, already demonstrated to fulfill a role similar to that of SAVAK or the KGB, is given limitless freedom to enforce the law as tyrannically as they see fit. As mentioned, they are immune to being prosecuted for any offenses they may commit.
13. Widespread Corruption and Cronyism- Chris doesn't seem to pay attention to the numerous pending issues present in CWCville, instead shifting the responsibility of managing them on his secretary. Chris also grants his private squad of thugs immunity to law, meaning they are above being tried for any crimes they may commit. Additionally, Chris's gang of Sonichus all seem to hold positions among the elite of CWCville given the frequent usage of their services.
14. Fraudulent Elections - BILLY MAYS, during his brief stint as the mayor of CWCville, was seen as a great reformer and enjoyed wide-spread approval from his subjects. His untimely death early in his reign and the immediate reclaiming of the position of mayor by Chris suggests that sinister forces were at work. It is not unreasonable to assume that Chris had a hand in the death of the beloved reformer. Even if one were to take Chris's word that Mays becoming mayor was non-canon, it's not difficult to see that CWCville is completely devoid of any remotely fair or democratic institutions. Chris denies the possibility of elections and mentions that he inherited the position of mayor from Bob.
TL;DR: CWCville checks out for all of the traits save (possibly) for labor suppression. At 13 out of 14 characteristics, CWCville is most definitely a fascist police state.
You may be looking at this and thinking "Konstantinos, isn't is already pretty obvious that CWCville is a dysfunctional mess? Is the list really needed?" I made this list because although its well known that CWCville is a horrible place, I've never seen a comprehensive assessment as to why it's a horrible place. I figured I would try and make my own, however inconclusive and mediocre the end result was.
After having examined how thoroughly fucked up CWCville is, I have to wonder: if Chris ever does resume Sonichu like he seems to have been alluding to as of late, what kind of CWCville will we see? How much more dysfunctional could it get? What kind of tyrannical depravity would Chris delve deeper into if he did return to his position as mayor?
On that note, discuss the politics and internal problems of CWCville as well I suppose.
Anyhow, I have a real fascination with dysfunctional forms of government, namely police states and autocracies, both of which CWCville is. Some time ago, I came across this list titled The Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism (http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm). Basically, those are just fourteen traits commonly shared by fascist nations and similarly dysfunctional crap holes. They are indicators that there are serious internal problems in a government in other words.
As I apparently have way too much free time, I thought it would be interesting to go look at the portrayals of CWCville in the comics again and see how many of the aforementioned traits are displayed. The results were exactly what you would expect:
Note: If anyone points out any details that I may have missed that support these 14 points, I'll be sure to add them onto this list.
1. Intense Nationalism - Chris's initials are plastered everywhere: on the currency, on businesses, even in the title of his domain, "CWCville." Chris goes so far as to declare a holiday named after himself, "Chirstian Love Day." The presence of corporations named after him, such as CWC Cola, may also be a display of nationalism.
2. Disdain For Human Rights - Oh boy,where to begin? Chris manages to get away with committing genocide against the 4-cent garbage employees without so much as a single outcry of dissidence among his citizens. No one bats an eye at the abortion of justice that was the Asperpedia 4 trial nor the subsequent executions. Chris is able to commit atrocity after atrocity without any of his subjects objecting in any way whatsoever.
3. Identifying Enemies/Scapegoats - Trolls and Homos are the two big scapegoats in CWCville. Disdain for these two groups is evident, with Homosexuality being verboten by law and the word "troll" being synonymous with "terrorist" or "enemy of the state." The people of CWCville do not seem to show any opposition to Chris's ruthless hatred of these groups, suggesting that they concur that those groups are foes to be eradicated. Although not quite as prevalent, mistreatment of ethnic minorities is also present, examples including the elderly Jamaican hobo Inos being arrested and unwillingly forced into a soup hotel.
4. Militarism - Chris's squad of Sonichus, more or less making up the military branch of CWCville, are given more precedence than any of the town's other aspects. Chris actively ignores the very real domestic problems in CWCville by leaving them for his secretary to sort out. He spends a great deal of time fighting trolls with his squad of super-powered thugs and engaging in needlessly drawn-out conflicts with dissidents.
5. Homophobia and Misogyny - As mentioned above, homosexuality is punishable by law. Chris enforces mandatory "Dating classes" for the people of CWCville, instructing them to stay straight or else. Orwellian surveillance is used to root out and arrest any and all homos present in CWCville. Chris infamously commits genocide against the worlds homosexual population by lacing the world's water with an alleged cure for the orientation. Women are treated similarly poorly in CWCville, seemingly having and even desiring to adhere to the stigma of being subservient to men in society. Women in CWCville exist almost solely to engage in intercourse with men. Additionally, women apparently do not have the right to vote. What they're unable to vote on is unclear.
6. Government Controlled Media - The radio station titled "KCWC" speaks for itself. Along with playing music, the station frequently praises Chris for his inane actions, carrying with it the shady undertone of Chris's influence.
7. National Security - Although its never explicitly shown, this seems to be how Chris gets away with committing heinous acts as frequently as he does. The destruction of the 4-cent garbage building draws no attention, likely because it was populated by "trolls," indicating it was an act done in the best interests of the security of CWCville.
8. Non-Secular Politics - Religion is only mentioned in passing during Sonichu although a few occasions stand out. When Sonichu goes to "liberate" the characters of Asperchu, they mention that they have been praying to Chris in the hopes that he would save them. Chris also mentions that he is "a servant of Jesus and God" and seems to think of himself as having the authority to forgive others for breaking the ten commandments. Given Chris's peculiar standing on religion in real life, it would be reasonable to assume that Chris's rule has theocratic tendencies.
9. Government Entwined Corporations - The presence of companies with titles such as CWC Cola and KCWC seem to indicate that there is some kind of connection between the government and the elite corporations of CWCville. As the CWCki put it, this aspect of the corporate world of CWCville seems to point to "either nationalization of normally private businesses or rampant cronyism." Additionally, Chris's base of operations is located in a mall, a center of commerce as opposed to an actual government building.
10. Suppression of Labor Power - Examples of this were hard to come by. The massive amounts of homeless people and soup hotels don't seem to indicate anything positive about the world of labor in CWCville. Given the authoritarian nature of CWCville, it can be reasonably assumed that labor is suppressed but no sufficient examples exist to demonstrate that possiblity.
11. Anti-Intellectualism - One of the many people resisting Chris's rule in the comic is Mary Lee Walsh, the dean of what is apparently the only college around. Alec Leary Benson and his comrades are perceived as being vile national enemies for making a comic that criticizes Chris. They are charged with the grievous offence of "slander" and are mutilated and killed for their actions. That being said, many of the offenses made by the villains throughout the series frequently boil down to just "mocking Chris."
12. Unjust Laws and Draconian Law Enforcement - The way crime and punishment functions in CWCville is confounding to say the least. Smoking is punishable with jail time, homosexuality is illegal and sexual assault isn't seen as a viable offence. What's more egregious is that Chris's Sonichu squad, already demonstrated to fulfill a role similar to that of SAVAK or the KGB, is given limitless freedom to enforce the law as tyrannically as they see fit. As mentioned, they are immune to being prosecuted for any offenses they may commit.
13. Widespread Corruption and Cronyism- Chris doesn't seem to pay attention to the numerous pending issues present in CWCville, instead shifting the responsibility of managing them on his secretary. Chris also grants his private squad of thugs immunity to law, meaning they are above being tried for any crimes they may commit. Additionally, Chris's gang of Sonichus all seem to hold positions among the elite of CWCville given the frequent usage of their services.
14. Fraudulent Elections - BILLY MAYS, during his brief stint as the mayor of CWCville, was seen as a great reformer and enjoyed wide-spread approval from his subjects. His untimely death early in his reign and the immediate reclaiming of the position of mayor by Chris suggests that sinister forces were at work. It is not unreasonable to assume that Chris had a hand in the death of the beloved reformer. Even if one were to take Chris's word that Mays becoming mayor was non-canon, it's not difficult to see that CWCville is completely devoid of any remotely fair or democratic institutions. Chris denies the possibility of elections and mentions that he inherited the position of mayor from Bob.
TL;DR: CWCville checks out for all of the traits save (possibly) for labor suppression. At 13 out of 14 characteristics, CWCville is most definitely a fascist police state.
You may be looking at this and thinking "Konstantinos, isn't is already pretty obvious that CWCville is a dysfunctional mess? Is the list really needed?" I made this list because although its well known that CWCville is a horrible place, I've never seen a comprehensive assessment as to why it's a horrible place. I figured I would try and make my own, however inconclusive and mediocre the end result was.
After having examined how thoroughly fucked up CWCville is, I have to wonder: if Chris ever does resume Sonichu like he seems to have been alluding to as of late, what kind of CWCville will we see? How much more dysfunctional could it get? What kind of tyrannical depravity would Chris delve deeper into if he did return to his position as mayor?
On that note, discuss the politics and internal problems of CWCville as well I suppose.
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after having said that?
