Finnigan Winnsettler
Mr. Lovefield
English III
The Competition, established sixty-eight years ago by Governor John Moss, became the second form of population control to be implemented in Ahern, California. The first (established by Governor Samuel Walker) involved the elimination of the homeless and genetically ill, which was done through the mass gathering and genocide of all who fell into these categories. These tactics of genocide evolved from a firing squad to a more twisted form of enjoyment. It turned into a game, in which participants were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge elsewhere. Nobody has succeeded in escaping. These categories of people snowballed in size, covering a large umbrella of people, but the targets have become younger and younger. The advertised reason for this is that criminals start young, and eliminating them before they can do too much harm would be beneficial for the livelihood of society. However, the ages of these children age from 12-17 years old, meaning that they have yet to experience life at its fullest.
The way the selection process works is through a military-type draft, in which each child on the list becomes one of the hunted. This can be equated to being a dead man. According to an article written by Amber Gilderoy, "the draft is the termination of ten children, which can be witnessed... [by] the deliberate shooting of each victim along the borders." Multiple people are skeptical as to the efficiency of these tactics. Many outsiders question the truth of the "random" pattern to the Delinquency Draft. There has always been a direct correlation between the child and the amount of financial debt that a child's parents are in, not the amount of disruptions the child has caused, or likely criminal behavior.
As for the children, the question remains: Why don't the parents move away in order to protect their own lives and the lives of their children? The answer lies in the propaganda woven into the history of Ahern, and the brainwashing that became integrated into the generations since. Any outside source can illuminate the errors within this system, which should be eliminated from modern society. While the amount of people in Ahern may have posed a challenge sixty-eight years ago, it is no longer an issue in the modern era. This form of population control is a sadistic tradition that everyone— whether they would like to or not— must be obligated to follow.
YOU ARE READING
Hopeless
ActionPopulation control has become a continually increasing threat in the small town of Ahern, California. In the mid 1960's, the government scrambled to take action, and they began with the weaker ones. Anyone over the age of 80 disappears. The disabled...
