Gearheads of War

Being a rabid fan of Gears of War, I'd always been pleased by the slaying of locust en masse, believing myself a liberator, fighting the good fight against an undeniable, indefatigable enemy bent on the destruction of humanity as a whole.

But then I began to wonder; am I truly a noble warrior for tossing grenades into the doorways (emergence holes) of the locust, then chain sawing and shot gunning my way through those unfortunate few that made it through? Are the COG the last hope for humanity, as I had been led to believe?

Or, contrary to popular belief, was I simply keeping a scaly people from the suns warm rays?

I consulted the work Dr.  Lawrence Britt, an academic who dedicated his life to the study of oppressive forces.

His work provided me 14 signs of Fascism.

What you're about to read, may shock you.

From the 14 Signs, a list of behaviors common amongst Fascist regimes.

1.    Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
The Gear logo can be found anywhere, in any map. It's borne on the cuirass of the Gear soldiers, the walls of buildings, the sides of choppers and APC's, and can even be seen substituting for "O" in "Hope", in the courtyard at the beginning of Act 4.

2.    Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
     As is demonstrated by the very existence of the Stranded, the bombardment of the planet surface at the beginning of the Locust War shows the disregard for the value of their underlings. The government, believing itself safe one Jacinto Plateau, allows billions to die for the lost cause of saving the surface.

3.    Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
Whose to say the Locust, not unlike the Big Bad wolf, was merely sneezing, a case of mistaken identity, misunderstanding, and overreaction on both sides? The COG as a force was waging war for centuries right above the collective head of the locust: perhaps we are the loud neighbor, and the gray foe from the depths merely arrives telling us to turn it down?

4.    Supremacy of the Military
      Again, the Stranded seem to be a largely civilian force, as a military power rarely leaves large numbers of troops to be blasted by their own chemical munitions. And again, a  military that can still send troops into battle after 12-15 years of retreating and losing must have been a formidable force, glorified by the media and general populace as well.

5.    Rampant Sexism
Why doesn't Anya, the only feminine (with the exception of Baird, hair dying pansy) not get a gun, armor, or a chance to demonstrate her abilities with a lancer?

6.    Obsession with National Security
This, I think, needs no elaboration.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed
Again I must mention the Stranded. A civilian population likely spending much of their time building the armor, making the ammunition, would be of little need with the storerooms stocked so well at the end of the Pendulum Wars. They would be a likely deterrent to the war machine, shedding light on their mass doom.  

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
We see no colleges, other than the East Barricade Academy, and any society that lets Baird into a Special Forces unit like Delta must not be terribly concerned with intellectual advancement beyond medicine (to keep the soldiers alive) and technology (to ease killing of soldiers).

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Why would a man with as demonstrative a military record as Marcus Fenix be imprisoned for such a crime as going to rescue his father? With the war going as poorly as it was, why not simply give him latrine duty, or break him down a rank?

Now I realize, I have been fighting for 8 months on the side of the fascists! A capitalist American like myself, lowered to fighting for the political party that brought us such men as Dr. Mengele, Mussolini, and many others. We've all been through the Gears of War campaign. We've fragged, tagged, and sawed our way to dropping the LightMass bomb, a device so terrible as to wipe out more locust in a single swoop than likely all of us combined. We have become the oppressive force. And we've loved every second of it. I can hardly bear the thought of it.

I leave out several defining factors, such as "Rampant Cronyism" and "Fraudulent Elections" simply because they are difficult to prove without further analysis into the workings of the Coalition, something not delved much into within the actual Campaign.