1918 mental decline of Garfield Lucas Webster

## Political Crisis

Garfield Lucas Webster, 3rd Prime Minister of the Empire of Chawosauria, seen in this infamous Halloween poster insulting him, was the subject of ridicule over his mental illness

### Duration

March 1918 - November 1918* Early signs of insanity appeared in 1917

### Participants

3rd Chawopolis Palace, Webster Administration, and the Santiago Monarchy

### Type

Political crisis (some say it was a constitutional crisis)

### Cause

* Garfield Webster's genetics
* Stress caused by World War I, Russian Revolution, Revolutions of 1917-23, and the Spanish flu

### Outcome

* Panic Buying
* Anarchy
* Birth of the Satanic Masquerade Ball
* Webster suffers from breathing problems
* Webster is exorcized
* Webster recovers
* Webster's Visit to Australia

"*Imagine a scenario where the President of the United States goes bonkers while the United States is being threatened by an international crisis whether it is a big world war or a pandemic. How scary would that scenario be for Americans?*"
—Josephina Van Valkenburgh
The **Insanity of Garfield Lucas Webster**, **Webster's Insanity**, the **Madness of Garfield Webster**, or **Webster's Madness**, were common terms for a major political crisis that shook the Empire of Chawosauria at a time when Chawosauria was already facing uncertain times in the year 1918. Chawosauria went through World War I, felt the effect of the Revolutions of 1917-1923, the Chawosaurian mainland was threatened by the Russian Revolution and eventual Civil War, and Chawosauria becomes infected with the Spanish flu.

Imagine a scenario in which the President of the United States becomes mentally insane while the United States is being threatened by an international crisis, whether it is a world war or a viral pandemic. How scary would that scenario be for Americans and how the effect it would have on American society?

Well, the Chawosaurian realm actually had that problem with their Prime Minister at the time, Garfield Lucas Webster, in the year 1918. In 1918, World War I, the Russian Civil War, socialist and anarchist uprisings around the world, and other conflicts were waging worldwide, resulting in massive but partly disruptive geopolitical changes and the establishment of a new world order, and also, a deadly influenza outbreak about to become one of human history's most devastating pandemics to ever hit human civilization. While these international crises were effecting Chawosaurians, their Prime Minister, Garfield Webster, went absolutely insane due to stress-caused political pressure.

These uncertain times suffered by Chawosaurians escalated opposition to Garfield Webster's administration, with all the stress getting into Webster, starting in 1917 as early as March of that year, he showed signs of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and sleep deprivation, which all three disorders resulted in psychosis.

The Russian Civil War was a turning point in Webster's mental decline. Breaking out in November 1917, Webster, who was born in Russia, was extremely devastated, he felt psychological pain, and he fell to a clinical depression. Webster began cutting his wrists to consume his own blood, something that is called vampirism. Webster lost conscience while still going insane, this condition cannot be explained, but it is caused by a genetically deformed cerebrum and cerebellum in Webster's brain. Webster's cerebellum, which deals with movement, tells Webster to move, but his cerebral cortex does not make him conscience when his cerebellum was working. Webster's brain only works that way when he is badly stressed. Webster's back head was wider than a normal back head, which explains why it took Garfield's mother so long to give birth to him.

The result was him slaughtering his own step-niece to consume her blood in a blind rage and after two days of still in a blind rage, barely remembers the event. Having telling people to do things for him but ended up berated them for doing what he tells them to do, and still berates if they don't do what he says. People tried to restrain but with barely any success.

Webster's prime ministerial committee comes together and takes control of Chawosauria while Webster suffers from mental illness. Joseph Wallace Berks was elected by the committee as *Prime Minister-regent* to take over Webster's prime ministerial responsibilities, and there has become a power struggle among the committee. There was an internal plot by Andrew Russell to have Webster removed from office due to his insanity, but the plot was met with fierce resistance from the committee. At some point, the committee turned on Russell, tried him in a kangaroo court, and convicted him of plotting against Webster, Russell was executed via gunshot in the skull.

The societal effect of Webster's mental illness in the middle of a world war and other global crises was great. Panic buying, riots, and looting swept the whole Chawosaurian realm, cities were empty due to fear caused by Webster's insanity, the Chawosaurian economy and schools all shut down due to national emergencies, all of that were the result of Webster's mental breakdown.

The public becomes sympathetic for Garfield Webster due to the media's handling of Webster's mental crisis, how Webster's critics handled it, and attempts to restrain Webster. Webster was exorcised by Catholic priests, and he suffered from his life-long breathing problems, which resulted in Webster being quarantined from his prime ministerial responsibilities and recover from his mental illness by 1919. Webster visited Australia as part of his mental recovery.

Part of Chawosaurian popular culture, Webster's Insanity is treated as apocalyptic entertainment. Webster's mental breakdown gave him the nickname **Garfield the Bewitched**, or **Garfield the Mad**.

## Background

In 1914, World War I (the Great War then) broke out and it demolished a four-year peaceful era of Webster's premiership which Webster enjoyed. Webster wanted a peacefully normal premiership, and that was taken away from him by geopolitical tensions between European superpowers, some or many of whom were colonial empires, most prominently the British Empire, which literally ruled half the world, making the British Empire the most powerful, influential, and largest colonial empire (or empire in general) in world history. This political environment in Europe was the reason why Webster left Europe to live in the United States, who was also becoming a superpower of its own though still relatively considered a new country then, sitting at the age of 138 by 1914, while most superpowers are a lot older.

World War I made Garfield Webster an unpopular Prime Minister due to his failure and inability to prevent Chawosaurian civilians in Europe from being killed (purposely or accidentally) by the military forces of all WWI sides, giving Webster the infamous nickname **Garfield the Butcher** (**Garfield el Carnicero** in Spanish, **Garfield le Boucher** in French, **Garfield der Metzger** in German, **Garfield il macellaio** in Italian, and **Гарфилд Мясник** (click to learn to pronounce) in Russian).

As World War I continues to wage, Webster has canceled the 1915 Chawosaurian legislative elections instead of postponing it, which resulted in a massive backlash, including many violent uprisings. Webster felt the stress of the political environment which was having to deal with massive unpopularity with the public who thinks he as Prime Minister bears full responsibility for those Chawosaurian civilians who are losing their lives everywhere in the world, whether it's World War I in Europe, a civil war in Russia, or a flu epidemic worldwide. The way Chawosauria worked at that time, Chawosaurians dying almost worldwide and there is little Webster could do about it.

Stress started to cause psychological harm to Webster as early as March 1917, when the Russian Revolution broke out, and because Webster was born in Russia though no Russian bloodline, the country where his life on earth began, which it's part of his identity, falling under anarchy and...well, being technically taken over by anarchists (the original definition of communism was anarchistic) resulted in psychological pain for Webster, who as a strictly devoted Christian, viewed anarchism as an ideology that (in Garfield's words): *"seeks to create a world order dominated by sin, blasphemy, and immorality by taking down our preciously beloved Christian society and the holy dominion of the western world that its governments are here to enforce the laws of God"*.

Leftist opposition to Webster has built up due to anti-war sentiment among anarchists and socialists. With Webster bearing all the responsibility as Prime Minister in the eyes of the public for all the civilian deaths who died in World War I, the Russian Civil War, and other wars that were also going on, while right-wing opposition to Webster has already been going on before World War I, and it had been steady since Webster took office.

The name **Garfield The Butcher** has been seen by Webster as a personal assault on his Catholic principles. Webster never enjoyed being viewed as a murderer, and frankly, half the loss of life to the war wasn't his fault.

## Mental Breakdown

In early 1917, Garfield Webster began suffering from a mental breakdown. Seeing things that aren't there, hearings things that aren't there, struggling with anxiety, depression, and with World War I, the Russian Civil War, the Revolutions of 1917, and the Spanish flu all happening at once by 1918, Webster's mental breakdown has turned raw.

### **1917 - Warning Signs of Insanity**

The Russian Revolution broke out caused by the Revolutions of 1917 to 1923, caused by the anti-war sentiment going on in Europe. Webster was born in Russia but no Russian bloodline. Webster sees Russia as the beginning of his life and the origin of his identity, so with Russia under siege by communists, Webster started to struggle with major depression. When the Russian Civil War broke out in November 1917, Webster's depression falls to the level of psychological pain.

### **1918 - Pure Irrational Insanity**

With World War I, the Revolutions of 1917, the Russian Revolution and Civil War, and an outbreak of Influenza eventually known as the Spanish flu, all happening at once in the year 1918, the already massive political pressure of the Prime Ministership started to get even too heavier for Webster to handle. and that will drive him to unconscious insanity.

When Webster is driven to stress, he falls to what his doctors call "unconscious and irrational insanity" caused by his neurological genetics which was mutated by the cousin-to-cousin inbreeding of his family dating back to the dark ages. Webster's parents were second cousins, the great-grandchildren of Webster's great-great-grandparents: Charles Draco Walpole and Anna Isabella Walpole. The sections of his brain that deals with consciousness and movement (cerebral cortex) is terribly affected by inbreeding.

Webster's insanity was put into action by March 1918, when he started seeing "evil spirits", hear "horrible voices" and do things but he had no awareness of his actions due to weak consciousness but still functioning brain movements. Webster started cutting his wrists to consume his own blood, and he literally killed his own niece to consume her blood, without himself being aware of his actions. Webster was known as **Garfield The Vampire**, Garfield also went through mood swings, to having multiple personalities. Webster developed a multiple-personality disorder.

Becoming so insane that he lost all sense and reason, Webster popularized the Satanic Masquerade Ball, thus replacing the All Hallow's Eve Masquerade Balls, and then held the first Satanic Masquerade Ball in Chawosaurian history on October 31, 1918, with statues and pictures of Satan all over the masquerade balls. These Satanic masquerades Balls become part of Chawosaurian culture.

Attempts to restrain Webster were very unsuccessful, and the mass media coverage of Webster's mental illness caused a socio-economic shutdown. Webster eventually gained sympathy from the Chawosaurian public due to the backlash against the stigma of mental illness of the 20th century being applied to Webster. The psychologists who called for Webster's removal from office were fired by legislative officials caused by anger from their constituents, and the Conservative opposition to Webster were bashed by the public for using Webster's mental illness as a weapon against liberals for the upcoming 1919 Chawosaurian legislative elections.

### **1919 - Recovery**

After World War I ended in November 1918, Webster started to recover from his mental breakdown. Webster started to suffer from breathing problems and constant coughing up blood when trying to breathe. Webster was found in his bedroom coughing up blood, and then in pain when trying to breathe. Webster started regaining his conscience and his mental insanity declined. Webster was exorcised by Catholic priests to rid himself of his insanity.

Webster, part of his recovery, visited Australia to escape from the politics of 1919. Despite his mental recovery, he contracted the flu during the 1918 flu pandemic in which he still recovered.

## Role of the Webster Ministry

> *(see: 1918 Coup Scheme against Garfield Lucas Webster)*
>
>

When Webster became insane, the Webster ministry comes together (along with Webster's two idiot interns, the Shitty Brothers: Slim Shitty, and Shitty McShittyPants) and takes total control of the entire Empire of Chawosauria also due to an incompetent Emperor, Emperor Santiago. Also known as the Webster Committee, in a committee meeting, they elected as Prime Minister-regent to take over after Webster of his responsibilities and duties, Joseph Wallace Berks, but Berks didn't want the job but momently he reluctantly accepts the position, he was unanimously elected by the committee to take over Webster's prime ministerial responsibilities for the remainder of Webster's mental illness. Webster is still officially Prime Minister, but because Webster is mentally incapacitated, Berks must take control of Webster's responsibilities and duties until Webster potentially recovers. Russell, as head of the interior, orders security forces to control the city of Chawopolis to enforce Emperor Santiago's SL Order No. III-1918.

As Prime Minister-regent, Berks orders the insane Webster to be restrained and the ministry struggles to balance the power among their committee members. Andrew Russell, Webster's minister of the interior, does a secret plot to convince Emperor Santiago that Webster is too crazy to continue serving as Prime Minister, and thereby should be removed from office under his orders, but among ministry members, Russell receives a resistance.

Russell started to try to undermine Berks as Berks tries to carry on Webster's responsibilities, but Berks retaliated by trying to undermine Russell's popularity. To do this, Berks uses Webster's prime ministerial powers that he is in charge of while Webster is mentally ill, to order protesters to be allowed, without permits, to protest against World War I, but are killed by security forces headed by Russell, just as Berks anticipated, 800 protesters were killed by security forces, and Russell was furious because he knew it would tarnish his reputation.

Other ministers of Webster, Charlie Aaron Wallace - Minister of the Environment, Ulysses Grant Bellows - Minister of Labor, and Jonathan Layton Mollison III - Minister of Natural History and the Protection of Endangered Species, all of whom are natives of Saranac Lake, New York, they are known as the Saranac Lake Gang, the Gang from Saranac Lake or simply the Saranac Gang, Jonathan Lincoln Barnsley - Minister of War and Peace, and Leonid Ilyich Balashov - Minister of Energy, all arrived to investigate the shooting of the anti-war demonstrators.

Webster's chief advisor and special counselor, Thomas Elliott Rawlings, approaches Berks over the arrival of the Saranac Lake Gang, Berks told Rawlings the plan that he wants to take out Russell before he takes out Webster. Russell is trying to convince Emperor Santiago to get rid of Webster and make Russell himself Prime Minister. Berks told Rawlings that he wants to convince Emperor Santiago to keep Webster until his term expires on December 31, 1919, Berks also wanted Santiago to consider giving Webster a second term.

Finally, during a ball to celebrate the end of World War I on November 22, 1918, Berks approaches Emperor Santiago before Russell, and he told Santiago that Russell wants to remove Webster and have him make Russell as Webster's replacement, Berks wants Santiago to order Russell to be executed for plotting against Webster, Santiago agrees with Berks to have Russell executed for plotting an institutional coup against Webster.

On November 23, 1918, following the end of World War I and during the continuation of the Russian Civil War, Berks, in a cabinet meeting, proposes a resolution accusing Russell of conspiring against Webster who is still psychologically handicapped, and Russell was arrested by the Emperor's security unit. A kangaroo court was held in a shack with Berks preceding this trial as the judge and the rest of the ministry acted as the jury, where the charges of conspiracy against Webster were brought against Russell and he was sentenced to be shot in the head outside the shack, Russell was pulled out of his chair to the door of the shack, and while being held by Barnsley, Balashov, Bellows, Rawlings, and the Shitty Brothers, he was shot in the head by Wallace, his brains splattered all over the ground, and he fell dead. Russell's body was burned and his ashes were left on the dirt.

In 1919, Webster recovers from his mental illness and is restored of his prime ministerial powers, Webster was unfortunately infected by the flu during the 1918 flu pandemic, and he was denied a second term because of it, Webster was succeeded by Theodore McClellan on January 1, 1920.

Reparations were given to Russell's widow, Joan Rothenberg-Russell, and their only son, Grover. It is said that Grover and Joan hated Berks after Russell's death that when Berks died in 1965, Grover who hears of Berks' passing from his obituary wrote on Berks' obituary *"Burn in hell you fucker!"* and used his obituary as his toilet paper.

## Emergency Lockdown

### Part of

1918 Mental Decline of Garfield Lucas Webster

Empty streets of Chawopolis City is due to human inactivity caused by the lockdown

### Caused By

The mental breakdown of Prime Minister Garfield Lucas Webster during World War I, the 1918 Flu Pandemic, and the Revolutions of 1917-23

### Lockdown Revoked By

3rd Chawopolis Palace

The **Great Shutdown**, or the **Great Lockdown**, the **1918 Lockdown**, the **Webster Lockdown**, or the **Santiago Lockdown**, was a national emergency and a lockdown of Chawosaurian society via a monarchical decree issued by Emperor Santiago in response to the mental breakdown of Prime Minister Garfield Lucas Webster in the middle of already uncertain times (World War I, 1918 flu pandemic, and Revolutions of 1917-23).

This was the first time a Chawosaurian head of state has become mentally ill, and there was no way to remove a mentally-ill Prime Minister without a succession crisis caused by a lack of order of succession for the Prime Ministership. Chawosauria was stuck in a situation where the Prime Minister who was mentally ill must stay in power till his term expires on December 31, 1919.

Emperor Santiago issued *SL Order No. III-1918*, which orders the economy and society to shut down entirely over a mentally-ill Prime Minister who can't possibly be replaced. The lockdown lasted for the rest of Webster's weakened mental state.

Schools were closed down, jobs were lost caused by human inactivity, and poverty expanded. Webster's mental instability had a positive impact on the environment, human-caused pollution became less visible in the Chawosaurian world, and it took long until after Webster's death in 1955, for pre-1918 pollution to return to its original state.

Despite Webster's mental recovery, and the end of the shutdown in June 1919, poverty was widespread until World War II, and in some ways, it helped laid the groundwork for a Liberal landslide in the 1925 Chawosaurian legislative elections due to the Conservatives' poor handling of Webster's mental instability for political gain.

### **Political Impact**

Webster's right-wing enemies tried to exploit his mental instability by labeling leftists as just as insane as Webster, but the public took offense to their Prime Minister being called "crazy". Conservatives suffered a stalemate result in the 1919 Chawosaurian legislative elections in part for the public's anger over their handling of Webster's mental instability.

Prime Minister Theodore McClellan's UK Liberal Party landslided the Conservatives out of power in the 1925 Chawosaurian legislative elections, and then reigned Chawosauria until the end of World War II, when they were replaced by a 70-year reigned Communist government.

### **Economic Impact**

Webster's insanity caused a lockdown of businesses and jobs, leading to mass unemployment and eventually strikes to reopen. Reopening protests were the subject of military massacres, as soldiers shoot out the brains of reopening demonstrators and as they lay on the roads either dead or suffering from a bullet wound, they were still shot.

### **Environmental Impact**

The lack of human activity caused by lockdowns in response to Webster's insanity created a positive impact on the environment as pollution falls due to factories shutting down as part of the lockdown.

## Response

### **Sympathy for Webster from the Chawosaurian Public**

The Chawosaurian people were offended by Conservatives screaming the words: "Insane", "Crazy", any other word that is associated with mental illness, at Webster, so Garfield Webster gained sympathy from the public and the Conservatives got a backlash for calling Webster "crazy".

The public was outraged by attempts to restrain the insane Garfield Webster the old fashion treatment mentally-ill people were treated by professionals who deal with people struggling with mental illness. Psychiatrists received a blowback with death and rape threats from citizens for trying to warn the public about Webster's mental illness.

### **Threatening Psychiatrists**

Psychiatrists attempting to declaring Webster as "mentally ill" and warn politicians and the public of Webster's mental illness were met with death and rape threats from citizens who saw this as "being disrespectful to the Prime Minister" even though Webster was unpopular because of World War I.

### **Conservatives and Anti-Webster Leftists**

Conservatives in the 3rd Chawopolis Palace tried to raise awareness for Webster's mental instability, comparing him to King George III of Britain, Emperor Tiberius of Rome, and King Charles VI of France. Anarchists wanted Webster overthrown, but overthrowing Webster was unpopular. Making Webster up to be an insane tyrant.

## Aftermath

Following Webster's recovery from his mental illness, Webster's chances of a second term were slim, until his infection with the flu, he was forced to leave office on December 31, 1919.

## Legacy

The insanity of Webster changed Chawosaurian culture with the Satanic Masquerade Balls being a major Halloween tradition in Chawosauria.

## See also

* 1913 Coup Attempt against Garfield Lucas Webster
* 1914 Musket Assault on Garfield Lucas Webster
* 1919 Chawosaurian legislative elections