Purge and Purify: Short Stories from the Purge world

[libbrit]

Inspired by the recent Purge TV series, and the all round disturbing yet compelling notion of a world where everything is idyllic but for one night of carnage a year (which is itself based on some rather shaky psychology, but in fictions, disbelief must be suspended), i thought it might be interesting to write a few short stories to flesh out this `universe`. Feel free to contribute your own as well.

But before the stories come, i think it might be worthwhile trying to shoe horn the movies rather vague back story into our modern world, to somehow make it vaguely fit.

For those who dont know, there are one or two online attempts to work out a timeline of events based on references to dates and events on the screen

Why 'Purge' Movie Fans Shouldn't Expect The TV Show To Be Exactly The Same

The Purge universe timeline explained

To cut a long story short, the timeline seems something along the lines of

2017-the events of `The First Purge`, an experimental version of the Purge in one confined space-Staten Island. The basic idea is that at some point prior to the movie, an extreme nationalist, quasi facist political party, the New Founding Fathers of America, wins an election.

The US presidential election schedule being what it is must mean that either they win the 2012 election, in which case Obama is a 1 term president and there are some major historical butterflys between 2008-2012 (based on comments throughout the francise that the country was on its knees economically and socially, we should assume the 2008 financial crisis gets much much worse during the Obama presidency which it turns paralyses US civil society with crime rampant-perhaps, if we want to find a point of divergence, we can suggest that in this timeline, attempts to solve the Greek debt crisis fail spectacularly, Greece and other southern European economies go under, and the world economy utterly hits the skids)

At some point after the election of the NFFA, some sort of dubious scientific theories become current, suggesting that people need a single night of catharis to bring their criminal instincts under control. The NFFA somehow get the right to do this, put into legal effect by a constitutional amendment as per the movies (God knows how, but lets roll with it). In preparation for going nationwide with this idea, the government proposes a trial-Staten Island, a low income part of the country, has a local referendum approving the experiment because, as flashbacks in the Purge TV show make clear, people were seriously undersold the dangers of such an experiment and couldnt resist the money offered (everyone who stayed on the island during the event was paid $5000, and more if they `participate`-participation and location confirmed by biometric contact lenses and trackers worn by everyone who stays.). In the TV show, it is heavilly implied that most people were basically told `take the money, and if you are worried, just lock your door. Whats the worse that could happen`.

A lot, so it seems.

The events of the First Purge occur, which put simply, sees the NFFA manipulate the experiment to get the results they want-the majority of people either dont go outdoors, or just go to street parties or, at worse, commit acts of petty vandalism. The NFFA, viewing this as insufficient, sends in paid mercenaries posing as civilians, to take lives and provoke more of the violence the government actually wants.

After the `success` of the Staten Island experiment, the government announces the programme is going nationwide.

And so

2018. The second Purge, or first Nationwide Purge.

2022. The events of the first Purge movie. The 5th Purge

Charlie Roan, the politician who stars in the Purge: Election Year, is the only survivor of an attack on her family during this Purge.

2023. The events of The Purge: Anarchy

2024. The events of The Purge TV series, which is stated to occur in the 8th purge

2040. The events of The Purge: Election Year. Charlie Roan, an anti Purge politician, who the NFFA try to kill on Purge night by changing the rules to remove the immunity traditionally held by high ranking politicians, wins, taking advantage of decades of growing anti purge sentiment amongst the normal masses who are the general target on Purge night, and ending some 3 decades of NFFA power and immediately suspending the Purge. According to the ending of this movie, this sparks an uprising by NFFA supporters.

The intention of this is for people to put whatever backstory they can think of -newspaper articles, interviews, international perspectives etc to flesh out the whole creepy yet fascinating world, etc.

 

[libbrit]

"Good evening, this is Huw Edwards, reporting for BBC News here in Washington DC. Its just gone 10 to midnight in the UK, a little before 7pm on March 22nd​ 2018 here in Washington, and we come to you live from the British Embassy in the US capital. You join us on a night that many believe will change the world, and our understanding of human morality, forever. A little under a year after the controversial Staten Island Experiment which left some 11,000 people dead and thousands more injured, US President Bracken has used the powers conferred to him by the 28th Amendment to the US constitution, to to designate a 12 hour period from 7 tonight as the first annual event now commonly called `The Purge`.

In London, Paris, Tokyo and cities throughout the world, mass protests have been staged outside US embassies, and Pope John the 24th​ has just concluded a rare address from the Balcony of the Vatican in which he described the upcoming events as "the willing embrace of Evil". He went on the confirm that he has declared all Roman Catholic Churches and cathedrals in the US as consulates of the Holy See, for the duration of the Purge. There are reports of crowds filling churches and Cathedrals across the country and St Patricks Cathedral in New York is reportedly being guarded by a special detachment of the Vaticans famous `Swiss Guards`

Throughout the day, the British Embassy here in Washington and consulates throughout the United States,has been filling up with anxious British nationals unable to leave the country before US airspace was closed for a 24 hrs at 7 am this morning. The same has been happening at many other embassies. As we have been saying throughout the day, diplomatic buildings have been given the same exemption from the Purge as US government buildings, Prisons and Hospitals.

Theoretically these buildings should be safe from any disruption, however the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has taken the precaution of evacuating all non essential staff and drafting heavily armed Royal Marine and SAS personal to guard the building.

In this last few minutes before the event commences with what we are being told shall be a nationwide broadcast of the US emergency broadcast system, lets go over the key points of tonights events.

Shortly after the New Founding Fathers of America swept to power in 2012, the party used its unusually strong postion with a majority of both houses of the US senate as well as control of the vast majority of the states themselves to pass in record time, the 28th​ Amendment to the US constitution, the so called Purge Amendment. This Amendment conferred on the President, sweeping powers to suspend all criminal laws and constitutional rights, for all persons within the United States or any part thereof, for one consecutive 12 hour period per calender year. It was first invoked last year on Staten Island, and after the perceived success of the event, 22nd March has been decreed the date of a nationwide Purge, yearly from now on

When it hits 7 PM on the east coast, all law enforcement and emergency services shall be stood down for a 12 hour period, and ALL crimes, including arson, rape, assault and even murder, shall be legal. As the United States is a country of multiple time zones, police are still on duty in those time zones yet to reach 7 pm and will be stood down consecutively as the time reaches 7pm across the country.

We are just now hearing that the US and Mexican government have issued a joint statement announcing the closure of the borders after a record influx of US citizens crossing to avoid the events to come. Speaking for his Mexican counterpart, John Ossowski of the Canada Border Services Agency has tweeted " Canada and Mexico will vigorously defend all border crossings against the consequences of this deeply disturbing US government policy. Borders will be closed for the duration and all US citizens who have managed to cross will be defended with force.

And now we go to the US Emergency Broadcast system...."

 

[libbrit]

Daily Mirror

Clearwater, Fl.

March 30th, 2020

Send your Purge Night pictures to purgepics@mirror.co.uk


THE boy was barely 16 years old, 5 foot 6 tall and skinny, yet he held himself like a big man.

A black hoodie pulled over his masked face, the boy squared up to my vantage in my heavily armoured news van, and boomed: "watch yaself man. Why you be watching us?"

As so often during that night, our van sped off before the Purgers weapons were drawn. The young thug had fire in his eyes.

With 100 of his friends ranged behind him in the empty street, I knew his threat wasn't hollow. I've covered riots for the Mirror in the past – Belfast, G20, the London riots of 2011, even the looting after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans – but none match the intensity of violence and destruction in even small town America on Purge night.

Last night CNN and other media outlets released a series of CCTV clips from the last Purge, 1 week ago From extremely young boys to old men – all would have been suspects officers want to question, but for the time and date stamp on the footage.

I witnessed their work first hand. I saw the horror meted out to innocent bystanders and people dragged from their homes in the streets of the small Florida city of Clearwater, and witnessed the looting of a nearby retail park. As the city descended into chaos, I watched thousands using the scientifically dubious 28th Amendment, as an excuse to lash out, right wrongs, indulge perverse passions, and take what they believe is rightfully theirs.

The low level criminality and looting is the often overlooked feature of this event, but it is by far more prevalent in smaller cities than the infamous annual bloodbaths seen in cities like Los Angeles, New York and Washington.

Teens on stolen bikes eyeballed me as they rode by looking for shops to break into and loot. Jewellers, off licences and electronics stores were popular, but sports shops were their preferred target. I arrived on one street just moments after a gang had smashed their way into Footlocker. Kids filled their arms with looted goods. Boys, grown men, their girlfriends and sisters, even parents – smashing and grabbing in a frenzy of crime.

Two boys looting TVs called their parents to pick them up. The boys loaded up their parents SUV with their stolen booty and then the armed woman calmly drove away.

This year has seen increasing fears of unofficial copycat events in other countries-in Rome, an armed mob broke into the Coliseum in the dead of night, and the Metropolitan Police foiled an attempted break in at the National Gallery reportedly inspired by Pro Purge material found on the suspects computers.

Yesterday Britain's most senior police officer, acting Scotland Yard Commissioner Tim Goodwin, called on parents here to keep their children at home and stop a Speight of copy cat lootings. He said: "I urge parents to start asking where their children are. There are far too many fans of this disturbing American practice, using it as an excuse for criminal thuggery and burglary.Fortunately, unlike the annual bloodbath over the Atlantic, we have no reports of death or injury, but I must emphasize, no such thing as the Purge exists or will exist here".

 

[libbrit]

Pope condemns Purge `cancer`

Pope John has urged American leaders to provide "real justice" to disadvantaged citizens hit by Purge violence in the country.

Speaking on the last day of his five-day visit to Philadelphia, on his first visit to the US since the Purge began 7 years ago, which he denounced as evil, he again took aim at the annual event due to start 2 days after he leaves. He denounced it as `a cancer that devoured and destroyed American morality`. He also said that the Catholic Church in the US must do more than just condemn the Purge, announcing the extension of the controversial `Vatican Embassy Policy` which regularly declares Catholic church properties as protected Vatican consulates for the duration of the 12 event.

This year, an extra 500 building owned or leased by the Catholic Church shall be granted status of Vatican diplomatic legations for the duration of the Purge The Pope received a red carpet welcome at the Independence Hall in Philadelphia on the first day of his visit, the first time a pope had been received there. Later on that day, he held a mass in the city at Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, in front of thousands of people. In his earlier address the pontiff addressed government leaders and made further comments to American bishops.

In his remarks, he warned that a society driven by violence and brutality was fertile terrain for corruption. He also cast doubt on the official statistics suggesting the Purge keeps the crime rates low for the rest of the year, suggesting "the instinct to be revenged on those doing us harm, will not end and become dormant at 7 am" Pope John said the scale of the eruption on Purge Night meant the Church could not hide behind "anodyne denunciations" and urged US bishops to tackle it instead with "prophetic courage".

Correspondents say his speech uncomfortably exposed the church's limitations, given dubious legality of the Embassy policy under international law and the tensions generated with the US government.

The Popes speech generated only lukewarm applause, with just a handful of bishops standing in ovation and NFFA supporters staging a walk out. US President Barton, who has not met the Pope during this visit, released a statement advising "The Holy Fathers view of the Purge is well documented. Public support for these crucial American right remains strong"

The BBC's Katy Watson in Philadelphia says many low income Americans have a soft spot for this Pope because they feel he understands them and gives them a voice, especially at a time when many are disillusioned with the perception that the Purge exists to remove them from US society entirely.

Also on his itinerary is Niagara on the US-Canadian border, a city so beset by Purge Night disorder that some estimates have 60% of the city population attempting to seek Purge Protection in Canada this year.

 

[libbrit]

UK Purge City 2031: Coventry wins

bbc.co.uk

The winning city was announced in the current UK Purge City, Hull

Coventry has been chosen to be the UK's Purge City for 2031.

The bid team said their plans were "about changing the reputation of a city" as well as hosting a year of cultural celebration and prestigious educational and psychological conferences focusing on the science underpinning the Purge phenomenon.

The title is awarded every four years and Coventry will hope to emulate the success of Hull, which is UK Purge City in 2027.

The other places in the running for the title were Swansea, Paisley, Stoke-on-Trent and Sunderland.

Coventry's bid team said the city had "constantly reinvented itself to survive".

It has suffered from the decline of its status as the heart of the British motor industry, and it was devastated by bombing during the World War Two.

It will hope to learn from Hull, whose status as Purge City has boosted the local economy by an estimated £60m, £10 million being spent in the week running up to the 12 hour event.

Hull has also seen more than £1bn of investment since being chosen to hold the 2027 title, and the year's artistic programme has been a hit with both residents and critics.



Laura McMillan, manager of the Coventry Purge Trust, said the economic impact would "be huge for the city and the West Midlands".

"This is a win for Coventry, a win for the Purge movement and a win for our people," she said.

"It's been a bid by and for the people of Coventry. It has brought so many people and organisations together and this is just the start."

Purge Minister at the Home Office John Glen said it was "an incredible opportunity for Coventry to boost investment in the local economy and grow tourism. We know from the experience of the annual Purge in the US and in the EU, that the event draws an influx of vistors, and an influx of investment particularly in the insurance and building industries both before and after the event".

He said: "In 2027 I have seen the truly transformative effect this prestigious title has had on Hull.

"The city has embraced the Purge and in doing so has demonstrated how the regular act of catharsis can bring communities together. I look forward to seeing what Coventry has in store in 2031."

He also congratulated the unsuccessful towns and cities for their "excellent" bids.

Coventry will be the third UK Purge City - after Hull and London, where the inaugural event was staged in 2023.


As part of the prize, Coventry will have access to a £30m Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

The UK Purge scheme is separate from the EU and US Purge Events, which are annual occurrences. The UK decision to implement on 4 yearly basis was modified by a series of amendments to the Purge Bill, by the events opponents.

The major difference was the so called May Amendment, introduced by former Prime Minster Theresa May, to limit the event to one local government area, every four years. On the night of the event, police and armed forces form a blockade and patrol the limits of the chosen area for the 12 hour duration of the event, to keep it contained and to prevent escapes.

 

[libbrit]

Peering into The Purge

Deaths Observation post

ERIC ERICSON July 15th, 2028 20:00 CET

In my studies of totalitarian states, I often had to use a nearby country as an observation post. I was lucky to study first in Vienna and then in Krakow, Poland, as cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain. In the early 1990s, peering across the border from Hong Kong was the only way to gain glimpses into daily life in China. More recently, I helped to keep an eye on Libya from the U.S. Libya External Office in Tunisia.
As the former Soviet Union and China opened up, the need for such observation posts gradually disappeared. Technology, mobile phones and social media offer multiple possibilities for contact across borders. But for firsthand insight into the European Union during its annual Purge, there is no better observation post than a temporary roadblock set up for the night on a small roundabout at the southern end of Boulevard Charles III, being as it is the international border between the Principality of Monaco, and the Province of The French Republic. That is, the European Union.

Monaco's fortunes are tied to France, whether in trade, tourism or cultural history and souvenirs. This is hardly surprising in an independent country smaller than some of the smaller local government divisions of its larger neighbour. Thousands of tourists cross this border daily in search of motorsport, celebrities or the lure of the great casinos.

Except that is, for a 12 hour period on the evening of the 15th July every year. Then, they are refugees not tourists. And then, they are in the hundreds of thousands. These refugees, normally local or not so local French and even Italian residents, squint or use binoculars to catch a glimpse of the carnage beyond. Others board boats, carefully kept within Monaco's minuscule territorial sea; European vessels pass close enough for menacing passengers to shout and brandish their gaudy Purge masks, or their less gaudy but more disturbing `tools` for the evening, to those cowering behind Monaco's borders and protected by Monaco's meager police force-breaches of this neutrality are however mercifully rare, as the EU penalty for such a breach is notably more severe than the American equivalent-this is one of the great terrors of the night.

Shopkeepers in Monaco do however dare to say the unsayable-that the Purge in Europe comes with benefits-the immense boom in the usual tiny population of Monaco, which generally begins a week before and lasts for much of the week following the Purge, as people try to avoid the chaos of the clean up and the post Purge reprisals, makes Purge week only marginally less profitable for local shopkeepers than F1 events
It isn't only local shops which have begun to cotton on. Next year, the 4th year of the European Purge, the Monaco Authorities are giving serious consideration to selling its status as an observation post in the form of special rates for stays in hotels and events in its Casinos. This year alone, single rooms in the Luxury Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo went for 3 million Euros for the night of the Purge.

Like many isolated people before (and for Purge Night, it is the Europeans in their orgy of blood, who are isolated-from the norms of human society) the local French know what it means to be watched, and have set the stage accordingly. Sales of Purge masks and any numbers of costumes are reportedly higher in the areas surrounding Monaco, than in any other part of France, for the immediate period surrounding the Purge. Playing to the crowd, or a deep seated sense of shame?

 

[libbrit]

Diplomats look into cross-border Purge chase

cbc.com

Canadian officials are considering diplomatic action after Twenty Four American Purgers chased a pickup truck through a border station in Niagara Falls and continued their pursuit into the busy tourist town, causing injury and panic before being stopped by Canadian police in a shootout leaving multiple casualties.

The Americans involved, Purgers from neighbouring Niagara Falls, N.Y., could be charged as a result of the incident, which occurred just after dark on Wednesday, the night of the US latest nationwide Purge, sources said late yesterday.

Friends say a 40-year-old mother of two, Eliza Wilson, was rammed by the pursued vehicle as she stepped out of a parked car.

The pursued truck kept on going, with occupants of the Fours pursuing vehicles exchanging shots with their victim and at passing pedestrians, leaving Ms. Wilson with a broken leg but thankfully no further injuries to herself or other passers by. The pursued vehicle collided with a parking meter before coming to a stop.

The masked driver, who was brandishing a gun, jumped out and fled on foot. His pursuers, armed with a collection fo axes, a chainsaw and firearms, abandoned their vehicles and gave chase. All were eventually tackled by armed police from the Niagara Region force, patrolling the town in force, as all Canadian border crossings are patrolled on Purge night.

This engagement was not without cost as 6 of the Purgers and 3 police officers were killed in the engagement.

Crossings into Canada are not permitted for the duration of the Purge, said Reynald Doiron, a spokesman for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs.

"Both sides fully recognize the importance of respecting each other's authority and national sovereignty," Mr. Doiron said.

"The government is not taking this incident lightly. The Purge is a vile institution and we will never permit it leaching into Canada or disrupting Canadian life. We will be carefully reviewing all the facts before determining an appropriate course of action."

Officials from various sources said a diplomatic representation regarding the violation of sovereignty could be made as early as today.



One customs official, who asked not to be identified, said that American border agents, who are considered Class 10 government officials and are protected from attack during the Purge, would surely have known this pursuit was approaching but did not radio ahead as is the protocol in events near the border on Purge night, as well as more generally in the event of cross-border police chases during the rest of the year. Canadian Customs agents were in shock when the truck and four cruisers zoomed through the crossing, demolising border crossings and barriers.

The truck, which had been `stolen` minutes earlier from a telephone repairman in Niagara Falls, N.Y., crashed through the barrier arm that was closed over the bus lane of the inspection station with 2 stolen police cars in pursuit. Two other cruisers followed shortly after.

Constable Geady said the American violators were immediately followed by Canadian Police cruisers, with loud speaker instructions that they have crossed into Canada, the Purge had no effect there, and that they should stop immediately. They failed to do so, resulting in the later deadly shoutout.

Robert Rosati, NFFA Mayor of Niagara Falls, N.Y., said his office would make no comment about the incident until this afternoon, but officials of the countries apparently met in a closed-door meeting yesterday.

The issue for customs agents "is that any one of us could have got struck by the vehicle or God knows what could have happened. And then the issue extends to obvious disregard for Canadian sovereignty," said Ron Moran, the national president of the Customs and Excise Union.

"The number of jurisdictional infractions that would have been committed would be countless even on a normal day, never mind on a night when Americans genuinely can do anything they want. All you have to do is try to imagine if Canadians had done this on the U.S. side. The whole border would have been shut down across the country."

Cornelius Cross, 38, a U.S. resident, has been charged with impaired driving causing the grievous bodily harm of Ms. Wilson and attempted murder in relation to shots fired at police officers.

According to friends, Ms. Wilson, a former resident of New Jersey, returned to Niagara Falls with her husband and daughters a couple of years ago to be near her mother and to escape the stress of the Annual "Blood Holiday". She worked at the deli counter in a grocery store. She and her family have yet to comment.

 

[libbrit]

If anyone has their own ideas, feel free to post them.