Would Chris Betray Barb?

[Henry Bemis]

Unlikely since Chris loves his mum. Even Chris posted on Facebook that "the ONLY person in this world who knows me most and Truly cares about me is my mother."

Though, coming from a guy whose father didn't know what a Sonichu was, there may not be too much stock in this.

 

[CalmMyTits]

Chris is too much of a pussy to go against Barb. Even if the promise of china was dangled in front of him, I doubt he would betray her. He might disobey her and go out of the house to get china, but he'd just lie to her and say he was at Mal-Wart or something. Anything he has done against her has been pretty much lying to her or other minor shit (minor to him) not actually harming her. As far as actually turning against or outright betraying her, I don't see THAT happening. The two have a symbiotic relationship. It is obviously unhealthy, but in their own twisted way they need each other.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I'm not sure if Chris would betray Barb, then again, I'm only the collector of souls who are ready to pass on. Although, I'm pretty sure that the only time that Chris will truly be free from Barb is after I'm finished escorting her to her hoard in the afterlife.

 

[SodomyRocket]

I think he would for China

 

[MrTroll]

Of course he would. He'd do it without a second thought. He wants out of that miserable shithole more than anyone gives him credit for, and he'd gladly leave Barb to rot by herself for the rest of her life if he found a better living situation that required no effort whatsoever to make happen (because his unwillingness to take charge and improve himself is simply that much stronger than his antipathy towards being the 31-year-old baby boy of a deranged old hoarder). He's really not a sentimental guy. He's attached to Barb because he feels that he needs her, not because he loves her. More than anything, his feelings toward her probably skew towards resentment and hate.

 

[CaptainDong]

On topic though, I think Chris would betray his mother in a heartbeat, but only if he thinks he'll never have to live under the same roof as her, and thus never have to face the consequences of betraying Barb. That is the whole point of his love quest these days isn't it? To find someone better to replace Barb, not after she dies, but right now so he can escape from the prison she's turned their home into. I also recall some facebook posts where he has expressed a desire to move out and his tweets to Coleslaw asking for his brother to come "home" were a desperate and futile attempt to escape from his mother's clutches.

I agree with this a lot, and the whole thing really indicates how little power Chris feels he has in this situation. He can't escape on his own; a heartsweet needs to come help (that's been his plan for quite a while, in fact), or Coleslaw needs to pitch in. I'll be honest, I hadn't realized how ludicrous Chris's fears of Barb changing the locks were on my own, someone had to point out that there'd be no one to actually change them - other than Chris. I got a chuckle earlier imagining Chris, in tears, changing the locks under his mother's command, not realizing that if he'd just stopped what he was doing ...

But that silliness aside, look at where Chris goes in his head when considering the scenario: straight from "She'll change the locks if I disobey her" to "I'll be homeless." See what I mean? It's like, he doesn't consider the possibility of using his SSDI to get a hotel room, or maybe talking to somebody about assisted living. Nope, as soon as he sees himself separated from Barb, he immediately thinks he'll be rendered helpless. It's amazing how little faith such an egotistical person has in himself.

A question to ask though is, how much of the scenario of "she'll change the locks" to "I'll be homeless" was perpetuated by Barb telling him that no one will help him find a place of his own/help him at least find shelter. Obviously we know that Barb has some control issues, it's not far fetched to think that she has it engrained in his mind that no one will help a homeless Autistic man who (as it is) can barely function.

 

[Sakamoto]

Chris only cares about Chris. Currently, he still sees Barb as the mommy who takes care of him, provides the roof over his head, and therefore a benefit to him. In reality all she probably does for him now is keep him from doing more stupid shit than he already does, and is probably the one who keeps what little order there is in the house (making sure bills get paid, animals get fed, etc).

It wouldn't take much to break that bond though. If Chris had a sweetheart (who he would expect to fill the mommy role and support him), he would be out of there and wouldn't look back. Even as things are, it would just take some incident to make Chris realize he would be better off without her. Right now, the idea of having to find and be responsible for a place of his own is too daunting. But if Barb really did "change the locks" and Chris did find another place to crash, he'd be his own free bitch after that.

 

[DrChristianTroy]

If she fucks with one of the new things in life that he gets enjoyment out of (Vidya, the reunion that won't happen, etc) then he'll disobey her wishes. Otherwise he does what she says.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

I don't think he'd turn against her directly, but his whining about her getting on his (man)tits whilst he's playing vidya suggests that if his God-promised sweetheart turned up at the door tomorrow to whisk him away, he'd drop her faster than she could say "change the locks"

 

[Marvin]

I think he would for China

Eh, he did that once before and that scared the rebellion out of him. Maybe if the china was physically in front of him? Otherwise, I don't think so.

 

[Sweet and Savoury]

I dunno, I think that deep within his little lizard brain Chrissy knows that BRb is the last person who actually cares about his welfare and offers the love he craves.

He might moan, bitch and whine (GodBearJesus knows he does!) but deep down she's his Mommy Dearest.

 

[Kosher Dill]

Speaking of the eternal struggle between China and the Grand Canyon: did Barb ever find out about Chris's hooker visit(s)?

 

[LordCustos3]

B.B. King has something to say 'bout this....

Unlikely since Chris loves his mum. Even Chris posted on Facebook that "the ONLY person in this world who knows me most and Truly cares about me is my mother."

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[Mourning Dove]

If Chris did betray Barb, it would akin to a lab animal being released into the wild. They have lived all their lives in abusive and horrible conditions and living on the outside would certainly be the better choice for their well-being. But since they've been captive all their lives, they would have no idea how to fend for themselves and without anyone guiding them they would quickly perish on their own.

 

[LM 697]

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[BillRiley]

If she fucks with one of the new things in life that he gets enjoyment out of (Vidya, the reunion that won't happen, etc) then he'll disobey her wishes. Otherwise he does what she says.

^This x 1000. I'd wager that Chris feels most threatened when his routine is interrupted. So long as Barb doesn't interrupt the routine that keeps Chris comfortably numb, he'll never to more than bitch on fakebook.

 

[A-№1]

If it's a matter of Chris betraying Barb, like turning her in to the Romans for 30 pieces of silver, I don't think he would. There's too strong a connection there between them.

If the questions is about really about Chris disobeying Barb, like going out to fridays after five / bars / hookers / whatever or playing vidya whenever he pleases, I think it's only a matter of time, or rather a matter of timing.

Chris and Barb are in one hell of a twisted up co-dependent relationship. As things sit now, Barb is mostly in the drivers' seat, but neither will go too far against the other because each needs the other. But they are not in a stable situation. Change is inevitable. Barb is old and only getting older, and as time goes on she will only become more and more decrepit and dependent on Chris for even her basic needs. This means there will be a real shift in authority from Barb to Chris as time goes on. This is no different from almost every relationship between an elderly parent and an adult child. Where Chris and Barb differ is at what point Chris becomes aware of this. Most mature, competent adults catch on fairly quickly when they need to start taking over decisions from their parents, but Chris is neither mature not competent.

Eventually, though, even Chris will begin to learn that he doesn't need to obey all of Barb's commands. His first acts of disobedience will probably be small and probably be accidental, but over time, as the dread consequences he fears fail to materialize, he will grow more rebellious. Even though it will take Chris a LONG time to work this out, it's all but an inevitability. The only questions, to my mind at least, are how long will it take for Chris to rebel? How far will he rebel? And will Barb last long enough for Chris to start rebelling? She is rather old, after all, and Chris is rather dense, so it is also a distinct possibility Barb will die or otherwise be removed from 14BLC and Chris' (for want of a better word) "care" before things reach a point where Chris realizes he needn't obey her every whim.

 

[For The Internet]

I've always been curious about this:

Would Barb actually follow through with her threat to change the locks if Chris went off somewhere without telling her?

I know people are saying she couldn't do it herself physically, but all she'd need to do is call a locksmith and they'd come out to change the locks. Barb always struck me as spiteful enough to actually go through with it but I'm interested to know what people with better insight into Barb (such as Marvin) think.

 

[An Ounce of Vagina]

As far as Chris turning against Barb, remember how quickly he turned against Rocky when he decided she wasn't coddling and cleaning up after him enough? He has no concept of gratitude. People bailing him out of trouble and serving him is simply the natural order of things.

If I had to guess I'd say the only thing holding him to her right now is fear. Barb has been very careful to reenforce this fear because she knows that if Chris were to realize he didn't have to serve her, he wouldn't. I mean sure there is probably some love of a son for his mother in there somewhere, but I doubt it can hold up long against Chris' ego and general selfishness.

 

[Marvin]

I've always been curious about this:

Would Barb actually follow through with her threat to change the locks if Chris went off somewhere without telling her?

I know people are saying she couldn't do it herself physically, but all she'd need to do is call a locksmith and they'd come out to change the locks. Barb always struck me as spiteful enough to actually go through with it but I'm interested to know what people with better insight into Barb (such as Marvin) think.

I don't think she'll ever need to change the locks. Chris believes Barb 100% that she'll change the locks if he disobeys her and Barb, 100%, has never had any intention to actually change the locks. I think if Chris did try to rebel, it'd put Barb in a really awkward position. I think she might consider changing the locks at that point, but I think she'd do her best to negotiate with Chris and resolve the situation without resorting to kicking him out.

As far as Chris turning against Barb, remember how quickly he turned against Rocky when he decided she wasn't coddling and cleaning up after him enough? He has no concept of gratitude. People bailing him out of trouble and serving him is simply the natural order of things.

If I had to guess I'd say the only thing holding him to her right now is fear. Barb has been very careful to reenforce this fear because she knows that if Chris were to realize he didn't have to serve her, he wouldn't. I mean sure there is probably some love of a son for his mother in there somewhere, but I doubt it can hold up long against Chris' ego and general selfishness.

He didn't turn against Rocky. I mean, maybe he was cranky about something Rocky did, but it wasn't really that serious. He's always kept Rocky on hand as one of his asspatting tools. He doesn't talk to her that much, but he still keeps her in mind as a goto.

Edit: Like, although, Chris is definitely the type of person to bitch about something Rocky did, but still always expect her to be at the ready, willing to help him with whatever future problems he'll have.