It's Not Your Fault. Tract #215. Art by Jack Chick - © 2009 Chick Publications
It's Not Your Fault - Tract #215 (NFLT)
Art by Jack Chick - © 2009 Chick Publications
First Published: November 21st, 2013
"It's Not Your Fault" is a messy little screed that attempts to teach the moral of "Forgive thy enemies" while taking the long way around through a disjointed narrative involving crooked foster homes, police bribery and a child molesting judge. Add to that the usual side dishes of an undercooked "Deus Ex Machina" ending and a heaping helping of hideously characterized human faces and you get... well... your standard Chick Tract, actually.
Introduction ⇑ ⇓
 Sean |
I'm going to take a moment to speak earnestly. Child abuse is a very serious problem. Every year thousands of children are found to have been abused in some way. Some are lucky enough to find loving foster homes, and get to lead rich and happy lives. Others are not so fortunate, and are horribly mistreated. It is especially terrible when these poor kids commit suicide. This is not a subject for someone to use as a method to cram their beliefs onto us. I would like to take a leaf from the book of Ce-Lo Green and say just two words to Mr. Jack Chick: Fuck you. Sorry about that, the rest of the commentary will be funny, promise. |
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 Jess |
Anything to make a buck, right? |
Cover / Page 1 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
Ordinarily, I would say that this is a strong and sombering picture. The crying child clenching his fist in defiance, swearing never to be hurt again. But thanks to Jack's artwork, it looks more like he's admiring Dat Ass. |
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| Jessica |
Yeah, that's not exactly the kind of face that elicits pity. Kid looks like he was sent to bed without dessert or something. |
Page 2 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
"This little guy is terrified" Gee, I dunno. It could be that he's just witnessed the suicide of someone he knew. Or it could be that lady in the background with the Rinnegan. |
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| Jessica |
Turn around, dumb shit. Grill the people who run the place. |
Page 3 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
An almost perfect record except for 2 suicides within 2 years, and no one has done any investigations...why? |
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| Jessica |
You'd think that would set off some warning bells at the state. One suicide seems like it would be a good excuse to turn the whole place upside down. |
Page 4 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
Wow! People in a Chick Tract are actually doing the right thing for once. Better yet, they don't give any indication that this cop is a "True Christian". Something's not right here... |
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| Jessica |
I think autopsies are rather common, even in case of suicide for this very reason. The cop seemed to be acting like this was against standard operating procedure. |
Page 5 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
Damn!! I know Jack likes to make his heathens look deformed, but this is waayy over the top. Just look at those hands! Forget palming a basketball, this guy could wrap his fingers all the way around! |
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| Jessica |
That dude actually reminds me of the Pale Man.... though this guy is waaaayyyy more gruesome.
I guess this CPS lady knows the work schedules of every judge in the Circuit. Serious hard worker, that one. |
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| Sean |
So they're requesting a specific Judge because they know he'll be favorable towards them? I'm pretty sure this is evidence for a Conflict of Interest. Which is not going to be good for either you or Judge Stone. Kinda shot yourselves in the foot there. |
Page 6 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
Well that was fast. I know this seems to be a pretty open and shut case, but even those take time, certainly not one day. Is Jack so out of touch with reality that he's forgotten how the legal system works? Redundant question, I know. |
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| Jessica |
Does CPS place kids this quickly? I didn't think ANY branch of the government had a 24 hour turn around. I figured there would be at least a bit of a wait while the kid languished in some government run facility. |
Page 7 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
Okay hang on a moment: Why are they so obsessed with keeping this place open? There's no indication that they're in cahoots, let alone being bribed by the staff (Who don't seem to be wealthy enough to give a decent bribe anyway). Plus, I shouldn't have to point this out, but Foster homes don't work this way to begin with. They're private homes set up by those certified to be declared foster parents. I think Jack has them confused with Orphanages, which by the way, don't exist anymore. |
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| Jessica |
Maybe this is supposed to be some sort of group home? Anyway, it seems likely a single judge could pull enough string to keep a place like this open. If the cop really wanted to put a stop to all of this, just tip off a journalist. I'm sure any worth their salt would dig until they found out why one random judge has such a vested interest in keeping a particular group home in operation. |
Page 8 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
You waited 3 months to address this poor kid's nightmares? Some foster parent you are lady. |
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| Jessica |
Thankfully they've put the kind in a kind, Christian home instead of that heathen-run hellhole he was in. Surely he'll be better off now because Christians never touch children, right? |
Page 9 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
The kid's doing his best Carnac impression. |
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| Jessica |
Mrs. Carpenter is going to whip out her well worn copy of "To Train Up a Child" and put Ralph in his place. |
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| Sean |
Oh! That explains everything! The Judge was trying to keep the Happy Halls open so that he could have easy access to sex with underage orphans! That's... really fucking stupid. Judges are not immune to the law, while there may be cases of corruption such as bribery for a verdict going on behind the scenes, these are not brought to light most of the time because no one involved wishes for it to be, and covering it all up is relatively easy to do. In this case, we have several witnesses who have a lot to gain from confessing, as well as physical evidence that they are being sexually abused. I'm pretty sure the testimonies of SEVERAL RAPE VICTIMS is enough to get one Judge arrested! |
Page 10 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
We really need to get someone to exorcise these talking houses. It's really becoming an epidemic. |
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| Jessica |
True 'dat.
What the hell is wrong with that woman's eyes?!? |
Page 11 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
I really hate to say this, but Jack actually got something right. This was a tragic massacre where the UN troops were not allowed to do anything, and many civilians died. Of course, you can always trust Jack Chick to turn a tragedy into an opportunity to preach the Gospel. |
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| Jessica |
Leave it to a Christian to make money of a terrible tragedy. |
Page 12 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
Is that guy in the middle wearing a shower cap? Terrifying! |
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| Jessica |
I guess that's just the risk you run being missionaries in a war-torn and politically unstable country. Sometime you have to take your lumps. |
Page 13 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
Talk about adding insult to injury, she was just raped by Nelson from The Simpsons! |
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| Jessica |
Jack hate to speak of the kinds of things they did to her body, but judging from how often it comes up as a plot point in his work I doubt he's very opposed to thinking about them. |
Page 14 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
So God allowed you to be raped and beaten after seeing your husband killed, let the men get away scot-free, and then punished you for harboring thoughts of vengeance? I think God has some pretty messed up priorities. |
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| Jessica |
Man, screw you. Ralph (and Mrs. Carpenter) are completely justified in hating the people who have wronged them. It makes a lot more sense when you don't buy into the kind of nonsense that say that they will get theirs after they die. Assuming of course they don't say or think the magic words, then you might be sharing one of those golden mansions with them. Think about that for a minute! |
Page 15 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." Oops! Sorry! Wrong quote. |
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| Jessica |
Yes, Ralph! Let the hate FLOW THROUGH YOU! Strike him down and take your place at MY SIDE!!! |
Page 16 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
This is just their way of saying: "Don't worry, you'll have the last laugh when they're burning in Hell forever!" |
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| Jessica |
"Are you kidding?"
Could you make this kind of sick shit up? |
Page 17 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
Was this guy suicidal? Because it doesn't even look like the Angel is throwing him. |
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| Jessica |
Looks like he might have been reaching out to stop him. Just a second too late. :( |
Page 18 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
Oh look, it's this thread again. |
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| Jessica |
It almost looks like Chick lifted the left panel directly from the scourging scene in The Passion of the Christ. Check the bald Roman soldier. Hmmm... |
Page 19 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
Again with the Jesus that somehow looks middle eastern, yet is whiter than Justin Bieber in a blizzard. I think Chick just switched over to this look because he didn't want to draw Jesus with long hair anymore. |
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| Jessica |
He looks like Daniel Day Lewis portraying Abraham Lincoln there. Just pop a top hat on him. |
Page 20 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
And now we've come to the salvation part of our story. At least this time it's believable that a child wouldn't know what Jesus is. Unlike the countless adults in the Chickverse. |
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| Jessica |
This whole problem started with that kid being forced into that position. Maybe he could do the prayer standing up? |
Page 21 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
Awesome! Tubular! Excellent! And all those other words the youth of today apparently say. |
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| Jessica |
Is there a MR. Carpenter? Does this one single lady just raise 17 ankle-biters all by herself? I don't think the state let's you do that.
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Page 22 ⇑ ⇓
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| Sean |
So kids, what did we learn today? Don't wish for vengeance, and instead forgive those who wronged you. Because God will then kill them for you. |
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| Jessica |
Jesus whacked him. These comics make it seem like you say the prayer and accept Jesus and then you can use him to off the people in your life who give you trouble. It crops up over and over again. You aren't choosing a "savior", you're hiring a supernatural hit man! |
Conclusion ⇑ ⇓
| Sean |
This was... weird. I think Jack had this one put out because he wanted to make another story dealing with child rape that wasn't, well... Lisa. This certainly wasn't as disgusting, but in the end you're still left with a bad taste in your mouth. |
Further Reading ⇑ ⇓
Jessica
Sean