The Final Chapter of Chris Chan

The curtain is about to fall on one of the most morbid oddities in the online community. For the past four years, Christian Weston Chandler has been one of the easiest troll targets. Unlike other victims such as Hal Turner and Tom Green, Chris Chan never learned from his mistakes and continued to feed the trolls a meaty helping of laughable character flaws. This madness would eventually have to end, but with Chris’ pathetic situation, it was clear to many this tale would not have a happy ending.

Christian Weston Chandler is the worst case scenario for man-children of my generation. When the internet first discovered him in 2007, Chris was a sheltered boy in his late-20’s with Asperger’s Syndrome. He had no job and was living on welfare at his parent’s house. His days were occupied by video games and coloring his poorly-drawn comic, Sonichu. The only goals he had in his life were working on his comics and finding a girlfriend. Somehow, in Chris’ small world, marrying his one true love would solve everything in his life. But Chris was not datable to say the least. His physical appearance was that of a portly man-child, gaining weight and losing hair. His views on subjects like sexuality, politics and social issues were warped and changed on a time to better suit Chris’ demanding ego. And in terms of how to treat a lady, ill-experienced is an understatement.

This provided plenty of ammo for trolls to take advantage of and manipulate this misguided boy in several ways. Men and women alike posed as possible girlfriends to which Chris foolishly followed time and time again. Also complimenting these faux girlfriends was a string of posing antagonists who would steal away these “women”. Trolls descended on Chris’ website and established their own webpages devoted to covering the nasty highlights of his life. Chris was also hounded by white knights trying to help him, but Chris had been trolled too hard to listen to anyone anymore.

All of these factors warped Christian into a state of extreme paranoia. Before the trolls began their campaign, his life was already a mess. In his desperate search for a girlfriend, Chris was kicked out of several locations including community college and his local mall for trying to walk around with a sign displaying that his desperation. The one location he regrets being banned from is the GAMe PLACe, a hobby shop. His violent outbursts and thieving tendencies have earned him a lifetime ban to which Chris will not accept. You’d think he would learn from his mistakes and move on, but it was so much easier to blame all his short-comings on the source of his torment: the trolls. His impulse spending, his jobless situation, his lack of female companionship, his unstable personality; all a result of the trolls in his mind.

Finally, the boiling point was reached. As Chris and his mother entered the GAMe PLACe hoping for new management that would not recognize him, the same manager was present and quickly spotted Chris. The response to being spotted was to whip out his Nintendo DS and take pictures of the store and the manager. As the manager chased him out of the store, an incident occured involving Chris’ car and violence towards cops. Both Chris and his mother are scheduled for court dates with multiple charges being filed. While the ultimate fate of Chris is yet to be decided, his mother is clearly going to prison for attacking a cop. The best possible outcome is that Chris will be placed in a mental institution where he can recieve the help he so desperately needs (especially since he considers the incident a troll trap).

As bad as this sounds, it could have ended much worse. His father has already passed away and if his mother kicked the bucket Chris would be responsible for their home. Given his poor conception of money management and housekeeping, he would most likely die from starvation or poor hygiene if not buried alive in more clutter. All things considered, the current situation is probably the best possible outcome, grim as it may be. Chris’ life is about to take a major change for better or worse. Whether he is sent to a prison or a mental institution, a change this massive is exactly what he needs. This experience may turn him into a better person or a much worse person, but anything at this point is better than being stuck in a rut as an obese, unemployed slob sheltered in his parents house as he passes the days with video games. Hopefully this will build character.

With Chris entering his 30’s, I can’t help but think how other man-children are fairing. There are many others in a similar situation, living at home and unemployed either through lack of jobs in their field, mistakes in education or just plain sloth. I consider myself quite lucky to live the life I have with my job, my wife and my soon to be born daughter. As I look back on the legacy of Chris, as someone with Asperger’s myself, I saw the dark path I could’ve easily taken. There were many moments I found myself in a lonely state, pining for a woman and a job. However, as I grew and made the effort, I have arrived at a point in my life where I am proud of what I have accomplished. I could’ve just as easily turned out like Chris. My hope is that Chris’ actions will be well documented and displayed as an example to our generation. THIS is the hideous face of pursuing a life with no ambition and no responsibility. THIS is your future if you allow your life to be dominated by video games and internet trolls. THIS should be my generation’s Scared Straight program.

The saga of Christian Weston Chandler is one of laughter and sadness. We laughed at his ignorance for dealing with people online and wept at the fact that he will never get better. There was also much rage considering he was living off taxpayer money and not doing a thing with his life. We, the viewers, have been lucky enough to bare witness to the life of a deeply flawed man-child who opened his heart to strangers online. While those who tore it open were certainly seen as bullies, they exposed him for the ignorant, racist and homophobic individual he denied himself to be. Others tried to help him, but their good-intentions went unheeded. And now the man known as Chris Chan will soon be charged in a court of law. For me, the most depressing part of this whole ordeal was going back to look at the special DVD Chris created entitled ‘Yep, I’m on TV’. The video is filled with footage and photos of Chris as a child including his baby pictures. After all the rage, shameful videos, failed relationships, cross-dressing and even being arrested, it is important to remember that this was once a small child filled with hopes and dreams for the future. Unfortunately, he never grew up.

Thank you, Chris, for opening up and sharing your life with all of us. As dark as it may be, your lifestyle will serve as an example to all of us as a consequence for taking the easy route. Your legacy will live on, perhaps not in the way you intended, but achieving such immortality is still a great feat.