Source: Persuasion
by Alexandre Lefebvre
“One of the best villains in recent pop culture is Gustavo Fring from Breaking Bad and its spinoff Better Call Saul. If you haven’t seen these shows, Fring is the seemingly respectable owner of a chain of fast-food chicken restaurants across the American Southwest. He comes across as professional, fastidious, courteous, fair-minded, community-oriented, and quietly charming. All that, however, is a front for a stone-cold gangster, one of the most powerful and feared drug distributors in the country. The main thing about Fring is that he rarely gets his hands dirty. He seldom threatens or yells. But behind the scenes, he steadily builds influence through institutions, bureaucracies, and relationships. … If I had to pick a single character to symbolize how conservatives think of liberalism — and more specifically, the liberal state — it would be Fring.” (10/30/25)