In these tumultuous and politically exhausting times, I often turn to television for comfort or amusement. Lately, there’s this one character in particular I’ve seen a lot of on TV. Though actually quite abhorrent, he appeals to many and has a large and dedicated following.

Nothing he ever says or does appears to alienate them. He lies easily and endlessly to friends and foes alike. He’s obsessed with money and the adulation of crowds. Though never in the military himself, he once led a large military force. He insults people constantly and, though he demands abject loyalty, he rarely, if ever, exhibits any in return. He can be unspeakably cruel, often deriding those he sees as less than himself, which is virtually everybody outside his immediate family.

He’s suspicious of powerful women and openly contemptuous of women in general, though if I’m honest, I can’t recall his saying anything bad about his mother. He loves to mock people and exults in deceiving them. He’s devised countless money-making schemes to grift the public, even though many of his enterprises eventually fail spectacularly.

He hates it when anyone around him receives the attention that he believes should rightfully be his. He’s well known to millions, a celebrity of sorts, I guess, having apprenticed on a popular TV show. You can even find his image and catchphrases on T-shirts and all sorts of other merchandise, including hats.

He thinks himself an expert on many topics about which he demonstrably knows nothing. Many would describe him as a raging narcissist. He’s power-hungry, with a tendency to be dictatorial, and believes he possesses a superior intelligence, though his words and actions are often foolish, bordering on the ridiculous. Unbelievably, he fancies himself a born leader and far more capable than anyone around him.

One might say he’s cartoonish, a caricature. He’s seriously overweight but in deep denial about it. He has the culinary tastes of a child and savors food that’s bad for him, especially buckets of fried chicken. Sartorially, he usually appears in public in the same outfit, practically one of his trademarks.

His behavior is often deeply offensive and sometimes very difficult to watch. Upsettingly, he has mocked the disabled, going so far as to physically imitate them. Even those closest to him don’t trust him, based on long and bitter experience. Many have landed in serious legal and financial trouble through their association with him, deeply ensnared by his lies, plots, and schemes.

Everything bad that happens to him is seemingly always someone else’s fault, while he believes his own behavior is above reproach. When caught in a lie, he often doubles down. He has the vocabulary of a fourth grader and frequently misspeaks. Many of those who have stood by his side for years speak out against him, risking his vengeance, which is legendary, as he accumulates and nurses grudges.

Of course, by now, I suspect you’ve guessed whom I’m describing: none other than the late, great Eric Cartman, one of the fictional lead characters of the popular, long-running animated satire, “South Park.”

Wait … who did you think I was referring to?

Gary Greene live in Greenfield.