Blackhat

Uniform of an early 20th century Zacapine paramilitary, complete with the iconic black felt hat associated with higherups of the security forces.

Blackhat or Tliltzon is a Zacapine slang term for an agent of the state, particularly the federal government. The Nahuatl term is as contraction of the word Tliltzonecahuilli, literally meaning "black head-shade", referring to the type of black felt hats commonly worn by members of police investigation units, the rural national guard and other members of the state security forces of the early 20th century and the Xolotecate era (1914-1938) in particular. Although most commonly used as a reference to various types of law enforcement officials of various levels in Zacapican, especially agents of the national Major Crimes Office, the term has become a generalized reference for any representative of government authority especially those with a somewhat negative connotation in the popular imagination, such as tax officials or relatively mundane functionaries of the housing authority.

Origins

The term is a byproduct of upheavals of the early 20th century in Zacapican and the Countryside War in particular. This conflict, which generally took the form of a low-level insurgency and a general resistance to the Xolotecate regime especially from rural populations in the hinterlands, saw the widespread deployment of state forces into troubled regions in an effort to restore governmental authority over those lands. The majority of the armed government forces of the conflict in fact wore straw hats typical of the countryside, however these were of the same variety worn by rebel fighters as well as common citizens of rural Zacapican, whereas the felt hats worn by their superiors and by police investigators were less common outside the cities and therefore much more distinctive. However, during this era the term was used exclusively within antigovernmental circles and only as a derisive term for a haughty city-dwelling oppressor and enemy of the peasantry.

Over time, the term would become widely associated with the government in general. This began with the taxmen and various auditors and officials associated with the nationalization of all land in Zacapican, with the various surveying and enforcement organs which became established around the institution of state land and the regulation of the agrarian calpolli that ensued. Due to being labeled as enemies by the peasant clans and rebel groups of the countryside, these officials were often themselves accompanied by paramilitaries or were themselves armed for their own protection, helping along their association with what had been called Blackhats up to that point. During the late Xolotecate and afterwards, the term began to enter the popular lexicon of the urban centers of Zacapican and thus the general population under this more generalized meaning. It was likely introduced by internal migrants, being poor or otherwise displaced rural people of the countryside familiar with the phrase who subsequently moved into the cities in search of work and a better life in the aftermath of the Countryside War. From there, the term would become a ubiquitous slang for the authority figures of various state agencies as well as their uniformed underlings, helped along by the adoption of Belisarian-inspired official clothing by many of these government offices which further contributed to the caricature of state officials in the eyes of traditionalist Zacapine conservatives.

Use in media

• The 1940 film Tliltzonme, a dour detective film set during the Countryside War, helped to solidify the usage of the term on a wider basis. It featured a black hatted main character investigating a series of disappearances in a fictional town of the Meco valley in northern Zacapican, what was at the time a greatly underdeveloped, rural, agrarian and rebellious territory of the country. The film was notable as it downplayed the association of both the protagonist and the Blackhat term associated with him with the state security forces to whom the term was typically applied, contributing to the trend of labelling all kinds of government officials as Blackhats.
• The 1980s cartoon series Tlalyaohuitl: Achtotipa Yaoyotl frequently featured the Blackhat trope, especially as a visual gag, despite the series being set in pre-modern Zacapican when the trope and indeed the felt hats it refers to did not exist. The widespread international success of the series and many of its spin-off materials in many countries contributed to a greater global awareness of Zacapine culture and led to an increase in sentiments of Zacaphilia among fans of the show, even those who had never set food in the country themselves. This in turn led to an increased global awarness of the gags and references within the show, including the Blackhats references in multiple episodes. As a result, the show enabled the international dissemination of the blackhat slang term, although much of the original context of the phrase would be lost on the international audience.
• References to Blackhats are common on the Zacapine internet, becoming an ingrained touchstone of the Nahuatl-speaking digital culture. Particularly in recent years, internet memes have become common depicting stereotypical government officers in suits and wearing comedically exaggerated black hats with absurdly wide brims. These references are typically used to mock what is perceived as an overly bureaucratic and authoritarian apparatus of state, especially in Zacapican.