278

Abrupt
Posted on November 14, 2016 by David M Willis

278 thoughts on “Abrupt”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    THANK YOU FOR THAT, WALKY

    still doing better than if Trump were there

    1. chris2315

      This is what the first comment is going to be for the next four years, isn’t it?

      1. timemonkey

        Assuming you don’t vote him in for a second round.

        1. Reltzik

          Or both parties don’t come together to impeach him six months into his term.

        2. Fart Captor

          The percentage of congressional republicans showing the appropriate amount of consistent disgust with him is shamefully low. Even most of the ones decrying him after he was caught bragging about sexual assault didn’t actually un-endorse him.

          We need to make sure mid-terms go very poorly for them.

        3. LS

          If we want the midterms to go poorly for them we need to figure out why so many people voted for him despite his flaws, and we need to start reaching out to them.

          We shot ourselves in the foot by making the left seem terrifying and insulting. We’ve got two years to fix that perception.

        4. Charlie Spencer

          If you want the mid-terms to go poorly for ‘them’, figure out why so many people who voted for Trump said they did so because they wanted ‘Change!’, yet year after year send the same incumbents back to Congress.

        5. Andy

          Many of the congressional districts are so heavily gerrymandered that one party always wins. It’s easy for a Congresscritter to blame the other 534 other Representatives or Senators. And that’s not hard when there’s loons like Dana Rohrabacher or Mike McCaul in those ranks.

        6. thejeff

          It’s very common for people to hate Congress, but like their own Congresscritter. Hard to say what to do about that.

          It’s also difficult to interpret what low approval for Congress means: Congress sucks because Republicans are causing gridlock? Congress sucks because Democrats are trying to turn us into a socialist hellhole?
          Both show up as low ratings for Congress, but mean entirely different things.

        7. thejeff

          How much of the “left seems terrifying and insulting” is actual correct perception that the left could do something about and how much is blatant lies and propaganda from Fox and talk radio?
          For the first part, how much is just code for “don’t talk about racism/sexism/homophobia”?

        8. Cerberus

          thejeff-

          Yeah… and that’s the rub. When a significant portion of the country makes it clear that their price is “hate the ‘other’ as much as we do and we still won’t like you because we have surrounded ourselves in a news bubble that reinforces a conspiracy theory way of observing the world”, it’s going to be impossible for folks to win over that.

          What we can do is fight harder against the mass disenfranchisement in this country, especially in the wake of the repeal of the Voting Rights Act, argue stronger for the statehood of DC and the territories so they can access their full citizenship rights including actual Veterans Services for their members who served in our military, repeal the horrifying way we’ve normalized stripping “felons” of their right to vote and thus encourage a prison-industrial complex as a means of disenfranchising certain populations, and working from the bottom-up to make sure every election has some candidate even if its a guaranteed loser, just to consistently get our message out there.

          And those of us who are the “filthy other” can exist, as loud as we feel safe doing, and make the bigots feel ashamed to be transparent bigots again. Make our family members and friends ashamed to repeat bigotry against groups of the other and refuse to politely tolerate open hatred of marginalized groups out of social nicety.

        9. Unusually Angry Hippie

          We don’t want that to happen. If it was imaginable, Pence is WORSE than Trump. I’m actually afraid of an impeachment happening, and hope that Democrats in Washington realize themselves that it would be a bad idea, and that Trump himself doesn’t do anything stupid enough to make it happen to himself..

          Trump is an egotistical jackass, but Pence is a terrifying true-believer in the worst things one could possibly believe in. Anti-LGBT, Anti-Abortion, and Anti-Science, with a completely literalist interpretation of the Bible as his justification. Pence in the white house with a majority in both houses of congress would be so much worse than the worst Trump could do.

        10. Reltzik

          True. But it will stop that from being first comment before four years pass.

        11. Ana Chronistic

          then it will be “still better than if Pence were there”

        12. Elisto

          Same. Trump is horrific, but he also just doesn’t care one way or the other about regular people. Pence is a theocrat who wants American to be a fundamentalist Christian nation and wants to control what everyone does and how everyone lives. If I’m not mistaken, he believes we are required to exploit the environment to bring about the end of the world.

        13. Kellorna

          Revolution anyone?

        14. kelticat

          My republican mom once told me that nobody would assassinate Dubya because Cheney was the next in line. I think the same can be said of Trump/Pence.

        15. Fart Captor

          Yeah. Who would’ve thought we’d ever have a VP awful enough to make Dick “Go Fuck Yourself” Cheney seem like an almost-tolerable backup president

        16. Ana Chronistic

          That’s prolly their exact strategy, “Who can be my running mate and assure no one will try to assassinate me?”

        17. Blind_Gardener

          My dem father made the same joke about the perpertual gaff machine known as Joe Biden.

        18. Ann Potter

          Yes please except we have to impeach Pence too perhaps he could be discovered with a choir boy in the Trump hotel in in DC. And Paul Ryan could have a nervous breakdown and some how Bernie could end up in the White House? Hey I can dream…

        19. Ana Chronistic

          I mentioned wondering how “Designated Survivor” is suddenly a series… hmm

        20. chris2315

          Hey, don’t blame me, I’m Canadian.

    2. Aeron

      But not better than six helicopter rides.

    3. QD

      my dumbing of age routine is now excitedly scrolling down to see what variation of this comment is posted

  2. AnvilPro

    I guess Walky has been paying attention in class

    1. Woobie

      He’s lazy, not stupid.

  3. Mr. Mendo

    Look at Walky, on the ball all of a sudden! ^_^

    1. Doctor_Who

      Next he will advise Leslie to throw a toy at Robin’s head. Since it’s Robin, this will work.

      1. wheelpath

        And Leslie could talk to her about McNuggets (I mean I know candy’s more her style, but going for junk food in general)! Walky knows exactly how to win Robin’s heart.

        1. Doctor_Who

          If this all somehow winds up with Walky playing Cyrano and helping Leslie seduce Robin due to their similar maturity levels, that would be glorious.

        2. achallenger

          i rowboat it. id ship it, but i dont want to oversell walky’s skillset

        3. miados

          just beware someone might mount a head cannon to their ship and sink the rowboat with a cannon ball.

        4. JustCheetoDust

          It’s not like a rowboat is completely defenseless.

        5. Reltzik

          Wouldn’t that capsize the rowboat with the first shot? Just use a spar torpedo like a sane person.

        6. Joe Archer

          If shot off-keel, capsizing looks likely, but aligned along the keel it would have to create a back-flip to overturn the boat.

        7. Charlie Spencer

          Leslie can talk to me about her McNuggets, although I though she had other names for them.

      2. Mr. Mendo

        Walky can be her sherpa…up the mountain of Robin!

  4. miados

    lucky guess or actual realization? only time will tell

    1. Belle

      I’m betting actual realization. Walky can be surprisingly perceptive sometimes.

      Plus I mean I don’t think it was really all that hard to tell haha.

    2. Tan

      Revenge. http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/gender/

      1. miados

        i think the red ////// on his face was a good hint walky liked her

      2. Belle

        I missed that… that’s freaking awesome.

        1. Deanatay

          Like Willis said, “The longest of callbacks”.

          (BTW, NOT the longest callback, I’ve seen longer)

        2. Emperor Norton II

          8-bit Theater still has that one beat and probably will for years to come.

      3. Black Bumblebee

        Wow, the art has changed, hasn’t it? Hadn’t realized how much.

        1. miados

          if you draw a comic every day for years your art will change and it can be slow enough you dont notice until you look back.

      4. Some1

        Guess we have learned something about gender today Leslie Bean.

        Walky drops the mic and walks out

      5. No Name

        So that’s what the alt-text meant by “callback”!

        1. Gigafreak

          On multiple levels. The other universe’s Leslie had access to a helicopter, and did, in fact, bring a date along for a ride. This universe’s Roz and her Congress-funded helicopter-related lament may be an indirect reference to that! …or it could just be a coincidence, of course.

        2. tekjr

          Walky took some of Leslie’s advice to heart: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/gender/

      6. Arianod

        Wow, nice one!

      7. jimmy joey

        not to be the guy who takes the joke way to seriously, but that’s actually kind of a terrible lesson in a gender studies class. it normalizes violence as a form of affection, so you shouldn’t be telling your children that, probably

        (but obviously it’s just a joke in this case, so whatever)

        1. Cerberus

          Oh, very much agree with that. It felt like a somewhat awkward joke at the time, but I feel like the callback does a little to turn that on its head a bit seeing as how Leslie didn’t commit violence upon Robin, merely was very firm and clear about how things weren’t working out.

  5. lia47

    DANG IT LES

    1. miados

      i cant blame les. physical attraction isn’t logical.

      1. Reltzik

        But you’re damn well supposed to keep it out of the classroom when you’re the instructor.

        1. lia47

          i was more talking about not letting dorothy go (although thats understandable from her perspective its just frustrating) but yea

        2. Cerberus

          It’s frustrating, yeah, but Robin definitely wouldn’t have been able to help. She doesn’t remember the name of her own aide, she’s not going to remember the full name of an intern she didn’t even personally meet.

        3. miados

          yes but she could go “you *snaps* tell her about my interns then meet me at the coffee shop. bring a biscotti”

  6. Plasma Mongoose

    Helicopter Ride is slang for some kind of weird sex act isn’t it?

    1. Doctor_Who

      I hope not, since she apparently could have gotten it from her sister.

    2. Opus the Poet

      Yes but I don’t think it’s something Roz could get from her sister.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        A scandal like that is sure to cost Robin the erection.

        1. rectilinearpropagation

          OMG, that auto-correct is amazing on several levels.

        2. miados

          you’re assuming its an auto correct.

        3. Plasma Mongoose

          I wish it was an auto-correct, but I’m on PC not smartphone, so it was my cockup.

        4. Joe Archer

          now you’re starting a punfest.

        5. Plasma Mongoose

          It’s pretty hard to get a pun-fest started.

        6. miados

          i entered ten puns in that pun fest hoping to win a prize but no pun in tend did

        7. Gigafreak

          Better stop dicking around. Get it up and running.

        8. Holly

          You missed the chance to use pun-fist there

        9. Wizard

          Sounds like you got the shaft, miados.

        10. Adept Arcanist

          Wow, you made quite a boner there.

        11. Rukduk

          There is a surprisingly large amount of people with incest kinks, so that might not necessarily be true…

    3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      I was assuming it was real helicopter rides because politicians use those a lot. Avoiding traffic, getting to and from rallies fast, frowning at natural disasters…

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        I guess that would make sense, but where’s the fun in that?

        1. Reltzik

          Where’s the fun in helicopter rides?

          ….. oh, wait, we’re talking helicopter rides with domineering older evil sister.

    4. JepMZ

      Oh!!! That makes much more sense now. I assume helicopters are so rare that getting 6 of them is like a very long time wasted on a failed scheme

    5. Deanatay

      Is it like a motorboat ride? I LOVE motorboat rides.

  7. Fauna Sarcastic

    walky’s gaydar is his only redeeming quality

    aside from reciting an ABSOULUTELY PERFECT RECAP OF SEASONS 2-6 OF DEXTER AND MONKEY MASTER

    1. Pat

      She outright told them she was a lesbian. Like twice.

      1. miados

        I am so oblivious i never noticed when im hit on or realize when a friend is trans until they tell me and even i can figure out the hint of “i’m a lesbian”

      2. 3oranges

        Gaydar tip #1: paying attention to what people say about themselves is a great way to find out what they like.

    2. Reltzik

      It’s not perfect. Walky knows his stuff, but he has trouble presenting a good summary.

    3. Fauna Sarcastic

      reading these replies has made me realize i’m an idiot and should look up words before i use them

    4. Bagge

      And that whole caramel thing.

  8. Fart Captor

    :[

  9. Opus the Poet

    Watching a dream die can be painful, if it weren’t so funny.

  10. Shiro

    Jeez, poor Leslie. No need to overcompensate and go all authoritarian now, though.

    Question: is there any rule as to who gets cheek blushes and who doesn’t? Just occurred to me while f5ing waiting for today’s strip to come up.

    1. miados

      general rule is probably if willis wants to put the /////// there will be ><

      1. Fart Captor

        No, that’s just when somebody’s actually blushing

        Some characters always have kinda rosy cheeks though

    2. Needfuldoer

      The only hard rule I’m aware of is that Amber gets them but Amazi-Girl doesn’t, just to make it easier to tell who’s in charge at any given moment.

  11. carl320

    Monkey Master toys also work.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Just make sure they’re plush not hard plastic.

      1. Stephen R. Bierce

        Mike’s been known to throw diecast metal ones. Because he’s Mike.

        1. Reltzik

          Specifically, the ones recalled because they were lead-painted choking hazards.

  12. Stephen R. Bierce

    *plays Journey’s “Any Way You Want It” ala the SouthWest Airlines ads on frequent flier miles on the hacked Muzak*

    1. Stephen R. Bierce

      My Dad hates those commercials, BTW. Just a datum.

      1. JustCheetoDust

        I don’t care for commercials that substitute lyrics. I’ll be haunted for the rest of my life by a pawn shop commercial that did that with the Coasters’ “Poison Ivy.”

  13. Airyu

    Leslie was kind of mean to Dorothy, but okay.

    1. Garaden

      In fairness, in any other context that’d be a weird thing to ask, especially in an obviously tense situation.

    2. Fart Captor

      She was a bit stern with her, but I’d hardly call that “mean”

    3. Silly Name

      A teacher keeping students in class is doing their job.

      Plus, Dorothy herself said her question was “trivial”, and Leslie has no way of knowing it’s actually not. So why would you let a student for something they admit is not important?

      1. Cerberus

        Actually… Leslie might have reason to think it might not be trivial, but she might have actively blocked out a lot of that night out of embarrassment:
        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/01-glower-vacuum/huff/

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          I hope I am wrong about the nightmare sequence at the end of the chapter, when Leslie’s subconscious puts it all together.

          (Is the subconscious still a thing?)

  14. Nick Piers

    Well…by now, I think it’s LIKED her. Past tense.

    1. wwwhhattt

      I think she still likes her, just doesn’t like that she likes her.

  15. Kris

    Not to really undermine Leslie’s authoriy but….GO GET THAT NAME DOROTHY!! There’s an actual rapist running around!

    1. Brasca1

      If Robin can’t be troubled to remember the name of her aide I doubt she could provide any information on her unpaid interns.

      1. Dr. T

        The aide has a better shot of knowing, especially after the fight at the rally.

      2. Scott

        Dorothy doesn’t know that, unless Robin is just that loud, since that conversation happened outside the room. Besides the aide might be able to answer.

      3. Reltzik

        Yes, but she can give contact info for Frieda. Or Kyle Aide You might know.

    2. Willoughby Chase

      Ask Marcie.

    3. Undrave

      Plus she’s an adult in college. If Dorothy wants to skip class she damn well can!

  16. newllend(Henryvolt)

    Well this was a bust, Ok back up plan Just ask Roz To ask her sister for the information.

    1. Reltzik

      … I don’t know that Roz is subtle enough for enlisting her help in this to be wise.

    2. Dr. T

      That was my backup plan. I mean, surely Roz found out about the assault at her party, though I doubt she knew it was Joyce (otherwise, Roz probably would have been nicer to her).

      1. Fart Captor

        She clearly suspects it, since she ended up giving Joyce that card for a counselor after class

      2. BBCC

        She heard ‘there was a fight or something’. Didn’t suspect anything until Dorothy yelled at her for saying the party wasn’t so bad. That definitely got her suspicious though, because she gave Joyce an info/resource card.

  17. Carolyn

    Seriously, Leslie?

    Also, tiny bit disappointed in Dorothy for not going “Screw it” and going after Robin anyway. It’s not like this is high school and she’ll get detention for it. Not as disappointed as I am in Leslie, though.

    1. Fart Captor

      Curse her for her inability to read minds

      1. Carolyn

        It’s less that Leslie couldn’t read minds and more that Dorothy made a completely reasonable request and Leslie cut her off mid-sentence. I know Leslie probably feels like she needs to overcompensate to regain control of her class after the Robin fiasco, but it was still shitty.

        Also, I did not appreciate Leslie’s “You will sit down” in the first panel. Dorothy may be a student, but she is also an adult who is free to walk out of the classroom whenever she wants.

    2. tim gueguen

      Exactly. Dorothy can walk out the door any time she wants.

    3. Barf Ninjason

      Aye, c’mon, ’tis easier t’ ask f’ forgiveness th’n permission, but ol’ Dar’thy always dad ha’ a touch o’ th’ Lawful Stupid about her, aye. Aye. /grizzledseacaptainmode

    4. Larkle

      Agree on all counts. I feel like it’s kind of weird to ask permission in the first place. Though I suppose that there’s a possibility of asking Roz to help out. Leslie is not being a great role model this class period.

    5. miados

      dorothy can go still if she is willing to get points on her attendance or whatever.

      1. Reltzik

        Honestly, the name’s more important than the attendance points. Especially if Dorothy comes back later and explains. Leslie will be 90% on board with it, with the remaining 10% being “You know this is a bit risky, what you’re doing, right?”

    6. Derek

      you literally beat me to the high school and detention comment

    7. Trolldrool

      A lot of people who go straight from high school can take several years to throw off the habits they got there, at least that’s my observation at the university I where I study. The part about asking for permission to leave the room is something that goes back all the way to kindergarten. Some people are able to shake it off in a matter of weeks, other people need more than that. It largely depends on how deeply ingrained the habit is.

    8. DSL

      Dorothy’s all about the optics.

  18. Angry Tomato

    This is supposed to be college, not highschool. You can walk out of any class at anytime if you fucking want to.

    1. Reltzik

      True. Just say you’re going to the restroom if you’re asked. There’s a huge turd that needs flushed.

  19. mschmidt62

    As a long-time (almost 25 years) college professor I find it odd that Dorothy asked for permission to leave the classroom and for Leslie to not grant that permission. I associate that more with high school.

    1. timemonkey

      I’m amused that three of us made the ‘this is college, not highschool’ point at the same time.

      1. mschmidt62

        4, really. Carolyn, Angry Tomato, mschmidt62, and timemonkey. So far.

    2. Charles Phipps

      Leslie’s thing is she’s trying to reassert control which is….really odd as college is about the fact you never have control.

    3. Yotomoe

      I’d just walk the fuck out.

      1. Rukduk

        Oh hey Yotomoe. How have things been? I honestly don’t remember the last time I saw you in the comments.

        1. Yotomoe

          I tend to get in arguments when I do. I usually just drop art or make one comment and get out.

          Finally got student loans catchin’ up with me. Gotta get off my ass and start doin’ commissions or get better at felatio! Or both. You never know when it’s gonna come up in life.

        2. Rukduk

          Ouff. Student loans suck. I’ve been living like a hermit monk from the Middle Ages for five years and still haven’t put a dent in them.

        3. miados

          are you making sure any money above the minimum is going to the base money owed and not future interest? many people make that mistake

        4. Yotomoe

          I don’t even really know what that means, so no.

  20. timemonkey

    Uh, Les, this isn’t highschool, Dorothy is free to leave class whenever she wants, it’s not up to you. You can refuse to let her back in but leaving is entirely her choice.

    1. 3oranges

      Yes, you can leave at any time. But it’s not necessarily consequence free. Because some classes award marks for participation, especially languages or ones that lean heavily on discussion.

      I could see this being that kind of thing. In which case it makes sense a Keener might want to ask before skipping out, and a teacher could say they shouldn’t, although it might not always be so much of an order.

      ut it’s not necessarily consequence free, because some classes award marks for participation. In which case it is sensible to ask before leaving.

      1. 3oranges

        Oops, that somehow came out with half an earlier draft at the bottom. Please enjoy this insight into my thought processes, I guess.

      2. EvolutionistX

        She’d be back in under five minutes, and realistically, Les wouldn’t dock her for it. I wouldn’t have even asked, I’d have just said I would be right back and pretend I needed to pee if stopped.

    2. motorfirebox

      I mean, yeah, Dorothy’s free to leave class if she wants. She’s also free to take a mark on her attendance, which—depending on the instructor’s curriculum—she might be graded on.

      1. timemonkey

        1. It’s worth it to catch a rapist 2. She can always talk to Leslie o
        privately later and explain.

  21. Dana

    Roz DeSanto and her world championship winning eyeroll.

  22. Rukduk

    I just want to say thank you Willis for making this week a bit more barable. Also, dammit Walky no one else is supposed to know that.

    1. Reltzik

      My sympathy for Leslie being outed by Walky is minimal give that…

      1) Leslie pulled exactly that same crap on him first day
      2) Leslie has a much greater responsibility for keeping those shenanigans out of class than Walky does.
      3) Revenge is so, so sweet

      1. Rukduk

        I was kinda hoping the second sentence would come off a little jokingly because of how obvious Leslie’s attraction towards Robin is but in hindsight the serious of the first sentence may have prevented me from achieving that. Anyone want to help me remove my foot from my mouth?

    2. Emperor Norton II

      Is this a bad time to remind you that Leslie’s already told the whole class?

      1. Emperor Norton II

        Wait, never mind. I didn’t think “outed” as in term of “liking a specific person”.

  23. Jay Eff

    TWIST:
    Robin actually is old milk.
    She is several jugs of expired milk in a trench coat.

    1. Dean

      #Desantohugejugs

      1. Reltzik

        #DesantoWarmJugs

  24. TheKelliestKelly

    Silly freshman, thinking she needs to ask to leave class

    1. miados

      for all his flaws you know walky would take the points on his attendance to help people close to him. especially since he seems to be excited about skipping class once he realizes he can.

    2. AgentKeen

      True. Even if Leslie asked, I’d be like ‘uh, restroom?’

      1. miados

        and if she really needs to sell it she could ask to borrow a pad or something since from what i heard from some of my friends it can be an instant need if you aren’t prepared.

      2. Frederic Garber

        She would not be going to the bathroom, it’s pretty obvious.
        Leslie seems smart enough to realize Dorothy, wanting to leave just after the Senator did, is going to go harass the Senator (or their staff), no matter what she claims.

  25. Charles Phipps

    I’m actually gobsmacked because I just realized that Leslie probably meant for Robin to talk about being a successful woman and as a positive person in her class–not for it to be a complete display of awful while she was also going to seduce her. That…wow, you did NOT judge her at all correctly. Leslie’s admiration of Robin is genuinely inexplicable to me but I am a very privileged dude.

    1. Needfuldoer

      Leslie is attracted to Robin physically, but repulsed by the things she says. Having her visit the class and hearing her opinions firsthand reinforced both these feelings.

  26. Garaden

    I think we at least are pretty sure Robin doesn’t know the intern’s name.

  27. Keulan

    Walky’s pretty perceptive sometimes.

  28. Yotomoe

    Leslie abstains from allowing any of this effort to help educate anyone at all. She should’ve just thrown an action figure at Robin’s head amiright?

    1. Charles Phipps

      That actually would have probably worked. Albeit, I’m now intrigued by the possibility Robin is dating her female assistant. Because, really, why not be a complete hypocrite?

      1. Fart Captor

        Because using her sexual behavior to indicate a moral failing like that is kinda gross, and Robin’s horribleness stems from blind ignorance and being self-centered, not hypocrisy

        1. Yotomoe

          I think ANYTHING can be a moral failing.
          Eating, sleeping, maybe even shitting if you really try to. Of course that’d be gross in a DIFFERENT way.

        2. Shiro

          Okay but in the society we live in, where sexuality is considered by many terrible people to be a moral failing in particular, it’s a bit different.

        3. Fart Captor

          Yeah, it’s possible to highlight bad qualities without playing into that trope of “bad person is promiscuous / sleeps with their underlings”. Especially when that’s also a negative stereotype of bisexual people

        4. Charles Phipps

          Promiscuity and having an affair with coworkers are something which gets demonized unnecessarily, I agree. People are always trying to make it wrong. In this case, I’d just like Robin to be less ignorant like the comic is suggesting and more, “the rules I pretend to follow don’t apply to me.”

        5. Commodore Jeep-Eep

          The power differential would make it… morally troublesome, tho.

    2. Charles Phipps

      My own issue with the subject is the one which has been brought up repeatedly that while it’s troublesome, it’s also an infringement on what could very well be consensual adults and their lives. Which is why these things need to be handled in a case by case basis.

  29. DarkoNeko

    hahaha, Walky got revenge from when She nailed the same comment on him, back when he threw a toy at Dorothy.

    1. Tom T.

      Exactly!

  30. AgentKeen

    For some reason, Roz’s choice of words really bug me.

    1. Arianod

      I think it’s because they’re intended to bug. Roz is all about the bugging.

  31. rectilinearpropagation

    I’m glad the alt-text jogged my memory because I was all, “Why would you say that at regular talking volume?!”

    A little surprised Dorothy even bothered asking to leave the room but they haven’t even been in college for half a semester. They might not know they don’t need permission yet.

    Not sure how this conversation with Joyce is going to go.

    1. Maveric1984

      I’m not remembering that callback. Care to post a link?

      1. AgentKeen

        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/gender/

  32. Marvelman

    Um, this is university. Does Dorothy actually need Leslie’s permission to leave? Do colleges work differently in the the states?

    1. Russ

      No, she doesn’t, she could easily just leave of her own accord. This sequence has been pretty weird tbh

    2. motorfirebox

      Well, attendance requirements are up to the instructor, right? Leslie can’t really keep Dorothy there… but she can mark Dorothy absent, which may have an affect on Dorothy’s grade.

      1. Russ

        Dorothy goes to every class, stepping out for a minute doesn’t knock your attendance grade. Still doesn’t really add up :/

        1. Dellaran

          I figure Dorothy is just too polite and respectful to walk out of class without asking permission, even though she doesn’t need to.

    3. newllend(Henryvolt)

      That’s a good question, I was under the impression that people can depart from a college class at their own will. I mean the educator can decide to remove some from their class but I don’t think they can stop them from leaving.

      1. madock345

        It’s more about Dorothy being the kind of person to just instinctively do what a professor says.

    4. BBCC

      Probably, no, she doesn’t, but if anyone in that room would have sought totally unnecessary permission, it’d be Dorothy.

  33. Jamie

    Isn’t Dorothy an adult and trying to figure out who attempted to sexually assault Joyce? Can’t she just leave the classroom and come back in a few minutes?

    1. Bagge

      Dorothy? Going against the expressed wishes of her teacher? That seems very unlikely..

  34. motorfirebox

    Leslie likes her? Whaaaaat? Walky that’s crazy talk! That’s just crazy, man!

    Leslie liked her. Jeez, get it right!

  35. Russ

    I really don’t understand Leslie. Like, there are plenty of pretty girls who don’t have vile opinions, why shoot for the politician? This whole sequence really confuses me. SHE KNOWS THAT SHE WORKS AGAINST GAY PEOPLE. HER CRUSH MAKES NO SENSE

    1. Fart Captor

      YO’ GENITALS DON’ CARE WHACHOO THINK, MAN

    2. motorfirebox

      Well… yeah. It’s a crush. Hormones don’t check in with the conscious mind before doing their thing.

      1. Russ

        She’s an adult woman crushing on some straight rando who hates gay people that she’s never met. That’s pretty shallow

        1. Cerberus

          Well a queer rando who has flirted with her before and has shown genuine chemisty:
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/06-yesterday-was-thursday/hmmm/

          But to your greater point. Yes, it’s totes shallow. It’s a crush. Crushes tend to be super shallow and whitewash a lot of the terrible red flags about why pursuing anything further would be a disastrous mistake.

          Hell, they are half of why NRE (new relationship energy) can be dangerous and lead to folks getting deeply entangled with people who are toxic for them or outright abusive.

    3. Yotomoe

      If there was a sexy chick wearing a confederate flag bikini, I’d still get with her.
      Make love, not warfare.
      All night long.

      1. Badgermole

        But what if there were lots of sexy chicks in bikinis made of various fabrics? Would you still go for the one from the Klan?

        1. Yotomoe

          Depends. In this specific case, I’d have to assume this chick is EXACTLY my type. and the other chicks are just conventionally hot.

          In that case, still yes.

      2. Rukduk

        That actually reminds me of an episode of Black Dynamite where the KKK and a Black Panther Party stand in (as leader explains why they’re a stand in and not the actual Black Panther Party: “Not only was Huey P. Newton a true revolutionary, he was also extremely litigious.”) work together in order to stop the first interracial porn between a black man and a white woman from being made. That was…an interesting episode to say the least.

        1. Yotomoe

          Boy I miss Black Dynamite. It had a rockin’ art style. That said, I doubt a season 3 would top their second season so it’s probably for the best. Hot damn that fucking art style though.

        2. Rukduk

          Yeah. The art style was amazing. I don’t really know how to explain it properly. It was like sorta anime-esque but with this kinda modern superhero comic pop to it. I think Black Dynamite and the Boondocks are the show’s from Adult Swim I miss the most, though that last season of the Boondocks probably shouldn’t have been made after Aaron McGrudger left to start working on Black Jesus.

        3. JustCheetoDust

          There was also a failed Kickstarter for an Uncle Ruckus movie.

          I think if the Boondocks did return to TV a reboot would have to happen just to distance the show from season 4. That could also be an opportunity to write in Caesar from the comics, or give us all the ignorant-ass Fred Willard we’d want.

        4. Yotomoe

          Caesar was my favorite character. I’m so sad he never made it in.

      3. Joe Archer

        Leslie might have the hots for a woman with a degree of power. Robin’s selling points (the honkers) and having a connection through Roz probably added up to a disrant but not impossible goal to chase.

    4. EvolutionistX

      Eh, she probably just didn’t know how deep the ick and vile went.

  36. Bagge

    Seems like Walky has already learnt something about gender.

    He rocks!

    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/gender/

    1. Lipke the Articulate

      Jeeeez… how did I not notice the whole “Willis’ art style is visibly different after six friggin’ years” thing when I was rebingeing the archives?

      1. CJ

        Because of change blindness ?
        When you read the strip from start to finish, the individual steps are small. And even larger changes go unnoticed sometimes.
        (How many of us didn’t notice Leslie’s closed shirt before someone mentioned it?)

  37. Yotomoe

    http://imgur.com/a/apc7M

    1. Bagge

      “Hey, teach, wanna ‘talk politics’?”

  38. Bagge

    No, no, Walky. That’s an easy mistake to make, but it’s in fact JESSICA who likes her.

    A very common name.

  39. Bagge

    Joe is still all “This is all a trap somehow, but I can’t figure it out”

  40. Lipke the Articulate

    Me, just now: “Wow, Dumbing of Age updated early today, weird… WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S FORTY MINUTES PAST MIDNIGHT?”

  41. Zaidyer

    This is incredible timing for the story to be doubling down on an intelligent woman to prevent the pursuit of a case against violence at a political rally involving a man who revels in sexual assault. People are doing this right now out here in the real world even as it’s riding scot-free all the way to the oval office.

    I am perturbed.

    1. Zaidyer

      In fact, let me go a step further: I realize this was written months in advance at a time when nobody saw it coming, but let this moment be a lesson to anyone who was thinking of trying to do what Leslie’s inadvertently doing here. Don’t. The Ryans of the real world think they’re fighting a war to get away with whatever they want, and right now they think they’re winning. You would only be playing into their hands.

    2. Fart Captor

      Leslie has no idea that Joyce’s assault even happened, much less that those interns would have anything to do with it. If she had even the slightest inkling, I doubt she’d stand in the way.

      1. Zaidyer

        True.

        My nerves are still shot, though. It’s been such a difficult week…

        1. Fart Captor

          It certainly has. Hang in there

        2. Charles Phipps

          Also, I’d like to make a prediction that Dorothy will continue her Veronica Mars thing for a bit longer, Robin’s aide will attempt to cover up Ryan (I keep wanting his last name to be Seacrest) then Robin will discover the truth and kick Ryan’s ass before getting him arrested–regardless of her affects to her politics.

          Yes, a redemption arc.

  42. wwwhhattt

    I’m wondering about the backup lesson plan – she clearly didn’t expect things to go this badly, but still? Maybe it’s just a necessity with guest speakers.

    1. Bagge

      It’s always smart to have one as a teacher. “First contact with the students” and all that.

      1. Cerberus

        Yup, backup plans are critical as a teacher. Cause maybe you planned a lab and the previous class used all of a material you were going to use, or the equipment is broken, or the lesson material for a day just isn’t right because of bad cultural context or the students not getting a key aspect that needs review.

        Always have a failsafe and be willing to abandon to it or wing it whenever necessary. Rigidity is the death of too many younger inexperienced teachers.

        1. ischemgeek

          Once my teacher taught a lesson on LGBT history instead of the English class she’d planned on after the passing of bill C-38 when I was a kid.

    2. CJ

      Probably standard procedure for lessons with speakers in case the don’t show up.
      But my guess is that Leslie just couldn’t stand listening to Robin a moment longer and now is just winging it.
      Not agreeing to Dorothy going after them was a bad move but probably due to needing to get some kind of control over the situation and Dorothy going out and coming back with additional input (or agitation because Robin did a Robin again which seems rather likely) is not what she wants.

      As the rally was organized locally, Robin definitely knows nothing about scarface anyway even if she were able to remember names.

      Roz seems pissed her big investment of heli-rides hasn’t come of. What did she actually expect to happen?

      1. DinaWho

        Regarding needing to reassert control, this is about a week and a half in universe after another Gender Studies class got out of hand (aka the one that gave us the bongo filter).

        1. thejeff

          Which, IIRC, also involved various students storming out of class, some half asking permission and then her refusing permission to at least one more.

        2. Cerberus

          Yup, which is why she’s way more firm than she might otherwise be, especially since this class was a total disaster so far and has opened with things being such an unsafe space. She probably wants to triage as fast as possible so that people don’t just start not showing up because of concerns about classroom management.

  43. MatsuoTanuki

    *pit’s guitar down and pulls out tuba* Wah-wah-waah-waaaaaaaaw!

  44. Yotomoe

    http://imgur.com/a/xiE2e

    1. Bagge

      I mean, there are limits to principles.

    2. Arianod

      No of us are made of stone!

    3. Kamino Neko

      … I could see Robin doing this.

      1. inqntrol

        Maybe if she eats Cadburry cereal.

    4. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      The candidate with nothing to hide.

  45. Yotomoe

    http://imgur.com/a/4d8D4

    1. Tomas

      Do you take requests?

      1. Yotomoe

        Yes. But I also might not do them.

  46. ninjazaku

    “You will sit back down”

    Leslie they’re college students you’re lucky walky didn’t sleep through class again. Though, tbh, Leslie probably would let Dorothy finish her sentence if they hadn’t been talked out of going to authority figures by their peers.

    1. chris73

      I suspect Leslie feels a bit under pressure and when you’re under pressure you tend to fall back on old habits

      1. Charles Phipps

        Leslie is embarrassed by the whole thing, I think. Basically, she didn’t think about how this would make her look and the entirety of the disaster has dramatically undercut her “respectability as a teacher.”

        1. chris73

          And peoples reactions when embarrassed is generally what Leslie did and that’s to double down to regain the lost authority

          I feel for Leslie over this, shes not the first and certainly won’t be the last to be majorly embarrassed because the blood rushed from the brain to the nether regions and yet it could have so easily been a win-win for everyone involved

  47. BenRG

    If you’re trolling for sympathy, Roz, please don’t bother. This whole mess was all due to you trying to control your sister and your teacher’s love-lives anyway!

  48. Dev

    I can’t blame Leslie for this because she doesn’t know but Dorothy, you don’t have to LISTEN to her. You CAN walk out and ask what you want to know.

    Granted, Leslie might be disappointed in you but if she knew about the assault, I doubt she’d stop you.

    I’m just hoping that Dorothy isn’t going to be dumb and try to figure it out, or get the information and confront Ryan alone. It gives me chills just thinking about that given what happened to Amber before Sal stepped in at the rally.

    1. Joe Archer

      Dorothy is a junior journalist, right? She could (pretend to) do a series of interviews with Robin’s interns on their reasons to help at the rally.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        We could have a spin-off movie where Dorothy volunteers as an intern to infiltrate the DeSanto political machine. There are hilarious antics before things shift and go very dark indeed.

  49. Bagge

    Message from Rile:

    “Hi Roz, did you know, me and Robin are going to Indianapolis in a helicopter – that will be my seventh ride!!!

    Also, I found my friend Dina in the cafeteria again and we tried a new kind of cereal. I talked a bit to her girlfriend Becky who is totally rad, and there are some things I have to ask you about hats. Hugs and love <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 /Littliest sizzzzz"

    1. Cerberus

      Roz looks at her phone, swears softly and then puts her head on the desk bemoaning her lack of forethought to demand helicopter rides.

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      “P.S. There wasn’t anything about hats on your posters, was there?

  50. JessWitt

    In these darkest of times, can always count on Willis’ FAAAACEs.

  51. Dean

    Six helicopter rides is roughly equivalent to 0.8 of a political assassination, favours-wise. It used to be 1:1, but helicopters just aren’t that special anymore.

    1. legobil

      I wonder what sisterly favours Roz called in. Also nice callback, had to search the comments to find a link to the appropriate comic.

  52. JBento

    Honestly, I don’t think Dorothy would get that name anyway. At the very least, she SHOULDN’T. Robin most certainly doesn’t know Ryan. Kyle almost assuredly doesn’t as well. Frieda might, but seeing as she considers interns free manpower, I doubt it. Even if any of them DID recognise Ryan and had his information, they certainly shouldn’t release it just because someone asked for it, because on their knowledge, that stinks of “preparation to stalk/harass.”

    I’m not entirely sure Dorothy should be trying in the first place, though a good case can be made for “yes, she should.” But Joyce has very clearly stated that she wants the whole matter dropped, and if Joyce is to be acknowledged to be worthy of agency, then you have to abide by that, regardless of how much you disagree with her decision (I certainly do).

    “But Ryan might rape other women,” you say. Yes. Yes, he might. In fact, seeing as statistics show that nearly all rapists are reincident, he’s certainly going to TRY, which is where the aforementioned good case can be made.

    My assessment of the situation: clear clusterfuck.

    1. thejeff

      I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Kyle does, if only because of the business last night. If he’s at all competent, he knows exactly who, at least in his candidates employ was involved – if only to be ready to spin any questions about it away.

      And yeah, no way he should give that up.

      1. Charles Phipps

        If Ryan is anything like so many other privileged “upstanding” rapists, he’ll have a litany of defenses as to the lies being told about him. I would be more surprised if we find out his pastor father isn’t the type to marshal the community behind him against the lesbian-loving atheist friend daughter. Which is, if you actually do love Leftist social progressive Christianity, so….horrible.

        1. Charles Phipps

          I think I threw up in my mouth describing Ryan. It just…ugh.

    2. legobil

      I think you forget that Dorothy has a super hero best friend. 🙂

  53. Tomas

    This reminds me so much of one of the many Parks & Recreation episodes where Leslie Knope meets one of her heroes and is heartbroken by what a jerk they are.

  54. Tomas

    Ooh! Is Leslie still a helicopter pilot in this universe? Surely she can borrow the family helicopter for the sake of a DeSanto. They’re like local royalty, right?

    1. JBento

      Considering that Leslie was ostracised by her family to the point of being homeless for a while, I very much doubt she gets (or even wants) to borrow anything from them.

  55. Charles Phipps

    Well, Leslie has severely undercut her authority in her mind. After all, she is now known to have attended a Drumph Rally, brought Drumph to speak, ended it prematurely because she was embarrassed, and is now revealed to crush on Drumph. Having worked in academia for half a decade, I wish I could reassure her, “Leslie, you never had ANY authority.”

    🙂

  56. Charles Phipps

    Sorry, posted this in the wrong space:

    Also, I’d like to make a prediction that Dorothy will continue her Veronica Mars thing for a bit longer, Robin’s aide will attempt to cover up Ryan (I keep wanting his last name to be Seacrest) then Robin will discover the truth and kick Ryan’s ass before getting him arrested–regardless of her affects to her politics.

    Yes, a redemption arc.

  57. Ethan

    What is this? High School?
    A professor can’t command a student to “sit down” if that student needs to leave class for any reason. Dorothy could have simply walked out of the classroom at any time—in loco parentis hasn’t been a thing at the university level since the 1960’s.

    1. Anorak

      Technically yes, but dorothy is a student who respects authority figures and their judgement, no matter how ridiculous it is.

  58. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    Panel 1: Okay, I know why Leslie needs to be firm here. And it’s this.

    You’ve just had a complete shitshow of a start to your class with a bigot spouting off crap and you’ve already had one major class deteriorate followed by what was likely a lot of classes mostly just focused on mentoring the kids regarding the gunman on campus in the recent class.

    You also have said bigot politician openly noting that the smart young woman who wants to track her down gets under her skin and is likely to get her to “entertainingly” rant about nazis again.

    So, if Dorothy was to track down the congresswoman, you can bet your asscheeks that half the class would follow her out just to looky-loo at the trainwreck that is likely to ensue.

    So it was necessary to actually practice some class management here and be firm.

    That said, it sucks because we know what question Dorothy wanted to ask and we also know that Leslie has the pieces she would need to put two and two together on why Dorothy was so insistent about asking about Robin’s intern: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/01-glower-vacuum/huff/

    Though she doesn’t have any idea that one of her students was the one targeted by him.

    That all said, it’s not really going to affect much. Robin would not have remembered the full name of a random intern she never met when she can’t even bother to remember the names of her staff, and any staff member who was aware enough, would also have been briefed by Frieda to say literally nothing about any interns to anyone, owing to the accusation Amazi-girl made at the rally to her.

    So yeah, circled wagons plus unhelpful/ignorant staff members? Dorothy would have gotten nothing but continued condescension for her efforts.

    But it still sucks for her that she didn’t even get the opportunity to try.

    Panel 2: Uh oh, shaky balloon… Dorothy, you may need to talk to Joyce sooner rather than later, cause she’s feeling in the dark right now and that means she’s going to start assuming the worst unless you can reassure her quickly.

    Panels 3-4: Niiiice callback. And nice flipping of it to remove the element of creepy excusation of abusive violence in the original punchline.

    Panel 5: Oh, fuck. Now I know why Roz was so insistent on pushing Leslie to stick with the plan. We know Roz values her freedom from her sister’s political machine more than anything. That having to stand and support her sister whose politics she despises hurts her more than anything.

    And I get the sinking feeling that the reason Roz was so subdued and resigned at the rally is that she sold herself to Robin for the rest of the campaign season, promising to stop resisting all in the hopes of making this hail mary of outing to succeed. And it didn’t. Not only did it didn’t, but that road looks to be firmly shut down and built over.

    So now, she lost another aspect of her freedom for nothing and if her sister wins, she’ll have another 2 years of this to look forward to preventing her from being the full person she is so desperate to become.

    It’s genuinely tragic even though I think this course of action was ill-advised and her attempt to pressure Leslie was not okay. And I really hope that she can find her means of escape, however it may manifest itself.

    1. Bagge

      Yeah, as a teacher, Leslie don’t have many options left and few of them are good. Being firm is the best thing she can do right now.

      I think you are right about Roz, and that sucks. She put all her eggs in a bad basket, and now its gone.

      No one came out of this one for the better…. except maybe Joyce, who got a political eye-opener and got the last word against yet another symbol for her family’s oppression.

    2. JBento

      I think the shaky balloon is just to represent whispering. Dorothy has it too.

      I agree that if Leslie didn’t try to put her foot down this would be a case of “shitshow intensifies,” but I also think this is her trying to make herself feel like she has SOME measure of control: her original lesson plan is a flaming wreck, her seduction plan is a flaming wreck, her crush is a flaming wreck, and yesterday she realised how much of her own morals she compromised in attempt to make it happen. If she lets her class breakdown entirely, then… what? I’m curious to see her backup lesson plan – as a teacher, you’d know better: is it likely to be predicated on Robin not having shown up at all and address the same topics she expected Robin to have addressed with her talk?

      Unfun note: I just scrolled to a bunch of the rally strips to find Roz, and right in middle of them is the Sal/Marcie flashback, where Sal’s school principal says of Marcie that she might be “an- an- an- illegal” in really hushed tones. Considering the current situation, uh, that’s even worse now than it was then (and that’s saying something).

      1. Cerberus

        Oh, I would agree with that. She had to put her foot down, but her motivations weren’t just about that, but also about regaining some measure of dignity after the complete shitshow that was the beginning of the class and how a number of her personal faults were revealed messily and the ignition of her crush crashing into flames.

        And I’m curious to see where Leslie goes with this, because there could be value in either route. Either using this to discuss an issue of queer families and identities and the personal as political relating to the shitshow or completely distracting that into what would have been the subject if Robin turned out to be unavailable for this “special class”. And I’m curious to see where Leslie goes with this.

  59. Scar Man!!!

    Is that a ref to Shortpacked!Leslie playing nice with her homophobic mom so she can take dates on helicopter rides?

  60. Joe

    I dunno there alt text, I think the record for Longest Callback still goes to 8-Bit Theater. This one’s pretty good, though.

  61. Victor Riley

    I just realized Leslie’s cleavage magically disappeared… looking back it happened between panels 3 days ago… just as she was losing all crush-ness on Robin.

  62. BBCC

    Dorothy, honestly, you weren’t going to get that name from Robin. The campaign, almost definitely (they’d need that information on who’s working which events for coordination/in case of emergency purposes), the school, maybe (this is a student outreach thing, so the school probably had a list of who was involved, if only for staffing/educational credit/again in case of emergency reasons), Robin? Lol, fuck no. She probably couldn’t tell you how many sisters she has, never mind the names of unpaid interns she hasn’t met personally.

    Worst case scenario you, Amber, and Sal pour through the student directory for every. Single. Ryan.

  63. Scar Man!!!

    well, I guess the good news is that Roz is aborting the scheme, showing she’s not callous enough to pressure Leslie into a toxic relationship. Hurrah for that show of basic human decency *halfheartedly whirls purim noisemaker while wearing faded party hat*

  64. Scar Man!!!

    I guess Leslie being no good at “shenanigans” is a universal constant. Her presence automatically deepens plotlines and introduces sadness. She is the drama tag incarnate.

  65. Marie

    I’ve just reread this class and I’m still kind of confused why Dorothy didn’t just go, without asking. It’s university.

    (I get why she didn’t go after being told not to, because that response to teachers/adults is still strong in a lot of 18 year olds, and because she might respect Leslie too much to directly ignore her and walk out)

Leave a Reply to Scar Man!!! Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.